Category: Uncategorized

The NFL Went Big *and* Stayed Home

NEWS

The NFL s fully virtual 2020 draft wrapped up yesterday. For anyone who doesn t do sports, a pro draft is a lot like picking kickball teams in middle school gym class but instead of friendships there are multi-million-dollar contracts on the line. Under normal circumstances this event doesn t typically draw the same level of viewership as actual on-the-field competition.  You can count on the die-hards, and football-starved fans who ll check in to get their fix.   

But not this year. The 2020 NFL draft smashed all previous viewing records with 55 million viewers across various ESPNs, ABC, and the NFL network. Here is ESPN s stats flex:

Each day of the 2020 NFL draft set records, the league said. An average audience of more than 15.6 million viewers watched Round 1 on Thursday, up 37{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} over 2019. More than 8.2 million watched Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, up 40{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} over 2019, and Saturday s coverage of Rounds 4-7 averaged more than 4.2 million viewers, up 32{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} over 2019.

This year the NFL fully embraced their lock-down circumstances and opted for an entirely virtual, completely unconventional media spectacle in the form of hundreds of live feeds from the homes of players, coaches, commentators, and fans across the United States.

This concept was so cool that the core of the event (the draft itself) were eclipsed by all the color of seeing everyone s quirky home war rooms. And there were hijinks! Bears GM Ryan Pace set up 7 monitors in his dining room and briefly lost his feeds when his wife vacuumed and pulled out all the cords. Seahawks GM John Schneider had walls in his house taken down to mount 25 monitors so he could view feeds and surveil Gotham s cell phone signals to locate The Joker at the same time. Patriot s head coach Bill Belichick said screw it and let his dog handle things because he has literally nothing left to prove:

Bill Belichick s House

Now that attempt at trading Tom Brady to the 49ers makes a lot more sense.

These types of hiccups were expected, and we suspect, actually counted on to make the draft memorable. Rather than detract from the event s goals they actually add a certain realness, variety and a human element that attracts people like me who watched despite having zero investment in the draft itself. It was all the more remarkable to watch live feeds from the homes of players and their families who crowded around webcams to celebrate picks. 

So how in the hell did they pull this off? Which masterminds should receive all of our jealousy and admiration?

The NFL had been flirting with virtual in the lead up to the draft already. Even initial prospect player meetings, which normally take place in person, happened over Zoom for the past month.  This presented new challenges for GM s who are trying to determine whether a potential player will be a huge pain. 

The virtual draft required a big effort on the part of the NFL and event organizers, who had to outfit hundreds of homes with additional routers, generators, and other IT gadgetry to manage hundreds of simultaneous live feeds:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced picks from a studio in his basement, with more than 600 camera feeds in the homes of 85 draft prospects, 32 head coaches and general managers, as well as fans and college football coaches.

The NFL shipped two iPhones one Interview camera running native apps like FaceTime for TV interviews and the congratulatory virtual hug with the commissioner and one Always On camera running the Larix Broadcaster app and coordinated by Amazon Web Services that will showed players and families waiting to be drafted and their reaction once their name was called. One big potential bottleneck was simply the bandwidth at the players homes.   If they were in an area without reliable, high-speed Internet access, quality would suffer.  Because of that, prospects were asked to get in touch with their internet provider to try to increase their bandwidth.

Among other fascinating details found in this behind the scenes video, we learned the NFL actually sent special mobile phone production kits to potential draft picks, coaches and GMs to set up at home. They look pretty similar to our own recommendations for home livestream setups that we shared earlier in the month:

The NFL even had 3 call centers set up to manage feeds from these mobile setups. Here s the chart they used to keep track of them all:

Video feeds

Clear as day, right?

In addition the NFL feeds, The Famous Group  curated somewhere north of 1000 fan feeds which were displayed on background monitors to approximate the experience of a live in-person crowd. The Famous Group have been working with the NFL to produce the Super Bowl since Super Bowl 40 and have staged the in-person drafts for the past few years. These were the guys behind that totally wild augmented reality raven when the Ravens clinched the AFC North in December.  It s no surprise to us they were involved here too.

So, are you organizing a draft?  Get in touch with us today and we ll help you realize your dream of viewing live video feeds of all of your current and future employees in their homes!

Take A Look Behind The Most Exclusive Award Show Afterparties

NEWS

When you sit down to watch the Academy Awards or the Grammys what do you look out for?

See, we re the types of weirdos that have a group text during the Oscars with comments like, Did you catch that hot mic , or Who do you think they re using for those video back drops? or Why isn t there any love for Best Production Design?

Last week s Golden Globes kicked off the season of watching obscenely rich and attractive people congratulate each other for hours at a time on stage (see, Ricky Gervais s Golden Globes performance got to me). Mark your calendar- the Grammys are just around the corner on January 27^th and the Academy Awards follow soon after on February 10^th. There s not much time to rest here. 

As you might imagine, the event planning scene in L.A. is in overdrive at the moment getting everything prepped for these two really high-profile events and their glitzy afterparties. Let s take a brief look at some of the event planners and event management companies, venues, and considerations  involved in throwing afterparties at this caliber.

The Governor s Ball by Sequoia Productions

We know for a fact that The Governor s Ball is going to be thrown by Sequoia Productions who have been tricking out this exclusive event for the night s winners and nominees for nearly 30 years. 

The ball is typically held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, adjacent to the theatre where the main event is held. There are a handful of companies involved in making this event completely off-the-wall (see the above link) but in past years, the pastries and catering have been covered by such no-names as Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsey. We re still looking out for how this year s ball is shaping up but, I mean, if there aren t 800 lobsters this year it just doesn t seem worth it. I may just turn down my invite and spend that night washing my hair.

The Vanity Fair Oscar Party by Cornucopia Events

According to Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair s Oscar Party is one of the longest standing and most exclusive afterparties for the evening. I m being snarky, but truthfully Vanity Fair always throws an opulent super-exclusive afterparty full of A-listers and other people of significant influence in Hollywood. This year s afterparty is organized by Cornucopia Events from the UK.

For a measly sum of $52,000 you too can attend the Vanity Fair after party. You just have to be willing to put on a tie (there s always a catch!).

The Grammys Official Afterparty by The Recording Academy

As far as the Grammys go the official party is an in-house production handled by the Recording Academy themselves. According to Branden Chapman, the overseer of all the major Recording Academy events prior to and immediately after the awards ceremony, the event will be hosted at the Los Angeles Convention Center for nominees, awards winners and other who s whos of the pop music world. The theme of this year s afterparty has yet to be officially announced, but last year s theme was French Masquerade. Admittedly it s tough to get a good look at the party because all these random celebrities get in the way.

We highly suggest you check out that interview of Branden Chapman to read about the planning procedures for the event. It s an interesting and deeply stressful read.

Are you planning a luxurious, exclusive event filled with wealthy people of influence and celebrities? Are you Joaquin Phoenix? Reach out and get in touch with our team we d absolutely LOVE to be your new best friends and get that event started for you!

The Search for a New Greetings

NEWS

Anthony Fauci recommends against handshaking ever again. He s got a good point. Handshakes aren t that much different from coughing into someone s mouth in terms of germ transmission. As part of our ongoing coverage of COVID-19 s effect on the events industry, this week we offer you a handful of substitute no-contact greetings for events this summer.

First, some background The handshake is a time traveler, believed to have originated in Greece around 500 B.C. (it s painted on a bunch of urns and stuff). These were simpler times when people were mostly concerned with keeping track of a lot of gods and when to wear dressy togas. Anthony Fauci was but a middle-aged man warning everyone at the forum about leprosy transmission AKA the Roman Flu. In ancient Greece, the handshake was gesture of peace between strangers. It allowed both parties to demonstrate they were not holding a weapon. This is of course, extremely cool.

But I mean come on it s been 2500 years and we haven t updated it? Handshakes actually came around before Hippocrates, father of the field of medicine, was even born. They re pre-medicine. It s time for handshakes to go the way of other things of the era like armless statues, Zeus, and functional democracy. We need handshake 2.0.

I don t think any of you understand just what a huge moment this is. We have an opportunity here to create a long-lasting legacy. Inventing a new handshake will outlive pretty much everything else we do in our lifetimes no matter how big. This is the time for innovation, to establish something greater than us that generations to come will be forced to comply with out of tradition and the pressures of social convention. Whatever we standardize now will in theory be the accepted form of greeting until at least 4520 A.D.

This is why we at Decibel Labs have been hard at work, tirelessly experimenting in my parents suburban basement for the better part of a weekday morning. We present, nay gift to you, peoples of the present and future, our top candidates for handshake 2.0.

Double Foot Tap

Beginning with your left foot, raise your foot and tap the inside of your foot with the inside of your partners. Then repeat the motion with your right foot. Consider incorporating a festive hacky sack to make a good impression.

Elbowing AKA Pencing

This example truly needs no demonstration from us because it would be difficult to improve upon the master:

Raise your elbow, touch it to your partners, then hold briefly while assuming a beleaguered expression like Mike Pence at a COVID-19 press conference when he hears someone say PPE.

Enthusiastic Double Hand-Wave (Handkerchief Optional)

Take cues from every silent film clip you ve ever seen of a passenger ship departing from a harbor. Wave wildly and without care like this is the greatest part of your day. Incorporate a festive handkerchief into your wave for a bit of variety. If you are Deborah Birx, just go ahead and use one of your many stylish scarves.

Finger Guns

Nothing says I m fun like finger guns. It s like closing an email with the word cheers. In a more formal setting, consider making pew pew sound effects to round out this modern handshake alternative.

Bow with Hand Flourish

We in the west seem to have lost the art of bowing, but it s time to bring it back. This is the double/full Windsor knot of greetings in the sense that it can communicate to an entire room how important you think you are without the need to say anything. It s ostentatious in the best way! Observe:

It should be low enough that you risk dislodging your monocle. For additional flair consider a wearing a dinner jacket with coattails, or a droopy Victorian mustache.

Voguing

Voguing, the unique 1980 s dance style made well-known by Madonna, in which one moves fluidly and gracefully between poses that resemble actor headshots from the golden age of cinema. It really holds up. Strike a pose!

If you d like to add a bit of flair, whisper-yell the word vogue while holding your final pose.

The Plan 9 Salute

The Gone with the Wind of poorly executed, plotted, and acted movies offers us this gem. Draw your arms up with your hands open and cross them on your chest. Your fingertips should come to rest roughly on your clavicles. This is one quick, swift motion. It communicates fealty but self-assuredness. 

The Little Rascal

This one is pretty straightforward. Bring your right hand up under your chin and waggle your fingers coquettishly.

The Vulcan Salute

Star Trek. I am apparently physically incapable of doing this. I m gifted in other ways.

The Adam West Batusi

The infamous batman dance, reprised by John Travolta in the dance contest scene of Pulp Fiction. If you re introducing a companion, perform the Batusi first, then begin introductions by referring to them as Robin, my young ward, or old chum.

Wakanda Forever

Seeing as the U.S. government has already slipped the existence of Marvel s high-tech African nation of Wakanda to the public (we re trade partners!) , it stands to reason that our new no-contact greeting should serve a greater diplomatic purpose. We recommend performing this greeting in a full-body cat suit.

Do you have an alternative greeting that s better than our suggestions? We doubt it, but if you do the best way to make an impact on the now open field of no-contact greetings is to get an event started. Make your mark on history and get in touch with us today.

Click on the Handshake 2.0 to get the animate gif.

AGDQ 2020 Should Inspire Event Planners to Embrace New Tech and Audiences

NEWS

Speedrunning? It s not parkour s boring cousin.
It s how the AGDQ gaming event pulls in millions for charity each year.

As event management experts, we re always thinking about innovative event planning processes to keep up with the times. Back in 2018 we posted a little think piece about how live events can stay relevant in the digital era (click the link for a refresher). How did our conclusions stack up, were we right on the money and a savant-level mentalist prediction machine? Eh, kinda, but stay with us here. The major takeaways here are 1) that live events need to embrace new media technologies and data analytics in order to maintain relevance and know what s working 2) that events need to connect with an audience and produce content they will love to share endlessly on social media, even long after the event is concluded. 

We thought it might be a great time to revisit the major themes of this article by providing an example of a live event that makes a killing through streaming services. And here s the fun part you can check it out from your phone or computer right now.

Photo by Brian, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

We re talking about AGDQ (Awesome Games Done Quick). AGDQ is a yearly charity event that runs 24-hours a day for a full week (January 5^th to 12^th). The event is all about speedrunning , a practice by which gamers challenge themselves to complete a game as quickly as possible by working out optimal paths of movement, exploiting glitches to avoid huge portions of a game, and through a deep knowledge of the coding structure of the software itself. It s mad cap. Check out the highlights from last year s event. 

Photo by NotManda, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

While GDQ s summer event is always held in Minneapolis, AGDQ has bounced around a bit. This year s event is held at the illustrious Double Tree Hilton in Orlando, Florida. It s like, right by Universal Studios. You know the one.

At each AGDQ, nearly 200 gamers, as representatives of game-specific speedrunning communities are invited to come in and perform speedruns in front of a live audience. Commentary and explanations of each speedrun s tricks are supplied by additional experts on-site in real time. All the while, each run is streamed through Twitch and Youtube and viewers at home are invited to send donations for the event s chosen charity (Prevent Cancer Foundation). It s as much a thrill to watch the donation counter tick upwards throughout the week as it is to watch some guy smash Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom in 15 minutes on a Playstation 2. Really, you d be surprised.

Sounds lame? Well guess what, during GDQ s summer weeklong event SGDQ 2019 brought in just over 3 million dollars for Doctors Without Borders from over 51,000 donations. Since AGDQ began in 2010, they ve raised 22.3 million dollars for charities. Let that sink in. They could ve bought this sick yacht with a jacuzzi by now. 

Photo by Arael, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

Photo by NotManda, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

 As you might imagine, holding TWO events like this each year is an incredible undertaking. Just think of what an absolute nightmare the scheduling is! Video submissions from gamers are collected months prior to the event. From there, event planners Mike Uyama and Kasumi Yogi aren t just tasked with whittling through the submissions and choosing the best videos. Human error and even plain old bad luck on runs must be expected and taken into account. What if a speedrunner chokes and loses 3 minutes on their live run? Will it throw off the whole week? Keeping a non-stop event like this on schedule in spite of all the variables in play is an achievement. You can check out their scheduling and submission rules to see how they ve handled this challenge.

Photo by Arael, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

Events like AGDQ succeed because the organizers go through great lengths to make an event that accommodates and celebrates the eccentric skills and cultural milieus of its target audience. They re embracing technologies and online platforms their communities are already using year-round to hone their skills. AGDQ provides a key service it s a meeting ground where otherwise separate, niche communities come together and get the rockstar treatment despite having an otherwise pretty unmarketable skill. The loyalty and sense of belonging it inspires translates into donations participation in the community and event means kicking a few dollars to a charity to support your speedrunning comrades.

Keep these in mind while you set your event goals and reach out to the event management experts at Decibel Management we d love to partner with you to bring your event to the next level! 

THE EVENT HORIZON. What Happens Next?

NEWS

Is it too early to try and imagine what events will be like after the shelter-at-home orders have been lifted?

Probably. We re hoping that question doesn t age like milk. But there s no harm in doing a bit of informed speculation. What else is going on right? So, here s what we know:

1. We know that Los Angeles has extended shelter-at-home orders through May 15^th as did the state of Vermont. Chicago and its home state of Illinois are poised to do so as well. The CDC s recommendation of no live events with more than 50 people stands until May 15^th as well. We strongly doubt an April 30^th reopening is happening for most of the country. So basically, don t expect live events of any size to happen before June.

2. We also know that the CDC also recommends anyone with pre-existing conditions making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 should avoid mass gatherings. This remains true even after stay-at-home orders are lifted. Some have suggested that any future gatherings this summer should be limited to locals  from within a certain radius since traveling to and from events is a great way to kick-off new outbreaks and stay-at-home 2.0.

3. Public health experts across the world are also anticipating future waves of COVID-19, and while strict stay-at-home orders and expanding medical infrastructure now will prevent things from getting this bad a second time, we should all be prepared for spontaneous cancellations or postponements of events based on localized outbreaks until a vaccine is widely available.

So broadly, these are the circumstances under which events this summer could take place.

Let s say we can get small scale, local events that incorporate a significant virtual component going this summer. Anthony Fauci seems optimistic.  We ve linked to this already, but here are the CDC s mass gatherings guidelines that would frame any summer events. We recommend that anyone planning an event, or planning to attend an event this summer read them in full. 

OK, sidebar. I fully understand the gravity of what is being stated here, and I appreciate the lengths the CDC has gone to guide the events community but, for real, doesn t the following sound like it was written by a robot trying to live among us and gain insider knowledge for the inevitable future robot uprising?

Handshakes and high-fives are often exchanged at meetings and sporting events, and these can be ways in which COVID-19 can be transmitted from person to person. As a way of decreasing the social pressure to engage in these common behaviors, consider displaying signs (physical and/or electronic) that discourage these actions during the gathering.

While the clinical description of high-fiving situations made me suspicious, the physical and/or electronic parenthetical is a dead giveaway. Nice try robots! Be careful guys. The robots know we like to high-five and are susceptible to COVID-19. 

Anyway, back to it.

Now, along with the CDC recommendations for safe conduct at mass gatherings, there are a number of recommendations here for event planners. These include flexible sick-leave policies, refund policies for sick attendees, frequent sanitizing of surfaces, making sterile masks available, and enforcing social distance. Additionally, the CDC recommends that event planners maintain active communication with local public health officials and remain prepared to alter or postpone an event at a moment s notice based on community health conditions. Any events management company worth its weight in 15-minute rapid tests needs to be on top of all of this for events in 2020, which is why Decibel has started working with a medical director and we will work in concert with their recommendations to protect the health of our staff and event attendees.

As of right now the CDC is not recommending temperature checks at gatherings. Nevertheless, Disney has publicly stated that checks with infrared thermometers are being considered to enter their parks. We also suspect this will become a mandatory entrance requirement to attend professional sporting events should those resume this summer as well. While we know that at least 25{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, it stands to reason that measures like temperature checks will at least prevent some people from exposure to active cases and allow attendees to feel more at ease. 

We wish we could offer you clearer conclusions, dates and confidence but we are still some time away from a national reopening and new normal. We will inevitably have to address additional nuanced CDC recommendations and health requirements as the pandemic wanes but the big takeaway here is that we re seeing a lot of reasons to be optimistic and enough information to begin preparing for what comes next.  

As always, reach out to us today if you d like to begin planning what comes next.

Music Licensing for Live Events

NEWS

and the Decibel December Mix Tape

It should go without saying that music is an important part of any event. It quite literally sets the tone. You know for example, not to throw on a Slayer mixtape at a silent auction unless it s on the unlikely occasion you re trying to move some Metal-Memorabilia. But the issue with music that we d like to address today isn t about what is appropriate to play, but rather what is legally allowed.

We re going to hazard a guess and assume you may not be an expert in the exciting field of music licensing. That s ok, don t feel bad, you still have a lot of other great qualities and we have done our part to bone up on the subject. At this point in the article, we should stress that we are not lawyers (please consult with your lawyer, they love this stuff), but we can tell you what you need to know to make legal arrangements for music at your next event.

First let s consider the difference between public and personal listening. Whether you buy a track from iTunes, stream from a service like Spotify or Pandora, or own physical media (wow!), you are in the clear to play that stuff for personal use, but not public performance. Public Performance covers pretty much any kind of corporate event, meeting or conference even if it is an internal meeting and no tickets are sold. As you might imagine, any circumstances in which you are selling tickets, livestreaming, or broadcasting an event publicly, fall outside the legal spectrum of personal use.

In short, you need a license.

SPOTIFY:

While we re on the subject, hop on over to our Spotify December Doors Mix Tape and make personal use out of the most recent mix we used for one of our corporate events. You can t use this for public performance (as you now know), but you can still put it on blast as you digest the steps needed for proper licensing below.

So, who do you have to deal with to make sure you re in the clear? In the US there are three main groups that manage the licensing of music. You ve likely heard of ASCAP and BMI, but the third is SESAC. We could get into the minutia of the differences between each group but the bottom line is that you ll want to go ahead and get blanket licenses for all three. Why? Music licensing is messy. Sure, a songwriter might be attached to ASCAP, but the producers and various performers also involved on a track may well be attached to other organizations. Play it safe and cover all your bases.

But this isn t as bad as it sounds. The costs are actually pretty reasonable all things considered. Blanket licenses as described above are based on a per attendee basis. Expect to pay a minimum fee as low as $35, or a per-attendee fee as low $0.05 each. There are different levels of what is allowed and under what circumstances, and there are nuances to how each of the three groups approach public performance licensing rights, so the best thing you can do is work with each group to get a clearer idea of actual costs.

As event managers, we handle a lot of organizational details, but we cannot contract this for our clients. Licensing groups require clients contract directly. Check within your own organization before going down the licensing rabbit hole though! We ve found more often than not, there is already an existing agreement for other uses like commercials, videos, or music for retail locations that may well apply to your event.

We hope this primer showed you that this isn t a daunting process. This is totally doable. Check out our additional links and resources to determine licensing costs below!

BMI Rules

ASCAP Rules

SESAC Rules

DOUBLETREE BY HILTON REVEALS OFFICIAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE ?

FOOD & CATERING, TIPS & TRICKS

For those of you concerned you re not putting on enough weight over these past few weeks, we offer some exciting news:

Our team at Decibel Events had the awesome privilege to be one of the experiential event producers on the DoubleTree by Hilton Cookie CAREavan, and Little Things tours a few years back. Last week we posted a Throwback Thursday photo on our Instagram which included the following quote: Hilton, I think the world is gonna need another cookie after this. What do you say?

Well, yesterday, they just made public their official chocolate chip cookie recipe!

We re not saying you need to thank us, but it sure is quite a coincidence, don t you think? You can download the recipe here:

? Download the Recipe here. ?

We ll share a little fun fact we picked up while on tour: We fielded a lot of questions about why the choice to include walnuts, especially with the potential allergy issues. Apparently, they actually absorb some butter and fats which makes a difference in the structure of the final product.

Mobile and Experiential Event Outlook

NEWS

As we get to the end of the year, many of our clients are in 2020 and beyond planning mode. Looking at what is new and different in the industry, staying ahead of trends, looking for new products and services that are available and just how to do things a bit differently.  We suggest that all of our clients take that bigger picture view, to step back from the laser focus of their specific event plans and really look at what is happening in the industry as a whole.

I had the pleasure of having this exact conversation recently with one of our long term partners, Bill Kurinsky of CGS Premier. They handle much of our fabrication for mobile tours, experiential builds, and vehicle sourcing at Decibel Events, and are one of our longest vendor-partners. When they talk about industry trends, we listen. 

What s New:

The first insight that we have both noticed over the last 24 months is in the tour format itself. We have noticed a move away from traditional touring. Brands are not spending against longer-format marketing tours. It looks like this has been replaced with shorter term/single location activations. We are seeing 1-3 day activations take the lead for a lot of brands that used to have longer programs.

These brands are going for higher dollar spends on build out to maximize their footprint- so instead of keeping a truck on the road for weeks or months, the budget is compressed for a larger presence at a festival or sponsored event.

We are also seeing larger footprint requests, and builds that can roll up in a trailer, but not look like a trailer. The refinement is important and finished product is becoming more important as social and photography continue to grow in importance and influence.

The Why:

It also looks like many of the brands want their target consumers to interact with the brand, and to have a great experience, feel great interacting in the space, and to have that connection. From where we sit we see it less transactional (gathering emails for lists, etc) and providing that experience. Now the social and digital connections may happen on the front end (to get into the vip experience, or to get on the list), but it seems that this exchange is migrating so its not necessarily a barrier to entry. It s more a push to provide an experience the guest WANTS to share, rather than a pull to extract their info.

The What:

CGS Structure for Verizon

This is the space where Decibel Events loves to execute. We are seeing a move to more structures and refined spaces at these events. Brands have done the rental tents, they have done the food trucks and mobile trailers, they have done the fold down stages, and we are seeing saturation with the containers- it s been done. We are looking at multi-level enclosed and branded extrusion structures move to the forefront of the activation space.

Currently, these can usually be done with about a 2-day setup in ideal conditions and the right ground prep. In the next 6 months, look to some new construction methods to be able to get these built within 24 hours. The next goal is to travel this with a trailer that unfolds for the floor and the extrusion above. That will also streamline permits as this would be a truck/trailer rather than full building construction as well.

CGS Setup for Structure

In terms of costs, these start solidly in the $350k+ range for a short term rental based on options. It is definitely a budget line item, but is a great statement piece for any event. Smaller box options and open air options are a much lower price point and accessible for brands that need a smaller footprint. Photos are from the install and event from a recent CGS event build.

CGS Structure for Verizon

Additional Thoughts:

While these structures seem to be the way some of the trendsetting brands are going, there are still a lot of requests for more traditional builds like Airstreams and other style vehicles. They are coming with additional and more intricate fabrication requests and quicker turn times every season. 

It also seems that fabrication and build complexity is going up. More connectivity, more software and hardware integration and customization, and with that more power needs. That is always something to consider- there always seems to be a larger power need at the end of a project than what is spec d at the beginning, so something to consider.

One last thought- a few years back both Decibel Events and CGS Premier were involved with the DoubleTree By Hilton team on their mobile activations. This week, they took their chocolate chip cookie to space. It s so incredible to see where on earth (and outside of earth) they have taken the project! Turns out, it will be the first food baked in space.

With that, good luck on your 2020 activations, and reach out if you have questions or need support!

5 Virtual Events to Watch this April

NEWS

Federal authorities and most states have extended their social distancing or shelter-at-home order through April 30^th, which means we have at least another full month of witnessing the virtual events industry transform and develop. That s called silver lining, everyone.

So, this week we present to you 5 virtual events that we re looking forward to in April. Now, there are three important things about these events to note before we get started:

1. Each of these events are completely free and open to the public. 
2. Each of these events performs a public service or provide an opportunity for personal enrichment. If you re organizing your own virtual event from the ground up, strongly consider executing something that reflects the needs of your audience as a way to foster brand engagement. In the case of these 5 events, they each provide much needed distractions and ways to make the shelter-at-home experience fun.
3. Virtual Events don t necessarily have to be analogous to live events (ex: a web conference to replace a live conference). We re seeing the nature of events and gatherings being completely redefined on a daily basis and entirely new forms of events are emerging. 
   ..

Amazon Prime s SXSW Film Festival 
(Late April)

From the ashes of last month s canceled SXSW festival comes this special online film festival due in late April. 

From the website:

Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection offers filmmakers in the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup an invitation to opt in to take part in this online film festival, which will play exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. for 10-days. The one-time event will be available in front of the Prime Video paywall and free to all audiences around the country, with or without an Amazon Prime membership, all that is needed is a free Amazon account.

The film festival will NOT include films from producers who have already secured distribution deals with Prime Video rivals like Netflix but you should still expect to watch a majority of SXSW s film festival entries from your couch. 

All the filmmakers who opt-in to this film festival will receive a nice kick-back from Amazon for their participation and the added bonus of a much larger potential audience than anticipated. We re closely watching this special screening because if it does go off without a hitch, we expect to see more virtual festival events from major services like Prime Video in the future.

Red Hat Summit (April 28^th-29^th)

Cloud-computing and open-source software giants Red Hat were among the first companies to cancel their live event (March 4^th) and spent the past month redeveloping their annual summit as a fully public, immersive online experience. All the special keynotes, discussions, and breakout sessions scheduled for the live event will now be taking place through Zoom and are completely free to the public.

Want to learn more about all the digital architecture behind the latest innovations in cloud tech? Want to find other people who have as strong feelings about Linux as you do? We ll definitely be in attendance if even just to admire the operation of this virtual summit, but if this content strikes your fancy you can view the complete schedule right here.

Harvard Graduate School of Design s April Events Series 
(Multiple Dates in April)

From the website:

Harvard Graduate School of Design has organized a series of virtual public lectures across the month of April, an effort toward sharing and stoking design discourse amid today s almost-entirely digital context. GSD faculty including Dan D Oca, Oana St nescu, Jenny French, and David Moreno Mateos will offer looks into their ongoing and upcoming design preoccupations, while voices from outside the school bring welcomed insights and dialogue. The GSD s series of talks and webinars will be broadcast to our audiences via Zoom and live-streamed to the GSD s Facebook page.

Doesn t that sound fancy? There are a whole host of online design festivals going on this Spring including this one by De Zeen, but the one that stuck out to us the most was this event series. Lectures and Q&A s on urban planning, office planning, ecosystem management, and the famed American architect Bruce Goff are just a few of the events slated for this month. And what s more, think about the self-satisfaction you ll get from telling people you spent the day casually enjoying a Harvard lecture series like it s no big deal. Pants optional.

The Late Show s #indoorappreciationmonth 
(Every Day in April on Social Media)

Sometimes its worth thinking about planning a virtual event like you re creating a social phenomenon. While this is a social media campaign, it s a little bit different then just expecting a bunch of people to tweet about how much they like frozen pizza. We see #indoorappreciationmonth as an event because it fosters organized social participation, discussion, and congregation around a particular area of interest or cause. The major ambition of this month-long virtual event is to lead or frame an already extant popular conversation online. This is clever. Take notes.

What better way to make shelter-at-home orders bearable than to make them into a special event of only-at-home activities. This event phenomenon succeeds because its crowd-driven, it reflects the current circumstances of its target audience, it inspires a sense of togetherness, and it provides some much-needed structure for the month. You can observe or participate in the experience on any of your social media accounts by following the hashtag.

New England Aquarium Virtual Visits 
(Every Day in April)

As a Chicago native, I had a lot of hometown pride when I watched The Shedd Aquarium s penguin outings at the end of last month. In case you missed it, The Shedd Aquarium employees took videos of their penguins visiting all the different areas of the museum after it was closed to the public. I mean come on, penguins are charismatic, inquisitive, and clumsy on stairs. There was no way that idea was going to fail. What s not to love about that?

New England Aquarium now has daily streaming events series (11 a.m. Eastern) to showcase all the exciting aquarium goings-on that you never get to see. Yeah sure, you ll see some standard cool stuff like shark feedings, but there are also really adorable moments you d never expect. Did you know it s some guy s job to brush seal teeth? Did you know there s an on-site sea turtle hospital for turtle check-ups? In the case of the New England Aquarium, treating virtual audiences to a VIP backstage pass is a compelling way to maintain interest and visibility.

Now is the time to think outside the box and develop brand new virtual event concepts. Need some help? Get in touch with us today!

Press Coverage: 2019 National Book Festival

NEWS

Press Coverage for the 2019 National Book Festival

New York Times
I Am on My Way to Being Very Well, Justice Ginsburg Tells Thousands of Fans

WRC-TV (NBC)
19th Annual National Book Festival Draws Tens of Thousands of Book Lovers

C-SPAN *VIDEO*
My Own Words Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recounted her life and time on the High Court.

The Georgetowner
Record-Setting Crowd for RBG at National Book Festival (photos)