SAFE CELEBRATIONS An interview with master event planner Sam Foxman Sam Foxman is the go-to event planner for high-profile organizations and individuals in St. Louis and one of the top event pros in the country. He has been credited with entertaining more than three million people in his 25-year career of producing world-class events. Foxman is the President and Cofounder of Evntiv, an agency dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind events and celebrations. We sat down (virtually) with Foxman to discuss how individuals and organizations can celebrate safely during the pandemic. You have one of the hottest event planning firms in the Midwest. How has Covid-19 changed your business? It has been a roller coaster! In a matter of two weeks last March, most of our live event projects were halted. Even though we had a diverse portfolio of clients and projects, the pandemic forced us to take a hard look at how to incubate new lines of business – and do it quickly. As a company, we had been planning and producing virtual events and hybrid events for years. Typically, these virtual events were a part of a live event – in other words, a virtual layer. We were now challenged to create virtual events to stand on their own as engaging and compelling tools for organizations to use instead of live events. I am proud to say that, in just four months, we have booked more than 16 virtual events and three Covid-conscious hybrid events. Many of our virtual event concepts and tactics have been modeled both in St. Louis and around the country. Most event planners have quickly evolved to be providers of virtual event services. This seems to be the easiest jump from what they were doing before. However, it is not that easy. My team has developed a very specific virtual event planning process that combines coaching clients in this new realm, writing and developing engaging content, and deploying the right technology to exceed their goals. Again, virtual and hybrid events were not new concepts for me or my team, which helped us gain ground quickly. Everyone is talking about virtual events and hybrid events. Help me understand the difference. A virtual event is an online 74 slmag.net
experience that involves people interacting in a virtual environment – no live component. A hybrid event is an experience that combines a live in-person event with a virtual online component. The word “pivot” is certainly being used in the business community during this pandemic. As an event host, can you “pivot” a live event to an online experience? (Laughs) I think this notion that you can just pivot your old plan to a new digital environment is absolute nonsense. A virtual engagement is completely different and involves a reimagining of the event, not a pivot. I would encourage all event hosts to look at this as a new medium, not a substitute for what they have done in the past. How are people safely celebrating personal milestones like weddings, anniversaries and birthdays during the pandemic? We are seeing two groups of event hosts emerge in this pandemic: those who are devout supporters of in-person interaction and those who are adamant about not being with others in the same space. Most of the events I am involved with currently are based in the virtual world. Most personal milestone events (other than weddings) have been canceled, moved to a virtual realm, have been limited to family only, include fewer than 25 guests, and take place outdoors. Many weddings have been rescheduled for 2021. Some couples have elected to host a small in-person ceremony with a virtual component, so family and friends can join via livestream. How easy is it to do your own virtual event? Very easy. Any of the standard two-way video platforms (Zoom, Go-To Meeting, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, etc.,) can be used to create a virtual party. By investing an additional $250 for a good webcam, microphone and lighting, hosts can pull off a very elevated broadcast – and definitely look better than their friends! However, in my opinion, the magic is not in the technology or the platform. The goal of a fantastic virtual event is creating moments of impact with the audience in attendance.
