If you ask us who we like to work with, the answer is easy: everyone! You’re a for-profit business looking to produce a festival or trade show or conference? Give us a shout! Maybe you’re a national or regional or local nonprofit, interested in driving your mission forward through events. Definitely pick up that phone. From mega-corporations to smaller local nonprofits, our team has the vision, expertise, and track record to help you make a difference through events.
But if you ask us who we love to work with, the answer might be a little different. We – and our clients – are most fulfilled when we’re able to help deliver successful events even in the face of adversity. Maybe you’ve been tasked with producing a gala but no one on your team has events experience. Or the economic downturn has forced your organization to part with key events and marketing team members. Maybe you’re in desperate need of a fresh engagement approach to engaging your audience after two-plus years of pandemic lockdowns. Or your organization could benefit from a new revenue stream, but you’re not sure how to build an event that embraces your mission while also delivering a financial win.
The follow examples represent how our team has worked with organizations in the past to deliver incredible events-based, mission-focused outcomes. If you see yourself or your situation in these examples, we’d love to help you enhance your existing events program or develop a successful event or events series tailored to your organization and audience.
(Of course, even if you don’t see yourself in the following examples – but need help with events – we’d love to hear from you!)
You’re new to the events field.
You’re a marketing lead or development officer, or you’re a hard worker who wears seven different hats at work. Suddenly you’re tasked with putting together a gala, holiday event, or concert series – but you have no experience in envisioning, producing, or managing events.
You’ve created events in the past. But you’re short on the staff, time, and stuff to craft an event at the right quality or scale.
You’ve built events before. Maybe you were great at it, maybe it was like pulling teeth. But your team isn’t strong in events, you’re swamped with other priorities, and you don’t have the network to source key items like audio and lighting gear, barricades, talent, staging, permits, and more, to create a powerful event.
You have events in development or coming up soon. But you’re faced with an unforeseen, critical staffing shortage that puts your events at risk.
The reality of today’s workplace – employees changing jobs on short notice, pandemic infections, difficulty filling roles – means that you may be heading toward a single event or an entire events season without the full team you need to succeed. Where can you look on short notice to find an experienced group of events professionals who can plug-and-play into your existing events team?
You run a successful event, but would like to scale up by adding more to your event in its current location or by adding new locations far afield.
You need help developing a plan to replicate the success of your current event, whether that means re-envisioning for a new audience, finding new venues, building relationships with new contractors, or building the teams needed to spin up successfully.
You run a successful event, but you’re curious about how to take your event to the next level.
You created or inherited a successful event or event series. Maybe it’s a county fair, art show, fireworks show, or concert series. But you’re curious about how to take the event to the next level – how to find the right mix of activations, vendors, programs, and operational excellence needed to keep the event fresh, draw record crowds, and impressive revenue.
You’re responsible for a venue that has too many dark dates, or events that don’t meet mission or revenue goals.
You run a performing arts center whose theatre is dark 70% of the year. You’re in charge of specialty programs for a county fair and have a building or two that you just can’t activate successfully. Or you’re filling your spaces but with random events and activities that may generate some revenue or draw crowds, but don’t really yield big wins across all your mission priorities.
You’re a for-profit entity having trouble securing alcohol permits for your events, or you need help managing your event’s alcohol programs.
Laws governing alcohol activations at events vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county. As experienced events producers across many states, we’ve worked with state ABC/LCB/SLA agencies to successfully acquire alcohol permits for events AND we bring the expertise needed to not only manage your event’s alcohol-focused operations and compliance activities, but also take on other production tasks as needed.
You’re an organization with a diverse audience of organizations (e.g, Chamber of Commerce, Arts Council, Professional Association) and you want to empower them to produce more successful events that engage audiences and build stronger communities.
You might be an arts organization that provides networking, guidance, and grant support to smaller visual and performing arts entities throughout a county, state, or region. Or perhaps you’re a Chamber of Commerce, looking to serve the needs of a wide array of for- and nonprofit businesses in your community. There’s certainly an option to produce events – mixers, galas, and more – that will engage and entertain your constituents. But our EVENTS101 training program offers ways for Chambers and other nexus organizations to “pay it forward” by hosting or sponsoring one- or two-day training sessions that bring premiere events education to your community.
Thanks to inflation, or COVID, or ALL THE THINGS, your organization has been forced to reduce (or eliminate!) your internal events and marketing staff.
The (almost) post-COVID economy has left many businesses in a terrible position, having had to cut previously critical positions in marketing, PR, community outreach, events, and more just to survive the economic downturn. But that leaves organizations unable to activate events or experiences that were the lifeblood of community-focused activity on your property – the fairs, festivals, concerts, and exhibits that thrilled the public, fostered engagement, and generated much-needed revenue. Rebuilding internal teams in the short term is a challenge, both in finding staff and covering salaries and overhead. So how do you still generate revenue and engagement without the cost burden of internal teams?
Your company has a strong belief in corporate social responsibility, in doing good for the community by creating events or supporting them through sponsorships.
Your company is a household name in your area – perhaps a major utility, global brand, or manufacturer. You create jobs and tax revenue and are seen as inextricably woven into the fabric of your community. You’re interested in supporting high quality of life and strong, resilient communities, but your core business is electricity or windshield wipers or software. Events sound like they might be a great idea, but how do you come up with a plan?
You’re in a leadership role and believe events could be transformative for your organization. But you’re not sure how to get started.
Perhaps your staff keeps resurrecting a tired event concept year after year, puzzled at the diminishing attendance, lackluster audience enthusiasm, and ever-smaller revenue. Or your team doesn’t have the time, energy, or expertise to create an events program from scratch. We can assess your current events, help you understand your options, and envision a meaningful, mission-centric approach to developing successful events.
You own the concepts behind one or more events but your core skills are in creative visioneering or marketing, not the complex logistics behind large event production. You need a team to make your vision a reality.
While we’re pretty excellent at all phases of event visioneering, production, and logistics, we know we’re not the only ones who come up with great ideas for events. If you have a great idea that hasn’t been produced, let’s work together to craft the right plan to make your event a reality. If you have produced your event in the past, let’s sit down and discuss what went well, what didn’t, and how we can become your agency of record (AOR) for producing your events going forward.
You’re a for-profit event producer and you’re interested in “giving back” to the community, but aren’t sure how.
We can help you create compelling, small (or large!) footprint activations within your event that engage and support local community priorities. From fighting against food insecurity and supporting first responder organizations to raising awareness or funds for local humane societies or youth organizations, we can provide guidance to help you produce a community-focused experience or take care of it for you!