Decibel Podcast
NEWS
Greetings everyone! We re proud to announce that this week we re launching the Decibel podcast. We hope to bring you a series of rich (but brief, we all have stuff to do) round table discussions between Decibel and industry leaders to discuss emergent trends and challenges in the events industry.
Here s what to expect from our debut:
In last week s blog post we offered a run down of the major event cancellations that have occurred due to COVID-19 s effects in the US and Europe. In only a week the situation has escalated faster than any of us could have expected. The entire nation of Italy is on lockdown. A staggering, 8 states have now declared states of emergency and schools across the United States are imposing short-term, and even semester-long closures.
Major events like Facebook s F8 Summit and Google s I/O Summit have been put on hold. Even SXSW, whose organizers held out as long as possible, was canceled last week despite approval from Austin s Public Health Board due to social panic and the loss of major presenters like Netflix. With major Instagram-oriented and occasionally music-oriented events like Indio s Coachella already receiving public pressure to cancel their events in early April (it s been postponed), we expect COVID-19 s influence on the live events industry to echo through at least the Spring and Summer. Remember that even after the virus is successfully contained, it will still take time for public confidence in public events to return.
While we believe social panic is a key influencer in these cancelations, we understand the public s concern for their well-being and are here to offer solutions to companies who still have events goals this year. We are NOT approaching COVID-19 like a crisis, and are instead approaching it as one of many possible technical or tactical challenges that companies should account for in the planning stages of an event.
Your brand can still capture attention. There are still a number of ways you can hold events and get your message out without compromising the safety of your staff or the public. In fact, this is an opportunity for your brand to build up a robust online event strategy as the industry has been slowly moving in that direction for several years anyway.
We are joined in this week s podcast to discuss events solutions for the COVID-19 outbreak by our own David Sonntag and Dan Lamphier, PM for the AV company CMI. Keep a lookout for the recording to drop later this week!
Drowning In Content: How Can Live Events Stay Relevant In The Digital Age
BRAND ACTIVATIONS & MARKETING, EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, LIVE EVENTS
We all feel it the digital monsoon. Every time you open your inbox, search google, see yet another cat video. We are all literally drowning in digital content everyday.
Here s some perspective for every minute on the web:
- Email users send 204,000,000 messages
- Google receives over 4,000,000 search queries
- Blog writers post 1400 new blog posts
- Facebook users share 2,460,000 pieces of content
- Twitter users tweet 277,000 times
- Amazon makes $83,000 in online sales
- Tinder users swipe 416,667 times
- Whats App users share 347,222 photos
- Instagram users post 216,000 new photos
- Pandora users listen to 61,141 hours of music
- Apple users download 48,000 apps
- Yelp users post 26,380 reviews
- Skype users connect for 23,300 hours
- Vine users share 8,333 videos
- Pinterest users pin 3,472 images
- Youtube users upload 72 hours of new video
How do you measure a year? In 525,600 minutes, which is a universe worth of content available at everyone s fingertips.
So, how in the digital overgrowth can live events even survive, much less remain relevant? Well all of us here at Decibel Management believe that live events are more important now than ever. Actually providing a face-to-face experience in the age of digital interactions is pivotal. But, the game has changed. No longer can event marketers rely on old standby strategies to be impactful. Here s what to pay attention to:
Always-on Engagement
Experiences are no longer consumed in a vacuum. Social media has ensured that. Yesterday, we watched a giraffe being born while simultaneously attending a business presentation and side convo-ing with a guy in South Africa about how great the surf was looking. Everything we do, see, experience and learn is readily and often shared these days. In other words, everything is connected. Just try asking your watch if you have any new emails.
Obviously, engagement with your audience starts long before the actual event now but, keeping those audiences (both on the ground and out in the digital stratosphere) engaged is a challenge.
So what are the implications of this phenomena?
1. Your content has to be on point and on message.
2. Your event needs to embrace new digital platforms regularly.
Solid content will beg to be shared by your audience so, set them up for success from the beginning.
Data, Data, Data
More data means more information more information means more insights more insights means better customization. Events need to capitalize on the immense wealth of data available to create integrated, seamless online and offline customer experience.
For example, ever feel like Google knows what you are actually searching for before you even type into the search box. You know why? Because they do actually know because they have the data about you. We know it s creepy but it works. Kind of like Tim Curry.
As technology and customer data continues to infiltrate our day-to-day lives, demands and expectations increase. Data is the key to staying ahead of the curve.
So while the live event world is changing in light of how people experience things and interact in the digital age, a true in-person and face-to-face experience is one of the most impactful ways to reach your customer, especially given the amount of content constantly bombarding our screen. And that is where Decibel Management steps in to help.
We re Hiring: Social Media Specialist
COMPANY NEWS
Hey there, job seeker.
We re a DC-area event management and production agency looking for a part-time social media specialist to handle our social content, accounts and strategy, as well as keep up with SEO, paid ads and general updates to our website. You should also have knowledge of video and photo editing and metric analysis experience. Initial focus will be developing our overall marketing and social communication strategy, and then actually being able to execute it. It ll be up to you to develop the strategy across all social platforms, discover, choose and write up the best posts, seek out event-related content and manage ads in any given week and across a range of categories, plus curate and edit a selection of blog content.
Who we re looking for
You like variety, but you re not a flake. The thought of doing the same thing every day makes you shudder a little. Except like, showing up for work. You do that with astonishing regularity. You re snarky, yet personable. We re not looking to make yet another event management post about COVID. We want our content to have a little bite to it, but that bite should be tempered with a strong streak of positivity. Overall, our ideal candidate will be obsessively organized, adaptable, naturally curious, extremely creative, responsive, and plugged in someone who never leaves home without a power bank because OMG panic.
You re reasonably social
We like a misanthropic shut-in as much as the next company, but this role will require you to be the voice of dB and talk to a bunch of people and stay connected to the large event scene, so it s probably best if you enjoy that sort of thing.
You get shit done on your own steam
Yes, you ll have a boss, but on a day-to-day basis, you ll be reporting primarily to yourself, so you gotta be self-motivated. Look, you know if you re a self-motivated person. You know, because no one s ever made wistful comments about your potential. You know because everyone seems to walk slower than you do.
You re bothered by unnecessary complexity
You have plenty of empathy for busy people and know how to present information clearly and succinctly in grab-and-go format.
You ve made your stamp on the social interwebs
We re not looking for an influencer. But you should have a curated personal social space, and demonstrated knowledge of social, paid and SEO.
Oh yeah, and you write
You write well and you write fast, you know how to write for varied audiences across varied platforms, and you write in a tone that s both conversational and approachable. Not just sometimes-I m-funny-when-I-tweet write. Not I ve-been-working-on-a-novel-for-a-decade write. You re compelled to write, a lot, by some power beyond yourself.
What we offer
Lots of freedom and flexibility, reasonable pay, and a boss that s on your team.
What we need from you
Please send two examples of corporate or brand social sites that have been curated by you. Also shoot over your curated personal accounts as well as any writing samples, by-lined published writing, articles, blogs or the like that fit the bill above. Will also review video and photo edit samples. Selected individuals may be asked to complete a mock or freelance-based assignment as part of the interview process. The results will factor into the final decision. Successful candidates will provide the hours and days you can work (during regular business times) and WHY a part-time role is a fit.
In? Talk to us.
David Sonntag
david@decibelmanagement.com
Fine Print
Location: DC, LA, NYC, RDU, or Virtual
Compensation: Based on 1-3 years of experience
Hours/Duration: Must be available during regular business hours targeting 20 hours a week.
What: Own the social media program. Represent the voice of dB in social content. Build social media strategies. Work with our in-house design to produce standout creative social assets. Lead the paid effort. Report on and improve qualitative and quantitative results.
How to be a top candidate for this job: Minimum one-year hands-on experience in Social Media Management. 2-4 years of experience in a social media role, with an agency or in-house experience (event or agency brand experience preferred). A passion for social media, branding, and building online communities. Writing and grammar skills; ability to develop interesting social media posts and campaigns for a boutique event management company. Video and photo editing experience. Understanding of social metric analysis. Exceptional attention to details. Degree in marketing, journalism, PR, advertising or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
Navigating COVID-19
NEWS
This was inevitable. Here we are again to talk about COVID-19 (the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan in mid-December). While the major city and province-wide quarantines implemented by China bought the world some time to prepare, the virus is now on the loose worldwide, leading to quarantines, school closures and widespread market panic. For those of you keeping score, we re only 2 full months in 2020. We suggest calling this one a wash and fast-fowarding to 2021.
As members of the events industry, it should come as no surprise to all of you that threat of COVID-19 has had a major impact on planned public activities. San Francisco and Los Angeles have declared states of emergency. Seattle, Chicago, and New York are all experiencing widescale outbreaks. As we head into the Spring and Summer months when things in the industry typically start to kick in, we expect demand for public events will dwindle and demand for streaming event services to increase.
This week, we d like to offer all of you a brief rundown on industry reactions to the virus who is postponing their events and who is staying the course? How will the events industry (and Decibel, by extension) change to accommodate this pandemic in the long term?
The tech industry has been the most proactive with regards to shuttering planned events. In just the past week, Facebook canceled both their Global Marketing Summit in San Francisco, as well as their F8 developer conference in San Jose. The massive global tech conference Mobile World Congress was to be held in Barcelona but was similarly canceled due to widescale outbreak in Spain. The game developer conference GDC has been postponed to the summer, and even Google has even canceled their own internal conferences amid fears of a global pandemic.
There do remain several events that are pushing ahead as planned. Even despite an outbreak in Seattle, Emerald City Comic Conwill go on as scheduled. However, as Washington state has just declared a state of emergency, we suspect this is subject to change at any time.
We still don t know what s happening with SXSW which is set to take place from March 13th to the 22nd. While there have been public calls to cancel Austin s annual social tech and entertainment industry extravaganza, organizers have stated they are pushing ahead with the event with support from Austin Public Health and will be implementing public health measures to protect their presenters and attendees.
We know this virus isn t going to disappear any time soon, but life has to go on and companies will need to keep their brands and workforces stable as it runs its course. There are events solutions here, and in light of public health concerns we believe this could be the best time to look towards events companies with live streaming chops. Adobe, for example, has canceled all public events for the Las Vegas Adobe Summit (March 29th April 2nd) and is instead changing the event into a fully livestreamed, online experience. Events companies like Decibel can provide a full suite of online services in digital promotion, live streaming, and broadcasting to make sure events can go on as planned while still protecting the health and safety of their participants. Just reach out.
Whether you re planning or attending an event in spite of the crisis, we d like to offer you some resources to make sure you stay safe. Eventscouncil.org has this fantastic FAQ that is constantly being updated with the latest info on how to stay safe in public and tips on how to handle live events under these circumstances. It s very comprehensive. We suggest you visit that page frequently for updates if you plan to be out and about.
If you re looking for more general information on how to prep for the virus and stay safe, look no further than the CDC. You won t find a lot of doomy spin here, just a comprehensive rundown on current outbreaks and solid information on how to keep yourself healthy. Additionally, we ve put together our own sheet for our event colleagues with some tips to help make your events safer. Practice Safe Stage! Print it out and share it! Also, we d love to updated it with any additional good ideas you would like to add. (Note: We re not medical doctors. Our list is a compilation of ideas we think are good practice.)
Stay safe and get in touch with us if you need an 11th hour solution to move your event online!
Top 5 New Gadgets and Technologies We re Excited For As Event Managers
BACKSTAGE, EVENT COLLATERAL, EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, EXPERIENTIAL, MOBILE MEDIA
Earlier this year, Las Vegas played host to the largest tech conference of its kind, the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, or CES 2018 for short. The event showcases technology and cool gadgets, both real and conceptual, entering into the consumer realm. Here at Decibel Management, we re also excited to embrace (and play with) new technology and see how we can implement it into the world of event management. We paid close attention to the news coming out of CES this year as well as other tech markets and here are some items we are looking forward to seeing change the events game.
1. Samsung s The Wall Television
Come on. This is an easy one. A 146-inch micro-LED screen that is adaptive to its surroundings and has nearly endless customization features? Yes please. The Wall allows you to change the size and shape of the display, making customization of visuals and presentation limited only to your imagination. It can also mimic the area it is mounted to, allowing it to disappear from view or allow for more focused areas within the screen. Visuals are a fantastic way to gain engagement and attention at events and The Wall has the size for both main stage focus and the discreetness for professional and intimate settings. Price tag: don t-care-we-want-one USD.
2. Laptop/Tablet Combo Computers
Going to be honest. We don t think combo computers is the official name for these devices, but we liked the way it sounded. Essentially these are laptops that can convert and fold over to function as a touchscreen tablet. While this technology has been around for a few years, it is only now actually being perfected and made to be less clunky. Take Dell s XPS 13 2-in-1 for example. It has a sleek design, is responsive and has great battery life. As event managers we are running around, like constantly. Being able to work on the go, while standing, lying down or trapped in a shipping container is essential and the 2-in-1 technology is making that easier. Now if only Apple would get on board.
3. Projection Phones
The headline says it all. These are phones that can project videos, pictures and media onto any surface. Again, small projection devices have existed for a few years but they are just now starting to live up to expectations. Look at the Movi Phone unveiled at CES 2018. It s an Android smartphone that can project in beautiful 720p. Granted that s no 1080p, but come on it s literally shooting out of the back of your phone. As event managers, being on the road and having to respond quickly comes with the territory. Projection phones allow giving on the fly presentations or adding quick visuals to a space easy and relatively affordable.
4. Augmented & Virtual Reality Technology
Augmented and virtual reality is on the rise in 2018 (or at least Steven Spielberg hopes it is) and has the potential to have a significant effect on the events industry. For the first time ever you don t actually need to attend an event in order to be there. Hell, there doesn t even need to be an actual event space anymore. Just strap on your virtual reality gear and suddenly you re at the Bellagio for your company s sales conference. The best part is that the equipment for this technology is pretty affordable too, with many AR and VR devices only costing a couple hundred dollars. Don t get us wrong, we believe there is no substitute for true in-person engagement, but we are excited to see how this new technology will change the industry. At the very least it could make the conference calls between our D.C. and NC offices a little more entertaining
5. Wireless Charging
We know. Charging your device does not sound as sexy as a 146-inch high-def modular TV from the gods (please someone buy us The Wall ) but it s a great example of a subtle technology that will change our lives as event managers. Companies like Powercast and Energous have developed technology that allows your devices to be charged wirelessly .THROUGH THE AIR. Imagine never having to be tethered to a wall again while
you re late for a presentation but you need to send out that one last email so you don t get fired and oh God your kid s school is calling now, damnit what did Billy do this time. Well, this scenario could soon be a thing of the past, well at least the being tethered part, Billy is still a monster. At Decibel, we are seriously excited at the prospect of an entire event space being charged. All the attendees no longer having to fight over the two outlets in the venue, everyone happily snapping pictures, sending emails etc. while throwing caution to the wind over their power bar levels. Ahh.
Honorable Mention: Self Delivering Pizza Trucks
It s a thing now and we don t think this requires an explanation. Just hurry up and get to Washington, D.C. already.
Virtual Democratic National Convention
EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, LIVE EVENTS, POLITICAL
FINALLY. It s political convention season. Doesn t it seem like this campaign has been going on for our entire lives?
But seeing as the United States remains in the throes of COVID s first wave, how will the conventions function? What will happen to all the red, white, and blue paraphernalia of past events? The cutting-edge staging setups with pyrotechnics? Or Lenny Kravitz? How will we get a repeat of this moment from 2016 when it appears the retirement-age Clintons just discovered balloons for the very first time?
Think of the memes democrats!
Due to COVID, it seems this year each party is forced to hold a more subdued virtual convention focused on things like the formal delegate voting process to confirm a presidential candidate, updating party platforms to reflect current political realities, and hosting speeches from notable rising party leaders to introduce ambitious new goals to the national public. You know, the important stuff. It ll be a throwback to the Eisenhower era when smallpox was a hoax and the president often expressed a fondness for his good friend Khrushchev in the Kremlin.
Now, you may have noticed I just said BOTH parties. Portions of the Republican convention were moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida last month. While the actual party convention functions like writing an updated party platform will still be held by party leadership in Charlotte, the super-sweet-sixteen-everyone-pay-attention-to-me-its-my-special-day portion will be held in Jacksonville.
These plans may once again change due to Florida s new outbreak. Florida s current daily case numbers have been higher than the total daily case count in all of Europe for the past week, a development surprising to literally no one outside of Florida. Governor DeSantis has mandated masks be worn indoors and gatherings allow a maximum 50 people, throwing the key goals of the convention into disarray. Will it be cancelled? Will it be virtual? We ll be back with a part 2 once the RNC comes to a consensus on how to move forward with their planned festivities.
So right now, we can really only explore the current plans for the virtual Democratic National Convention.
The Democratic Convention will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from August 17th to 20th, but what does this really mean if the convention is largely virtual?
Some portions of the event will be held in Milwaukee s Wisconsin Center. The anchor location of the event was moved from Fiserv Forum at the end of June to accommodate extensive public health requirements. Presumptive nominee Biden s official acceptance speech will take place in-person at the center, but it remains to be seen how many, if any, spectators will be invited for a live viewing. There is no word yet whether or not the to-be-announced vice-presidential nominee will be joining him.
Put this one in the perk column. As a Chicagoan, I d like to say one of the best things about this virtual convention is that you no longer have to go to Milwaukee. When God closes a door, He opens a window.
The convention initially had 1,500 total events on the books. These additional speeches and satellite events that would normally be attended by up to 50,000 total people will not be taking place in Milwaukee or have been cancelled all together. Instead, socially distanced events and speeches from party leaders will be held at locations and landmarks across the country, with the actual convention center in Milwaukee acting as an anchor point from which these virtual events can be emceed and various live feeds can be managed.
The virtual event will be produced by Ricky Kirshner who has been producing the Democratic Convention since 1992. Kirshner has also done the Tony s, the Super Bowl, and he actually has 9 Emmy s. You read that right. He didn t produce the Emmy s 9 times. He s won 9 Emmy s for his production work. Respect.
And finally, as we said above one of the key purposes of party conventions is for state delegates to cast votes for their chosen candidates and officially confirm the party s presidential nominee. Several states are still in the process of selecting their delegates to send to the national convention due to COVID-related delays. The Delaware DNC, for example, are expected to virtually cast their votes to choose state delegates using Google forms this month.
The DNC has specifically relaxed it rules for state delegates to cast their votes virtually. We re still waiting to see how the DNC plans to collect votes at the convention but Delaware s straightforward voting strategy leaves us with some confidence that lessons were learned from Iowa s Caucus App debacle. Keep track of our Instagram for updates as we learn them!
Are you a member of the RNC looking to take your convention virtual? We can handle that!
Do Ya Dada?
NEWS
In our January newsletter we talked a bit about the fun we re having with all the new material available in the public domain. To recap, January 1st is a non-holiday called Public Domain Day, in which a whole year s worth of content suddenly becomes up for grabs. Because of a series of interventions on our copyright system largely undertaken to keep Mickey Mouse out of public domain, we are currently digging for content all the way back in 1924.
But you know what? There s a lot of cool stuff to work with from 1924, and it seems particularly apropos to spend some time with this content as we enter into our own 20 s. We gave you a few suggestions of 20 s concepts to revive but our favorite was German Dadaism, French surrealism s stern older sibling that had its heyday in the 20th century s late teens and early 20 s.
So, let s talk about the Dadaist movement in a very practical way and how this could be a cool 20 s connection to your next event, or how last century s Dadaism might inspire some ideas for your 21st century event.
What is Dadaism?
Dadaism is an art movement that emerged in the cultural fallout of World War 1. The stresses of the protracted conflict in Europe, combined with interpretations of the cause of the war being rooted in cultural and intellectual conformity inspired this anti-art revolution. If antebellum art and culture was about order and logic, then Dadaism would revel in irrationality and chaos and be absurd by design. At the outset of the 20 s Dadaism was a formidable field of political, visual, musical, and poetic criticism of the cultural status quo.
Visual artists like Marcel Duchamp, produced readymade works by signing everyday objects.
Pioneering photographer and OG punk Hannah Hoch innovated the photomontage and mixed media collage.
On the literary side, Hugo Ball wrote nonsense poems around random sounds. Here s his most famous work, Karawane as performed by Marie Osmond (she s a little bit Dada).
You know how a lot of art in the 20th century is kinda weird? Dadaism can take a lot of the blame for that. There d be no 8-hour Andy Warhol stationary films of the Empire State Building without it.
So, thanks Dadaism.
How to Apply a Dadaist Aesthetic to Your Next Event
People like to use the word experimental with art movements like Dadaism. Experimental as a qualifier often gets applied to things in the art world that are obnoxious-for-arts-sake but the application of the term makes sense for Dadaism. The purpose of a Dadaist piece is to elicit a reaction. Don t get intimidated here, there isn t supposed to be hidden meaning. Through conflating different medias in a collage, defacing a famous portrait with a mustache, or applying an artist signature to a water fountain, you ve created a new artistic reality.
Basically, your goal is to trigger an emotional response from your audience that should hopefully inspire a new way of seeing the world. Whereas some argued that as an anti-art, Dadaism was intended to offend sensibilities, there are of course positive emotional responses that you can glean from your audience using a Dadaist approach.
Meme culture is without question a form of current Dadaism/Surrealism. A central aspect of Dadaism and meme culture is a tacit wit that makes its viewers all suddenly feel part of an in-joke. But be careful here, if you force it like these companies or Mike Bloomberg you re going to have a bad time.
We re just spit balling here find an absolutely bizarre, but harmless and non-alienating way for attendees to sign in to your event, then display it like a priceless art object or smash it on video (or both). Choose distinctive, seemingly clashing visual themes and meld them together for a new style. Broadly, apply a unique alternative system of visual order, or new ways to interact with commonplace objects to make a strong impact. Better yet, just get weird.
A few weeks ago, we shared this photo of Marriott Courtyard s Sleepover promotion for the Superbowl. There s an absurd element to this that could be argued to be Dadaist:
How to Use the Dadaist Mindset to Plan/Brainstorm Your Next Event
Before you sit down and think about your goals or head towards a project management plan, consider writing a short manifesto. Seriously, writing an art manifesto in the 1920 s was basically the equivalent of having a Tumblr for the era. Dadaism was all about manifestos.
Manifestos are typically full of tons of wild unverifiable claims, left-field interpretations of human nature, and insane ambition. But that s the point. They aren t held back by traditional reason and constraints. They re not even always about follow-through. Manifestos are intended to be a starting point, or a brazen call to arms and this is why they re often very exciting, charismatic documents.
If you could have it all, what does your group actually want out of your next event? Go crazy. Don t worry about what s possible clear your mind and rattle off some revolutionary rhetoric about your group s goals in 15-minutes flat. The manifesto exercise is often a great way to bring far reaching ambitions and goals to the fore that can be very useful when it comes down to the actual planning of your event.
Find some inspiration in one of Hugo Ball s Dadaist manifesto from 1916.
Send us your event manifesto and get your Dadaist-inspired event started today!
Audience Engagement: A Trend To Watch Literally.
BACKSTAGE, EVENT COLLATERAL, EVENT INDUSTRY, EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, EXPERIENTIAL, MOBILE MEDIA
While 2018 may only be in its infancy, we have already seen some amazing productions take place. The first few months of this year have played host to some of the largest global events in the industry. One trend we here at Decibel Management are seeing consistently is how planners have up d the game for audience engagement, but not just for those in attendance, but rather those viewing at home.
The Super Bowl:
Polls show that 92{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of Super Bowl views can t even name the two teams playing in the game (not a real stat). But let s face it, most of us just watch for the commercials and to have an excuse to gorge yourself on various batter & sauce covered foods. That s why the people behind the Super Bowl are always looking for ways to have viewers turn the sound back up on their TV once the commercials are over. This past year marked Super Bowl LII (that s 52 for those of us who forgot our Freshman year Western Civ lectures) and the producers brought in a big hitter for the halftime show. None other than JT himself, Justin Timberlake. While many viewers may have watched the half-time show in hopes of another wardrobe malfunction , unfortunately, Janet Jackson s invite was lost in the mail. However, the production teams came up other tactics to make viewers feel like they were right there in the mix. Much of the halftime show was shot at ground level in single shot format, the camera moving around the field with Timberlake, resulting in a viewing experience designed to make you feel like you were in the stadium walking alongside. The icing on the cake came towards the end of the performance when Timberlake entered the stadium s seating area to dance and sing with those in attendance, thus helping to further remove the wall between performer and audience. We even got a new meme out of it! #selfiekid
The 2018 Winter Olympics In Pyeongchang:
The Olympics are notoriously difficult for producers. Whether it s the time differences (this year saw a nearly 12-hour gap for the US East Coast and Pyeongchang) or viewers lack of interest in hurling a rock down an ice rink and sweeping it along. There are many hurdles to overcome when coming up with strategies for this event. NBC had an interesting tactic for this year s games Quantity. NBC live-streamed a record-breaking 1,800+ hours of coverage, including every single event, over 100 medal events and 24/7 news and highlights, almost doubling their coverage from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Viewers had more access and viewing options to this global event than ever before, making the Olympics feel more accessible and approachable. So sorry to all the chumps who bought round-trip flights to South Korea, chances are the fans at home got way more Olympic intake than those in attendance. Which is great news if you love shooting guns while cross-country skiing.
The Academy Awards:
The Oscars have seen declining viewership in recent years. The 2018 Academy Awards saw the lowest ratings ever. Yep. EVER. It was the least watched Oscars broadcast since their inception, down a whopping 19{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} from just last year. I mean, who doesn t love a four hour ceremony of celebrities thanking themselves. However, while viewership may be down amongst this event that many people see as being out of touch or unrelatable, it s not for lack of trying. This year s awards included a segment where host Jimmy Kimmel surprised a theatre full of unsuspecting movie-goers with a who s who of celebrities handing out snacks and talking with the audience. You see, THEY RE JUST LIKE US! The Oscars team also attempted to poke fun at themselves a bit, by having a jet-ski giveaway for the recipient with the shortest acceptance speech. While elements like these work to remove the barrier between Hollywood and the audience, it s clear the Academy Award producers face an uphill battle if they want to get back to where the ratings used to be. Our vote: host the next ceremony at the Super Bowl halftime. It ll be a win-win.
With all this emphasis on audience engagement for those not in attendance, we are interested to see how this could have an effect on live event production moving forward. New tech and production techniques are making it easier and more cost effective to have offsite attendees. As an event management team, we believe there is no substitute for in-person impressions, but this is definitely a trend we ll be tracking and embracing.
Black Lives Matter
EVERYTHING ELSE
We said that things wouldn t go back to normal after COVID-19, but when we used that phrase countless times over the course of the Spring, we were really referring to crowd control and public health management. At the present, it seems we re taking the new normal in a different direction. Many Americans who have taken to the streets since May 26th see the opportunity to foster a more comprehensive and compassionate new normal.
Decibel Management, like many companies, took a moment to hop on social media to voice their solidarity on #BlackoutTuesday, but there is A LOT more that we can do as a company, and likely more your own company can do to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the long term. So, this week we ll go over some simple but effective ways that Decibel is working to better ourselves and for you to consider as you plan your next event including ways that it can be planned and executed in a manner that forwards the BLM cause. These certainly aren t the only ways your next event can contribute, but they are at least a starting point to think about how you can contribute to a new normal that s not just face masks and hand sanitizer, but reflects the ideals of equal justice and equal participation in our society.
Here are a few ideas on how to plan your next event around those ideals.
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
Let s recognize that we re talking about making significant change rooted in 400 years of slavery, disenfranchisement, and inequality. There are no quick fixes here. It s going to take long-term societal commitments to right our ship. As in all things, education is key. Realize that you (and we) don t have all the answers. But education starts with communication. We need to have some conversations that will be little bit uncomfortable. It s important that those of us that are white work to understand our own privilege and how even actions that we believe to be benign can be destructive and contribute to the social inequality endemic to our country. Be humble, be contemplative, be a good listener and be empathetic.
There are a number of resources we ve found to help get you started on this process. The National Museum of African American History & Culture has an excellent resource portal on this which you can find right here. In particular, we d like to point you to the modules Being Anti-racist and Community Building. You can also visit the Black Lives Matter Resources page to learn more about anti-racist action.
CHOOSE AFRICAN-AMERICAN OWNED VENDORS & BUSINESSES
You can support Black Lives Matter by seeking out and patronizing African-American businesses, vendors, caterers, contractors and more. There were a number of resources and apps to do just this even before the May protests began, and now a bunch of new resources have been made available to make things even easier. Check out apps like eatOkra or IAmBlackBusiness for restaurants, caterers and other professional services for your next event. If you re in Chicago, LA, or New York you can also use this great reference guide from TimeOut.
CHOOSE COMPANIES, VENDORS, AND EVENT VENUES WHO FOLLOW EQUAL EMPLOYLEMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (EEOC) GUIDELINES
You would think that the Equal Employment Act insured that businesses can t discriminate against potential employees based on gender, race, or age but there are actually a few loop holes that allow some businesses to operate outside of these guidelines. Confirm your event is run by companies and hosted by venues that have pledged to uphold and actually follow these anti-discriminatory guidelines.
PRIORITIZE CULTURAL INCLUSIVITY AT YOUR LIVE EVENTS
Are your events equally welcoming to all of your potential attendees? Going forward, consider forming a cultural inclusivity team just like the major events company The Famous Group. By having a diverse dedicated team on hand to consult during the planning stages of your event, you can be confident that you re reaching many publics in a respectful, thoughtful manner. If Starbucks had just taken the time to do this, maybe they wouldn t have created their own PR disaster by banning employees from wearing Black Lives Matter swag. Cast a wide net and avoid moves like that.
DONATE A PERCENTAGE OF EVENT PROFITS/TICKET SALES
Here s a pretty simple, straightforward way to make sure your event benefits the Black Lives Matter movement: Send a chunk of your profits off to organizations who desperately need it. We ve selected a handful just to give you an idea of your options (and you can find more here), but don t feel limited by our suggestions.
Consider finding social justice organizations in the host city of your next event to make a positive local impact. A great resource for that is Action Network, which hosts resources and contact info for local activist groups across the United States. Here s their page for Washington D.C.
And here s a few ideas of charities, relief funds and social justice organizations to get you started:
Donate directly to Black Lives Matter
National Police Accountability Project
It s important to note that while donating to these organizations are helpful, its likely not going to bring about the real change in society that needs to happen in the long-term. This isn t a problem we can truly solve by sending money. And, let s be honest, there will be future crises, natural disasters, and other causes which can quickly shift attention (and donations). So by all means, please donate, but recognize that donations are not what will help our society make significant, foundational strides.
Just to be clear, we have a long way to go here at Decibel, and we re looking at ways we can be sure to be part of the solution a we grow. Of course it s a good thing to take the time to voice your support for American families affected by police brutality and systemic racism on social media. But that is really step one of many in demonstrating your willingness to be an ally in the ongoing fight for racial justice and police reform.
Check Out These Slick Wearable Tech Solutions for Your Next Event
NEWS
Our focus this week is the rapidly growing field of wearable technology and how it can make your next event an exciting, cutting edge affair. While we re not quite at the point where I can trust a t-shirt to screen my calls or renew my Hulu subscription, we are at an exciting innovative moment that is sure to change event planning in just a few short years.
In particular, we ve looked into 3 different devices that have been rolled out specifically for the events industry. These wearables are intended to make on-site event management a breeze, and provide event attendees with means to navigate spaces and exchanging information effortlessly. They can also provide with valuable data on how much information is exchanged and which areas of your event received the most engagement.
These devices even lend themselves to gamification, a hot buzzword in the making that refers to providing special incentives and achievements to event attendees as they meet each other and engage aspects of your event.
And as a bonus each of these wearables are environmentally friendly. They re reusable and most components in each are recyclable so there s no need to worry about them languishing in a landfill forever. That s some nice event greening for you!
So without further ado let s check out the Klik system:
PixMob s Klik system offers three different Bluetooth-enabled devices: a badge worn on a lanyard, a wrist band, and a button. All of these devices synchronize with each other and the Klik app, and all of these devices have plenty of empty real estate to showcase event and sponsor logos.
Klik lets your event managers handle registration quickly and easily. It allows them to update and change schedules and send that info to all your attendees in an instant. For your attendees, it provides an easy way to exchange contact information or provide instant alerts across a whole convention center. It can even allow attendees to receive notes from a discussion panel or a trade show participant. All it takes is a single swipe.
Here s a peak at the badges. They look like souped up versions of that pager you get at Panera Bread when you re waiting for a bread bowl to blow your daily calories.
The Klik family is also unbelievably low maintenance. They hold a charge for days and are rugged enough to withstand some abuse without incident. Think of Klik like Ron Popeil s Rotisserie set it and forget it.
I hope that reference resonated. I promised myself years ago that I would never get old and I think this is skirting the line. Let s press on.
Event Farm s EFx wristbands bear a lot of similarities to Klik. The EFx is a wristband system that communicates directly with an EFx app and allows any user to instantaneously exchange or collect information. They re also fully customizable with any brand logo.
EFx s wristband tech also allows you to set up payment systems for your guests to swipe their money away on impulse, and provides architecture in the app to manage product pickup. Want an easy way to make sure everyone at your open bar is supposed to be there? EFx has it under control.
We ve mentioned these PEEX earpieces in our article on SXSW panels but we ll go a little more in depth on their utility here.
These special earpieces are backed by Elton John, and have been rolled out for special testing and promotion on his current farewell tour. There are two things you need to know. First, this wearable tech streams high quality audio with extremely low latency. That means in a live setting you won t notice any lag between what you re seeing and hearing. Second, each setup also comes with its own equalizer that you control from your phone, which means any individual will be able to tune the sound of live or recorded audio to their personal preference.
Now, these completely make sense in a music context. If I m at an Elton John gig and my man kicks in to Tiny Dancer all I want is a crisp, clear listening experience free of surrounding color commentary and sing-alongs. The guy behind me that s 4 beers in, loudly describing his memories of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on an 8-track is interesting but doesn t really add to the magic of the moment, does it?
But we also see a number of creative non-musical applications for these devices. As opposed to expecting your audience to be seated in a room for a panel discussion, what if they could roam about freely with the option of tuning in or out at their pleasure? What if you did away with PA s and allowed your audience to control and customize their listening experiences from their seats? Think of how easy it would be to make quick and easy announcements or provide additional information about your trade show straight to attendees. It also doesn t hurt that these gizmos look a lot cooler than Apple Airpods.
While you should definitely give wearables some serious consideration, remember not to fall into the trap that Google did with Google Glass 6 years back. Your audiences will be happy to have a very quick registration, an easy way to exchange or receive information, and they ll very likely be cool with you taking anonymous stats on how users navigated your event, but they won t want to be creeped on. Be upfront and honest with your audience about what to expect with this fun gear and I m sure they ll be psyched to be part of the futuristic experience.
Do you need some cool new tech at your next experiential event? Get it touch with us today and make that happen!