ie volume 32 issue 3

the business of international events

4 Future Trends for Event Organizers to Watch Learning from the Pandemic The VIP’ification of Events What is the Role of a Can a “Return to Sponsorship Sales Manager?

Normal” Happen in 2021?

Is Your Festival / Event the “IFEA Fan Favorite”?

the business of international events

4 Future Trends for Event Organizers to Watch Learning from the Pandemic The VIP’ification of Events What is the Role of a Sponsorship Sales Manager?

Is Your Festival / Event the “IFEA Fan Favorite”?

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© 2020 First Data Corporation, a subsidiary of Fiserv, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The First Data name and logo are trademarks owned by First Data Corporation and registered or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners. The Clover marks are trademarks owned by Clover Network, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Data Corporation, and registered or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries. 647915 2020-4

IFEA VISION A globally united industry that touches

Publisher & Editor Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE, President & CEO

lives in a positive

Assistant Editor Nia Hovde, CFEE, Vice President

way through

Director of Marketing & Communications

celebration.

Advertising Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of Partnerships & Programs

Art Director Craig Sarton, Creative Director

Contributing Writers Steve Adelman, Lisa Apolinski, Robert Baird, Alison Baringer English, CFEE, Dave Bullard, Jeremy Eskenazi, Daris Gibbons, Jeremy Gross, Laura Grunfeld, Grace Jackson, Jill J. Johnson, MBA, Florence May, S. David Ramirez, Kim Skildum-Reid, Liz Uram, Robert Wilson, Kate Zabriskie

For association or publication information: IFEA World Headquarters 2603 W. Eastover Terrace Boise, ID 83706, U.S.A. +1.208.433.0950 Fax +1.208.433.9812 With respect to interactions with members/customers or those applying to be members/customers, the IFEA will not cause or allow conditions, procedures, or decisions which are unsafe, undignified, unnecessarily intrusive, or which fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy. If you believe that you have not been accorded a reasonable interpretation of your rights under this policy, please contact the IFEA office at +1-208-433-0950 ext. 8180.

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IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

Fall 2021

http://www.ifea.com

Good Times Need Quality Insurance.

Festivals are always a fun time, but they do come with their own set of inherent risks. Be proactive and protect your event with Haas & Wilkerson Insurance.

Entertain the idea of insurance solutions for your festival including food, music and cultural heritage, art, agriculture, and more. Get traditional property and casualty insurance customized to your unique industry needs.

With more than 80 years of experience and access to exceptional markets, we’re able to provide quality solutions that are cost-effective and event-specific.

For a comprehensive review of your coverage and exposure, call 913 . 432 . 4400 or visit hwins.com/GoodTimes Independent agent representing Westchester, a Chubb Company, Programs Division. Insurance provided by Ace American Insurance Company and its U.S. based Chubb underwriting company affiliates. Chubb is the marketing name used to refer to subsidiaries of Chubb Limited providing insurance and related services. All products may not be available in all states.

For a list of these subsidiaries, please visit www.chubb.com.

the business of international events

4 Future Trends for Event Organizers to Watch

F E AT U R E S

Learning from the Pandemic The VIP’ification of Events What is the Role of a Sponsorship Sales Manager?

Is Your Festival / Event the “IFEA Fan Favorite”?

On the Cover: The 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show was a history-making event – the globally-known, award-winning Show moved outdoors for the first time in its 193-year history. It was held in FDR Park in Philadelphia (the park is a national historic landmark), allowing hundreds of thousands of visitors to experience this amazing horticultural event in a natural habitat as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

20

4 Future Trends for Event Organizers to Watch

By S. David Ramirez

24

Learning from the Pandemic The VIP’ification of Events

By Jeremy Gross

28

Press Releases: Make ‘em Count!

By Daris Gibbons

34

What Is the Role of a Sponsorship Sales Manager?

By Kim Skildum-Reid

38

I’m Stuck in Weeds and Can’t Get Out: The Micromanager’s Recovery Guide

By Kate Zabriskie

42

Avoid The Five Biggest LinkedIn Blunders

by Lisa Apolinski

46

Don’t Lose Great Talent by Focusing on Years Of Experience!

By Jeremy Eskenazi

70 Marketplace

50

Fall 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3 “ie” is published quarterly by the International Festivals & Events Association, 2603 W. Eastover Terrace, Boise, ID 83706, USA. Permission to quote from material herein is granted provided proper credit is given to IFEA.

Motivating the Un-motivated: Don’t Give Up Too Soon

By Liz Uram

52

The Secrets to Big Fish Selling

By Jill J. Johnson, MBA

DEPARTMENTS 10 IFEA President’s Letter 14 IFEA World Board 16 IFEA Foundation Board 18 The PR Shop 22 May I Help You? 26 Prune & Bloom 32 Adelman on Venues 36 Everyone’s Invited 40 Digital Life 44 Festivals Without Borders 48 The Uncomfort Zone

IFEA PRESIDENT’S LETTER

BY STEVEN WOOD SCHMADER, CFEE

Following more than a year of unprecedented global impact by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, on our own industry and many others, we are beginning to see some signs of hope and positivity in many global regions, although others are still in the heat of the pandemic. Globally, we are seeing new signs of spread by the COVID delta variant among the unvaccinated and even some (still rare, fortunately) breakthrough cases among those who are fully vaccinated, that risk taking us backwards; a place that none of us wants to be.

While we are all ready for a full return to normalcy, this is still not a disease that anyone can totally predict or prevent. We are all (including medical experts) learning and doing the best that we can to respond to the realities that surround us, including the unwillingness of so many to get vaccinated. For our industry and so many others, until everyone is protected and vaccinated, and global travel can resume safely across all borders, there are still many challenges to be faced, much support to be provided, and creative new directions to be explored together.

All that noted, as we look ahead to the future, we understand that recovery (likely in gradual steps) for our industry will take time. The analogy of a ‘dimmer switch’ versus a ‘light switch’ is a good one. Nice weather and the initial removal of masks by the limited percentage of those who have been fully vaccinated are not the panacea for all of our challenges. Even under perfect scenarios, staffs must be rebuilt; financial reserves must be replenished; new health and safety considerations (and their related impact on both revenues and expenses) must be taken into account; the limited availability and/or rising costs of mandatory/essential insurance coverages, products, services, and volunteers must be considered and planned for; government support is still being sought and waited on to offset future risk and replace current losses; travel restrictions - impacting attendees, performers and others - must be planned for; and the ability to require proof of vaccinations and/or timely negative testing results continue to vary widely across state, province and country borders, as well as selected venues. And above all, short-term risk must be balanced in favor of long-term financial health and sustainability.

Through surveys to access the current realities for our members and industry; consideration of all of the above; communications with other allied partners; and the reality/impact of many postponed 2021 events moving to the later quarters of the year; we have made the difficult decision not to hold our annual IFEA Convention, Expo and Retreat presented by Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, and our 2021 Awards Programs, with an eye on protecting the overall health and sustainability of our own organization, as well as all those in our global industry.

That decision noted, we do plan a continued and very full schedule of on-line education; professional networking; 10

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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professional certification; and a plethora of invaluable benefits and resources in the months ahead.

With a positive belief that the world (as a whole) and our essential global industry will continue to gain an increased understanding of; further control over; and proactive protection against the COVID-19 pandemic (including newly-identified variants), in the months ahead, we intend to focus our efforts on using our combined experiences – strengthened by fire over the past year and a half - to imagine and lay the foundations for a bright new future for our events, our industry, and the communities and countries that host them.

Coming quickly out-of-the-chute in 2022 (conditions allowing), we look forward to: • The return of our highly popular IFEA/NRPA Event Management School • Our first-ever ‘IFEA Leadership 100 Retreat’ • The continuation of our educational IFEA Webinar Series and Affinity Groups • The return of our annual IFEA Convention, Expo & Retreat presented by Haas & Wilkerson Insurance in the last quarter of 2022 (Date & Location TBA - but plan for our usual late September/October time frame.)

• And our Award Programs including the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Insurance Pinnacle Awards (with new categories and expanded entry windows to recognize and include the remarkable creativity produced before and during the pandemic, that still must be properly recognized); the IFEA World Festival & Event City Awards; the IFEA Hall of Fame and the IFEA Volunteer of the Year Award.

Additionally, we also have a busy second half of 2021 in store for you, including: • Webinars on Demand available free to IFEA Members this July & August • A new CFEE Student led Webinar Series presented

by Kaliff Insurance, coming September & October (Details available soon) • Our ‘Certified Festival & Event Executive (CFEE)’ Professional Certification Program presented by Kaliff Insurance, with classes offered this November • Our continued monthly IFEA Affinity Groups, including a new one focused on the critical area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) • Continued quarterly issues of “ie” Magazine sponsored

by Kaliff Insurance (the next one coming in October) • Our new ‘IFEA Fan Favorite’ competition and fund-raiser, and • The IFEA Foundation Auction & Ultimate Experience coming this Fall (details available soon) Continued on page 69

HELP A FELLOW IFEA MEMBER MAKE A DONATION TO THE

MEMBER

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS ASSOCIATION

A MEMBER CAMPAIGN TODAY!

Over the past year, a number of valuable and long-standing members within the IFEA Membership, have had to make the difficult financial decision not to renew their IFEA Membership and, by doing so, have lost access to those many important resources and opportunities to connect with their professional peers. Can you . . .

Help a Fellow IFEA Member Get Back on Their Feet.

Help Provide a Festival with Access to Important Professional Resources.

Help Provide an Event with Access to Critical Educational Opportunities.

Help Provide Vendors Important Access to our Valuable Industry Network.

Help the IFEA Support Our Essential Global Industry!

Extend a supportive hand and help others see beyond their hurdles to the hope and possibilities that still lie ahead, by making a donation to the IFEA Foundation’s “Member-Fund-A-Member Campaign” today. For every $100 raised, the IFEA will provide a 12-month “Welcome Back” IFEA Membership to a Member who has not been able to renew their IFEA Membership in the last year.*

MAKE A DONATION TODAY!

BRING BACK

EVENTS T he fastest way through the current global pandemic, with a return to normalcy for all global events, is to take a leadership role in encouraging all of those whom we influence – locally, nationally and globally – to take the steps and do the right thing, starting with each individual, that will bring this COVID-19 virus under control.

In support of that leadership initiative, the IFEA has created a series of ‘Bring Back Events’ messages that we invite you to use and share on your own web sites and social media platforms. Download and use our predesigned and ready-to-use messages, HERE.

BRING BACK EVENTS - GET VACCINATED

One of the greatest tools that will allow us to save lives and ‘Bring Back Events’ is for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are allowed and able, aiming for a ‘herd immunity.’ If your attendees understand that the result will allow us all to gather again, sooner than later, to celebrate our events, our communities and who we are at our best, we will all benefit from the result.

BRING BACK EVENTS - WEAR A MASK

A simple, but proven and highly effective method of lowering the spread of the virus and saving lives, please encourage others to join us in this step that will help ‘Bring Back Events’ for everyone.

If you are interested, the IFEA has a series of event-oriented masks. Or, you may want to consider creating one or more custom masks for your own event(s). Learn more HERE.

BRING BACK EVENTS - SAFE DISTANCE

At events and gatherings of all sizes, safe distancing will help ensure that the transmission of the COVID-19 virus is kept at bay, while still allowing for some welcome, and often necessary, human encounters. Be considerate and encourage safe distancing of 6’ or more.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US

‘BRING BACK EVENTS’.

BRING BACK EVENTS.

WEAR A MASK. I

t’s a simple action with results that have the power to be profound.

Here at the IFEA, we’re continuing to do our best to help speed the return of festivals and events to their full operating capacity, while working to protect the health and safety of those all around.

We believe that wearing a face mask will be a part of the ongoing risk management requirements and expectations for some time to come, and wanted to offer some fun and festive masks of our own with elements of the industry.

As a result, we have partnered with long-time IFEA Member Steve Thomson with Dynamic Displays/ Fabulous Inflatables, and his new company Maskcott, to create IFEA branded face masks for purchase.

Your mask purchase helps the IFEA to raise funds for much-needed programs and services and serves as a vivid reminder and show of support to others that while our industry may be at a temporary standstill, it is not to be forgotten.

COMES IN 2 STYLES

OVER THE EAR & OVER THE HEAD

AND 3 SIZES

LARGE $19.99 MEDIUM $17.49 SMALL $14.99

Click Here to Order Today!

IFEA WORLD BOARD

BY TED BAROODY, CFEE

WE ARE

BACK!

W

ell, maybe somewhat back at least? I realize several campuses, venues, conferences and events are still in limbo or shifting, but there has been a great push forward for live programming and our industry as a whole over the past few months. Personally, we at Festevents have been part of 200-person community programs, 2,000-person productions and have hosted 20,000 guests for each of two traditional festivals over the past couple of months. In many ways, there are moments that feel like we are truly back. As we all are seeing, the demand from the public is there and it is strong. However, lack of staffing and police, food and beverage complications and of course the occasional mask, all quickly remind us that there is even more progress to be made to reach the “good old days”.

Before we make the full transition to the new normal, it is worth both a quick flash back in time and then a look to the future with the hopes of better preparing for the remainder of 2021 and the planning of 2022.

Flashing Back Though health and wellness remain the priority and are a part of every conversation - masks, no masks, CDC Guidelines, etc., we must remember that prior to the pandemic, there were some difficult conversations taking place and very serious challenges to overcome. Security procedures, active shooters, perimeters, gates and tickets at free and open to the public events were all hot topics.

As we continue to progress through the pandemic and wrestle with new variants of the virus, we must not forget the major issues of the industry prior to the shutdown. Safety, the basic safety and security of our guests, volunteers, staff, performers and partners must remain priority number one!

Flash Forward With so many unknowns in the world, it has never been more difficult to organize your long-range planning and work on strategic goals. This said, we must make time to flash forward and plan 14

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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accordingly for the continuing technological wave of services and gadgets that once again are changing our campuses, parks, venues and cities as a whole.

In a recent article in the Sports Business Journal, Bret McCormick and Eric Prisbell wrote an interesting piece titled, “Experience Is Everything”. They write about keeping the sense of community as technology moves forward with artificial intelligence, mixed reality moments and the blending of realities.

And, here I am still stuck on trying to make sure there is ample wifi in our city parks for the big events?

The writers cover topics such as the next generation of wifi, data privacy and virtual reality. They hint at holograms of famous people greeting you as you enter and even greeting by name as you enter, with directions to the bar serving your favorite beer. They have you visualizing a large digital image of a Coke bottle floating over the crowds’ heads, replacing the physical blimp of the past. They even talk about facial recognition later in the publication.

The only way to balance all this moving into the new normal, is to keep the guest in mind in everything we do. This is good news for us as we are the scientists and the techies of the human spirit! If anyone can connect back to the past, not forgetting what is important to carry forward, all while integrating the realities of the future – it is us! We are the industry that takes the social trends and challenges of the time and wraps it with a woven blend of great traditions and never seen before experiences in a safe, memorable presentation!

Ted Baroody, CFEE IFEA World Board Chair President Norfolk Festevents Norfolk, VA

IFEA FOUNDATION BOARD

BY KEVIN GROTHE, CFEE

WE SURE

L

MISSED YOU!

ive, in-person festivals and events…we sure have missed you!

We have missed bands jamming on stages and patrons swaying to their favorite songs. We have missed the competition of bragging rights determining who makes the best ribs, chili, hot wings, gumbo, bread, and pies. We have missed fireworks being shot off into the night sky. We have missed the floats parading down streets. We have missed celebrations of Irish, German, Hispanic, and African culture. We have missed arts created by talented individuals. We have missed the public observance of the 4th of July, Christmas, New Years, and other national holidays.

And for those of us in the festival and event industry, we have missed working along side our dedicated volunteers. We have missed the smell of our food vendors preparing delicious eats. We have missed our many vendors who provide security, fencing, staging, electricity, and of course port-o-lets. We have missed our corporate partners who provide financial support and engaging activities.

Simply put, we have missed doing what we love, producing festivals and events for others to enjoy.

Guess what? Our patrons have missed us too!

That is why the IFEA Foundation has created the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition. A fun competition among Festivals / Events for their fans to vote on what Festival / Event they have missed the most during this unprecedented pandemic.

Pro-Tip: To increase your chances of winning, IFEA will provide a direct link for you to share with your fans, for them to go to, to vote for you! Your sole job after entering the competition, is to rally your fans and share your voting link/images, etc. via Email, Facebook, and Twitter encouraging your fans to vote for you! As you advance in each round, the process repeats!

As you ponder over taking the plunge to enter this NEW IFEA Award competition, let me share a few reasons why your festival or event should participate in the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Entering can be completed in 3 easy steps: 1.

2.

3.

Enter your Festival / Event Contact Information BEFORE August 30, 2021 Provide a description and photo to promote your Festival / Event Pay the IFEA Member Rate of $25 entry fee per Festival / Event!

(Non-members can register their event for $225 and receive a one-year IFEA membership at the same time!)

How do you become the IFEA Fan Favorite?

The top Festival / Event will be selected by public voting; thus the fans of Festivals / Events will select the winner! It only costs a mere $1 per vote, with no limit on how many votes a fan may purchase! All funds received from voting will be donations to the IFEA Foundation.

Voting will take place in 3 easy steps too, by way of 3 rounds of voting, by the fans. Each voting round will be for one week.

1.

2.

3.

16

Round 1 (the Preliminaries) will be from Sept 13 – Sept 20.

The top 50% vote getters from this round will advance to Round 2, the Semi-Finals.

Round 2 (the Semi-Finals) will be from Sept 20 – Sept 27.

The top 50% vote getters from this round will advance to Round 3, the Finals.

Round 3 (the Finals) will be from Sept 27 – Oct 4. This is the round you want to call in every favor and get your fans to vote for you many times over, as this round will crown the IFEA Fan Favorite!

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

Fall 2021

5.

For starters, this is a NEW IFEA Award competition! This is your chance to take part in something that nobody else has done before and be awarded the 1st IFEA Fan Favorite title!

The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way to keep your festival or event top of mind with your Fans, whether it has been able to happen or not. Admit, we are always looking for ways to keep our festivals and events in front of our constituents even when it is not “event” season. This is a great opportunity to do just that!

The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition takes such little time register, is easy to promote and extremely affordable at $25 per Festival/ Event for IFEA Members. Allocate five minutes and you will have your festival or event registered. Once you receive your voting link, (closer to the start of voting Round 1) you just need to rally your fans, share the voting link and let your fans take over!

Let us not forget the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a fundraiser for the IFEA Foundation. All funds raised will benefit the IFEA Foundation in our effort to help the IFEA support the Festivals & Events Industry by sharing important resources, presenting valuable education, providing critical information updates, and so much more!

The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way for festivals and events to share their involvement with, and their support, of the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA). The IFEA has been a constant support to the Festivals & Events Industry, through the pandemic and beyond. Participating in the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way to show your support of the IFEA and your pride of our wonderful industry. We are fortunate to do what we do and should not shy away from sharing the importance of our industry and the association that represents all of us.

So let us celebrate the festivals and events we have missed this past year. Sign up today for the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition. Deadline to enter, Monday, August 30, 2021.

To learn more or enter the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition, Click Here.

Kevin Grothe, CFEE IFEA Foundation Board Chair Vice President of Sponsorships Memphis in May International Festival Memphis, TN

IFEA FAN FAVORITE IS YOUR FESTIVAL / EVENT

THE “IFEA FAN FAVORITE”?

Enter Today to Find Out! WHAT IS THE IFEA FAN FAVORITE? It’s a voting competition where the fans of festivals and events around the globe can vote on what Festival / Event they have missed the most and are most excited to attend LIVE when all the COVID-19 restrictions are no longer in place!

WHO CAN ENTER: Whether you’re an organization that produces one Festival / Event (large or small) or many; or you’re a City/Municipality, Chamber/CVB, Parks & Recreation Department, University, Tourism Agency or something in-between that produces a Festival or Event – the “IFEA Fan Favorite” is for you! Enter one Festival / Event or enter them all!

HOW TO WIN: The winner of the “IFEA Fan Favorite” will be chosen

by YOUR FANS! The fantastically wonderful people that have missed you over the past year will have the opportunity to show everyone how much your Festival / Event has been missed and how much they’re looking forward to its return, by voting for

you… over… and over… and over… in hopes of making your Festival / Event the “IFEA Fan Favorite”!

DEADLINE TO ENTER: Festivals & Events of all types and sizes can submit entries by Aug 30, 2021.

Voting by your fans will take place September 13th, 2021 – October 4, 2021.

WHY SHOULD YOU ENTER: The “IFEA Fan Favorite” not only gives the fans of your Festivals and Events the opportunity to vote for their most missed Festival / Event and keep your events top of mind, but all votes received will help raise funds for the IFEA Foundation.

Fans can vote for your Festival / Event one time or many times over! *All it takes is $1 USD per vote. All voting proceeds will go to the IFEA Foundation and their mission to support the IFEA as we continue to share import ant resources, present valuable education, provide critical information updates, help establish and strengthen industry connections, and so much more!

LEARN MORE | ENTER HERE www.ifea.com/p/industryawards/ifea-fan-favorite

THE PR SHOP

WITH DAVE BULLARD

OF EEYORE

AND EMAIL

What if I told you that there was a tool available for your public relations and marketing efforts that was cheap, available to everyone and effective with the young people and young families that are the most valuable targets of our events?

“I already have it,” you’d answer. “Facebook.” Nope.

Instagram? Tik Tok? Twitter? No, no and no.

Email. Plain old email. Homely, simple old email. Normally overlooked in favor of the shiny tools of social media. The Eeyore of the Hundred Acre Wood of marketing.

Email is nearly as old as the internet itself. Since 1971, it’s been possible to type a bit of text and send it to someone using an @ sign as the code that says this is a message going from one person to another. Because email is so old, so normal, it’s easy to take it for granted as a marketing tool. Don’t.

The Pew Research Center says about 70% of all Americans have a Facebook account and about 70% of those Facebook users check it daily. Doing the math, that means that about 49% of all Americans check in on Facebook at least once a day. Facebook is the king of digital marketing, right? That’s what they tell us.

But think about this: More than 90% of all American internet users check their email at least once a day. 90% versus 49%.

Now think about this: Your customers have to go to Facebook.

Email comes to them and is ready and waiting when they open up their laptops and fire up their phones to see how their world changed overnight. Facebook only shows your content to a small portion of the people who’ve signed up to see your news. Email goes to everyone who wants it, every time.

The highest users of email? People ages 25 - 44, according to Statista. That’s the group we event marketers tend to covet most – young adults and families with young children. A survey by Adobe found that young adults actually prefer email over texting and chat.

Email use cuts across all ages and ethnicities. And yet we focus our attention on social platforms at the expense of reliable, simple email.

Here’s a plan to help you rediscover the value of email: Be regular. Set a schedule to send regular emails to get people caught up on what’s new and interesting. Think about a schedule made up of three schedules: One for the offseason, one for the buildup to the event, and one for the time right around your event.

In the offseason, once a month might do. It will remind people you’re around and keep you top of mind.

Think about some kind of promotion for the offseason that will generate interest. At the New York State Fair, we have run offseason sales of discounted admission tickets on Cyber Monday and at the day that marks six months to the Fair in order to keep the buzz going.

During the buildup, be more frequent. You should have more news, so there’ll be plenty to talk about. Once a week or once every two weeks should do. And near the time of the event, be in their inboxes daily or nearly so.

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IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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Be interesting. Adopt a more informal, chatty style for these emails. (You may have to convince superiors or board members that these are not formal press releases.) Remember that you’re talking to one person, so make it conversational. No big words, no jargon, no dense sentences. Keep it simple.

To make your news more interesting, ask yourself a simple question about anything you want to discuss: “What’s in it for the reader?” Telling the reader you’ve got 45 curated artists is not going to motivate them to come. Instead, tell them about the incredible art that will brighten their homes and enrich their lives.

The features of your event are irrelevant to them; they come for the benefits they derive from those features. Talk about the benefits.

Be brief. People get a lot of email and delete many emails just from the subject line. Spend time and thought on that subject line. Don’t use the headline from a press release. Say something in a way that entices the reader to open the email. Subscription tools such as Constant Contact allow you to run an A/B test on email headlines and will wait to send the majority of emails until it discovers the headline that produces the greatest open rate.

Once they’ve opened the email, make the content short and, if possible, visual. You have their attention, but only very, very briefly.

Boil it way down. Use links to your website to provide additional information to those who want it. It’s okay to have a few elements in the newsletter, but keep them all short.

If you can’t afford a tool such as Constant Contact and your list is small, use a free Google Form to collect email addresses. These emails don’t have to be slick. They just have to deliver value in a tight package. Do these things and you might just discover why email, at age 50, is, like Eeyore, still pushing forward and, for those who know it best, still beloved in marketing’s Hundred Acre Wood.

Dave Bullard is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, the nation’s first and oldest state fair, dating to 1841. He has spent his entire life in and around media, spending many years in print, radio, TV and online media in addition to running a solo PR, marketing and video production business and founding one of the nation’s first online-only local news publications in 1999.

Dave is also the moderator for the IFEA PR and Marketing Virtual Affinity Group every 2nd Tuesday of the month and welcomes you to attend their monthly chat! Dave can be reached anytime at dave.bullard@agriculture.ny.gov and is here to support the great people and events of our industry.

Don’t hesitate to drop him a note with suggestions, thoughts or counterarguments anytime.

Why Use a Portal?

People use portals to get links to search, videos, user posts, purchases, history, resale items...

TRIPinfo.com is a portal used for logistics and details that are needed when planning Leisure Group Trips.

Common Denominators

Popular Portals

TRIPinfo.com

Pioneer

Some of the first commercial websites launched in 1996

One of the first commercial travel websites – launched in 1996

Purpose

Trusted website, loyal audiences

Trusted website, loyal audience

Design

Simple, clean, and largely unchanged since launch

Simple, clean, and largely unchanged since launch

Among the most popular global websites...hundreds of millions, even billions of monthly visits

Most popular website in its category...consistently 40,000-50,000 monthly visits

Pages per Visit, Time on Site

Higher than non-portal sites

Higher than non-portal sites

Bounce Rate

Lower than non-portal sites

Lower than non-portal sites

Influence

Privacy

User privacy protected. Acceptable Ads Certified: Strict global standards for unobtrusive, self-selected, tasteful ads

4

FUTURE TRENDS FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS TO WATCH

BY S. DAVID RAMIREZ The events of the past few years have changed everything for event organizers.

Right now, we’re in the middle of a post-lockdown spike in business. People have been stuck at home for over a year and now there is record setting pent-up demand.

But, like the revenge spending after a bad breakup, this current demand is temporary.

20

All indications are that the events, travel, and tourism industries have three years of slow rebuilding ahead of them.

Let’s gaze into the crystal ball. There are a number of clear trends that festival organizations can leverage to make these rebuilding years easier, more sustainable, and set themselves up for success.

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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Social Commerce One-third of all US social network users will make a purchase directly through a social platform before the end of the year. They will choose to skip websites, elaborate eCommerce flows, and traditional buyer journeys. Why deal with the extra work when their favorite brands

let them connect and buy with a few taps of their fingers?

The continued expansion of Social Commerce requires a mental reset. 2020 forced people of all ages and demographics to adopt technology at record paces. Baby Boomers infiltrated Instagram. Gen X and Millennials became powerplayers on TikTok. Gen. Z now has significant disposable income as more and more of them graduate from college and enter the workforce.

Previous hesitancy about online and mobile purchases has decreased across all sectors. Even as the world starts to open up, people have become accustomed to the speed and convenience of digital transactions.

Social networks have moved quickly to deploy tools and functionality that supports this changing paradigm. All the major sites have ways for users to interact and purchase from brands, all without ever leaving the page.

Question for Event and Festival Organizers: • Do I have a clear understanding of how social media fits into my buyer’s journey?

• Have I explored all social commerce or shoppable social tools on my preferred platforms?

• Have I talked to my fans, attendees, and staff to understand how their social media usage has changed in the past two years?

• Do I have tools in place to track how social media is driving engagement and accelerating purchase patterns?

• Am I actively targeting Generation Z as a source of attendance, volunteerism, or staffing?

Hybrid Experiences Early research into event attendance and consumer sentiment has found that people are still years away from returning to the mega-conferences that dominated the 2010’s. Now, people seem more inclined to regional and niche-topic activations. Event organizers have an opportunity to capture market share and gain new audiences by engaging these hesitant consumers.

We’re already written about hub-and-spoke as a strategy for engagement. If multiple simultaneous events make you concerned, consider operating with one foot in the physical and one in the virtual.

Hybrid events should still be considered as two events. Consumers have higher expectations for streamed media. They want to be able to experience all aspects of the event, whether they’re there in person or participating from their couch.

Question for Event and Festival Organizers: • Do I have the technical ability and staffing capacity to operate an in-person and virtual event simultaneously?

• Can I replicate experiences like vendors, cultural elements, and placemaking using digital technologies?

• Do I have a mechanism to sell and fulfill merchandise to remote attendees?

Bleisure Travel We are experiencing a release of pent-up demand for events and travel.

But experts are speculating that once this passes, there will be years of rebuilding for travel, tourism, hospitality, and events.

After major global events, the first thing to recover fully is business travel. This has turned savvy marketers to consider targeting a persona known as the Bleisure traveler.

Bleisure is a portmanteau of the words business and leisure. It references a person who is traveling to a destination to conduct business. They can often be incentivized to add on “shoulder” nights and include leisure activities outside of business hours.

Best practice is to make sure your event is staying in touch with local tourism authorities, convention and visitors’ bureaus, and other destination marketing organizations. They, along with other hospitality organizations, can ensure that business travelers know about opportunities to participate in local events.

Question for Event and Festival Organizers: • Are your event listings updated with your local travel information authority or DMO? • Are there any local business events, tradeshows, or conferences happening in proximity to your event?

• Is there an opportunity to offer “excursions”, offsites, or other cultural enrichment programming to local business events?

• Do you have a program or marketing piece in use that targets businesses who are seeking “team-building” or other group outings?

Hyper-personalization Changes to tracking and privacy laws on the internet are bound to impact marketing efforts around the world. But regardless, marketing and communications professionals are moving towards a practice called hyper-personalization. Using information from your CRM, along with data enrichment from other sources, you can hyper-personalize your outreach to get the best results and drive the most revenue.

For example, let’s say that Person X Fall 2021

attends every jazz livestream you hosted in 2020. You know from their eCommerce purchases, they love to buy jazz CDs and t-shirts from the jazz performances. Now that in-person events have resumed, you see they are buying tickets to live jazz music. Your loyalty program shows they are also buying jazz merchandise at the live events. Why would you target them for anything other than relevant programming?

The previous example is very straightforward. But, using technology, you may discover that there are specific buyer personas that you have missed. These new technology solutions let even smaller marketing teams get incredibly granular in their targeting. The more specific and personalized the messaging, the more likely it is to drive revenue.

Think about the groups you target for marketing and communications messaging. Consider how you can encourage action by speaking to them on a hyper-personalized level.

Question for Event and Festival Organizers: • Are you practicing some sort of customer segmentation in your CRM (or general marketing practice)?

• Do you have personalization parameters set-up to make messaging feel more intimate?

• Do you have technology in place, or plan to implement tools that will help you understand and better target your audience?

• If you already have strong segmentation, have you reviewed your criteria since 2020?

The Future is Murky, but…

The future may be murky, but it is clear that people miss events. They want to engage with brands on social media. They want to have the option to participate in their preferred method. They want to experience new things. And, they want things to be personalized to them.

S. David Ramirez is a digital marketer and events manager at TINT, the world’s most trusted platform for adding authenticity to your digital media. He is the Executive Director of San Japan, an annual convention that brings 20,000 people to downtown San Antonio. David presents and facilitates workshops worldwide on topics like digital marketing, social media, and user-generated content.

Mostly, he’s a nerd. Talk to him about movies or video games.

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MAY I HELP YOU? | THE VOLUNTEER 2021 IS A MOMENT OF

ENORMOUS FLUX There does appear to be rapid return to public celebrations in many communities. There is pent up demand for live music, live performances, live sporting activities. A hunger for LIVE events is abound.

Festival Flux The mood and appetite are for Live events. But the official word for 2021 is not yet Roaring. It is Flux, as in continuous change.

You might have a different word to describe the crazy frenzy of managing reemerging live events, volunteer expectations and the frustrating reality of evolving COVID related requirements. Is your organization facing . . .

• Rushed timelines?

• Unclear expectations?

• Continuous pivots with new information and requirements?

• Hybrid work environments?

• Conflicted feelings about returning to live events?

Never mind all these issues. Many event planning organizations are doubling down in the face of economic realities, in particular the loss of income in 2020.

Roaring 20s One hundred years ago, the United States emerged from a pandemic and a major war into a time of manic celebration. The Roaring 20s were a period of exuberance in the arts, fashion, music and public gatherings. A wild abandon was experienced in many places.

Today, as we slowly emerge from the COVID pandemic, opinion articles are projecting 2021 as the beginning of the Roaring 2020s.

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Ready. Set. Go. A client recently stated, “I’m working longer and harder but feel like just spinning my wheels and not moving forward.”

Another client recently left the event space saying, “There is just too much uncertainty.”

And a client who is also a close friend told me, “I just can’t handle the volume of change. The constant pivoting in my personal and professional life is exhausting. What direction are we going?”

WITH FLORENCE MAY

And then so many event clients are concerned about major changes in staffing. Younger leaders and so many new staff.

These and many other client conversations reminded me of a book on Change Management written by Harvard’s John Kotter.

His books are on the challenges of Managing Change. In his recently released book, simply called Change, Kotter lays out management models focusing on periods of Flux and the stages to consider as we face this period of upheaval.

The volunteer management cycle hasn’t changed even if your program has changed. Consider your interaction with your volunteers.

• How are you sharing the changes and evolution of your event?

• How are you invigorating your volunteers?

• How are you reinforcing the priorities? Are you getting push back?

• What are your volunteers excited about?

• Are you sharing concerns with your leadership team?

• Are you collaboratively considering solutions and celebrations of small wins?

Volunteer Management Cycle

Change How do we gather safely? How are we considering shifting societal norms? How are we reacting to major generational patterns? Are we ignoring changing realities around us or embracing them?

The Kotter change model is instructive in event management but also specifically in volunteer management.

• The Need for Urgency: What are you doing and why is it important?

• Guiding team: Who is the leadership team? Has there been staffing changes? Are roles fully defined?

• Vision: What is the vision for your organization? Has it changed due to the pandemic? Does it address societal and generational shifts? Does the vision need to be reconsidered?

• Communicate Buy In: Who is communicating the vision?

How is it being communicated? Is the message and communication style keeping up or is stuck in 2019? Is the guiding team on board with the vision? Is the vision clearly communicated with staff and volunteers?

• Empower Action: Has a plan of action been identified that is in keeping with the 2021 vision? Are priorities defined? Is everyone aware? Have staff and volunteer roles and goals been clearly defined?

• Short Term Wins: Have you defined success? What does a win look like? What are short term goals to celebrate?

• Don’t Let Up: Is there a focus on shared vision? Is there collaborative teamwork? Are there shared goals while openly recognizing the challenges? Are you celebrating wins even the small ones?

• Make Change Stick: Is leadership reinforcing the vision and goals on a regular basis? With staff? With partners? With volunteers? With all stakeholders?

The Volunteer Cycle Now apply the change model to your day-to-day volunteer management program.

The New Roaring 20s?

This column is full of the questions we are all asking.

And the closing will be no different as I can’t claim to have definitive answers.

Could this moment be the beginning of a cut loose celebratory phase after a challenging time? Is this the moment to reorient your organization to a society that is changing in many ways? How is your organization preparing for people who are hungry for LIVE events but who also may be changed by the events of the past 18 months?

Reflect.

I see many event planners who are tired and even frustrated.

However, I also see event planners who love their communities and are seeking programs that provide for the greater good. It is time to rediscover the root of our passion for delivering festivals that bring our communities together to celebrate.

Florence May is the Founder and President of TRS Volunteer Solutions. Her company provides myTRS Software for hundreds of Festivals, Conventions, Non-Profits, corporations and Sports Commissions. Among these support for 26 Final Fours, 5 Super Bowls, 2 Republican National Conventions, 2 Democratic National Conventions, 18 F1 Races, 12 Special Olympic Organizations, Indy 500 Events and so many others.

Flory is a national Speaker, Author and Workshop Leader on Volunteer Management Trends. You may contact Flory with volunteer management questions at fmay@my-trs.com or 317.966.6919. And there is a library of volunteer management resources at www.my-trs.com/articles.

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Learning from the Pandemic -

The VIP’ification of Events

By Jeremy Gross

This past year has challenged the events community in ways that we never could have imagined. We watched as our beloved events and community gatherings were forced to take a hiatus and sadly, we also had to say goodbye to some that were unable to weather this monumental storm. Many have been placed into a state of “hurry-up-and-wait” and have pondered the future of our industry. When can we go back to normal? What will events look like after the pandemic? What will normal look like next season, next year, over the next 5 years? Should we go back to normal?

These are all fair questions that everyone has asked many times over this last year.

The uncertainty of the future has shifted our perspectives and will challenge us to go even further beyond what we thought we could accomplish to create a new model that can weather this and future storms.

Going forward first requires us to reflect upon the lessons we have learned this past year. As we approached that fateful 24

day in March, Vail’s events were in full swing as we always are that time of year.

We had just finished hosting the Burton US Open in late February and were preparing to welcome other large scale, spring events such as Taste of Vail, Spring Back to Vail, Vail Film Fest and Powabunga as the ski season began to wind down ahead of a vibrant summer schedule.

As the disease spread reached the US, then Colorado, I could sense that inevitable call to cancel our events. As the state and county announced positive cases and shutdowns, we began to notify key individuals and local media outlets of our intentions and there was little more to do than to wait and watch.

Those first few days and weeks, we all hoped that a short two-week break would be enough to get the disease spread under control. With every day that passed, it became clearer that we needed to look much farther down the line. We closed our offices, put all remaining events on hold

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and sent everyone home as we watched and waited for the next phone call or zoom meeting with county or state leaders, or the next press conference from Dr. Fauci.

Through the last few weeks of March, as the length of the shutdown became clearer, a new strategy was formulated.

We worked with the event producers of those last few spring events to make the incredibly difficult decision to cancel or postpone, a huge economic and emotional blow for our community. We discussed new dates for events, without the slightest idea on when the situation would improve.

Short postponements turned into full year delays and cancellations.

Over the next few months we watched as our community modified its behaviors and products to better serve the essential workers and our neighbors.

From distilleries producing hand sanitizer, to event producers setting up a COVID testing center, and our restaurants feeding those in need, we banded together at

remarkable speeds. Events were temporarily a distant memory. As time went on though, we saw opportunities to gather.

In late spring, we started working with our summer event partners on plans to adapt to the pandemic and our new normal.

At the Town of Vail, we consider special events part of the fabric of our community.

We saw demand for visitors very early on as people were escaping cities. To meet the needs of our business community and the guests that were coming to town, we rebuilt a robust summer events schedule and were fortunate to be able to host many of our regular events as scheduled, though, all with a great deal of adjustment which we never expected to undertake. These adjustments are now, just one year later, considered to be normal practice, but at the time, these were monumental changes that would need to be strategized to ensure success.

Our weekly, open air, open gate, farmers market now reduced the number of vendors in half to support social distancing and instituted a ticketing system and capacity restrictions. Arrows now indicated one-way directional traffic flow and a new online store was created to purchase goods for pickup for those guests who were not ready to return to in-person shopping.

What historically had been a gathering of 20,000-30,000 people enjoying our 4th of July parade, shoulder to shoulder, was now a flipped parade model. Our partners set up exhibits, or installations, around town and invited guests to move, instead of the floats. This created a full day event instead of what had been a mere 2 hours of enjoyment and allowed our community to enjoy the moment while allowing parties to spread out and move at their own pace. That was until, as if on schedule, Colorado’s infamous weather reminded us that Mother Nature could not be bested as it delivered torrential rain, forcing families to scatter. The bumper to bumper line of cars leaving the garages and families lining up for lunch reservations was alleviated. For the fireworks, we moved the launch site to a higher elevation to allow for the show to be visible from more areas of Town, even from the tops of the parking structures and the frontage roads for guests to watch from their cars. While it was not ideal, this challenge provided an opportunity to rethink what we had been doing for years and we were ultimately able to still meet the needs of even the most particular guest.

We were able to support our vendors and event production partners with opportunities we would have not otherwise worked with at this time of year. With very few events taking place in the state, we were able to

rent a mobile stage and PA for 10 weeks to setup a new turn-key concert venue. The park that was historically off limits for events, had ample room for social distancing, and with the addition of painted squares on the grass for distanced seating areas as well as easy to deploy perimeter fencing and stage sound at the flip of a switch, we were able to create a new event that we foresee becoming a staple on our calendar. By putting our resources into creating a venue that is easy and inexpensive to operate, we were able to invite new producers that were displaced from their original venue to host concerts in the park.

Through all of our event modifications, we attempted to meet our guest’s needs as best we could at their comfort levels to ease the transition into this new normal.

What do these events have in common with all events prior to the pandemic?

Overwhelming ingenuity and creativity!

Event producers are innately creative by design, but when faced with a challenge, stand back! We regularly create magic as we turn parking lots, ball fields and streets, into concert venues, art galleries, markets and race courses. The original plans for all pre-pandemic events were certainly creative, but how long had they operated under the status quo because they could? If not for the pandemic, would we have adjusted or just kept going? There was no need to ask if legacy events could or even needed to be rethought, reimagined, and reinvented.

Now is the time to consciously evaluate your events and the guest experience with your team and ask the important question,

how can we make this better and importantly, can this event last though another 2020?

One common theme we noticed at many of the events last summer was the VIP’ification of the guest experience.

When a beer fest is limited to 175 people at a time and run with multiple ticketed sessions, lines are dramatically reduced, and more space is created in what was often an overwhelming event. Brewers now have more time to interact and connect with guests, and the PA can be set to a lower volume to decrease the inevitable event exhaustion. When a parade turns into exhibits and lasts all day, you can eliminate the need for costly rolling road closures and safety and security staff. All the while exposing more businesses to more guests who would have otherwise not moved through town if they had instead set up camp in one spot to watch. You can spread out the traffic throughout the day so all 30,000 people aren’t all trying to eat, shop or drive away at the same time.

Timed entry for vendor-based events (farmers markets and art festivals) created a sense of urgency to buy. The public health requirement for more hand washing stations and restrooms meant shorter lines. Increased seating with social distancing allowed guests to have their own space. While not the red carpet, catered food and open bar of a true VIP offering, these event elements can elicit the feeling of a more VIP experience.

These changes to our events had real impacts both positive and negative. The revenue model for instance is significantly Continued on page 68

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PRUNE & BLOOM

A SEASON AMONGST

THE FAULT LINES

I have always loved the concept of seasons in our lives. It does my little heart (and probably even more so, my mind) good to know there is an ebb and a flow, a rhythm, a ying and a yang. An order, somewhere hidden amidst the chaos of life.

A song I loved to listen to when I was younger (thanks to Forrest Gump and my old, old soul), is The Byrds “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

They sing: “There is a season (turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose, under heaven A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep” I have thought about seasons a lot over the past year. I suppose big life changes like pandemics, divorce, and death can be a catalyst for these types of thoughts. Knowing there is an existence of such seasons brings a certain comfort, perhaps a nod to the realization that these things are “normal,” or “a part of life,” … part of the bigger picture, so to speak.

Hopefully in the life span of one individual, these tough life-altering experiences do not become the norm, but in the grand scheme of the world and human existence, they happen. Often. There is a time to die, a time to kill (dreams, plans, events, etc.), a time to weep; and it is all part of the overall being of the world.

I have given thought recently to the season we all seem to be traveling in together, right now. The (dare I say it) … transition from pandemic to post-pan26

demic. I hesitate to even mention this transition - communities all around the world are still dealing with the pandemic at vastly different stages and severities. But the fact remains, whether rightly so or not, many people are transitioning back into a form of “pre-pandemic” life.

In my home of North Carolina, this transition season began during April/May. Mask mandates lifted, caps on attendance and social distancing lifted…and what we have all been waiting for – EVENTS returned.

I attended my first large, public gathering in May. It was a concert at a local bar in a strip mall on the outskirts of downtown.

The 90’s band Everclear was playing, on a make-shift stage behind the building.

It was a mess. Not enough bathrooms.

Weird VIP ticket options with little to no signage or guidance to what/where those tiers were. Not enough food.

It was also glorious. Friends, laughing and hugging. LIVE MUSIC! Dancing in the parking lot.

For many of us, our events are in a season of change. We may be at a different time of year. We may be short staffed. Our vendors may not be able to provide their same level of service, because of staffing issues. And we all are thinking, even more than we normally do, about health and safety.

This is a season of uncertainty.

For the North Carolina Azalea Festival, everything is different. Normally five days in April; we’ve shifted to “Celebrating all twenty twenty-one long.” We still held a “Festival” in April; with a tour of 74 (for our 74th year) mini community stops with Queen Azalea, to a virtual Sun Run 5K, to an intimate three nights of a Chefs’

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Series. We spent more quality time with our sponsors, versus a large public grand event.

We are in plans to bring back our large, public events in July and August. A 3,500-person Garden Party, a three-day Street Fair, a grand Parade, and three nights of 7,000+ concert crowds.

And IT. FEELS. WEIRD. We are not used to spreading our planning and resources out over the summer. Our volunteer leadership isn’t in that normal spring-time flow of planning. Sponsors are not used to attending events throughout three months, and certainly not in the summer. We must actually alert the community to when our events are taking place. And added provisions for excessive heat; August in coastal North Carolina has much, much different weather than April in coastal North Carolina.

And the supply chain issues. Labor shortages. Interns not available at this time of year. Golf cart rentals already booked up for the summer. Staple vendors, who sadly did not make it through Covid, forcing our hand at sourcing and training new help.

Perhaps one of the hardest obstacles to grasp – the psychological toll we all are facing. In an NCB Los Angeles interview, Dr. Bridget Callaghan, UCLA assistant professor of psychology and director of UCLA’s Brain and Body Lab, stated that long term, chronic stress from an ongoing crisis – like a global pandemic – can essentially “max out” the brain’s ability to deal with new challenges.

“Day after day…it just eventually wears us down, to the point that we’re not able to cope with things properly,” Callaghan said. “That’s why everyday relationship, family, money, or job problems that would

WITH ALISON BARINGER ENGLISH, CFEE

have been manageable before, may feel completely overwhelming in the wake of the pandemic.”

George A. Bonarro, in his book, The Other Side of Sadness, states, “…each of us has only so much psychological energy to invest, and we have to use it economically.”

What should I pack for lunch today?

What am I going to wear to go into the office? Will my dog make it all day alone? How many wristbands do I need for this event? Who will manage the volunteer tent?

These are all seemingly trivial things, but we need to remember we are coming off A YEAR + of seemingly life and death decisions. Do I trust this person to enter my social circle? Which grocery store was it that had that a recent outbreak? Do I keep my children home from school? Is it safe to fly to go see family? Regardless of your stance on the severity of the virus, it was all the world was talking about for a year. And it was heavy. And it takes its toll.

And the constant barrage of loss, swirling around us daily – be it death, loss of jobs, loss of security, the economy…. is it any wonder we all went a little batty?

(Bad pun; apologies).

So how do we cope with this season of uncertainty? When workers do not want to work, or their minds are not working as normal? When our scheduling and workflow is all off? When it takes all your energy just to make that commute each day?

I look for examples of others who have successfully navigated seasons of uncertainty. Suleika Jaouad, in her book Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, leads us through her uncertain season so eloquently. From her biography: Born in New York City to a Tunisian father and a Swiss mother, Suleika Jaouad’s career aspirations as a foreign correspondent were cut short when, at age 22, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She began writing the acclaimed New York Times column and video series

“Life, Interrupted” from the front lines of her hospital bed, and has since become a fierce advocate for those living with illness and chronic pain.

As Jaouad says,” After you’ve had the ceiling cave in on you - whether through illness or some other catastrophe – you don’t assume structural stability. You must learn to live on fault lines.”

I am grateful it took me until I was 38 to experience my own life on the fault lines.

My father, my person, taken by pancreatic cancer. The Covid -19 pandemic, and cancellation of our industry. My divorce.

I had so many fault lines there was not a safe step for miles.

And what I learned during my season on the fault lines, and what I have learned from others such as Jaouad – is that this season, as uncertain and chaotic as it is – is also a blessing and our path to growth. Grace is paramount. Grace with a ton of courage to keep fighting, month by month, day by day, minute by minute, even second by second if need be. Lean into the sharp points but give yourself grace when it hurts like hell. We are all doing this with our events, and have been for the past year and a half.

Pema Chodron, in her book, When Things Fall Apart, tells us, “Everything that occurs is not only usable and workable but is actually the path itself. We can use everything that happens to us as the means for waking up.”

The pandemic has given all of us that loud, obnoxious wake up call. How we choose to answer this call may just be what separates the good events from the great events.

Some tips I have acquired from my dance amongst the fault lines: • Whenever anything feels out of control, set intentional, dedicated time to pause and organize it.

I have read copious amounts of business and self-help books in my life, and almost all talk about setting up processes to accomplish goals,

set habits, and achieve. Organization breeds processes, which breeds habits, which breeds progress.

James Clear, in his book, Atomic Habits, states:

“If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.

You do not rise to the level of your goals.

You fall to the level of your systems.”

• Surround yourself with people traveling your same path.

People have gathered in clubs since the beginning of time for a reason.

Comfort and experience are life-giving during times of uncertainty. For me, it was talking to friends who have already lost a parent, or friends who have already been divorced. It is also reaching behind you and pulling forward those who are earlier down that same path. Friends with parents recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, friends newly separated. Sometimes helping them helps you see just how far you have traveled.

For us in the events industry, we find these people in the event planners for every single event across the world that has had to pivot and re-imagine in keeping the community spirit and engagement up and events alive.

Luckily, we have the IFEA to serve as the perfect meeting place for this. I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show for the first time this summer. They pivoted dates (March to June), and re-imagined the venue from an indoor space to an outdoor space. Just hearing them tell humorous behind-the-scenes stories of guests behaving badly brought so much lightness to my heart, and renewed inspiration for my own upcoming events. And the hearing and seeing of what they did to navigate a post-pandemic large-scale event with Continued on page 69

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Mr. Ivy Ledbetter Lee creator of the first recorded press release in 1906,

Press Releases:

Make ‘em Count!

By Daris Gibbons

The press release is a long-standing method of getting information out to the public through traditional and now social media channels. But what do we really know about this much-used tool with which we often share a love/ hate relationship?

The first recorded press release is credited to Mr. Ivy Ledbetter Lee in 1906.

His public relations agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad when one of its trains derailed. Mr. Lee made the decision to be proactive. Instead of waiting to see what the press would write, he wrote and distributed the story from the railroad’s perspective. The New York Times published that release verbatim, and the press release was born! An interesting little side note about Mr. Lee is that he was a former journalist who had decided to “switch sides” to work in the public relations field because it paid better!

As news began to travel faster with the onslaught of technology, public relations firms worked tirelessly to get their messages in front of journalists. To that end, in 1952, the PR Newswire company began putting teleprinter machines into newsrooms across the country. These machines enabled PR agencies to get their messages out in their own words 28

over phone wires quickly and accurately.

Some PR firms would furnish the teleprinters to newsrooms for free. They then charged their PR clients a service fee to put press releases out on the machines.

Here I offer a bit of my personal history to help you, my reader, understand my background with the topic. When I officially became an employee of my mother’s advertising and PR firm some 81 years after Mr. Lee’s press release, 5” floppy discs were the height of technology. We used daisy wheel printers, a Xerox machine, envelopes, stamps, wet sponges in a dish, and the US mail service to get our client’s message out. I think this is where the roots of my “hate” part of my relationship with the press release began.

It is also where the concept of “lead time” was genuinely instilled within me.

Mom was the college graduate in the family. Her degree was in radio, television & film production. She was also a creative writer and had a knack for coming up with amazingly effective advertising campaigns for clients. She was also an avid researcher. All this added up to media contact lists that few small public relations agencies had at the time and a mailing routine that took no more than two days. The process went something like this: Once she had

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written the press release, my job was to print all the mailing labels (usually between 50 and 500), make copies of the release, fold, stuff, seal, address, stamp, and mail all of them. Then, we waited, sometimes up to 2 weeks depending on how far the press releases needed to travel.

We maintained lists of which media received what information for which client without the aid of Excel! After the appropriate waiting period came the time to work through our list for the follow-up calls. This step, I was taught, was the most critical part of the PR game. This step was the opportunity to build relationships with the media. I learned a lot about the different types of media and what they look for before they look at the information covered in a release. I realized I could easily establish a great rapport with many national and trade editors while local media could be a bit more stand-offish and reluctant to cover our client’s news.

I was excited that at the ripe old age of 19, I convinced newspaper and magazine editors across the country to write about our clients with no college education.

The day one of our local TV news stations came out to our client’s location to do a story about their innovative van conversions for paraplegic drivers was

a huge feather in my professional cap.

I was even permitted to “take point” as the contact person during the interview and helped coach the client through the interview. Up until that day, I was always in the background as the company “gofer.”

After that, I was deemed ready to learn to write the document that was the backbone of our little company, the press release! My education in high school beyond general studies was business and administrative assistance. I knew how to take dictation, write a letter, and file but, press releases terrified me! The internet was a way off yet, and my mom’s standards for writing were incredibly high.

She started by teaching me the essentials: the 5 W’s - Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Then, as applicable, the How. I made my first attempts; they were epic failures. Mom was more of a doer than a teacher, so I mainly learned through being corrected rather than directed.

She used to tell me that a press release was written like an inverted pyramid. The most important information goes at the top, and the details and “fluff” go at the bottom. The release was not the whole story. Their purpose was to generate enough interest in the subject that a reporter is assigned to start asking questions. That reporter then writes the article or broadcasts the story. She explained the value of public relations over advertising. A story written or covered by a reporter has more credibility in the public eye than even the best-placed ad.

While media has exploded into a genre that few can keep up with, the press release remains a marketing staple. It is

surprising that many marketing people still don’t understand how to write an effective press release or even IF one should be written. Perhaps the single-minded focus on “getting the message out” causes many to use the press release as a routine means to that end.

However, before we take the proverbial pen to paper for our next event press release, we need to ask ourselves some key questions. The first question we should ALWAYS ask is, “What makes this newsworthy?” The media is looking for real news. The fact that an event is happening is considered “fluff” by most media. That won’t sell papers or grab ratings. What amazing new thing is happening with your event? Do you have new systems in place? Did you land a colossal headliner? What information about your upcoming event is “WOW”?

Once you’ve figured out where the actual interest-grabbing news is, you want a headline that will stand out in an email box that could get over 500 emails a day!

Use your teams for this. I’ve even used my kids for this! Get creative, brainstorm, and use words that evoke an emotional response — a modern example, “ABC Festival Says, Sanitation is the New Sexy!” then go into the new ways the event is working to keep attendees safe in a post-pandemic world.

Sub headlines are a great way to draw your journalists in to investigate the release further. They serve as a “trailer” that allows them to glimpse what information they will find when they read.

Sub headlines are also a great place to begin to include keywords that help clarify

Fall 2021

the event, its purpose, geographical area, etc. Keywords also help grab the attention of those little search engine bots that can bring your information to the top of the press release distribution services (the modern equivalent to those teleprinters I mentioned) that journalists pour over in search of exciting stories. Our good friend, Google, also used these little bots and spiders to help get our message in front of potential attendees to help create the buzz we are looking to achieve.

Well, now that you’ve got their attention, introduce yourself! Place your contact information where they can’t miss it! Also, let them know when it’s safe to “let the cat out of the bag” and the city and state where the news is taking place.

Mostly, it looks something like this: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: (Person in the know) (Phone #) (email address) Anywhere, AZ Next is your “meat and potatoes” section. Here is where you want to think not just about presenting your 5 Ws but in what ORDER you can best give them!

Remember that inverted pyramid? Here is where it comes into play. The most important information should go at the top and take up the most space or sentences.

Sometimes, more and more often these days, that information is NOT the who but the WHY of the 5Ws. The next most important item comes next and takes up fewer sentences. Of course, the most appropriate “W” here would be the WHO. From there, each of the remaining Ws (and any possible HOWs) gets listed according to importance. With each taking fewer and fewer words. When you have included two or more Ws in a sentence, you’re on a roll! Remember that your goal is not to write the story; it’s to grab attention and pull in the reader as quickly as possible.

Think of it as the written version of your thirty-second elevator speech. You end it with an invitation to your reader to get off the elevator on your floor.

Need to include comparative statistics, figures, or quotes from key personnel?

While it may seem counterintuitive, this information only plays a “supporting role” for the “meat and potatoes” section.

Consequently, place it toward the bottom (the tip) of the inverted pyramid.

The name of this next section always invokes visions of Jack Torrance tending

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the s in the Stanley Hotel. It is called the boilerplate. The term initially did refer to the rolled steel “manufacture’s label” used on boilers that heated water.

In printing, metal printing plates were created for advertisements and syndicated columns then distributed to small, local newspapers. These plates standardized the information printed and, by analogy, became known as the “boilerplate.” This section tells journalists who your company is and what it does. Traditionally, it has been a brief description. Today, most press release writers direct the reader via a website link to their “About Us” or “Media” page that takes them straight to this information.

Now you want to remind them exactly where this unique story is coming from!

So, repeat the company or event contact information for good measure. In this space, the company or event is the star, not the individual bringing the news to their attention. You can think of it as the place

where you open the front door of your company/event and invite them to take a look around. The simplest way to do that is to extend a digital invitation for them to check out your website. Think about your landing page for this link. Do you want media to land in the same place as the general public? Is it ok if the general public lands on the page from a Google search?

At the very least, link them to either your home page or the about us page.

Now, show off!! Attach at least one phenomenal photo. It can be more of a challenge than it seems. “A picture’s worth a thousand words.” Choose those words carefully. Pick three to five pictures that convey the message you want about your event. Circulate them among your people and get feedback. You can even survey departments and friends to determine the top one or two photos.

It took years to get the “close to perfect” picture of knights fighting at our Renaissance Faire fundraiser. And

while one of the knights in the photo likes to take credit for being the star of the image, it was the background that was the true star! The audience, the tents, the straw bales, and the lack of glaring power wires in the background conveyed more information than the knights in the foreground. The photo as a whole says, “Come as you are and experience genuine historically accurate knights doing battle in a historical setting...up close and personal!” The best part? The spectators are smiling! That is my go-to photo.

In closing, how to close! Traditionally, the document ends with -30- or the more modern # # #. No one knows exactly where the tradition originates.

One theory comes from telegraph days when X marked the end of a sentence, XX marked the end of a paragraph, and XXX (Roman numeral for 30) marked the end of a story. The mark should appear either above the boilerplate or at the bottom of the document. In either case, it needs to be centered. It tells the reader that the document is complete.

Daris Gibbons is the Executive Producer at Village EVENTures Productions. Daris produces events in rural Northeastern Az to promote tourism and raise funds for a scholarship foundation she co-founded in 2016.

Event production is her fourth career and the one that allows her to best incorporate her passion for lifelong learning, team leadership, love of entertaining. Experienced in production through associations with her parents’ careers in the radio and public relations industries, Daris started doing events independently in 2008. The majority of the events she produces are historical in theme: a Renaissance Faire, Steampunk festival, and a Charles Dickens experience.

Tips & Tricks: • Try to keep the release to 400-500 words. If not, try to keep it to one page.

• According to Prowly.com, the best day to send your release is Thursday, and the best time to send it is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the recipient’s time zone.

• Think about attaching a short video in place of or in addition to photos. The best video length to maximize engagement these days is right about 3 minutes.

In closing, learn to be concise with information, creative with headlines, and above all else….SHOW THEM YOUR PASSION!

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ADELMAN ON VENUES

REOPENING

MADNESS!

“Readers are forewarned that the following was written in early June, 2021. It was accurate and reflective of the author’s views at that time. The author is a firm believer in a line attributed to the late Nobel economist Paul Samuelson, ‘When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?’”

I. Yo, Privacy Advocates – HIPAA Does Not Apply to Events I am fascinated by culture “controversies” that amount to little more than Monty Python-style arguments. We seem to have a lot of that in the U.S. these days, some of which is refreshingly easy to address. One such issue involves the supposed right to protect one’s vaccination status from disclosure to prospective employers or event hosts. To relieve the dramatic tension, there is NO SUCH RIGHT. The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act of 1996 is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Therefore, DHHS is probably a reliable source regarding the scope of the law it enforces. Here is what it has to say: The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically.

The Rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of personal health information, and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without patient authorization. The Rule also gives patients rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records, and to request corrections.

The Privacy Rule is located at 45 CFR Part 160 and Subparts A and E of Part 164. I do not recommend reading it unless you suffer extreme insomnia. As a public service, I offer the following handy Venn diagram to illustrate the intersection between the professions to which HIPAA privacy rights apply, versus those not subject to HIPAA. Feel free to share the image with any overzealous “privacy” advocates.

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Fig. 1. Professions subject to HIPAA privacy provisions on left

II. Legal Magic – How Invitees Turn into Trespassers I suppose I should be shocked and upset at the recent incidents of fan misconduct plaguing NBA arenas from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City. I am upset, but I may be losing the ability to be shocked by boorish behavior.

What has surprised me is that anyone questioned whether one can be banned and have their season tickets revoked for throwing stuff at players, loudly cursing their family in the stands, or trying to run onto the court during play. Who thinks there is a right to behave this way in someone else’s house? Evidently enough people that I was asked to explain the situation to the online publication Verify, which published an article and video called Yes, fans banned from arenas can face criminal charges if they return.

Most legal determinations require us to write and file pleadings that other lawyers respond to before a judge listens to arguments in court and then makes a preliminary ruling. This is different.

One’s right to be on someone else’s premises is almost selfenforcing in its simplicity. Here’s how it works.

Every worker, guest, and performer at an event space is a “business invitee.” That invitation is conditional, meaning the party who extended the invitation can revoke it if the recipient violates the conditions. In a venue whose rules include “No shoes, no shirt, no service,” for example, the right to service is

WITH STEVEN A. ADELMAN

conditioned on covering one’s feet. Fan codes of conduct, which are ubiquitous at professional sports venues, articulate the terms on which fan invitations are conditioned.

The magic trick is that once someone violates a condition, their legal status automatically changes from invitee to trespasser. A “trespasser” is anyone on the property of another person or entity without permission. Just like your neighbor has no right to grab a beer from your refrigerator and park on your sofa, fans cannot assault players.

From there, it’s a slippery slope for the misbehaving fan. Once they have no right to be in the building, any season ticket, which is also a conditional invitation, can also be revoked. The fan may get some money back so the club can avoid the aggravation, but the fan will not be allowed to return. Attendance at events is a privilege, not a right.

Coda: Employment works the same way, especially in “right to work” states. Workers have no right to keep their job if they refuse to conform to their employer’s health and safety rules.

Imagine if workers could decide for themselves whether to wear PPE on the job. The law provides ample support to resist that sort of thing.

III. Vaccine Passports are Legal, Except Where They’re Not I have written and spoken about vaccine passports a lot recently. I favor them for the simple reason that I favor reopening the event industry without causing avoidable sickness or death.

To me, that seems pretty non-controversial. I acknowledge that certain elected officials see this differently. Turning once more to the wisdom of Monty Python, “[a]n argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition,… not just contradiction.”

So there.

If you wish to gather my pearls of wisdom on this subject, I am extensively quoted in this Meetings Today article, Vaccine Passports? Meetings and Events Experts Chime In. Subsequently, I participated in a thirty-minute throwdown about vaccine passports for the Event Leadership Institute. Suffice to say that I did not hold back.

IV. If You’re Vaccinated, Come Back In, the Water’s Fine!

In the interest of leading by example, I attended my first full-capacity live event since early 2020. I joined more than 8,000 new friends for a Phoenix Rising soccer match. (Thank you for the tickets, USL!) It was hot and crowded in the stands, almost no one wore a face covering, and there was no physical distancing.

Because I have been vaccinated since February, I felt perfectly safe. Rising saved the day with a last-second goal that had the stands rocking with not a care in the world. It was great. There is just no substitute for live events. I hope to attend my first Major League Baseball game next week.

V. Coming Attractions I am excited to see event calendars and seats filling, at least in the States, which I hope will soon cause event professionals’ bank accounts to do the same.

In the meantime, I have been feverishly writing and speaking in anticipation of life returning to something closer to normal.

Save room on your coffee table for the next issue of NFPA Journal, for which I have written the Perspectives article about the Lag B’Omer crowd crush in Israel. Preview: Event professionals will be interested in my theory about how individuals assume a “risk identity” when they participate in tribal activities, and lawyers will want to argue my contention that we need to rethink the “open and obvious hazard” defense in the context of live events.

Serious safety nerds (a term of praise and admiration) can sign up soon to buy the 2022 edition of the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook. This is an encyclopedic 3,500- page two-volume treatise covering every aspect of fire and life safety. NFPA says the current edition includes chapters by “254 leading authorities.”

I am honored that my Chapter 4.4, Crowd Management, will replace one written by John Fruin, the father of American crowd management theory.

Finally, live performances are returning for me too. On July 15-16, I will be in Nashville with the Event Safety Alliance presenting at Summer NAMM, which is always a good time. In August, I will be speaking in Las Vegas and Orlando.

I look forward to seeing you out in the world! Steve Adelman Steven A. Adelman is the head of Adelman Law Group, PLLC in Scottsdale, Arizona and Vice President of an international trade association, the Event Safety Alliance. His law practice focuses on risk management and litigation regarding safety and security at live events throughout North America, and he serves as an expert witness in crowd-related lawsuits.

Steve Adelman is widely recognized as an authority on live event safety and security. He writes the monthly “Adelman on Venues” newsletter, he teaches “Risk Management in Venues” at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and he frequently appears in national and local media for analysis of safety and security incidents at public accommodations. Steve Adelman graduated from Boston College Law School in 1994.

He can be reached at sadelman@adelmanlawgroup.com.

Fall 2021

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By Kim Skildum-Reid A little while back, I wrote a blog about the role of a corporate sponsorship manager, which should be a much broader role than it’s usually specced.

But sponsors are by no means alone in 34

defining sponsorship roles too narrowly.

When we look at the other side of the equation – when we look at rightsholders – the job of a sponsorship sales manager is often defined as strictly a sales job. It’s

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about picking up the phone and sending emails, getting proposals out the door, and closing deals. And certainly, there are those aspects, but if that’s all the job is about – how many calls, how many

proposals, closing percentage – it’s unlikely to result in a big success.

No, in this day and age, sponsorship sales is a field driven by research, analysis, empathy, and creativity, so sponsorship sales managers need to have a much broader job definition and skill set.

So with that, here are the seven other hats sponsorship sales managers need to wear.

target markets, and industry.

The best salespeople in the industry know that, and spend a significant amount of time digging into the marketing (advertising, social) of a potential sponsor before contacting them or starting to craft a proposal. They know that the best way to get a sponsor’s attention, and get sponsors to invite a proposal, is to demonstrate that they’ve done their homework.

Visionary Sponsorship is no longer about selling benefits, but selling vision. It’s not, “These are the benefits you get for your investment”, but, “This is what you can accomplish with this investment”.

This approach shifts the sale from a commodity-driven transaction to a meaning-driven partnership. The skill level and legwork required to get a sale is higher, but value of the sale to both your organisation and your fans is also much greater.

Creative You need to be a creative. I’m not kidding. You need to get yourself into a headspace where you can translate the background information you’ve got about the brand, your understanding of the big marketing trends, and your deep understanding of the fans, the fan experience, and what has meaning to them, into a raft of creative ideas.

These are the leverage ideas you’ll use in your proposals, which will create the vision for your contacts, and anyone else they need to sell in on the sponsorship.

It’s these ideas, not the benefits, that sell modern sponsorship. If you’re uncomfortable with the creative part of the role, you need to assemble some creative firepower around you, because this part of the job is no longer optional.

Marketer (to Fans) There are two sides to marketing that a sponsorship sales manager has to embrace, and the first is about marketing to the fans – the people that care about your property. Even if you have a whole separate team doing the marketing for your property or properties, you still need to be across some very specific aspects of marketing: • Brand architecture – Your organisation and all of your properties are brands • Psychographic target market segmentation • Marketing plan – Your organisation’s plan for connecting with and nurturing your target markets.

Why do you need this information?

Because you can’t create a well-matched hit list of potential sponsors unless you understand both your target markets and all of the attributes, values, and hot buttons that form your property’s brand.

You also need to be able to articulate why your fans care, as meaning is the crux of modern sponsorship. Finally, being able to provide an overview of your marketing plan in the proposal shows professionalism, and gives sponsors a deeper understanding of your markets and capabilities.

Researcher Sponsorship sales is about understanding and being responsive to brand needs.

You can’t create a compelling, customised proposal, if you don’t understand their overall marketing objectives, priorities,

Brand Marketer I know… another marketing role. But this is different.

You don’t need to be a brand guru, but you do need to be conversant in brand marketing trends, terms, and metrics.

This will allow for a deeper understanding of what brands are trying to accomplish and why, and how to talk about these factors in a way that positions you as a clued-up peer.

Being able to look at your property from the sponsor’s point of view is also a critical factor in coming up with creative leverage ideas. If you were the sponsor, what would you do with the property to achieve brand goals? Nurture target market relationships? Increase brand alignment? This requires both an understanding of the brand, and a working understanding of brand marketing.

I suggest you read my white paper, “Disruptive Sponsorship”, which draws straight lines between cutting edge marketing trends and best practice sponsorship.

Fan Advocate The fans are the most important party to any sponsorship equation, but they’re not involved in the sales process. That means Fall 2021

that the sponsorship sales manager needs to be a fan advocate – promoting their best interest, like sponsors adding value to the fan experience, and protecting those fans from sponsorship deals that disrespect the fan experience.

Stakeholder Wrangler Doing sponsorship well requires whole-of-organisation participation, both in the approach to sponsorship, and the delivery of sponsorship. It’s no good selling a benefit that your producer can’t deliver. It’s no good crafting a beautiful proposal, only to have your chief executive do a handshake deal with a buddy for way less than it’s worth. And getting the fan marketing information you need to sell sponsorship is infinitely easier, if you’re working in tandem with the marketing team.

As a sponsorship sales manager, you’re likely to be the one – or at least part of the team – spearheading buy-in for best practice sponsorship across your organisation.

You’re the one liaising with operations about what is and isn’t feasible to deliver to a sponsor. You’ll be the one making the case to marketing about the need for specific components of the marketing plan. And you’ll be managing this whole process with people who probably don’t answer to you.

The Upshot Selling sponsorship is tough, and getting tougher, as sponsor expectations go nowhere but up. Without this well-rounded, creative, and empathetic approach to your job, you’re not positioned to meet those expectations. But if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded.

Kim Skildum-Reid is one of the sponsorship industry’s most influential thought leaders. She has a blue-chip list of consulting and training clients spanning six continents, is author of global industry bestsellers, The Sponsorship Seeker’s Toolkit and The Corporate Sponsorship Toolkit, and commentates to major business media around the world. She is the brains behind industry hub, PowerSponsorship.com, and offers sponsorship consulting, training, speaking, and coaching. Kim can be reached at: Email: admin@powersponsorship. com | Phone AU: +61 2 9559 6444 | Phone US: +1 612 326 5265 or for more information, go to: http://powersponsorship.com/.

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EVERYONE’S INVITED

WITH LAURA GRUNFELD

INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

MAKING YOUR VIRTUAL EVENTS

ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

H

ello Friends. I bet you are excited! Events are starting back up again. I know you are busy so in this issue I have just a short tidbit of advice that you may find helpful.

Virtual events are not going away. You may be live and in-person again, but many events are also live streaming or recording for later broadcast. Or maybe your event is totally online. No matter how you do it, if you are reaching out to an online audience with some of your stellar content, you will want to think about how you can make your service accessible to everyone. Here are some of the key accessibility features you could add to help you stay in compliance, build your audience, and be totally cool and inclusive: For Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Patrons: • American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters: Select interpreters who are experienced and skilled in interpreting music.

• Captioning: Not all deaf or hard-of-hearing patrons use ASL. Automatically generated captions are pretty inaccurate. Live captioning is better.

For People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision: • Audio description of the event provides commentary describing what is happening visually.

• Offer to email the program schedule or to mail a Large Print or braille copy of programming information in advance.

For all People with Disabilities: • Make sure your website is fully accessible.

• On your website, include a page with information about your Access Program for patrons with disabilities.

• Post contact information for people who have questions about accessibility.

• Make sure your ticket sales platform is accessible.

• Make sure the publicity for your event is also accessible.

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• Provide two video feeds, one standard feed and another with the interpreter, captioning, and with the option of turning on audio description.

• Include accessibility in your budget, it is simply part of the cost of producing a virtual event.

On July 26th we marked 31 years of the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because of this law, there is a much higher level of awareness on the part of producers and expectations on the part of attendees. Including people with disabilities in whatever is happening is simply the way it should be done. As makers of joyful gatherings, whether people stand shoulder to shoulder or screen to screen, there is absolutely no reason to leave anyone out of that celebration. We can no longer claim ignorance or say that we just forgot. It’s time we stepped it up for every aspect of our entertainment offerings. We are creating amazing events so we must make sure everyone can enjoy them!

HERE’S A TERRIFIC RESOURCE: www.arts.gov/impact/accessibility/resources-to-help-ensure-accessibility-of-your-virtual-events FUN AND HELPFUL VIDEO ABOUT THE ART OF CAPTIONING: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfe479qL8hg

Everyone’s Invited, LLC, founded by Laura Grunfeld, is winner of the gold level “Best Accessibility Program,” for the 2018 and 2019 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards. Laura writes a regular column helping producers make their events accessible to people with disabilities. She has worked many festivals across the nation and readers can learn more about her event accessibility consulting, training, and production company at www.EveryonesInvited.com and www.linkedin. com/in/lauragrunfeld. Suggest topics or ask questions by writing to Laura@EveryonesInvited.com. © Laura Grunfeld, Everyone’s Invited, LLC, July 2021.

WITH SEAN KING

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNER

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNER

The IFEA would like to thank the following partners for their dedicated support of the association.

Association Endorsed Partners have made a commitment to the continued success of our association, our members, and our industry through their umbrella sponsorship support of all IFEA programs and services.

Show your support for these dedicated providers to our industry by getting to know them, and the high quality products and services that they supply, better.

Interested in becoming an Association Endorsed Partner?

Contact Kaye Campbell, Director of Partnerships & Programs (208) 433-0950 ext. 8150 or kaye@ifea.com

s d e e n W i k c u I’m St t et Out ’ G n a C and

:

s ’ r e g a n a m o r Mic Guide The

y r e v o Rec iskie r b a Z e t a

By K

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“He gives me an assignment and tells me to do it my way. I only wish he meant it. My way doesn’t seem to hit the mark. He changes the smallest details. I dread getting new work.”

“I’ve had this job for six years. At this point, I think I understand how it works. It’s so frustrating to be treated like someone who just walked in the door.”

“Yesterday, I found her checking my spreadsheets when she thought I was at lunch. It feels terrible not to be trusted. I need to look for a new job.”

Regardless of their intentions, people who micromanage often create an environment of fear, mistrust, and disengagement.

The constant oversight, checking in, and nitpicking wears down even the strongest employee. Turnover goes up, engagement goes down, and all the while, the managers who micromanage may not even know they’re the source of the problem.

The good news? With a little self-awareness and some hard work, micromanagers can learn to let go.

practical and start focusing on what instead of how.

In other words, if how something is done doesn’t matter, treat people like the adults they are, and let them complete work in a way that works for them.

In cases where how something is accomplished matters, explain why that is.

For example, if you work in a lab, explain the importance of the work instruction and why the person performing the work must do so in a specific way.

Step One: Recognize the Behavior Pattern If your employees don’t take initiative and wait for you to micro-delegate. You may have created a culture where they don’t feel comfortable taking the next step without your say so.

More signs? If you find yourself redoing work, checking and rechecking assignments, insisting you be copied on everything, chances are you have some micromanaging tendencies.

Step Four: Show People What A-Grade Work Looks Like Recovering micromanagers will reduce their propensity to backslide if their employees deliver great work. What exactly does great work mean? Good question! If the micromanager has not explained what makes an A an A, how can that person possibly expect employees to produce a stellar work product with any regularity? Take the time to be complete, and you may be surprised at your team’s ability to rise to the occasion.

Step Two: Think About the Consequences Micromanagers Eventually Face Micromanagers exact control. In the short term, they have command of the future. Long term, however, many micromanagers find themselves stuck in roles, unable to take vacation without calling in, and essentially tied to their jobs.

Recovering micromanagers have a better change of self-rehabilitation when they know how they will benefit from changing their behavior. Ask yourself: Where do you want to be in year? How about three? Do you have a replacement identified? Is that person ready to take over for you? If not, there is work to do if you plan to move on or at some point have a life outside the job.

Step Three: When Delegating, Ask Yourself If ‘How’ Is Important Once the recovering micromanager recognizes the problem and knows why change is important, it’s time to get

Step Five: Work on Accepting Different Approaches Old habits die hard, and change takes time without some help. A little narration can go a long way toward steering the brain in the right direction. “James is not me, and I am not James. It’s okay that we don’t work the same way.” A mantra such as that can serve as a gentle reminder and help the micromanager recalibrate. Eventually, these new mental tapes will start to replace old thinking patterns. With hope, the updated mental map will positively influence the manager’s choices and behaviors.

Step Six: Perform the Goldilocks Test Recovering micromanagers aren’t mind readers, so it’s important that they get comfortable with feedback. A multiple-choice approach is often the best way to encourage candor. For instance, “I’d like to get some feedback from you about how you like to work. Am I too hands on, too

Fall 2021

hands off, or just right? I’m asking because everyone operates differently, and it’s important to me that we work well together.”

A word of caution: even with the Goldilocks approach, if you’ve micromanaged your team for a long time, it may take a while for them to give you frank feedback. Check in often and get specific. “Chuck, let’s talk about this last assignment. Do you feel we got the delegation balance right or do we need to make some adjustments?”

Step Seven: Don’t Argue with the Feedback When someone gives you feedback you don’t like or don’t agree with, don’t argue.

Your employee’s perception is the reality you must work with. So instead of fighting or withdrawing, ask questions. For example, “What I’m hearing is you would like me to focus less on how you run the lab tests and more on the number you complete each day.

Do I understand correctly? If I explained why in this case the process matters, do you think you might feel differently?”

Step Eight: Look for Ways to Let Go and Take on New Tasks Leaving the micromanaging lifestyle behind is a process and not an event.

Self-development requires regular assessment and planning. In addition to asking for feedback, pay attention to where you spend your time that you shouldn’t and where you could that you don’t. Are you working on strategic initiatives or navigating deep in the weeds? Are you developing people or hoarding work? Are you controlling or empowering? The questions are numerous and important to ask.

To sum it up, any activity that requires change can be hard work and at times even a little scary. For micromanagers, this can be especially true. Nevertheless, as most rehabilitated micromanagers will profess, it’s a lot more productive and rewarding to work in a place where people have the freedom to do their best work. If you’re a micromanager or think you might be, now is the time to do something about it.

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.businesstrainingworks.com.

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THE DIGITAL LIFE THE SCOOP ON INSTAGRAM REELS:

BEST PRACTICES & FUN CONTENT IDEAS engaging video content to help bring events and brands to life!

I

f Instagram Reels aren’t on your radar, they should be. With their wide reach and entertaining format, Reels can generate buzz around any event and grow your social media following. What are “Reels” exactly, and are they worth the effort? We’ve gathered some basic principles and fun content ideas to help you and your team create awesome Instagram Reels today!

What are Instagram Reels?

Instagram Reels was born shortly after the mobile video app TikTok became a wildly popular app downloaded by millions of users worldwide. Similar to TikTok, Reels allows you to create fun and engaging content in the form of 3-30 second videos. Using a compilation of video clips, you can very easily edit together a short-form video that entertains and engages their audiences.

The beauty of the Reels feature is the suite of tools it offers to cut and edit video clips with music, text, filters, and other special effects. Anyone with a smartphone and an ounce of creativity can create

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Why use Instagram Reels?

Reels can be a great way to get “real” with your audience! Reels let them in on the behind-the-scenes moments, they capture unique experiences only your event offers, and they show your followers you’re in on the latest trends. The best part is you don’t have to spend a lot of money on production.

Perhaps most importantly, Instagram (and many other social media platforms) will continue to favor video content – especially video that sparks engagement, saves, and shares. The more your video content is entertaining and shareable, the further it will reach new viewers.

Bottom line: Reels can turn new viewers into followers, and followers into loyal customers!

Best Practices for Instagram Reels • Compile enough clips to have some movement every 2-3 seconds.

• Set your Reels to trending songs or audio clips • Make sure to include text in each clip so people can quickly follow along as they watch. People don’t read long captions!

• Add titles to your Reels cover shot so when someone navigates to your Reels tab, it’s easy for them to choose a Reel they want to watch.

Fun and Engaging Instagram Reels Ideas for Events 1. Highlight a Popular Concession Stand or Vendor. Maybe it’s a popular food vendor or an activity like face painting at your event that people love; take shots of the process from start to finish and create a Reel to get people excited! Take a look at this Reel from Alameda County Fair: www. instagram.com/reel/CMm0CG5BVLl/

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2. Showcase Bucket List Items: Think of a list of 4-5 things people should do to make the most of their time at your event, venue, or destination spot. Take a look at this Instagram Reel posted by Destination Dripping Springs that shows how they would spend a day in Dripping Springs, TX. For an event, this could translate into something like 1) Eat a funnel cake 2) Ride the Ferris Wheel 3) Visit the Petting Zoo 4) End your day at a Concert. Just be sure to make some of the items unique to your event! View Reel here: www.instagram.com/reel/CMcnAICF5gB/

WITH GRACE JACKSON @ SAFFIRE

3. Announcements: Got new merchandise or products? Take a few quick shots, pair it with a trending song and a few descriptive subtitles, and voila! Here’s an example from Pendleton Round Up’s Reels page where they announce new merch. View Reel here: www.instagram. com/reel/CPRAQpGpuBy/

4. Repurpose Content: Take your old stories and posts and repurpose them into a 15-30 second reel that highlights your event! Madera County Fair compiled photos and videos to announce their 2021 fair. View Reel here: www.instagram.com/ reel/CQR0hwsp7CZ/

5. Employee or Team Culture Highlight: Showcase your organizational culture and who makes up your team! Does your team have a great sense of humor?

Are there fun perks or funny quirks to your team culture? Take a look at this Reel the Wisconsin State Fair made to announce their job fair: www.instagram.com/reel/ CPoVygRHMqg/

Reels are a great way to entertain and engage your followers. They can generate buzz around your event and turn new viewers into followers. The feature has been out for almost a year, but we’re still not seeing too many events and festivals taking advantage of this awesome tool.

We hope this column will inspire you to try Instagram Reels, we are positive it will pay off!

6. Insider Tour of the Grounds or Venue: Whether it’s opening day of your event, or you’re doing a walkthrough of the grounds before the event begins, give your audience a taste of what they can experience at your event! We love this Reel from Florida State Fair: www.instagram.com/ reel/CN-tX50j_dz/

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Grace Jackson is the Marketing Coordinator at Saffire. Saffire empowers hundreds of clients with beautiful, unique and engaging websites, and integrated SaffireTix ticketing, including online, advance and box office sales, all with amazing real-time reporting. Saffire’s Spark content management system puts live editing power in clients’ hands by making content and tickets easy to update with unlimited help when needed. Social media, email and text marketing are also included to fuel client success. To learn more about SaffireTix, visit www.saffire.com.

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FIVE AVOID THE

BIGGEST LINKEDIN BLUNDERS

by Lisa Apolinski

E U G A V B E I NG

S E LLIN G VS C O N N E CTIN G

O T O H P O R P NO

P O STIN G O N P O LITIC S

N IO T C E N N O C E V O L T O N , IN D E LIN K 42

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Surprising statistic from Kinsta: LinkedIn has over 575 million users and nearly half of those are active every month (meaning they post, comment or like on the platform). If that isn’t impressive enough, LinkedIn has their sites on further investments into Latin America. What makes LinkedIn even more powerful is that users update their bios regularly, so the connections you are potentially requesting are in the roles they have listed on their bios.

LinkedIn is a digital goldmine, especially now in the post-COVID digital paradigm.

Users post on career engagement, network with others in the industry and share expertise and advice. Unfortunately, less professional engagement can and does happen on LinkedIn. Understanding what works in the world of LinkedIn for networking, and what hinders, can help remove obstacles for engagement.

Here are the five biggest blunders that can hurt credibility and potentially, career advancement: Blunder #1: Being vague in why a connection is requested. Some people believe more connections are better.

However, some connection requests come with a note that does not share why the sender wants to network. If there is not a clear reasoning for the network connection, many of these requests appear to not help or enhance the receiver’s network. A connection request with a note can help put the connection request into context for the receiver.

Try Instead: Clearly state why a request has been sent and how the connection benefits both parties. To get a connection request accepted, think about why you are requesting the connection.

Blunder #2: Focusing on selling versus connecting. Many LinkedIn users complain about this practice and it seems to have become more common. After a connection has been accepted, the next message is a long selling pitch. What is even more

surprising is the immediate request for a call or virtual demo. This is a request of someone’s time without taking time to connect first. A focus on selling will not help with lead generation or brand reputation. This type of communication does little for the recipient.

Try Instead: Thank the person for the connection and share something that might benefit the new connection, such as a video or article. Sharing knowledge can go a long way.

Blunder #3: Not investing in a current professional photo. One of the first digital impressions from a LinkedIn profile is the user photo. Using a photo that is casual, that is old or that is provocative is missing a great opportunity to showcase a level of professionalism. A photo is a visual precursor to a job interview or lecturer.

Investment in a professional photo is also a wise one as it can be used in a variety of digital ways. By keeping the photo current, network members are also easy to identify in other settings (remember those trade shows?).

Try Instead: Even a quick shot with your mobile can work. Have direct and natural lighting is best (morning or late afternoon). Capture from the shoulders up and minimize distractions in the background.

Blunder #4: Posting on politics.

While many may have an opinion on the current political climate, sharing political viewpoints may not be the best decision.

Posts and articles on LinkedIn should highlight expertise, provide knowledge and leadership within an industry and share resources that can help networks.

Political postings do not fall into these three categories. These may also be off putting or polarizing to current and future networks.

Try Instead: If you wish to share political viewpoints, consider posting to another social media channel. Keep the LinkedIn channel focused on how Fall 2021

to provide professional leadership and insight.

Blunder #5: The social channel is LinkedIn, not Love Connection. With so many other dating apps and websites available to find a soul mate, LinkedIn is not the place to request a connection with the purpose of asking someone out. Not only is this request unprofessional, it can easily come across as creepy, especially for women. LinkedIn users are using the platform for career and networking and expect others to do the same.

Try Instead: Use LinkedIn for its primary purpose, namely professional networking, and save the search for love to those websites or apps that have been specifically created for that reason.

LinkedIn has amazing potential to connect with experts, learn about new trends in your industry and discover new career paths and positions as you explore options. LinkedIn can work well for digital connection and professional networking, especially if these blunders are avoided.

These small modifications can unlock new networking opportunities and strong professional engagement now as well as in the future, and help establish your credibility within both your industry and your organization. With these missteps avoided, you will be able to more easily harness the power of LinkedIn in your professional practice and take your career to new heights.

Lisa Apolinski is an international speaker, digital strategist, author and founder of consulting agency 3 Dog Write. Because of her work with companies to help them develop and share their digital messaging, she has been dubbed “America’s Digital Content Futurist”. Her latest book, Persuade With A Digital Content Story, is available on Amazon. Request Lisa as a keynote speaker by visiting www.3DogWrite.com.

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FESTIVALS WITHOUT BORDERS

WITH ROBERT BAIRD

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS

SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE WATER

T

here is a buoyant mood in America as the country starts to re-open, but, while the pandemic is slowly getting under control, there are indications that a cautious approach to a new normal is wise. We need to get back to a semblance of normality but we need to do it carefully and considerately. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, there are still metaphorical sharks out there.

Among the considerations are: 1. Is continued use of masks in indoor settings a good idea?

2. Is physical distancing still a good idea for your venue or festival?

At a time when the situation is still unresolved in many ways, dealing with an audience made up of fully-vaccinated patrons, children who have yet to be vaccinated and adults who cannot get vaccinated for medical or other reason is going to be a challenge. Another consideration will be the mental state of audiences and the willingness to attend events after such a traumatic period for both society and individuals over the past many months. We have all seen the increasing awareness of inequities in society in such movements as “Black Lives Matter” and more, and this awareness will be reflected in our audiences and their expectations for increased sensitivity to these matters in the performing arts world.

Many festivals and venues assumed that since the pandemic was more or less under control, that programming of events for the summer and fall of 2021 could proceed. And, in fact some events have proceeded in the desire to ramp up artistic activities once again. Unfortunately, not is all as it was before the pandemic.

International travel into the United States is still not allowed for foreign nationals from certain countries and travelers who can enter the United States need to have had a negative COVID test no later than three days prior to travel. Unfortunately, U.S. Consulates and Embassies around the world are backlogged with 44

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literally tens of thousands of visa requests and even if an artist has a work permit from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, they are currently unable in many jurisdictions to get an entry visa into the United States. I know of many artists who have secured work permits to tour the United States, only to find that they are unable to get Consular Appointments for entry visas and many tours have had to be cancelled as a result.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the United States and especially, the increasing prevalence of the Delta variant. It is likely that the United States borders will remain closed until the CDC advises that it is safe to open them, or safe to open them under certain restrictions. Until then it would be prudent to plan far in advance, rather than counting on borders opening up to travel into the United States any time soon.

Having said all of this, we cannot help but feel more positive as to the final outcome. Our scientists developed vaccines that are highly effective in an unbelievably accelerated timeline, even against variants in COVID-19, and we see people gathering once more to share in activities which delight and inspire. We have started to put our toes back into the water, knowing that the “sharks” will soon be dispelled or at least tamed sufficiently to allow us a sense of security. And, once our toes are in the water, it won’t be much longer until we can once again safely go swimming.

Robert Baird is President of BAM! Baird Artists Management Consulting in Toronto, Canada and an acknowledged expert in international touring including visas, withholding and taxation.

He offers free advice to artists, agents, managers and venues and has an international clientele. He served for many years on the Executive Board of Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) and is a former Vice-President of that organization. He can be reached at: P: 1-800-867-3281 E: robert@bairdartists.com or for more information go to: www.bairdartists.com

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Online Classes Begin November 2nd.

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If you’ve ever wanted to start working towards your CFEE but time or money has been holding you back . . . there is no better time than right now! Take the next step to advance your career with the IFEA Certified Festival & Event Executive (CFEE) Certification, sponsored by IFEA Association Endorsed Partner, Kaliff Insurance.

REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR CFEE LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CFEE PROGRAM QUESTIONS: Cindy Lerick, CFEE, IFEA CFEE Program Manager, cindy@ifea.com

Don’t Lose Great Talent by Focusing on Years Of Experience!

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Use these four interviewing best practices to avoid ruling out the best talent for your organization

By Jeremy Eskenazi Many organizations use years of experience as a qualifier for jobs. It seems like second nature, but it doesn’t garner better talent. Using years of experience is often tied to a compensation range exercise and can lead to a sloppy path to your company being at risk of being accused of agism, or worse!

Rather than use years of experience in a job posting to eliminate very junior (or senior!) people, a best practice is to describe what the actual job would do.

Consider the key accountabilities and indicate that these are things that the candidate needs to show you they can already do. This is not the kind of talent you want to lose out on for policy-sake.

During your intake meeting with the hiring manager, this is a good discussion to have, and make sure to ask, “what would someone have done in those X years that would make them qualified?”

Today, we need skills that may not yet be taught in schools, new thinking in our evolving workplaces and agility to respond to customer needs quickly. No matter your industry, the skills you need today are likely very different than what you were hiring for five years ago. With this being the norm and not the exception, why are so many HR departments still so fixated on time over mastery of skills? Don’t underestimate how your company looks to candidates when they read years of experience in your job posts!

If you are staunchly committed to this qualifier for hiring and recruiting, STOP NOW! Here are some scenarios to help you see how a small change to your hiring training can deliver big results.

1. Learning Happens Fast. In one year (or even less), a teenager can build a functional social media app, a scientist can have a world-changing breakthrough, and an entrepreneur can change a supply chain model. We see it often, so why wouldn’t you consider someone with 2 years of experience just because your job description template reads 3-5 years? Don’t let your templates blind you to how quickly learning and skill acquisition happens!

2. Prioritize Accomplishments vs.

Time. When you or your hiring managers are discussing what is required in a new hire, what they have accomplished and could accomplish at your company matters most. Do you need someone who has managed a sales pipeline of over $1M, or organized merchandise in a specific way, or learned how to interact with customers to achieve a goal? If a candidate can demonstrate that they have successfully accomplished what your company needs, then how many years they have done it for may be irrelevant (for most jobs).

3. Using Artificial Barriers. Just because you have done something a certain way in the past does not mean you can’t change it!

Take some technology jobs as an example.

Many are brand new – as in there is no degree program yet, or the qualifications and skills have evolved very recently.

Requiring 10+ years’ experience and a related degree will rule out the exact type of talent you really need, make your employer brand feel stuffy, and could lead to age discrimination! Don’t let rules that don’t make sense from the start of the candidate experience deter candidates from speaking to you or accepting your offer.

4. Look What I Can Do. If you are using behavioral interviewing, which asks candidates for specific examples of how they acted in specific employment-related situations, you can easily understand what the candidate has done or is doing now. Use your discussion with the hiring manager to understand what the candidate will need to accomplish in their first 12 months. If this list matches their resume or interview responses, they will probably be able to do the job at your organization as well – this could be a great match! If they are doing half of what you need them to do, are you willing and able to train them to learn and grow with your organization. When a candidate explains what they are already able to do, listen to them! It’s the most important way to determine if they can do your role too.

If they are successful in a role, does the length of that success really matter?

Fall 2021

While these are just a few examples, the point remains the same. If you are able to – remove the use of years of experience in your hiring and focus on what people have actually done. Asking the question of what someone can do today will give you the answer you need in what they will potentially do for you tomorrow. Training recruiters, HR and hiring managers to look for a match in skills and accomplishments will lead to more productive interviews and eventual hires for everyone. Don’t worry about trying to box someone into a compensation range based on years. If you are realistic about what the role is worth in the market you are hiring in, you will have greater speed to hire and an easier time targeting the right talent for your company.

Not yet convinced? Here is a question to consider. If your job posting qualifications currently list 5-7 years of experience required and you are interviewing a fantastic candidate who has proven they can accomplish 95% of the tasks within the role, but they only have 4 years of experience, what are they really missing? Would you not hire them and continue recruiting for this role? If you are clear on what you need before you start looking for candidates, you will know if they are right in front of you! Does that one year really make a difference in what they can accomplish and bring to your team today? Don’t let the legacy of demanding a specific timeframe of experience let you miss out on top talent. Let your hiring team look for what matters most in people – their abilities today and their proven track record in what you need to be successful!

Jeremy Eskenazi is the founder of Riviera Advisors, a boutique talent acquisition optimization consulting firm.

Riviera Advisors does not headhunt, it specializes in recruitment training and strategy consulting, helping global HR leaders transform how they attract top talent. From best practice recruiting, to improving speed to hire, to candidate experience, Riviera Advisors is a go-to place for strategic talent advisors. For more information, visit www.RivieraAdvisors.com.

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THE UN-COMFORT ZONE

WITH ROBERT WILSON

MY LUNCH WITH A MOVIE STAR He shared his journey of self-discovery for giving back.

There are philosophers who believe the universe was created not by a Big Bang, but by a Prime Mover; an entity who pushed the cosmic gears and made them begin to turn. A single divine jump start after which the world was left to run on its own.

It’s not a bad theory as far as beginning of the world scenarios go, and one still hears trickle-down variations of it from time to time. One thing pushes another which pushes another which pushes another, and suddenly George Bailey is having A Wonderful Life. A butterfly flaps its wings in China and a few weeks later it’s a twister in Kansas. We hear plenty of tales that turned into twisters, and not nearly enough that didn’t, but they exist.

One of them happened back in 1958 when a cocksure young man of 33 was just hitting his stride. He was the highest paid actor in Hollywood with the top-rated television show in America when a little old doctor in Africa gave him a portentous push. It wasn’t so much a push, but rather a steady gaze, a few choice words, and the example of his actions.

The television show was Wyatt Earp, the actor was Hugh O’Brian, and the doctor: Albert Schweitzer. Today, six decades later, two generations have reached adulthood without ever having seen an episode of Wyatt Earp or heard of Dr. Schweitzer.

Hugh O’Brian passed away in 2016 at the age of 91, and Dr. Schweitzer died at age 90 in 1965 - yet 10,000 high school students are moved by their message every year.

On May 9, 1993, I had the opportunity to spend the day with Hugh O’Brian when he met Rhena Schweitzer Miller, the daughter of Albert Schweitzer, for the first time. The Georgia chapter of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation (HOBY) asked me to write an article about their meeting for publication. They also asked me to pick him up at the Atlanta airport.

Not knowing much about Hugh O’Brian, I went to the library and did some research. I learned that he used a couple of different stage names before settling on his current one. One of those names was Jaffer Grey, so being a bit of a prankster, I printed that name on a poster board. When people started exiting the plane, I stood in the crowd of waiting friends, relatives, and limo drivers and held up my sign. When O’Brian stepped out of the jetway, he scanned the crowd from left to right passing over me, but seconds later his head snapped back to my sign and he stormed over to me with a big grin on his face.

“Where did you find that name?” he demanded.

“In Who’s Who,” I replied.

As we walked to my car, he explained to me that he was born Hugh Krampe. However, early in his career, his name was printed in a playbill as Hugh Krappe. That looked too much like Huge Krap for his taste, so that name had to go.

We drove to the hotel where a HOBY conference was taking place. Once there, we were shown to a meeting room where Mrs.

Miller was waiting. Schweitzer’s daughter, then in her 70s, had come to witness one of the 90 youth leadership seminars held annually that were inspired by her father.

The completely volunteer operated HOBY seminars are geared to teach high school tenth graders the Free Enterprise System while at the same time encouraging their leadership skills to emerge. This goal is resolutely stated in HOBY’s motto: Motivating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today. The students attend several panels made up of local business leaders. These are followed by intensive discussion sessions led by the students themselves.

They also participate in a variety of activities and games designed to elicit latent leadership abilities.

Over lunch, Mr. O’Brian and Mrs. Miller reminisced about her father’s work. Albert Schweitzer built a hospital in Gabon, and brought healthcare to thousands while attracting the world’s attention to the needs and problems of Africa. During this conversation, O’Brian shared with me how his journey to inspire teenagers began. In 1958, partly at the suggestion of a friend and partly out of curiosity, he ventured into the jungle of Africa to visit the clinic of the Noble Peace Prize winning Schweitzer.

After a long flight in a primitive bush plane, and an even longer ride in a canoe paddled up river, he finally arrived. The TV action hero, who was accustomed to the finest Tinseltown could offer, was assigned his mosquito-netted cot and promptly put to work building baby cribs.

At the end of that first long day, he was summoned to Schweitzer’s quarters. The hour was late and he was exhausted, but the 83-year-old missionary wanted to talk. O’Brian told me that an interpreter was brought in, and as the old man spoke, “I looked into penetrating eyes which could see inside me all the way down to the bottom of my feet.”

Dr. Schweitzer said many things that night, but etched into the television star’s memory were these words: “You are the first young man from the United States who has come to see me. This is good, because the United States is the only country that has the strength to take a leadership role in bringing peace to the world.” Schweitzer who had long protested the testing of nuclear weapons was acutely aware of the Communist threat, and told him, “You can’t beat Communism by shoving it under a rug.”

The words that most hit home with O’Brian however, were these, “The most important thing about education is to teach young people to think for themselves.” On hearing this, O’Brian told me that he felt God was speaking to him through Schweitzer.

Ten days later, after laboring hard in the humid jungle hospital and observing the ever-striving doctor, it was time to go.

Schweitzer joined him on the river bank as he got into the canoe, and said, “Never let the world rob you of your enthusiasm.” As his guide pushed the canoe off the bank, Schweitzer looked him Continued on page 69

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Good

Great

CFEE

An Important Step in the Career Track of Industry Leaders As a professional in the Festivals & Events Industry, you know the difference between Good and Great. You’ve dedicated yourself to the “whatever it takes” approach that has become your hallmark. You understand the importance and value of continuing to hone your skills, growing your knowledge base, expanding your professional network, and surrounding yourself with others who have reached the top levels of their careers as well.

CFEE (Certified Festival & Event Executive), the IFEA’s professional certification program, provides the essential difference between good and great among professionals in our industry. It signifies the highest level of achievement. Attainment of your CFEE certification provides recognition of your commitment to excellence, experience, and to your career, placing you in an elite group of the top festival and event professionals in your field. It’s a statement of quality that you bring to the table.

For more information about the IFEA’s professional certification program and our CFEE FastTrack® Program, contact Cindy Lerick at cindy@ifea.com or call +1-314-614-7152.

The CFEE Professional Certification Program is Sponsored by

MOTIVATING THE

UN-MOTIVATED:

DON’T GIVE UP

TOO SOON

By Liz Uram 50

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When Mary started with the company, she was enthusiastic, energetic, and consistently the top sales person on the team. She got along well her co-workers and was known for her superior customer service skills.

Over time something changed. Mary began starting work late, leaving early, and taking long lunches. The brief interactions with her co-workers usually turned into complaint sessions. She ignored phone calls and didn’t respond to emails.

Customers were frustrated. Mary spent more time on her cell phone than doing the work she was getting paid for.

John, Mary’s manager, was at his wits end. He wanted Mary to get back to the level of work he knew she was capable of. He went from one extreme to the other. First, he tried money. Then, he tried disciplinary action. Both resulted in shortterm improvements but they didn’t last.

Does this situation sound familiar? If so, don’t give up too soon. There are six other ways to motivate employees that have longer lasting results than money or disciplinary action. The challenge is determining what motivates employees.

Asking an employee outright what motivates them usually doesn’t work. Most people haven’t given it much thought.

Instead, act like an investigator and look for the clues so you can identify the motivational factors of each individual.

Here are six common motivational factors and the clues to look for: 1. Belonging – People who are motivated by a sense of belonging get energized by being part of a group.

You might notice them coming up with creative ideas for celebrations or suggesting get-togethers. “When’s the last time we went out for Happy Hour?”, they might say. Listen for what they do outside of work. Do they spend a lot of their free time with friends and family? Do they participate in group events like book clubs or sports teams?

Keep this employee motivated by asking them for ideas; designating them as the celebration coordinator; and including them in projects.

2. Influence – A formal leadership title isn’t needed to have influence. Many people are happy with an informal leadership role where they can influence others.

You can identify them by their willing-

ness to speak for the group. They are the ‘go-to’ person when others need answers or reassurance. They are the person the team looks to for direction and advice.

Keep this employee motivated by asking them for their opinion on matters that affect the group. “How do you think the team is going to react to this change?” is a simple, yet very effective way to let this person know that their position within the group is clear.

3. Appreciation – A simple sincere thank you is what motivates employees who have this motivational factor. They just want acknowledgement for their efforts.

Employees who are motivated by appreciation talk a lot about their accomplishments. They might come to their one-on-one with a list of what they’ve done. Managers who don’t understand what clues to look for may mistakenly assume the person is full of themselves or is just bragging. That usually isn’t the case.

These employees are looking for some appreciation.

Keep these employees motivated by giving sincere, specific, and timely appreciation for their efforts. Catch them in the act of doing something right and comment on it immediately.

4. Achievement – People who are motivated by achievement are always looking to outdo themselves. While they enjoy friendly competition, they are more interested in pushing themselves to be better than they were the day before.

They are usually self-starters who take an interest in their productivity. They tend to set goals both professionally and personally. They love the feeling of accomplishment when they can check off a goal and then they are on to the next one.

Keep them motivated by communicating key performance measures, encouraging them to set bigger goals, and sharing their progress with them on a regular basis.

5. Security – People with this motivational factor have a high need for job or financial security. Anything that threatens their sense of security can demotivate them.

They might obsessively worry about their performance. They ask a lot of questions. They are excessively concerned about change. Some managers assume the person is needy. In a way they are.

They need security, reassurance, and confidence in their abilities.

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A manager can help this employee by taking the time to answer questions; communicating changes early and often; and boosting their confidence by giving them opportunities to prove they are capable.

6. Growth – these employees aren’t satisfied with the status quo. They have career goals and they want opportunities to advance.

One of the most obvious clues is that they ask about career advancement when they interview for a job. They’re willing to take on extra responsibility in order to prepare themselves for their next step.

Keep them happy and motivated by talking to them about what they are interested in doing next and creating a career path for them that clearly outlines a plan for advancement. Delegating projects is a way to provide growth opportunities if a promotion isn’t an option.

Back to John and Mary. Once John took the time to look for the clues, he realized that what Mary really wanted was appreciation. John wasn’t known for giving out verbal praise but he was willing to give it a try. Instead of waiting until Mary told him about her accomplishments, he looked for opportunities to praise her.

Before long, John saw improvements in Mary’s attitude and she began to have the same energy and enthusiasm she had when she started.

It wasn’t easy for John to get out of his comfort zone, but it was a lot less expensive and stressful than what he had been doing.

Before you give up on an unmotivated employee, challenge yourself to search for clues about how to motivate them. You might be surprised at what a big change can come from a small adjustment to handling motivation issues.

Liz Uram is a nationally-recognized speaker, trainer, consultant, and author.

She equips leaders with the tools they need to communicate like a boss so they can make a bigger impact, get better results, and motivate others to do their best. With 20 years of experience, she’s developed systems that work. Uram’s written four books packed full of strategies leaders can implement to get real results, real fast.

For more information, please visit www.lizuram.com.

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

51

THE SECRETS TO

BIG FISH SELLING

By Jill J. Johnson, MBA 52

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

Fall 2021

A Big Fish is anyone who is of a higher stature than you normally play with, and if you land them, it will move you into a whole new level of clientele. They may be spending bigger money and as a result, they will expect that you have the professionalism to satisfy their needs.

Yet Big Fish have so many people who want to work with them that they are often even more demanding than most people anticipate when they are trying to reach this level of client.

Managing the Big Fish Sale Process So how do you manage a Big Fish Sale?

Keep in mind that this is often going to be a much more complex sale than where you have an initial meeting with the client, and then they quickly say “yes.” Big Fish Sales are rarely rapid, unless there is an exceptionally dire situation and they know you are the one they need to help them solve it.

In Big Fish Selling there typically many decision influencers working behind the scenes who are trying to bring in their own vendors. Always remember that your prospect is also dealing with an internal power structure. Be on the lookout for those people on the inside of your prospect’s organization who may help you better understand what it will take to close the deal. They may be able to give you the fundamental insight that will help you reel the Big Fish in to close the deal.

Most importantly, in any complex sales situation with a Big Fish prospect, your Primary Goal is to keep moving the ball forward toward an agreement on a deal that works for you both. The Secondary Goal for your meeting is to try to close a part of your proposal. Something that will give you a smaller toe in the door to help them understand the value you bring and to convince them that you can handle the bigger deal. The Ultimate Goal is to close the whole deal. If they coalesce, it will be wonderful, and then you need to celebrate your win.

Never lose sight of that Primary Goal in a complex sale with a Big Fish. You need to stay in the game. But by having multi-level goals, you will have several ways you can “win”—and then not show disappointment or convey anything other than complete professionalism if you don’t get all that you wanted.

Focus on Their Needs Remember, at its core a Big Fish Sale is just like any other sale. This is always about The Client. Keep your focus on that. It is all about their needs, their desires, and their problems. Focus on how working with you will solve their critical issues within a budget amount that works for you both.

Pay attention to interviews the Big Fish has done with the media. Today you can access print and television media interviews easily. But don’t forget to access other information such as interviews with industry publications or podcasts they have been a guest. You do need to actually read or listen to them. Bluffing to pretend you understood their point of view will lose credibility with them. Yet if you actually dive deep into the content they have appeared in, you will gain enormous insight into their pain points, concerns and view of the future. All of this insight is essential to your understanding the nuances of how to best position your products or services to meet their unique needs.

Often Big Fish want to test you first with a something that is a smaller part of your overall proposal. That is why having the secondary goal is so critical in selling to this type of client, and it can be the key that gets you to your first “yes” with a client. Frankly, getting the smaller first sale is often the tipping point that gets you the bigger deal and longer-term money. If you can, break your proposal down into several component parts or additional optional services. Give them choices in how to work with you.

Manage the Process… and Yourself When you are selling as part of a team, it is vital for both of you be in the same game. Use your time wisely to prepare while you are in the car driving to the meeting or preparing to go on Zoom. Determine who needs to reinforce what message and when it will be key to tag team to reinforce your potential value to the client. Think about how you will respond to objections and who will handle it.

It is often extremely intimidating to try selling to a Big Fish. Looking for ways to give yourself a mental boost will help you to stay grounded in the moment when you are up close and personal. This is especially helpful if they get terse with their tone, questions or response to your pitch.

Fall 2021

Big Fish are extremely pressed for time and they do not have the time to care about your feelings. Take care of yourself.

Reach out to a trusted friend and ask for a pep talk before you pitch. Write a note to yourself that only you can see with three or four phrases. These should be positive in nature and serve as reminders to you. A few examples of good reminder notes are: 1. They already like you (or you would not be in the room) 2. They want to work with you some day even if today is not your day, and 3. Breathe!

Final Thoughts When the day comes and the Big Fish finally says “yes,” be sure to do your scream and happy dance in the nearest bathroom—just do not do it in front of them! You do not want them to know that you cannot believe you finally got them to a “yes!” You want them to only think of you as belonging in the room—not that it might be the first time you ever were there!

Jill J. Johnson, MBA, is the President and Founder of Johnson Consulting Services, a highly accomplished speaker, an award-winning management consultant, and author of the bestselling book Compounding Your Confidence. Jill helps her clients make critical business decisions and develop market-based strategic plans for turnarounds or growth. Her consulting work has impacted more than $4 billion worth of decisions. She has a proven track record of dealing with complex business issues and getting results. For more information on Jill J. Johnson, please visit www.jcs-usa.com.

Social Media Links: Website: www.jcs-usa.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/JillJohnsonUSA/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Johnson ConsultingServices Instagram: www.instagram.com/JillJohnsonUSA Twitter: twitter.com/JillJohnsonUSA Clubhouse: @JillJohnsonUSA

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

53

Is Your Leadership Proactive or Reactive?

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Protect your team, volunteers, and attendees

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JANUARY 16 -21, 2022

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Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity. REGISTER NOW AT WWW.NRPA.ORG! Presented by a Partnership For Excellence in Event Education.

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www.IFEA.com +1. 208.433.0950

oglebay.com/NTC 800.624.6988, ext. 4126

THE VALUE OF PARTNERSHIPS – The IFEA would like to thank the below partners for their important support of the association.

Through their generosity, we are able to strengthen our support of the festivals and events industry and continue to provide high quality, educational programs, products and services to our members. Help us show appreciation for their support, by first turning to those on this list for the opportunity to earn your business, whenever the need arises.

ASSOCIATION ENDORSED PARTNERS

ASSOCIATION SPONSORS

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS & EVENTS ASSOCIATION

ASSOCIATION SUPPORTERS | BENEFIT PROVIDERS

Interested in sponsoring? Contact Kaye Campbell, Director of Partnerships & Programs at (208) 433-0950 ext. 1 or kaye@ifea.com

YOUR EVENT HAS IMPACT…

SHOW IT! r.”

al t Festiv ent H Stree act Assessm Econom

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Commission Your IFEA Economic Impact Analysis Today

ic Imp

H Street Festival Impact The average visitor spent $63 during the festival, generating $6.1 million in sales along the corridor.

Eating and drinking establishments experienced the largest increase in sales during the festival with an average increase of 132% more sales than on a Festival Impact typical Saturday in September.

Neighborhoods Goods & Services and Merchandise stores were also positively impacted by the festival, experiencing a sales increase of 57% and 22% respectively.

Restaurants Goods and Merchandise On-Street and Bars Services Retailers Vendors

Overall Impact On H Street Retail

Avg. Sales on a September Saturday

$15,381

$5,175

$2,074

n/a

$10,526

The average visitor spent $23 on food, $20 on alcohol, and $13 shopping during the festival.

The H Street Festival attracts visitors from all across the region.

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JS&A

The festival draws a young and diverse crowd.

The H Street Festival resulted in nearly $2.3 million in salaries and the equivalent of 58 fulltime positions, and generated approximately $728,000 in tax revenue for the District.

Avg. Sales During the H Street Festival

$35,684

$8,112

$2,535

n/a

$22,812

Direct Impact

Indirect Impact

Induced Impact

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Avg. Increase in Sales Per Business (%)

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$1.9 M

$241,650

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$31,448

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$6.1 M

$648,069

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$27,925

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$1,543,051

$146,822

$5,531

$4,419,953

$6,115,356

City Permits & Fees

$134,699

Increased Tax Revenue Due to Festival

$728,706

Fiscal Impact for the District of Columbia Sales Tax

Overall Impact

There are many ways to get involved and support the H Street Festival. H Street businesses and local artists and performers can participate in the event as vendors or volunteers. A range of sponsorship opportunities exist, and are vital to making the festival possible. Contact H Street Main Street to learn more about how you can help!

$534,634

Leverage Cost & Credibility IFEA’s cost effective, industry credible program brings a critical tool within financial reach and provides reliable results from a trusted and recognized resource.

Quantify & Articulate Value Understand and communicate the impact your event brings to your local economy and local tax revenue.

Gain Support & Increase Funding Demonstrate how your event benefits area businesses and your city at large, convey the need for public and private assistance, and secure additional financial support.

Enhance Participation Increase business participation, recruit additional vendors, and strengthen stakeholder commitment.

Improve Operations Incorporate a data-driven approach to evaluate and make adjustments to your event or program each year.

READY TO GET STARTED? Find Out More on our IFEA Professional Products & Services Web Page or Contact Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of Partnerships & Programs • +1-208-433-0950 Ext. 8150 • kaye@ifea.com

CONNECT Exclusive opportunities for vendors to

with top-tier festival & event professionals

VENDOR OPPORTUNITIES In an industry with an annual spend of 1 trillion in the United States, you need to reach industry buyers everyday wherever they go online. With these digital opportunities, you’ll be able to reach top-tier festival and event professionals through the IFEA Event Insider, Event Resource Marketplace, and IFEA website box ads, as they explore ways to improve their business.

IFEA EVENT INSIDER

EVENT RESOURCE MARKETPLACE

IFEA WEBSITE BOX AD

Reaching over 6,500 festival and event professionals, these premier placements will give your company the attention it deserves. The newsletter will focus on news and information that professionals need to run a successful business. That means your message will reach the decision-makers you’re looking to target.

More advertising opportunities designed to fit any marketing budget are within the Event Resource Marketplace. Festival and event professional buyers count on the guide to put them in touch with suppliers for all their project needs, and the ads help lead them to you.

Highlight your core message and drive traffic to your website with exlusive positions on the IFEA website. These box ads will occupy prime real estate to help sell your products and services to industry decision-makers. Retargeting opportunities are available as well, allowing your ad to be seen AFTER the festival and event professionals leave the association website.

Viewable online, 24/7

Digitally distributed each week

Event Insider

Viewable online, 24/7

Event Resource Marketplace

IFEA website box ad

IFEA has partnered with MultiView to provide these advertising opportunities.

For more information about them, contact salesinquiries@multiview.com or call 972-402-7000.

For more information about IFEA, email kaye@ifea.com or call 208-433-0950 ext: 1 POWERED BY

Stay Informed – Stay Connected – With the IFEA! The IFEA is here to support you, share resources with you, help educate you, provide important information updates to you, help establish and strengthen your industry connections, and so much more!

Gain access to important and valuable member benefits and resources:

JOIN the IFEA Today RENEW Your IFEA Membership, Today!

60

IFEA’s ie: the business of international events

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Remember the Helping Hands that Got You Where You are Today?

The IFEA Foundation “Fund for the Future” provides critical funding to ensure that the IFEA has reserves in place to protect against future economic shifts and realities in a constantly changing world! It allows the organization to keep pace with new and changing

technologies necessary to communicate with and serve our global industry and it supports a continued expansion of our services, resources, programming and outreach around the world. In a nutshell… it enables those who power celebration.

Now You Can Pay It Forward.

Help Sustain the “Premier Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Events Worldwide”

Donate Today IFEA.com / Foundation / Ways to Give Questions? Contact Kaye Campbell, CFEE, Director of Partnerships & Programs

at kaye@ifea.com or +1-208-433-0950, ext. 8150

Stay Connected When You Can’t Connect in Person Through IFEA’s Virtual Affinity Groups!

F

eaturing participant discussion between some of the top professionals in our industry today, IFEA’s Virtual Affinity Groups provide an online platform on ZOOM* to keep the connections, brainstorming and networking going.

Join us to participate-in these valuable discussion groups and network with your peers. Be sure to come with questions and professional experiences to these valuable open-topic dialogue sessions taking place each month as we’ll be discussing current trends, issues, challenges and opportunities.

FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

IFEA SPONSORSHIP VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Kevin Grothe, CFEE 2020 IFEA Foundation Board Chair Vice President of Sponsorship at Memphis in May International Festival IFEA ART EVENTS VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Cindy Lerick, CFEE IFEA World Board Member President at The ART of Events, LLC

SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

IFEA CITIES, CVB’S & TOURISM VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: David Knutson IFEA Foundation Board Member Arts & Events Administrator for the City of Santa Clarita IFEA MARKETING & PR VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUPS Meets at 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Dave Bullard Public Relations and Marketing Manager The Great New York State Fair

THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

IFEA VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Kim Lowell-Leverett Director of Volunteer Services & Tours The Parade Company IFEA Parades Virtual Affinity Group Meets at 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Ed Bautista, CFEE Chief Creative and Strategic Officer Bautista Event Specialists Team

FOURTH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

IFEA DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION (DEI) VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. MT Moderated by: Steve Schmader, CFEE President / CEO International Festivals & Events Association IFEA OPERATIONS VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Becky Genoways, CFEE President Genoways Event Management IFEA CEO VIRTUAL AFFINITY GROUP Meets at 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT Moderated by: Diana Mayhew, CFEE IFEA World Board Member President at National Cherry Blossom Festival

IFEA’s Virtual Affinity Groups are available to current IFEA Members as one of the many valuable benefits for being a member of the IFEA. If you’re interested in networking and brainstorming with your peers in the virtual networking Affinity Groups, we encourage you to join the IFEA to participate, in addition to receiving many more great benefits.

LEARN MORE | REGISTER HERE www.ifea.com/p/resources/ifea-affinity-groups

Plan now to join us for the first-ever ‘IFEA Leadership 100 Retreat’ at the Oglebay National Training Center in Wheeling, West Virginia.

January 21-23, 2022.

WHO: Top-level festival and event industry-related leaders including CEO’s, CFO’s, CCO’s, Executive Directors, Presidents, senior management innovators, and other top-level visionaries from throughout the global festivals and events industry.

WHERE: Oglebay National Training Center, Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.A. WHY: To come together as a combined, creative IFEA global professional network after an unimaginable pandemic, to imagine and shape the future.

WHAT: ‘IFEA Leadership 100 Retreat.’

WHEN: January 21-23, 2022 (Mark your calendar now and watch for more information to come.)

HOW MANY: To promote and maximize the networking and exchange opportunities of this unique gathering, the ‘IFEA Leadership 100 Retreat’ will be limited to the first 100 leaders who register.

HOW TO REGISTER: Stay Tuned. Registration information will be available soon.

VIRTUAL

SEPT. 22 - 24

THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING SPONSORSHIP EVENT: 20 sessions, 25 speakers Live-streamed from 3 iconic locations 3 days to more ideas, better results, stronger partnerships

A BEST-IN CLASS VIRTUAL EVENT Interactive & Immersive Every session will engage the audience and include real-world examples, cutting edge trends and data, key takeaways, and action steps for you to take.

Curated We invited speakers who bring mastery insights, developed session content around topics that matter the most to you, and created engagement opportunities to problem solve issues with other industry leaders.

Live We don’t believe in pre-recorded sessions. We believe in creating an authentic event where excitement, discoveries, learning, and inspiration are experienced live and in the moment.

Networking The summit will include many opportunities for speakers, partners, and attendees to engage, connect, and learn together.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE

IFEA ME MBERS: CLICK T O ACCE SS YOUR

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WHAT YOU’LL GET: Actionable TOOLS, resources, downloads Insider STRATEGIES and IDEAS to accelerate growth Insights from industry RESEARCH CONNECTIONS with thought leaders A WINNING MINDSET to perform at the highest levels

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Welcome W

hile we were disappointed that we weren’t able to gather together with INSURANCE everyone in person in 2020 or David Olivares | 210-829-7634 2021, we can’t wait to be able david@kaliff.com www.kaliff.com to do that again safely in 2022.

In the meantime, we invite you to learn more about the exhibitors below who have committed to join us at our next live Expo event, and who continue to support the IFEA and weather the storm with us as our industry navigates through these especially challenging times.

Support Those Who Support Our Industry – Those businesses who invest their time and resources to exhibit, play an important role in helping to make our convention and programs possible. Help us recognize their efforts to support our industry, by emailing one with a question or brief introduction and the chance to learn more about what they can do. You just may be surprised by the options and savings available!

Questions? Interested in exhibiting at a future IFEA Expo? The dates and location for the next IFEA Expo, part of the IFEA Annual Convention, Expo & Retreat presented

by Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, will be announced in January 2022. Registration and additional details, once available, will be announced by email and shared on our Expo page.

OTHER QUESTIONS? CONTACT Kaye Campbell, CFEE Director of Partnerships, Programs & Finance +1 208.433.0950 x8150 or kaye@ifea.com

TICKETING / WEBSITE DESIGN Cassie Roberts Dispenza | 512-430-1123 cassie@saffire.com www.saffire.com

BANNERS / FLAGS Vanessa Van de Putte | 210-227-5039 vanessa@dixieflag.com dixieflag.com

INSURANCE Andrew Vandepopulier | 800-821-7703 Andrew.Vandepopulier@hwins.com www.hwins.com

INFLATABLES Steve Thomson | 800-411-6200 steve@fabulousinflatables.com www.fabulousinflatables.com

TO A PREVIEW OF THE EXHIBITORS YOU’LL FIND AT THE NEXT LIVE IFEA CONVENTION, EXPO & RETREAT!

CASH MANAGEMENT Tina Hollis | 239-287-8221 tina.hollis@firstdata.com www.firstdata.com

EVENT SOFTWARE / APPS Jerry Waddell | 423-894-2677 jerryw@videoideas.com www.pointsmap.com

GROUP TRAVEL PLANNING Mark Browning | 770-825-0220 mark@tripinfo.com www.tripinfo.com

SAFETY / SECURITY Matt Pipkin | 208-830-3885 matt@wevow.com www.wevow.com

TICKETING Ryan Kintz | 503-559-6183 ryan.k@aftontickets.com www.aftontickets.com

ATTRACTIONS Michael Lawton | 800-275-0185 m.lawton@ppentertainmentgroup.com www.artificialiceevents.com

ENTERTAINMENT Evan Schaefer, CSEP, CFEE | 732-818-9600 x2 evan@degy.com www.degy.com

SAFETY / SECURITY Erikka Hamer | 703-235-9352 erikka.hamer@associates.cisa.dhs.gov www.cisa.gov/office-bombing-prevention-obp

VENDOR MANAGEMENT Wendy Freiwald | 630-896-0084 wendy@expocad.com www.expocad.com

TICKETING Shadi Hayek | 916-400-0737 shadi@webconnex.com www.ticketspice.com

INSURANCE Andrew Klaus | 913-253-1215 aklaus@guaranteedweather.com www.vortexinsurance.com

FIREWORKS Kim Ceyrolles | 724-658-6611 kceyrolles@zambellifireworks.com www.zambellifireworks.com

Continued from Learning from the Pandemic - The VIP’ification of Events, page 25

different when you are limited to 175 guests at a time compared to 1000+.

Each event producer will need to carefully evaluate their organizations’ goals and their budgets to make this model work if it is right for your event.

Some of the main ways to make the budget work are increased ticket price, increased sponsorship revenue or decreased expenses. Here are a few thoughts to challenge the status quo thinking on these topics.

If you are creating a better guest experience with the operational changes, can you tack on a few dollars to your ticket price?

If you are spreading out the crowd over a longer time and creating a more conducive atmosphere for sponsors to engage with the guests, can you charge more for the sponsorship or find new sponsors who are looking for high quality guest interactions?

Will less dense crowds make it easier to see the sponsor banners on the stage/ perimeter fence/signs/etc. Can you add an extra session at the end of the event for a sponsor only experience? What were your traffic patterns in 2020 B.C. (Before COVID)? Did 10,000 people all come at once or did they stream through at a steady

pace over 12 hours? Would it negatively affect the guest experience if you had timed entry or would it just give the perception of less crowds and the VIP’ification with little to no additional cost?

Can you save money on the venue setup if you are using a smaller footprint for more “sessions”? It should take less fencing, less security, less PA, to setup a venue for 500 people at a time instead of a large open venue with unrestricted access.

Can you balance the savings of less personnel with the increase in hours operating multiple sessions of an event?

How can you sell sponsorships on the quality of your audience, and the interaction with them, compared to the quantity of impressions?

These are just a few of the 1000’s of questions you can ask yourself and your team. The important thing is that you ask them before it’s too late. How many chances do you think we will get to completely re-invent what we do in our lifetimes?

Conclusion Countless studies have been conducted and thousands of cities and towns have anecdotal evidence on top of that to

support the return to large scale events.

Beyond the financial benefits of large events, there are social and emotional benefits that need to be considered. I am not lobbying for large, small, VIP, paid, free, or anything else. I am just hoping we all can take some time to reflect on the last year and a half and learn some things from it. There has been so much scary change over the last year in the immediate response to the pandemic, that some operational or programming changes to your events should be a walk in the park.

Jeremy Gross is the Special Event Coordinator at the Town of Vail in Vail, Colorado. He has been in the special event industry since 2012, working in the resort communities of Vail and Beaver Creek and for the municipalities of the Town of Vail and the Town of Eagle in Colorado. Some career highlights have been working on the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships and the Xterra World Championships, though the 50 competitor river surfing competitions, snowshoe races, and small-town parades bring a lot of joy and fulfillment.

Our Parade Balloons are engineered to use the least amount of helium possible, saving you money.

Visit our website for an up-to-date inventory and current photos.

bigeventsonline.com 760-477-2655 Contact: charles@bigeventsonline.com

68

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Continued from President’s Letter, page 10

Not to mention access to our ongoing every day member benefits and resources including: • Staying up-to-date on industry news in our IFEA Event Insider and Important Information Emails.

• Discovering new and creative vendor partners in our Event Resource Marketplace • Searching and Posting in our IFEA Job Bank (Free to members) • Our COVID-19 Task Force Findings and Industry Templates • Plus, so many more benefits & resources.

• Remember, the value of your IFEA membership is multiplied exponentially when you participate directly with your industry peers - from close to home and around the world - and take advantage of the many professional resources available to you.

We invite you to be a part of the exciting and much brighter future that lies ahead; an active member of the IFEA; a

recognized and respected player among your professional peers; and a mentor (now more than ever) to all those new professionals who look to join our industry and bring their own expertise and experience to the global table.

I thank you all for your continued and highly appreciated support and industry leadership. As we look to the future, as uncertain as it can seem on any given day, I never doubt that our industry and events will continue to be there for our communities, our world, and each other, morphing creatively, reliably, and responsibly into whatever format is required to meet the challenges before us.

Stay safe and healthy. If you have not yet, please get vaccinated for us all.

Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE President & CEO

Continued from Prune & Bloom, page 27

huge changes and uncertainties was also inspiring.

• Just keep moving, no matter how small the movement.

Disney has it right with this one. Dory in Finding Nemo has a famous line, “Just keep swimming.” Anna in Frozen II sings, “Do the next right thing.” For the non-animated zombie movie lovers, Brad Pitt says in World War Z, “Movement is life.”

As event planners, I think we excel more than most living among the fault lines and in seasons of change. We crave a certain excitement in forming something from

nothing. Chodron says, “Like all explorers, we are drawn to discover what’s waiting out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to face it,” and also, “what we call obstacles are really the way the world and our entire experience teach us where we’re stuck.”

We have been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, where we are all traveling together in this same season, to face the uncertainty and vividly see where we may have been stuck in the past. Organize, gather, and just keep moving. I cannot wait to see how we come out changed on the other side..

Alison Baringer English. CFEE is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. She is a Leadership Wilmington graduate of 2013 and was President of the Junior League of Wilmington in 2014-2015.

In 2019, Alison was selected into the inaugural class of the WilmingtonBiz 100, an initiative of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal to recognize the top power players, influencers, innovators, and connectors in the region. The Star News selected Alison as a Top 40 Under 40 business leader in 2020. Alison currently serves on the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA) Foundation Board as Chair-Elect and the UNC-Wilmington Alumni Board on the Executive Committee in the role of Secretary.

Continued from The Un-comfort Zone, page 48

in the eye one last time and posed the rhetorical question, “What are you going to do with this experience?”

O’Brian had plenty of time to ponder that question. He was left alone with his thoughts for the 48 hours it took him to travel back to Los Angeles. He told me that he wanted to use his notoriety to make a difference, and that he wanted to accentuate the positive instead of the negative. He explained that the trend of the 1950s was to send juvenile delinquents to summer camp while the kids who were trying to do the right thing were being ignored. He said, “I wanted to bring together those kids who wanted to be part of the solution and not part of the problem; so that they were no longer oddballs, but part of a majority.” He wanted to bring this peer group together and let them get acquainted. The two messages he wanted to spread are, “The world does not owe you a living.” and “Profit is not a dirty word.”

Within two weeks of returning from Africa he put together his first seminar. He gathered 25 tenth graders from the local school, Boy’s Club, and YMCA. He said tenth grade was his choice because, “That was the year when I first decided to fish or cut bait with my own life.”

He called his doctor, his lawyer, his CPA, and a friend who was a teacher. He asked them to serve as speakers and counselors, and at the end of the weekend he knew he was on to something.

Today there are now over 400,000 students who have attended a HOBY seminar, and the first ones are now in their seventies.

To learn more about the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation, visit www.hoby.org.

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is an author, humorist/speaker and innovation consultant. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. Robert is the author of ...and Never Coming Back, a psychological thriller-novel about a motion picture director; The Annoying Ghost Kid, a humorous children’s book about dealing with a bully; and the inspirational book: Wisdom in the Weirdest Places. For more information on Robert, please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.

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MARKETPLACE SEARCH MORE VENDORS AT EVENTRESOURCEMARKETPLACE.COM ATTRACTIONS ARTIFICIAL ICE EVENTS / FALL FEST EVENTS - Unique Winter and Fall attractions for rent nationwide. Available for short-term or long-term needs. Synthetic ice rinks to haunted houses! Contact: Michael Lawton | 147 Summit St. Unit 3A, Peabody, MA 01960 USA | 800-275-0185 | m.lawton@ppentertainmentgroup.com | www.artificialiceevents.com BANNERS/FLAGS DFEST ® – Designs and manufactures creative decor solutions for festivals and events. We specialize in custom flags, banners, directional signage, entryways, street banners, installation and hardware. Contact: Vanessa Van de Putte | 1930 Interstate 35, San Antonio, TX 78208 USA | (800) 356-4085 | vanessa@dixieflag.com | www.dixieflag.com CASH MANAGEMENT FIRST DATA / CLOVER – Cloud-based point of sale and full business solutions for cash or cashless events. Clover is uniquely designed to be customized to fit your business needs. Clover accepts all payment types - EMV/Chip, Card Swiped, Keyed and Apple Pay/Google Pay. Clover’s product line is available with WIFI, ethernet, or 4G/LTE data connectivity and can be leased, purchased or rented month-to-month. First Data has exclusive pricing for hardware and card processing for the festivals and events industry.

Contact: Tina Hollis | 8812 Crosswood Ct., Riverview, FL 33578 USA | 239-287-8221 | tina.hollis@firstdata.com | www.firstdata.com COSTUMES

POINTSMAP® – PointsMap® has proven to be an effective and useful software for Festivals and Events. Create custom points at their exact location on your PointsMap with photos, descriptions, website links, multi-media, PDF’s and even “inside maps”. Your visitors can “PLAN” before the festival using their desktop computer, and then “NAVIGATE” the festival using their Smartphone. Visit www.

PointsMap.com/SLAF and http://www.PointsMap.com/WichitaRiverFest/ to see how PointsMap is being used. It’s easy to use and extremely affordable. Contact: Jerry Waddell | 1100 Riverfront Pkwy, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2171 USA | 423-894-2677 | jerryw@videoideas.com | www.pointsmap.com FIREWORKS ZAMBELLI FIREWORKS – America’s leading manufacturer and premier exhibitor of domestic and international fireworks. Spectacular custom designed indoor and outdoor productions, choreographed to music. Contact: Kim Ceyrolles 120 Marshall Dr., Warrendale, PA 15086 USA | 724-658-6611 | kceyrolles@zambellifireworks.com | www.zambellifireworks.com INFLATABLES BIG EVENTS, INC. – Worldwide leader for quality inflatables and parade balloons. Rental and sales for special events and parades. Excellent design and highest quality artwork set the industry standard. Contact: Charles Trimble | 3909 Oceanic Dr., Ste. 402 Oceanside, CA 92056 USA | 760-477-2655 | charles@bigeventsonline.com | www.bigeventsonline.com

HISTORICAL EMPORIUM – Historical Emporium specializes in authentic, durable, high quality historical clothing and accessories. Victorian, Edwardian, Old West and Steampunk for men and women.

Since 2003. Contact: Noel Matyas | 188 Stauffer Blvd, San Jose, CA 95125-1047 USA | (800) 997-4311 | amusement@historicalemporium.com | www.historicalemporium.com

DYNAMIC DISPLAYS / FABULOUS INFLATABLES – Designs, manufacturers, for rent or purchase – costumes, props, floats, helium balloons, event entry ways and décor. Offers complete and flexible service packages for small towns and large international events. 50+ years of parade/event experience. Contact: Steve Thomson | 6470 Wyoming St. Ste #2024, Dearborn MI 48126 USA | 800-411-6200 | steve@fabulousinflatables.com | www.fabulousinflatables.com

DÉCOR/DISPLAYS/BACKDROPS

INSURANCE / RISK MANAGEMENT

YOUR-TYPE 3D EVENT LETTERS/SHAPES – Rent 3D, larger than life letters and stand out at your next event! Letters are available for purchase or rent in sizes from 2 ft. through 8 ft. tall to anywhere in the United States. Contact: Todd Hoffman | 4970 Service Dr., Winona, MN 55987 USA | 507-454-7816 | contact@your-type.com | www.your-type.com

CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY (CISA) / OFFICE FOR BOMBING PREVENTION - Leads the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to implement the national policy for countering Improvised Explosive Devices and enhances the nation’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate the use of explosives against critical infrastructure, the private sector, and federal, state, local, tribal and territorial entities. Contact: Erikka Hammer, CGMP | 245 Murray Ln. SW, Washington, D.C. 20025 USA | 703-235-9352 | erikka.hamer@associates.cisa.dhs.gov | www.cisa.gov/office-bombing-prevention-obp

ENTERTAINMENT DEGY BOOKING INTERNATIONAL – Degy Entertainment is a worldwide talent buying agency specializing in customer service and professionalism. Contact: Evan Schaefer, CSEP, CFEE | 9826 Montpelier Dr., Delray Beach, FL 33446 USA | 732-818-9600 | evan@degy.com | www.degy.com EVENT SOFTWARE / APPS EXPOCAD - EXPOCAD® professionally manages the map and placement of vendors and exhibitors for festivals and events. Process payments, contracts, sponsorships and promote exhibitors via customized listings on the directory and interactive map available on desktop and mobile devices. Ask us about ELI, an event location interactive tool that will pinpoint locations of incidents for operations or security concerns to stay ahead of growing threats domestic and abroad. Contact: Wendy Freiwald | 69 S LaSalle St., Aurora, IL 60505 USA | 630-896-0084 | wendy@expocad.com | www.expocad.com 70

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HAAS & WILKERSON INSURANCE – Celebrating 80 years in the entertainment industry, providing insurance programs designed to meet the specific needs of your event. Clients throughout the US include festivals, parades, carnivals and more. Contact: Andrew Vandepopulier | 4300 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205 USA | 800-821-7703 | andrew. vandepopulier@hwins.com | www.hwins.com KALIFF INSURANCE – Founded in 1917, Kaliff Insurance provides specialty insurance for festivals, fairs, parades, rodeos, carnivals and more.

We insure the serious side of fun! Contact: David Olivares | 2009 NW Military Hwy., San Antonio, TX 78213-2131 USA | 210-829-7634 | david@kaliff.com | www.kaliff.com

K & K INSURANCE – For 60 years, K & K insurance has been recognized as the leading provider of SPORTS-LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT insurance products. Contact: Mark Herberger | 1712 Magnavox Way, Fort Wayne, IN 46804 USA | 1-866-554-4636 | mark.herberger@kandkinsurance.com | www.kandkinsurance.com

SAFFIRE – Saffire empowers clients with beautiful, unique and engaging websites that are easy to manage, with integrated SaffireTix ticketing and unlimited help when you need it. Contact: Cassie Roberts Dispenza | 248 Addie Roy Rd, Ste B-106, Austin TX 78746-4133 USA | 512-430-1123 | sales@saffire. com | www.saffire.com

VORTEX INSURANCE AGENCY - Vortex Insurance provides weather index insurance to help minimize revenue loss due to rain, heat, cold, snow or a combination of weather elements. Contact: Andrew Klaus | 7400 W 132nd St., Ste. 260, Overland Park, KS 66213 USA | 913-253-1215 | aklaus@guaranteedweather.com | www.vortexinsurance.com

TRAVEL PLANNING (by Groups)

SAFETY/SECURITY WEVOW – Build a culture that elevates thinking above sexual misconduct.

Year-round and seasonal programs available for both staff and volunteers.

Contact: Matt Pipkin | P.O. Box 2308, Boise, ID 83702 USA | 208-830-3885 | matt@wevow.com | www.wevow.com TICKETING AFTON TICKETS – Afton Tickets has set out to change the ticketing industry. We provide more features and better service to our clients and have simplified the entire ticketing process. We offer low and honest services fees to the customer, provide on-site Afton staff at events, 24/7 client support, state of the art scanners and box office equipment, and thermal ticket printing. Contact: Ryan Kintz | 1001 SE Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214 USA | 503-559-6183 | ryan.k@aftontickets.com | www.aftontickets.com

TRIPInfo.com – Since 1996, first online reference for all segments of group travel planners – website and weekly newsletter and subject-specific digital magazines – including festivals. IFEA Member organizations included online. Contact: Mark Browning | 4850 Gaidrew, Johns Creek, GA 30022 USA | 770-825-0220 | mark@tripinfo.com | www.tripinfo.com WEBSITE DESIGN SAFFIRE – Saffire empowers clients with beautiful, unique and engaging websites that are easy to manage, with integrated SaffireTix ticketing and unlimited help when you need it. Contact: Cassie Roberts Dispenza | 248 Addie Roy Rd, Ste B-106, Austin TX 78746-4133 USA | 512-430-1123 | sales@saffire.com | www.saffire.com

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Partnership with the IFEA The IFEA Foundation provides an all-important source of support that allows the IFEA to confidently provide convention scholarships, host top-quality industry presenters, speakers and programming, and help raise the bar for everyone in our global industry. A very special thanks to all those who have contributed along the way, and we look forward to working with you towards the success of our industry for many years to come.

www.ifea.com/p/foundation