"Shaking Things Up"
Part One
Top Professionals Share How They Deliver the Wow Year After Year
By Marilyn Froggatt
12/28/08
As event planning professionals, the one comment we both dread and love to hear is, ”How are you going to top last year’s program—it was fantastic!”
Ever wonder how industry pros pull off their award-winning programs time after time? The secret is a magic formula of client and product knowledge and a good degree of the old crystal ball technique—forecasting what will be new and exciting in the year to follow. An interview with two of the industry’s top event planners who work for JNR Incorporated revealed some intriguing insights into this challenging subject.
SIDEBAR—JNR Incorporated
JNR Incorporated is a full service incentive marketing company headquartered in Irvine, California. Jim Jalet, President and CEO developed the company over twenty seven years ago offering corporations the highest level of product and service available. JNR’s sixty-five employees deliver award winning programs that produce exceptional results and lasting impressions. JNR’s wide range of marketing programs include corporate incentives, incentive travel, meeting or convention, debit card program, merchandise and recognition, special event or entertainment. For more information, contact JNR via Marilyn Froggatt, Vice President, Sales, JNR Incorporated at 949-476-2788, by e—mail, MFroggatt@jnrcorp.com or web access, www.jnrcorp.com., or special events provider you will be working with the very best professionals in each of these arenas--professionals that you can count on to provide exceptional results and lasting impressions.
Part 1 – Details! Details! Details!
Linda Cote is a twenty year meetings and events industry veteran. She has a reputation for being versatile, knowledgeable, and a perfectionist. She is an undisputed favorite with her clients because they know without a doubt that she will bring them fresh and new approaches to their annual programs. Her event planning background began at one of the nation’s top event companies headquartered in Los Angeles, California. That position lead to her being hired at JNR Incorporated fourteen years ago. Linda’s proven abilities and experience have brought her to her current position at JNR as Special Events Director. She bonds closely with her clients and reaches inside their psyches to discover their “dream” programs, which allows her to deliver extraordinary meeting and incentive travel programs year after year. Linda is also a Board member of International Association of Corporate Entertainment Producers. (IACEP)
As Special Events Director, Linda is responsible for overseeing the operations of an incredibly complex annual incentive travel program for one of JNR’s long-term clients. This incentive program drew its first breath in the late 1980’s and has been running strong ever since. In return for client loyalty, JNR faces the challenge that the program must take place each April in a Hawaiian island location. While Hawaii offers a great mix of the qualities that any incentive planner craves such as great weather, a fun and sun location, experienced infrastructure and marketing excitement, it is still a challenge to offer a “fresh” and extraordinary program every time.
When clients change their destinations geographically from year to year, the marketing challenge isn’t the same as it is when a repeat destination is selected. While change isn’t always the solution, it does offer some advantages because the incentive marketing team can wrap the theme and campaign around the look and feel of each new destination.
Extensive Site Inspections
When the destination remains the same, there are other opportunities, as well as challenges. Linda Cote’s advice is to go the source, or in other words, go to the destination. “You have to do extensive site inspections to discover special nuances and hidden treasures.” One of the advantages that a return location offers is the opportunity to build a highly responsible and reputable “cast”. Linda’s expert team of professionals include a Hawaiian based décor company, a local DMC and production company. This team meets every year with Linda and the client for this working site inspection.
According to Linda, “We started our brainstorming session immediately during the first hotel tour. We generally begin in the ballroom that we are going to use for the awards banquet. We check out ceiling heights, dimensions, light fixtures, wall and carpet colors. We consider our options, and we turn challenges into opportunities.”
After the hotel site inspection, Linda and the team visit each of the offsite venues because this program does a mix of on- and off-property events. “We knew we didn’t want to offer another luau. But, when we visited Kilohana, we liked the new luau pavilion that Fred Atkins has built. Our team discussed options, and we came up with a great concept. We created a retro Hawaii theme so we can include the look and feel of Kilohana and Kauai, but with a different twist. From there, we’ll throw in the extra touches and creative details to make it fresh and exciting.”
Linda had the client and all of her support suppliers in tow when they visited Kilohana. One cast member mentioned that Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac fame, now lives on Kauai and has a local Hawaiian band and show. One idea led to another and soon they were working on the concept of a Mick Fleetwood show, backed by his local group to make it feel more authentic to the island theme. The production specialist was there to discuss how to make the show work in the new pavilion and the décor representative was on hand to provide décor and lighting magic. They soon had the foundation for an outstanding theme party.
Bring to Life what is Already There
A good point to remember is to not to re-invent the wheel. Examine what your venues and locations already have to offer. As Linda explains, “We wanted to fill the evening with more than the headline act. Because you have to import so much décor and entertainment to an island like Kauai, events can become expensive and difficult to produce. In discussing this with our client, we agreed it would work out well if we incorporated much of what was already at Kilohana. We decided to combine some of the activities that Kilohana already offers, like the sugar train rides, the old plantation house and the shops. We will bring in a tattoo parlor, dart boards, lounge furniture, pool tables, air hockey, flashing neon ice cubes, and neon caps to give the party some fun elements without incurring a tremendous amount of additional cost.”
How do you find the Wow?
JNR’s savvy incentive clients are also up on all the latest shows and trends. Because of this, Linda stays one step ahead of them. She tries to attend as many of the industry event trade shows as she can find time for. One example is the annual Event Solutions “Idea Factory/CaterSource” tradeshow and conference held every year in February. Another, the International Association of Corporate Entertainment Producers (IACEP), offers an annual conference in September that includes three full days of fresh and exciting corporate entertainment productions. At this year’s show, Linda reviewed 22 different shows in less than 72 hours!
Linda also recommends staying in tune with the trendy TV shows such as “Dancing with The Stars” as you can get great new ideas. Clients are watching these shows too. “But”, she cautioned, “You have to filter out what will work and what won’t, and you have to make sure that you stay on top of the trends without slipping behind them.” Gen X and Gen Y like groups like edgy talent like “Sugar Ray”, but these groups are too untested and many don’t work well as corporate entertainment. One of the oldest and most reliable themes around is the old variety show concept. “Think of how popular ‘America’s Got Talent’ has become, says Linda. “Different acts, all within the same show add interest and variety. Get into the habit of watching the awards shows—from the Grammys to the Academy Awards. You will see emerging trends in décor, colors, textures and designs. And the talent seems to go through trends as does the staging”
“Watch for emerging talent trends as well”, she says. “There’s Drum Jungle and Drum Café, and all the new electric violin acts like String Theory. Surprise entertainment continues to gain popularity,” said Linda. She recommends becoming a close and personal friend to one or two trusted entertainment brokers. These brokers can make or break an event for you and can be your best ally in a competitive and time-challenged world.
Linda further recommends developing a knack for finding the most talented décor companies. You can search the local area where the event will take place or you can bring your décor company with you from locale to locale if you prefer. Décor is the single most consistently important element that will give you an outstanding event production. “You can change the mood in a flash”, says Linda. “Stay on top of trends in décor, such as the new chameleon chairs. True to their name, the chair can be changed with a different color or fabric and will change the mood of a room instantly.”
Doing Things Differently
Try adding a few of these special twists recommended by Ms. Cote:
1. Consider splitting the awards recipients into two groups with awards presentations running simultaneously in two different rooms. This can be done prior to the awards banquet. Of course, you will need two different executives available a the same time to present the awards, but it will make the awards segment of the evening flow much quicker prior to the fun part of the evening. When you meld the two groups back together for dinner, the awards have been distributed and then it’s time to eat, drink and celebrate success.
2. Try scheduling the awards ceremony on the middle evening of the program rather than reserving it for the final night. The Welcome Reception can be Night One, Night Two can be a free night and Night Three is the awards night. From there, Night Four can be a dine around night, and Night Five can be the theme party night.
3. To make a mandatory sales meeting a little more interesting, try putting the final night headline entertainer into the sales meeting as a keynote address speaker if your entertainer has speaking ability. As an example, Mick Fleetwood offers both a keynote address and musical entertainment.
Make Things Personal
Linda is always looking for the personal touch. She adds it to the gifts that the winners receive to complete the experience. For example, this year she commissioned a local artist on Kauai who creates handmade Koa gift boxes. Boxes will be presented to the spouses and significant others of program winners during a special recognition breakfast to honor supportive partners. Prior to that breakfast, the winners are e-mailed a template to write out their own personalized note of appreciation to acknowledge their spouse or guest. Linda will print out these sentiments on a custom note card and enclose them in the boxes for guests to discover at the breakfast. How special is that?!
Conclusion to Part One:
The ability to bond with clients and vendors simultaneously is a necessary skill as an event planner. You have to pull the dream from the client and make it reality with your talented staff and vendors. You learn to meld current trends into concepts and then actual productions at your chosen hotels and venues. You take certain elements from past programs and make them seem like a fresh new production with just a few changes. All this and more Shakes Things Up and delivers the wow the way you want it—year after year.
Sidebar—A Moment of Doubt
Linda shared a thought that even the most experienced of event planners can have a bad day. When asked if she ever has a moment of doubt, she responded, “Of course I do. Everyone does. It’s the day when you come to work and while you are waiting for the computer to boot up you noticed your proofs did not come back the way you ordered them.”
Linda continued, “Then you find none of your vendors have responded to important e-mails from the day before and your phone calls have been left unanswered because they are out of town on another program. And your client is out today because their child is sick. It’s that moment when you feel no one is focusing on your project and you begin to wonder when they will. And in the meantime, deadlines are looming.”
But when you are someone who delivers the wow like Linda can, you don’t lose faith in your vendors, even on an occasional bad day. You know they share the passion and the vision and the events always turn out exceptional, year after year.
Stay tuned for Part Two of this exciting article written by Marilyn Froggatt
