Nomadic Display Instand Pop Up
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, TIPS & TRICKS, TRADE SHOW
We just heard some great news from Nomadic Display and wanted to pass it along. They are reducing the price of some of their most popular Instand Pop up display units for Q1.If you are in the market for a new Instand, Pop up, or table top display, this is a great time to pick one up.
It looks like the prices will hold until April 30, 2013. We love the 8 Fabrimurals, and many of our clients use them for small events, press conferences and fund raisers. There are actually three of these fabric ones included- the 8 , 5 and a table top version. Take a look at the models and pricing below and drop us a line if you are interested.
Custom Trade Show Booth Install
Custom Trade Show Booth Install
Just wrapped up a custom trade show booth install at Hilton Worldwide for the DoubleTree by Hilton brand team. Check out the photos below and in dB gallery for some behind the scenes looks at the build!
Thanks to the team at Gensler for the design and concepts, as well as DoubleTree for the creative space. We loved working on this project. Hope everyone enjoys the cookies!
That s a Wrap: Decibel s 2012 Campaign Trail
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
With the 2012 presidential election season over, we ve finally returned from another great year of campaign events. While on the road, we worked with some great agencies, toured the country and delivered some really amazing experiences for our clients.
Republican or Democrat, these political events present their own set of unique challenges and requirements. For corporate and planned stage venues, we need time to plan, draft, make revisions, and use a variety of rendering and mapping software, from Meeting Matrix to Vectorworks, to help ensure everyone on the team is executing from the same drawing. Many campaigns simply don t allow that luxury, and often we re forced to retreat back to pen and paper, whiteboards, or as shown in the photograph, even chalk on concrete walls.
Fishersville, VA
A perfect example of this was our campaign stop in Fishersville, Virginia on October 5th. We helped to organize and coordinate a venue for more than 15,000 supporters, together with a lineup of speakers, fireworks and musicians that included legendary country star Trace Adkins.
Finishing a separate event in Iowa, we had less than 24 hours from when we received the outlined sketch until we were supposed to be onsite in Fisherville. The staff lead from the campaign had a very specific idea for how he wanted the show to look. The idea was revised, edited, and set into motion.
We had an entire site to build out, as there was absolutely no infrastructure at the venue. We designed and printed side scrims, ordered the related services including power and tenting, additional av, fencing, bike racks, etc. and within 72 hours we were ready for the show.
Needless to say, it was a huge win.
It was the first political event of this scale for the campaign, and it set the bar for those to come. This event saw some iconic images captured, with over capacity attendance, an above the fold article and photographs on the local front page, and mentions in CNN, C-Span and several other national media sources.
Ames, IA
Another great event we produced was the rally at Kinzler Construction in Ames, Iowa on October 26th, though it too had a unique set of challenges. Because of busy schedules at the venue location, we weren t able to get started with onsite construction until 4pm. With the event beginning at noon the following day, we knew we d have to hustle to get everything in place.
This set the stage for an overnight build in freezing temperatures. We were ready for this, but wanted to have a working plan to maximize our efficiency, get done that evening, and get out of the cold.
Gathering around our whiteboard in the one building with heat (a natural gathering point), we came up with what we thought was a great plan that is, until we got a last-minute call from HQ changing our event from an informal rally to a more stately speech. Starting from scratch, we built a brand new event on the same site (using white boards one and two).
By the next day, the sun came out, it warmed up for the several hundred people in attendance, and the event was billed as a pivotal moment for our campaign.
Fredericksburg, VA
The next event production was one of the most challenging for our team.
In Fredericksburg, we began setting up the first site at 6am. Seven hours later when we broke for lunch, everything seemed to be in great shape. That s when a weather call was made and the event moved indoors, a half mile down the street.
While part of our crew began packing up the event site we had just set up, we took our initial walkthrough of the new site. Luckily, it had a fantastic load-in potential, including loading docks, flat concrete (something that we REALLY take for granted sometimes), and blank canvas with rig points. The audio was tough, but we made it work. What we really wanted to nail down was the setup. Our gear was at the other site, so we used what was available to sketch out the plan. It was from this rough sketch on concrete that we built the entire show.
We used a number of decor assets to make this work, including one of our larger US flags as a backdrop for the campaign bus. It takes two to rig something this size, but only one to pose for photos. It made for a long night, but the event was a success.
Despite these challenges, we had a great time out on the road. To respond to the dynamic and unique set of requirements we faced, we were forced to be resourceful, responsive and diligent. In the end it paid off. We met new friends, worked with some great agencies, and most importantly, produced and delivered some great events for our clients.
National Mall Restoration Update
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY
I wanted to share a great piece on the restoration of the National Mall that appeared in todays USA Today. Click Here for the full article. This will absolutely impact events and work moving forward.
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol,
Murray Cook kicks the concrete-hard dirt
on the National Mall and shakes his head.
who has traveled the world building baseball
fields. If you can t grow grass here, it s sad.
He looks at the hundreds of chairs set up for
a college graduation and predicts that when
it rains, as forecast, the area would become
be a muddy mess. We can make this better,
and we will.
The upcoming makeover, including new
grass and monument repairs, is no minor
feat. The National Mall the site of
presidential inaugurations, Martin Luther
King Jr. s I Have a Dream speech and political
rallies is the country s most visited park.
Each year, it receives 30 million visitors,
more than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the
Grand Canyon combined, and holds at least
3,000 permitted events.
says Caroline Cunningham, president of the
Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit
group raising money for its restoration. She
says the soil is now so compacted, after
thousands of events and pickup softball
National Park Service can t just lay down sod
and hope it lasts.
Also, because the park service has lacked
funds, she says the front of the Jefferson
Memorial plaza built on pylons has
sunk 8 inches in the past two years, the Tidal
Basin s sidewalks are cracking, and the
Lincoln Memorial s Reflecting Pool leaks 50
million gallons of water annually. She says
the foul, non-circulating waterways caused
the deaths of about a dozen ducks last
summer at the foot of the U.S. Capitol.
The 684-acre National Mall, largely designed
by Pierre L Enfant in 1791, has begun a
multiyear restoration that includes new
walkways, trees and visitors centers. The
trust aims to raise half of the estimated $700
million cost, of which $400 million is
considered deferred maintenance.
Starting anew
Cook is the project s grass guy. Since working
as a teenage groundskeeper in
1974, he has had a passion for ballfields and
has spent decades developing them,
including for the 2000, 2004 and 2008
Olympics.
Still, the National Mall is a challenge. There s
nothing like this in the world, says Cook,
president of Maryland-based Brickman
Sports Turf, citing the Mall s phenomenal
use. He says the foot traffic far exceeds that
of Disney World, where he has also worked.
It s one of the hardest areas in the country
to grow grass, he says, noting Washington
is too hot in the summer and too cold in the
winter for many grasses.
It s a lot more complex than it appears on
the surface There s a science behind
growing grass, adds Suzette Goldstein,
project manager for HOK, an architectural
firm that has designed the new lawn.
Cook and Goldstein consulted scientists
before deciding on a deep underground
layer of soil and sand, as well as a mixture of
tall fescue (Wolfpack, Firenze and Turbo) and
Kentucky bluegrass seed. For irrigation, the
site will have pop-up sprinklers fed by four
massive underground cisterns that will hold
a total of 1 million gallons of water.
So far, the project only has money to do
three of the National Mall s eight center
grass panels and two of its cisterns. This
first phase is set to start late summer.
Behind the Scenes Look at the Romney NASCAR Event
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
Just a few photos and a quick video of setup for the NASCAR Technical Institute event. It was awesome to get the opportunity to have the vehicles up on stage!
NASCAR from Decibel Management on Vimeo.
NSBW 2011
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
We are back in full swing at the 2011 National Small Business Week events in D.C. Just finished the second day and getting ready for Friday. A few quick photos below.
As promised, below are a couple of images from the event.
Romney Campaign Event- Mooresville, NC
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
We just wrapped up a great event at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC. What we didn t know at the time was that we would get the opportunity to have the full ticket on stage.
Once Ryan was introduced the day of setup, we knew to expect a big crowd. After the fire marshall shut down the main event, we worked to get everyone into an overflow event area outside. The first photo below was the line to get into the overflow, and the following shows the candidates making remarks to the crowd
Blank Canvas
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
It ended up taking a week, and a few minor miracles, but we were able to get our new summer road show vehicle to the fabricator. I must hand it to both Utilimaster and Whitney over at Polaris who helped pull this off! A few more photos of the delivery after the jump
It was a rainy day in New Berlin, WI but the flatbed finally made the 200 mile journey from Wakarusa, IN. The truck is now in the fabrication bay and we are taking measurements and developing a template for the custom build as well as graphics. Look for more photos as the build progresses!
Silver Anvil
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY
The Cookie CAREavan tour for DoubleTree by Hilton was awarded the Silver Anvil Award from PRSA! Congrats to the incredible team that worked on the project.
As anyone who has worked with us knows, we love producing events and mobile media tours here at Decibel, and it is great to work with such an outstanding team. Ketchum Public Relations, Digital Royalty, Gensler, OMD, and all of the partners made it a great tour. We were thrilled to be along for the ride!
The Cookie CAREavan tour won the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), in the category of Marketing Consumer Services Travel/Tourism. The tour also won a PRSA Award of Excellence in the category of Events and Observances, 7 days or more (business services). This is the third Silver Anvil for David Sonntag as a producer and the first for Decibel Management.
National Small Business Week 2011- Registration
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Registration for the 2011 National Small Business Week is up and running. You can register for the event by visiting the NSBW registration page here. More info after the jump.
If you are in DC the week of May 16-20, this is a great opportunity to network with other small businesses, learn about SBA programs from the source and hear from some fantastic speakers. Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has proclaimed National Small Business Week to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the economic well-being of America. As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes this special impact made by outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners. In 2011, National Small Business Week will honor the estimated 27.2 million small businesses in America. Small businesses are major contributors to the strength of the American economy. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business. They also create 60-80 percent of new jobs in the country. Small businesses drive innovation, create 21st century jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness.