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.
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!
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 15th 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 15th as well. We strongly doubt an April 30th 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.
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)
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 30th, 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:
- Each of these events are completely free and open to the public.
- 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.
- 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 28th-29th)
Cloud-computing and open-source software giants Red Hat were among the first companies to cancel their live event (March 4th) 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!
Decibel Combats Textile Waste by Upcycling
NEWS
Decibel is getting some love from the Trade Show News Network! Looking forward to seeing more reuse and upcycling in the industry. Especially after tradeshows, when we often see brand new prints end up in the landfill. We would much rather upcycle them into promotional items!
Tips on making your next online presentation professional and effective.
NEWS
If anyone here hasn t checked out our podcast yet, or doesn t know we have one then give a listen here! We just finished up Episode #2. We ve got a solid rhythm going with it, the pacing is great, and its full of big ideas for your online event contingencies. But that s not all!
Are your children driving you wild at home? Do you need to impose consequences for misbehavior? We strongly recommend forcing them to listen to this podcast. Think about it. You ll get 15 solid minutes of productive helpful suggestions about online event solutions, and they ll get what should feel like an eternity to reflect on their actions while enduring boring adult stuff. Were they extra bad? Make them write a report on it. Win-win.
As you might have noticed from these shameless plugs, we d like to promote this podcast and get that click counter clicking. We worked hard on it! But beyond that we thought it d be helpful to use this week s blog post to walk you through our planning, editing, and recording process as a guide to making an effective audio or visual presentation. If you re seeking out the best way to connect with your remote staff right now, you ll definitely want to give this list a read through.
So, let s talk about how Decibel produces its weekly podcast (which again, you can listen to here), and use that as the basis to describe how you should plan and execute any type of online presentation.
Get the Right Equipment
Sure, everyone s computer now comes standard with a microphone and webcam but there are relatively cheap ways you can improve this set up for significantly better results. If your presentation only requires you to sit at a desk, then your integrated webcam is likely fine. If you re using a real whiteboard or charts, you might want something with higher resolution so everyone can see the details. We recommend this guy right here:
Your microphone is a different story. Integrated computer microphones tend to pick up a great deal of room noise. So if you were attempting a Skype-based conference call in your bathroom and thought you were pulling a fast one, you weren t. Everyone could hear the echo on tiles and knew exactly what you were up to.
Try a nice external mic that cuts out a lot of the extraneous noise. You ll get a much warmer, crisp, and clear sound that makes listening significantly easier. Here s a couple entry level examples that will be more than enough to do the job:
Make a Road Map
I know exactly one person who can speak brilliantly and concisely off the cuff. They know exactly how long they re going to speak for, they know all the right notes to hit, their arguments make logical sense, and they never get tripped up. Everyone else I know starts out strong and gets lost in the weeds after 10 seconds. Like Joe Biden. It s a lot easier to stay on point when you ve written up a road map and it s a lot easier to listen to someone when they re organized. You ll want to include: 1) key points or topics in a logical order 2) benchmarks for length of time spent on each topic. You can check these off as you go along and keep track of your time to make sure you re nailing everything efficiently. Any virtual conferencing platform like Zoom or Adobe Connect or Gotomeeting has time keeping functions by default. This brings us to our next point.
Always Have a Dry Run
Before we record our Podcast, we typically carve out a half hour to freely chat and allow for some themes to emerge from the noise. While we have a rough idea of what we d like to record, these dry runs let us hone in on or flesh out particular key ideas, establish solid talking points, and get used to a conversational rhythm. We can t emphasize enough how valuable this is.
If you re recording or livestreaming a video there are additional things to consider here. What if your lighting is weird and the stream makes it look like you ve made a poor man s attempt at a film noir? It s distracting.
Have a dry run with your road map and review the video or audio. Make sure your audio and video are clear and professional. Identify the portions of your presentation where you re liable to trip and put in a little extra effort to structure for time and clarity. You may well notice there was something big you forgot to include in your road map. No big deal, you can address it.
Always Have a Backup
The beauty of online video and audio streaming services is the ease of recording and creating backups. As much as I can t stand the sound of my own voice, I always push through our rehearsal recordings to evaluate the quality of the sound and content. There s also always the possibility that your rehearsal produced some magic that might not have been present in your performance run. Download some free open source video editing software like OpenShot to weave together your best moments.
This is especially useful if you re planning to upload your streaming presentation as a VOD. Your remote employees may well be juggling a number of different responsibilities at the moment, and making a VOD available to them with all your greatest hits edited together will account for that need for flexibility. Record everything!
Get Interactive
Sitting and watching or listening to a live streamed presentation can be tough, especially when you re at home. You re surrounded by countless toys, distractions and other immediate responsibilities. In addition to making an efficient and well-produced presentation, consider a streaming platform that allows for interaction. Platforms like Zoom can allow for private channels, file sharing, polling, and text-based chats that allow everyone in the virtual room to be actively involved in the experience. After you ve prepped everything else. Find places in your presentation that allow for live feedback, or live reactions to specific content.
Since polling is among the easiest ways to do this, we thought we d direct you to Zoom s very own blog where they provide suggestions for how to integrate them into your next presentation.
For a great example of how these steps produce great results, I will again direct you to Decibel s Podcast. Did you know we had a podcast? And as always, reach out to Decibel to get any and all online event solutions moving today.
National Book Festival 2019: Parade of the States
NEWS
Follow this link for some great insight, tips and insider info for what to expect at the Parade of the States at the 2019 National Book Festival. And if you ever wonder why they call it the Parade of the States:
It s a parade, as in to exhibit ostentatiously or to flaunt. What the National Book Festival s Parade of the States is flaunting is the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories.
National Book Festival
The National Book Festival is on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Visit loc.gov/bookfest for full details.
6-Point Strategy for Transitioning Your Live Event Online
NEWS
Well, here we are again. Now that we re all hunkered down in our toilet paper forts, we figured it s time to stop contributing to mass panic with reports of event cancellations. If panic is your thing, feel free to turn on cable news or google Dow Jones Industrial Average at your convenience.
Just to recap, pretty much everything is cancelled (Coachella, Europe, bars, the bull market, bars, my career aspirations, bars, etc.). The White House just updated it to no gatherings of more than 10 people. That is just how quickly the landscape is changing.
So, take a few moments and have a freak-out session. It s well-deserved. We re all stressed. No judgement here. I watched Contagion for the first time over the weekend assuming it d just be a zombie flick so, I get it.
Now, rein it back in and let us guide you into the shining light of online event solutions. This is only a tactical challenge and you still have plenty of options for meeting your events goals this year.
To help you out, we ve come up with a general 6-point attack strategy for transitioning your live event into an online experience. Before you decide to just cancel your current plans, go through this list. It s easier than you think and you leave yourself in a better position for success if you simply transition your event, rather than cancel it and attempt to regain your audience and momentum down the road.
Revise Your Event Goals & Benchmarks for Success
OK, we know that live events are an impossibility until at least the Summer, so let s revisit the core goals behind your live event. That attendance goal you have? It s probably time to set that aside. Your goals about a product launch, increasing brand awareness, or generating a dialogue through a speaker/panel series however, can still be very much in play. Figure out which goals are still attainable.
In the short term, a successful event is well-attended, most of the right people show up, and most everyone leaves with a positive impression. Great. But we re talking about long-term markers of success how much more traffic does your website receive after your event? How much sustained social media buzz is there for you new product? How many more online or in-store sales are you making? You re going to want your events management company, or an in-house events team to derive a revised set of success benchmarks informed by resources like livestream analytics. Plenty of livestreaming companies offer these services, but here s one just to give you an example of how you can leverage an online event into a business boost.
Revise Your Message
When we talk about a message , we re really thinking about a consistent image or concept that communicates your brand s intentions and identity to your audiences. That s still doable, but it has to change to accommodate these new circumstances. Maybe it s time to seriously alter your event s website to make it your central event hub. Maybe it s time to significantly change your approach to social media. Maybe it s time to shift gears on your brand storytelling. Think about a unified online aesthetic and narrative to communicate the message of your branded event to your audiences. Here s some ideas to get you started.
Translate Format & Attendee/Presenter Experience
Know your content and your audience. Think about the live experiences you intended your audience to have in the abstract how were audiences expected to engage aspects of your event? Was this a sitting-quietly-and-listening event or were audiences expected to interact with a person or new product? In light of that, what formats for presentation would they most likely respond to? Are scheduled video drops the way to go? Is a livestream presentation more appropriate? Would your viewers like something more interactive for Q&A like a message board? Should you send out your new product to handful of lucky people to make their own unboxing videos? There are analogous online experiences that can be created for nearly all of the live experiences you had planned.
Evaluate Personnel & Skill Requirements
Obviously, with a change in format you ll also need to think about the requirements and skills necessary to pull off this online event. Does someone need to moderate a forum or livestream? Do you need additional personnel available by phone or live chat to answer questions? Is your current website and social media management sufficient, or do you need additional personnel to forward your revised message and strategy? After revising message and your event format, prepare a list of new remote work and skill requirements needed to manage your event.
Create New Communication Plan
Navigating an online event can be less intuitive than a live event. You can t really put up signs. Announcements are more difficult. You can t just walk over to the next room and speak with someone. Revising your communication plan so that you can actively maintain contact with event stakeholders, presenters, and audiences is crucial to mitigating these challenges and will insure the success of your online event.
Finalize New Schedule
At least for the next 8 weeks, you ll have a pretty good idea of where your audiences will be and when they ll be available. You do not necessarily have to cram a whole event into a three-day weekend since you re not working under constraints like travel or the cost of renting a space. There are options here to draw out what would have been a very short event into a week-long or multi-week affair that offers viewers a small but steady stream of content every day. Think about how your audiences and presenters are now occupying their time and schedule for the best results.
Right now, online events are everyone s jam. Decibel has been tackling this online challenge for years now and plan to continue bringing you helpful content throughout this crisis to keep your organization moving forward. Check out our new podcast series here for more helpful tips, and reach out to get your live event retconned into an effective online experience today.
Decibel and The National Small Business Week Awards
NEWS
Last month Decibel Management produced one of our flagship events in Washington D.C., the National Small Business Week Awards. Since this is the Decade of Decibel, we thought it might be nice to take a deeper look at this event, seeing as our partnership with SCORE and the U.S. Small Business Administration is one of our longest standing events and to show how we help their team bring this influential event to life.
So first, a little history lesson. National Small Business Week, or NSBW for short, started back in 1963 when President Kennedy signed the first proclamation recognizing the contributions that small businesses provide the U.S. economy. Since then every standing president, regardless of political party, has reissued this proclamation in the continuing acknowledgement of American entrepreneurship.
Flashforward nearly 60 years and the tradition is still going strong. Although things really got going in 2009, or so we like to think at least, when Decibel first got involved with NSBW by partnering with the U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses, to host the National Small Business Week Awards in our nation s capital. The awards aim to recognize and honor achievements by business owners from all over the country, their companies and their employees for all they do in the small business world. Categories range from recognizing business innovations to the Small Business Person Of The Year and include winners from every state in the country.
Every year the event takes on a new form as administrations turnover and different goals and challenges are set. This most recent year, for instance, Decibel tackled the addition of a NSBW bus tour, which included a custom-wrapped bus that stopped in multiple cities to honor small businesses in their hometowns.
As for Decibel s exact role in this week-long celebration, well, you name it. Stage design, event management, execution and let s not forget vendor management. So much vendor management. From food to travel, we covered it all. Planning and logistics are a major part of the legwork leading up to events of this caliber, but it s important we not forget the team on the ground that Decibel sends to put out the inevitable fires to come up with any large event. But by now we ve become expert firefighters.
Of course, our ultimate goal is always to provide a great event for all of the nominees in attendance, whether at the main stage in D.C. or along the bus tour route. Funny thing about awards shows, one of the most challenging aspects of producing them is keeping the winners a secret all the way through the rehearsals and show so that they are genuinely surprised when they win.
After producing this event for much of the past decade, with all the new faces and changes we ve seen, there is one thing we always find to be the same. As a small business ourselves, we consistently walk away from this event feeling inspired and hopeful. Getting to meet so many nominees and winners from all over the country gives us a renewed sense of what small businesses can achieve and how they really are the backbone of commerce and business in America. This is truly one of our favorite events here at Decibel Management and we re honored to be a part of it. Looking forward to many more!
