Holiday Event Production: 5 of the Best Christmas Rentals for Large-Scale Events
EVENT PRODUCTION INSPIRATION, TIPS & TRICKS
December is upon us, and with it, the yearly infusion of last-minute holiday parties, winter fairs, holiday concerts, and all things Christmas. It s pretty easy to track down decor and extras for small-scale get-togethers, but the must-haves for commercial-level shindigs are a whole nother deal. Here are Decibel s tips on where to get the best holiday rentals for your end-of-year events.
Carolers a la Dickens
It ain t no Christmas without Christmas carols. If you happen to be in the New York or Tri-State area, you can call on one of the longest-standing Dickensian carol performance groups, who show up in full period-appropriate costume and Christmas the heck the out of everything with their fa-la-las. Their clients include Macy s, Bloomingdales, the Waldorf-Astoria and other seasonal heavy hitters, plus they get invited to the White House like, every year, so you know they re super legit. If they re all booked up or you re not near New York, check out The Christmas Carolers, a nation-wide caroler-booking agency.
Snowflake Backdrops
Need to add a Christmas vibe to your indoor or outdoor stage? Atomic Design, one of America s best stage design companies (and naturally, a Decibel vendor), brings the winter spirit with their Yeti Flake backdrop, a modular holiday special solution that can be assembled into panels, columns, or superwalls. Add backlighting for Christmas win! Not sure what to ask for? Call us we ll help you sort it.
Fake Snow / Winterland Environments
When you need a LOT of snow like, industrial-grade Christmas-in-July style snow you call Snowmaking by STURM. Snowmaking by Sturm sports an impressive portfolio of projects that includes work on major motion pictures, commercials and town-center events, so you know they got the chops to pull off just about any idea. They do clean-up free simulated falling snow, massive snow-fields, ramps and winter environments for marketing campaigns.
Rent-a-Santa
The big guy himself has his hands full this time of year, and event producers have to rely on temporary stand-in Santas to help spread all that joy around. The biggest Santa-for-hire agency in the US is actually a popular sub-service of the temping website Gigmasters. They offer Santas for just about every location in the US, and their website includes a great search feature where you can find the perfect Santa for your sleigh.
Ginormous Trees & other City-Center Decor
Epic department store trees, commercial properties covered in twinkling lights, giant plastic ornaments hanging from four-story ceilings yup, you will be needing a specialist. The Christmas Decorators have a lot (no really, a lot look at their portfolio) of experience decking the halls of restaurants, hotel lobbies and town square.
Post-Event Follow-Up: Why it Matters and How to Do It
TIPS & TRICKS
You ve planned it, it happened, it was a huge success. But that s not quite the end of it. A good event includes a framework for event-wrap photo, video and news.
Why it matters
Getting sponsors excited If your event is an annual or repeated happening, having a strong follow-up gives lets current and potential sponsors know that their advertising dollars will be utilized well, with promotion continuing even beyond event completion.
Creating a community Events are little worlds unto themselves, and the people who attend them feel connected to each other. Good event follow up can strengthen this sense of community.
A good overview Your attendees can t be everywhere at once. Good follow-up gives attendees an opportunity to enjoy the bigger picture and see who was doing what while they were networking.
It makes you look good Everyone s a diva, and attendees, speakers and sponsors love to dig for and share good photos and video of themselves. Great event follow up draws more potential clients for event managers as participants use social networking to spread the word.
Follow-up Channel Ideas
1. Youtube/Vimeo
Any event worth its salt should have its own branded Youtube or Vimeo channel. If you have a flagship event once a year, create a specific channel for it. Flattery will get you anywhere, and putting up your speakers speeches or presentations up for all to see does wonders for both your marketing and your clients.
2. Storify
Posting different content to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn is great, and works very well for mid- and pre-event updates, but it can also diffuse the picture. Storify allows you to create a one-stop page for audio, video, photo and text of your event and share it at once across all your social networks.
3. Your Company Blog
Any event management company or communications consultancy will ensure its blog shows off its successes. Easy to find and benefiting your own SEO, a blog is a must-do.
4. 48 hour time limit
For best effect, post-event content needs to start going out within 48 hours of event close, and ideally some of it will start to bleed onto the website while the event s still running. Whichever manner you choose to publicize your event once it s done, get it out there fast. Ensure your event photographers, AV crew and note-taker give you their content as soon as possible and are on standby until materials are out.
How to get an Audience Response System for your Next Event
TIPS & TRICKS
Audience Response Systems (ARS) have been around for a very long time, but it s only recently that I ve started seeing them treated as must-haves by event industry writers. In this post, we introduce you to a few companies that can get ARS set up at your event.
What is an ARS, exactly?
Audience Response Systems allow you to gather live data from your audience, such as opinion polling during a speech or class lecture, for example. The benefits are obvious: increase audience engagement while collecting information, and help your audience feel more connected to the data that they present. Here are a couple of ARS Providers:
Poll Everywhere
Introducing Poll Everywhere from Poll Everywhere on Vimeo.
Some ARS systems actually involve equipment, but Poll Anywhere allows attendees to use Twitter or their mobile devices to respond to presenter questions. The results can be seen live online, or they can be piped directly into a powerpoint presentation. The cool thing about Poll Everywhere is that they allow for open-ended questions. You can ask the audience, for example, What are you doing this afternoon? and the text-messaged answers get posted to an answer board that either just the presenter can see, or everyone can see. Great stuff!
Keepad
Keepad also offers app-based ARS systems that send data to Powerpoint, but they also rent out dedicated hardware keypads for voting, and a little gadget for receiving votes as well. If you re not confident in the wifi or technology available at your venue, or otherwise aren t confident that your audience will have the capacity to vote, getting dedicated equipment may be the way to go.
5 Fancy-Pants Ways to Serve Plain ol Water
TIPS & TRICKS
I don t know what it is about serving specialty water, but people love it: there s something about it that feels decadent. And yet there s really nothing so easy as tossing a handful of fruits or foliage into a pitcher. We ve all got the lemon gig down, but it doesn t cost much to kick it up a notch. Even better? You can match your water to your color palette.
Lavender
Visually arresting and strongly fragrant, tossing a few sprigs of lavender into your water pitchers creates a rural, musky floral scent. Lavender oil is strong, so you won t need much maybe 2 sprigs per pitcher. The water and lavender should soak together for a few minutes prior to serving, so it s good to have multiple pitchers on rotation. (Pro tip: Lavender also does wonders in a pitcher of lemonade).
Cucumber
We couldn t get enough of our first try of cucumber water. Cucumber is famously hydrating, and when we toss it in a pitcher and let it soak, the effect was deeply thirst-quenching: a wonderful mixture of freshness and savory. This one is probably best served in summer, and, unlike lavender water, feels a bit more gender-neutral.
Mint
Too early for a tipple? Let plain ol water stand in for morning mojitos. Muddle up at least 10 sprigs of mint before soaking them in your pitcher.
Goji Berries
Another eye-catcher, toss a handful of brilliant red goji berries into a pitcher of water or at the bottom of each guest s water glass. When the glass is full, the delicate berries slowly float and sink from the top of the glass to the bottom. As they soak, they fatten slightly and a acquire a soft raisin-like consistency. Goji berries are a visual addition only: they impart almost no flavor to the water at all. Bonus: anti-oxidants!
Ginger
Ginger water is excellent in both cold and warm weather, and pairs well with Asian-inspired cuisine. Peel your ginger first, then cut into spears or rounds. Half a large root will flavor a pitcher.
4 Great Mobile-Ready Single Page Event Website Templates
LIVE EVENTS
There are a billion-zillion reasons you might be asked to handle the website end of your event, despite not being in the tech business: the client s web designer is unavailable, and the site needs to go online pronto; the client doesn t want to spend the money on a web design agency or make a big deal out of the event website; the client doesn t want to deal with a ton of different vendors and would rather have you handle everything the list goes on.
Without the time or budget to get a fully-customized site structured, designed and coded, your best bet is to opt for a ready-made site template that you can lightly customize and drop online.
The main advantages here are cost and speed. Pre-designed, pre-coded and imminently affordable, you can purchase these, add your client s event logo, title and content in place of the dummy content, and you re ready to rock. You ll need someone with a basic grasp of HTML to edit them and you ll still need to find hosting, so these don t get you completely off the hook in terms of hiring a web designer, but buying a pre-made template means your event site can be up and running in 8 hours, zero-to-done.
And since everyone s using their phones to these days, it s crucial that you choose a template that is optimized for phones and tablets. We scoured the internet and found a few of the best single-page event-themed templates available. Check these out:
Event Landing Page $11 HTML Theme
This basic but very functional theme is not a WordPress theme, but rather a responsive HTML-only theme with three color options.
OnEvent $11 Special Event Landing Page
Created by Dezine Themes, this landing page offers a full-screen photo background, event count-down, speaker list, and more.
EventMe $11 Special Event Landing Page
With multiple color options and all the basics, this mobile-ready single-page theme is perfect for corporate-style events. The unique stand-out feature is an animated event schedule timeline that you can fill in with your event s roster of speakers or workshop times or what-have-you.
VentCamp $11 Event Site
VentCamp is probably the prettiest of the themes we list here. This theme also features a full-screen photo background, lovely thin fonts, and an interesting callout area where you can highlight numbers that focus on the key reasons potential attendees should pony up for a ticket (example: 4 stages! 72 speakers!)
Your A/V Questions Answered: What is Pattern Projection, and What are the Possibilities?
TIPS & TRICKS
At its most basic, pattern projection and mapping is a stage lighting design technique in which a decorative pattern is washed over a large surface area to create a visual effect. In the past few years, stage lighting technology has developed so drastically that s its now capable of lifting cartoon characters out from behind screens and beaming them into real-life.
While your simple projectors might include a couple of gaudy, pre-programmed star or floral patterns in basic rotating laser lights, suitable for a dingy dance floor, more up-market varieties or clever use of mixed-method techniques, can produce stunning effects when handled by experts.
Your standard low-budget version, available for less than a couple hundred bucks, might toss out some basic patterning a la Windows Media Player, 1999:
In stark contrast, here s an example of some of the beautiful abstract patterns you can achieve what happens people who know what they re doing play around in their own studio with with a dual-lens:
These guys created a complete environment using music and pattern projection:
Curious about the future of pattern projection? Look to the East.
Following in their own glorious wait, what? tradition of giant robots and underwear vending machines, a few years ago Japan rocked up to the light-mapping party already packing a double-dose of next-level weirdness. In case you missed the uproar about it at the time, meet Hatsune Miku, an AI rock star with a synthesized voice and a body rendered entirely in 3D holographic light projection. Hitsune Miku s virtual self, backed up by a live band, performed her hit World is Mine to screaming, sold-out crowds:
Wanna play with the technology yourself on a smaller, miniaturized scale? You ll need an iPad, a mosquito screen, a miniprojector, and this video:
Neat, huh?
Image sources: Featured Image by Kevin Dooley
How to Choose the Right DJ for Your Event
TIPS & TRICKS
Not all DJs are created equal, and there are considerations above and beyond which version of the Macarena is gonna get dropped. Here are a few tips to help you hone in on the perfect DJ for your event.
For the love of all things holy, ask to listen to their demo
Most professional DJs, from Bat Mitzva beat-droppers to Goatee McSunglassesAtNight have a demo mix that showcases their skills. Listening to a DJ s demo is like checking out an artist s portfolio: it s one of the few ways you can get a real sense of what you re about to get yourself into. So if you do no other due diligence, do this. Unless you ve personally seen the DJ perform, no demo should be a dealbreaker.
There is such a thing as a DJ CV
Professional DJs often specialize, not only within a specific music genre but often within a specific type of venue or event. Some of them just do product launch parties. Some of them only lay down rock tracks at quiet little bars. A DJ CV should include a brief bio and a bit of history, so you ll get a clear idea of specialization, personality and past experience.
Ask for references
A DJ can have the chops and the right sound, but that hardly matters if they turn out to be a total flake with a coke habit. Call some past employers to lay those concerns to rest.
Ask to see a sample set list
What you re looking for here is appropriateness. A good DJ is intuitive about the perfect way to set a mood they re fluid and imaginative. A bad DJ will try to shoehorn your event attendees into his space. If the songs that they suggest don t seem to match the environment you want to achieve, you may need to ask the DJ to re-calibrate their understanding of your event s goals.
Ask what kind of equipment they expect you to have
Some DJs will rock up with just a computer loaded up with some mix software. Others will have a 20-channel mixer that needs to be incorporated into your existing sound system. Make sure their standard rigging will work with your set-up, and that you have the table-space available to accommodate their gear.
Image Sources: DJ by Montecruz Foto, Featured Image by Aurora Mixer
It Just Ain t That Hard: Social Media is not Black Magic Rocket Science
TIPS & TRICKS
A few months ago, Julius Solaris at Event Manager Blog pushed out a great post centered around his Slideshare presentation on avoiding the most common event management social media mistakes.
We laughed. We cried. We blew kisses at the screen. So true. So, so true. Check it out:
Julius mentions that his original post received a lively response, and I m not surprised. I kind of wish I was surprised. Social media isn t a new-baby business tool anymore, but it s alarming how often event managers still need these tutorials, crave them, lust after them. It means we re behind. It means it still feels new and optional to know everything there is to know about social media. It s not optional anymore, but that s ok, because you wanna know a secret about becoming a social media expert?
It s just not that hard.
Time consuming? Absolutely. Even scary at times. But it s just not that hard.
Julius has a lot of specific, and spot-on, pointers. But if you look at the cohesive root of his message, Julius is just saying one thing: there are real people on the other side of those keyboards. Those are real people that might be willing to help you promote your event, or to attend it, if you re nice to them. Real people like to be treated courteously. They like being treated like cherished friends and treasured customers. They like feeling unique, irreplaceable, interesting and smart. Just because there s a computer between you doesn t morph other human beings into Enigma Machines.
Real people like it when their messages are replied to, directly, by a real person. Real people don t like getting form letters, or talking to an automated answering machine which is what it feels like to them when your social media software sends an automated response to their direct message.
Real people feel cool when someone re-tweets or otherwise re-publishes their posts. If we re gonna get all cynical and Psych 101 about it, we might even say that it fills a very human need for external validation. Re-tweeting is a form of flattery. People like flattery. And when it s genuine, it costs very little to give.
Julius says: Don t Beg. And he s right. Why? Because real people don t like to be forced into awkward charity situations. Even our best friends, who presumably owe us at least a little loyalty, don t enjoy that. Why is it then OK to ask strangers, with whom we have no emotional capital, for favors?
There are real people sitting behind those keyboards. Your event s social media strategy will thrive if you remember that.
Oh Yeah, That: 5 Things You Probably Forgot When Planning Your Event
TIPS & TRICKS
You know you re forgetting something. You know you are. Check out this dour little reminder list of frequently overlooked event organizing basics.
Cell Service
The organizers of Burning Man are pretty much the only people ever allowed to host an event without regard to the availability of cell service.
Lost & Found
Sounds like a kindergarten throwback, but let s be honest, yeah? We never really got any better at taking care of our toys than we were when we were four. People are spacey slobs. People will toss the keys to their own little kingdoms down next to to the A/V booth and wander off. You re gonna be yanking the tablecloths off the 6-tops and someone s insulin pack is going to be under there and you ll know that somewhere in the crowd, someone is hysterically tearing their purse apart muttering nononono, wondering if today is the day they die. Find a way to let everyone know that all the things you ll try not to judge them for losing will be returned to a designated pick-up point.
Optional Coat Check
I have a love-hate relationship with coat-checks, but if your mid-sized event is happening during even moderately chilly weather, you should think about setting one up. The bottom line is that having to chose between draping your parka over your arm all night, or panicking about which chair you left it on, sucks.
First Aid Kit
It would be really nice if a refusal to believe in problems means that they won t ever happen, but that time I ate eel skewers in northern China and then got on a long-distance bus proves otherwise. According to the good folks at the American Red Cross, a good first aid kit should contain:
- 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
- 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
- 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
- 5 antiseptic wipe packets
- 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
- 1 blanket (space blanket)
- 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
- 1 instant cold compress
- 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
- 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
- Scissors
- 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
- 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
- Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
- 2 triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- First aid instruction booklet
Evacuation Plan and Fire Extinguishers
Ideally, the venue itself will have this covered, but you know how the Schrodinger s thing works: If you ask the venue staff before anything bad happens, you can expect an eye roll as someone hands you a meticulously-prepared in-case-of-emergency binder with nearest exits and extinguisher-placement map. If you never bring it up, something is going to blow up and everyone will be like, I thought YOU brought it! And then lawsuits will happen.
Image Sources: Featured Image by Jason Howie, Social Media by MKHMarketing
5 Solutions for Small Businesses to Run Big Events
TIPS & TRICKS
Decibel Management is proud of providing tailor-made event management ideas for all clients. While many in our industry view event planning on a grand scale, preparing political campaign stops around the country for inside the Beltway types or booking out the grandest ballrooms around, they are forgetting that the overwhelming majority of events are done on a much simpler scale.
Why should events, that are smaller in scope or attendance, be left out in the cold? Especially when, with a few easy tips, any size of event can punch far above its weight class.
Crowdfunding
Small is sexy. The advantage of a smaller event is that its attendance base will likely feel passionate about it. This gives you the power to correctly assess how successful your event will be. A number of crowdfunding platforms give you a couple of good options. Put your event up online, and ask attendees to state how many tickets they will need and commit to buying them on the day. You can guarantee an event will take place only if a number of tickets are sold.
Advertising on social networks
Targeted ads on Facebook can be annoying, but they are getting quite amazingly relevant. Any event that is held with a strong local and thematic setting can massively benefit from buying an ad space on Facebook or LinkedIn several weeks out, linked to a Facebook page or website about the event. As time goes pass, it is almost certain any on with an interest in your event (and who is not a social media neophyte) will see it.
Local bloggers
If local bloggers are known to you as local bloggers, they are probably known to other people as local bloggers. While this might seem like a fairly simplistic summary, it is a good way to spread awareness. Local communities tend to have their ways of finding out information about what is happening, particularly since the decline of small-town papers.
Underestimate turnout
This might seem counterintuitive, and in terms of planning, it is. But we re not talking about logistics, we re talking about estimations in terms of sponsorship. Why would anyone with 300 people coming sell their event as only bringing in 200? Well, it s always better to make your sponsors happy than disappointed. Bringing in less sponsorship the first time you hold an event but impressing them with a higher turnout that announced will go a long way towards guaranteeing their continued support the next time around.
Know your limitations
Every event manager knows one of their brethren who tries to do too much, or lends too much importance to smaller-scale events. Constantly assess how each piece of your event will be relevant to attendees, understand that you can wow people without over-reaching, and that, even if everything doesn t go right, a positive attitude will allow people to be much more forgiving of any mishaps.
