We Accept Defeat: How to Gear Your Next Event Around Your Audience s Vertical Videos

NEWS

According to FBI estimates and the Netflix series Mindhunter, there are at any given time, around 50 active serial killers operating in the United States.   According to my estimates, there are at any given time, thousands upon thousands of monsters uploading vertically oriented phone videos to social media platforms.  Now, I m not trying to conflate these two demographics simply by invoking them back-to-back (that s not true, that s exactly what I m doing). I m trying to make an edgy opening hook here to remind you that are plenty of confounding realities we all have to come to terms with as members of a society and unfortunately vertical videos, among other things, are part of our modern social fabric.  

Admittedly, that started off pretty dark so let s bring it back around.  Look, it doesn t have to be all bad.  What if you could account for this at your next corporate event and then maybe it ll be better?  I guess?  Here s what we think.

First of all, we found this amazing series of studies by Buffer on how social media users engage different video formats. If you hail from one of our agency clients, PR firms, or ad shops, you should NOT miss the insights here- you can view the whole thing here.  In their case they studied the differences in views and shares between standard landscape videos and square videos (vertical videos with bars on the top and bottom).  

There is a lot to digest from that link but here are the main takeaways:

92{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of all Facebook users in this study accessed content primarily via a mobile device, so when you re planning an event with the expectation people will capture and share content, plan for that content to be viewed on a phone or tablet.

Mobile users resoundingly preferred square videos so much so that on average square videos received 30-35{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} more views and an 80-100{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} increase in engagement against landscape videos that featured the exact same content.

It s tough to argue with that.

In some ways this makes sense though.  When you look at a vertical video as opposed to a landscape video on your phone you re actually utilizing 78{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} more space on your screen.  Now that is A LOT of extra room for content to be displayed and shared.

@subsign at medium.com

With that in mind, there are actually some new technologies that accommodate both landscape and vertical video displays, check this out:

More and more of our shared content is vertical (not necessarily a good thing), which makes our horizontal main screens ill-suited for viewing it. Samsung aims to fix this with the Sero. This 43-inch QLED display sits on a floor stand that allows it to rotate from horizontal to vertical as needed.

See, Samsung gets it.  A few of these babies rotating around to display information or stream uploaded vertical content gives you the best of both worlds.  Your audience can capture the most relevant information possible in frame as needed.  Keep these in mind when you re planning your next event.

I m going to leave you with a final thought.  I ve heard this urban legend attributed to both Disneyland and several University of California campuses but the underlying premise is relevant.  According to legend, either a very clever architect or a Disney Imagineer neglected to construct sidewalks before opening a space to the public.  Why?  They instead watched how people moved from place to place and THEN built walkways to accommodate the natural flow of their audience.  Simple, effective, brilliant.

Our consumers want flow, not obstacles.  They d like to take the most efficient path to sharing or consuming content.  Personal aesthetic aside, we need to accept the way our consumers want to engage content and change everything from poster orientation and event staging to marketing for the best results.

It should be said that any ambitious and enterprising event planners (oh, Decibel Management, for example) will understand how consumers want to engage and share content and are ready address these circumstances of engagement at your next corporate event.  Reach out and get your vertically oriented event goals moving today!

Links:

Samsung Sero Pivoting TV

YouTube now properly displays vertical videos on iOS

Square vs. Landscape Video $1.5K Worth of Experiments: Here s How They Compare

Streaming and Video-Hosting Services in the Largest Consumer Market in the World

NEWS

Now thus far we ve mostly focused on how you can reach new audiences with livestreamed events as a way to offset losses from a lack of live event marketing. But we can take this one step further. With livestreaming you can fully untether yourself from traditional event constraints like geography when courting new audiences. You could be extending your reach from the west and into other national markets, like China, using livestreams and VODs. 

How could you be taking advantage of streaming and video-hosting services in the largest consumer market in the world? Our article this week offers a brief overview of the streaming and video-hosting platforms available to you in China. 

But first, a few caveats (there s always a catch!). 

  1. This isn t quite as straightforward as setting up a YouTube account. Language differences are an obvious roadblock preventing Western companies from using Chinese video and streaming platforms.
  2. There are time differences to consider. Don t forget that while geography now means nothing to you, the unrelenting march of time will always be a factor. For example, if you set up a livestream at 1 PM EDT on a Sunday, it would be 1 AM on Monday in China s single time zone. The likelihood you d make a splash at that time is pretty low. 
  3. There are a handful of laws that limit your participation as a foreigner or a foreign company. We re not just talking about topics and imagery that are off limits, we re also talking about streaming platforms that you are barred from streaming on because you re not a Chinese citizen. 

We don t want to dissuade you from bringing China into your event strategy, but rather motivate you to be strategic. Maybe timed-release VODs would be a solid addition to or substitute for livestreams. Maybe working with a Chinese firm, a KOL or KOC could be a workable strategy. Maybe your company already has partners in China that could be drawn into the mix. You have options. It ll just take a bit of work.

We re happy to say that Decibel does have the language resources and knowledge of the Chinese market to work a China strategy into your virtual event plans, so if you re enticed drop us a line. 

Anyway, here s a very brief overview of China s livestreaming platforms and user behavior. Chinese citizens have a number of options when it comes to producing or consuming livestreams.

The Chinese digital environment was already heavily geared towards livestreaming even before the COVID-19 crisis began, with the most popular and abundant being more or less, informercials. Services like Douyin (which you know as TikTok), Kuaishou, and Little Red Book all support direct livestream marketing for products on Taobao and JD.com (Amazon equivalent marketplaces). Everyone and their grandmother (literally) are in on this. Spending a couple hours and a wad of cash on product livestreams after work is a 50 billion dollars a year national pastime. 

Platforms like Momo (formerly a dating app), and Yizhibao are more geared towards a variety of livestreams. There are plenty of products being hawked (in particular makeup on Momo) but you ll also find streamers who retain large audiences simply by being unusually hot, hosting live cooking demonstrations and wine tasting, singing while being unusually hot, or playing video games. 

Unfortunately, these platforms are exclusive to Chinese citizens. As a foreigner you re more than welcome to spend your money and watch, but you re forbidden from hosting your own streams. Story of my life in China.

So, what platforms can you use? Could you just use something like Zoom to reach China? For now, yes. Although if history can tell us anything, it s that China s recent step to ban Chinese citizens from hosting chats on Zoom is pretty much the first step towards an outright ban (once a domestic clone rises to replace it). Using Chinese platforms like YoukuBililbili, or Kuaishou are your safest bet. These services are owned by major Chinese companies (AlibabaTencent, and Bilibili Inc.) who are out to displace Western behemoths like Google, so China won t be undercutting them any time soon.

YOUKU

A close up of a logo  Description automatically generated

Alibaba s Youku is a video-hosting and livestreaming platform that s equal parts Netflix and Youtube. It s just as easy to browse your favorite TV shows as it is to watch a live streamed video game or music video from your favorite local artist. VODs and livestreams on Youku can be monetized with ads so you have the option here to draw some revenue as long as you pay for premium access. Livestreaming is possible, but requires a verification process in Chinese and Chinese bank account to support your premium account. 

BILIBILI

A close up of a sign  Description automatically generated

Bilibili is pretty similar, but most popular with the under-25 crowd which is why it s worth some attention. Bilibili used to be more geared towards fans of Manga and animation but now casts a much wider content net. The self-posted videos on here are less consistent in their quality than Youku but offer an extremely cool feature user comments are time-stamped to particular points in the video, so that those comments can across the video at the appropriate time on each viewing. This feature helps to keep conversations alive and draw comments and attention long after you ve posted your content. Bilibili is currently focused on video-hosting, but as everyone and their mother are getting into the livestreaming industry in China, it won t be long before Bilibili throws their hat into the ring as well.

KUAISHOU

A picture containing drawing  Description automatically generated

Kuaishou is Tencent s version of Instagram (you ll find it in your app store fully in English as Kwai). You can take short videos and photos and apply tags just like on Instagram and livestreaming is available to users hawking goods from Taobao stores. Kuaishou is a newcomer, but as its been marketed heavily towards smaller cities in China (all the ones you can t name off the top of your head), it offers great opportunities for foreign brands to market towards a largely ignored youth market.

Right now, we re preparing a podcast that further addresses the challenges of and opportunities in extending your virtual events into the Chinese market. Do you have any questions you d like us to answer? Reach out today!

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 27th and the Academy Awards follow soon after on February 10th. 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

Governors Ball

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.

Vanity Fair Oscar Party by Cornucopia Events

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.

Grammys Official Afterparty by The Recording Academy

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!

How to Make a Splash in Your Next Livestream

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.

A picture containing building, outdoor, black, sitting  Description automatically generated

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

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:

Kit

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

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!

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.

audience watching gamer

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 5th to 12th). 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. 

audience

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. 

People watching gamer

Photo by Arael, Provided by GDQ CC4.0

Gamers looking at screens

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.

gameboy

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! 

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Check out the schedule to see when your favorite game is getting slayed:

https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule

Check out the action live here:

https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick

Confused by the lingo? This glossary of speedrunning terms should help:

https://www.gamecrate.com/speedrunning-terminology-glossary/17892

Want to see how the internet is reacting to AGDQ? Hit up their subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AGDQ/

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.

A picture containing building, outdoor, black, sitting  Description automatically generated

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

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:

Kit

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

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!

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

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.

vase

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

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:

Pencing

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)

Enthusiastic Double Hand-Wave

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

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:

Bow with Hand Flourish

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!

Voguing

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  Plan 9  Salute

The Little Rascal

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

The  Little Rascal

The Vulcan Salute

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.

The Adam West  Batusi

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!

Contact Us!