Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
How to Make Corporate Entertainment Events Memorable
Monday, May 30th, 2011
This being Memorial Day, I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss one of the most sought-after aspects of corporate event entertainment, which is how to make it memorable. Whether we’re talking about corporate parties for clients & senior staff, employee team building activities or experiential marketing events to raise brand awareness, the lingering concern of the event planner is simple: how do we make this something that everyone will remember?
Having participated in many varied corporate entertainment events in New York City as both a producer and a participant, I’ve been able to glean several factors which I feel are important for ensuring that participants both think and talk fondly about the function, long after it’s happened. Below are some tips for making sure that your company bash is a memorable one, regardless of the activity or entertainment provided:
Change it Up – Companies are like people, in that they tend to stick with what works and not wander far off the reservation. This is true when it comes to entertaining employees & clients, as the natural inclination is to do what’s been done in the past. As such, “fun” stuff companies do for their folks tend to be the same old thing, held at the same old place, at the same time of year. In order to make an event stand out, you should deviate from the norm: try new activities, new venues, new event calendars. Get everyone talking about how this year’s annual fest was so much different from years past, simply by deviating from the well-worn path.
Exceed Expectations – If you’ve driven attendance by promising the world – and you deliver that and much more – you will go a long way towards creating a memorable impression on your group. If, however, you make promises about the spectacular things your event will feature, how much fun will be had etc. and miss those goals by a long shot, not only will people not want to remember the event, but the parts they DO remember will be framed in the negative. Meet and exceed their expectations, and you will genrate an experience which people will remember positively.
Include a “Wow” Factor – At least one aspect of your event should be something which dazzles, shines or otherwise impresses. Regardless of your limited budget or timeline, invest in creatively injecting something which makes everyone say “wow,” and you’ll be a rock star in everybody’s eyes – doubly so if you deliver something truly special on a tight turnaround, and with limited assets.
Provide a Take-Away – Toys, trinkets, prizes, awards, photos and other “chum” serve a purpose: a constant cubicle reminder of the fun times had at Company Event X. Avoid making this item edible, unless it’s truly something special & especially scrumptious- in which case, people WILL talk about it for a long time!
As a corporate event planner, you work so hard to create functions which meet the professional standards of your company, as well as your own. Making an event truly memorable, however, requires a little extra time and thought- yet is always an option. So why not take it?
Guilty Pleasures of a Trivia Event Host
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Naturally, I love creating trivia events. There’s just so many things about them that provide me with an opportunity to smile, I have fun just thinking about it! I do enjoy playing pub quiz, for sure, but believe it or not I’m actually not all that good a trivia myself- nor am I very competitive by nature. For me, the real enjoyment comes in producing the event from scratch, with the express purpose of giving other people a great experience.
What do I love most about being a quizmaster? Here’s a brief list:
- Writing Trivia Questions – I love writing creative, humorous trivia questions which are custom-made for the audience in mind. Over the years I’ve become quite adapt at this, and it gives me a lot of enjoyment.
- Coming Up With Round Themes – Each round of questions has a theme, and I love coming up with new ones. Sure, all of my events have staple themes such as “General Knowledge,” “TV & Movies” etc. But how about “What Comes Next,” “Junk Food” and “High School English Class Books?” I feel like my own JEAPARDY! category generator, and it’s such a blast!
- Positive Attendee Reactions – For me, few things are better than watching people react exactly the way I want (or better) to the trivia I’ve written. Laughter is the best response, because it means I’ve struck a chord and done something right.
- Funny Team Names – One of the few areas of a trivia event outside my control, I always look forward to the funny, wacky and occasionally borderline inappropriate team names the participants come up with. It gives me an opportunity to laugh at other people’s sense of humor, and I usually am the one laughing the hardest at the best ones.
- iPod Round – Typically my events will include an “iPod round,” where the employee team building / corporate event organizer (or bartender, if it’s a pub quiz) will prepare a 10-song playlist for the crowd to identify the song title/artist. Whenever possible, I make a point not to review the playlist in advance; I’d rather experience the songs for the first time right along with everyone else, so that my reaction will be authentic- especially when there are some terrible clunkers included.
- Making People Happy – The ultimate driving force behind my passion for hosting trivia events, I love seeing people extremely happy as a direct result of something I’ve done. If I can create an experience for people which is enjoyable, memorable, and leaves a lasting positive impact, that’s all I really need.
There are of course a million other reasons why I love creating live trivia events, but these are the ones that most immediately spring to mind. Do you host a trivia night in New York City or elsewhere? Please share below what YOU love most about being a quizmaster!
Why Creating Experience is Rewarding
Friday, April 15th, 2011
I love creating experiences. If you had to ask me what’s the one thing that I enjoy most, the one thing that gets my juices flowing, it’s putting all of my energy & creativity into conceptualizing and producing experiences which people will enjoy. It was this desire to make people happy through experience that I wound up in the events world: creating political campaign events, producing live concerts, generating program ideas for the 92nd Street Y, writing scavenger hunt clues and, ultimately, starting a live trivia company.
There’s just something about creating positive memories – both for myself and for others – which is extremely rewarding. I’ve never been one of those technology guys who loves “toys” – I just recently upgraded to a smartphone after 10 years of a “flip,” prefer books to kindle and don’t even have a television (though I accept the necessary role technology plays in trivia events). To my thinking, material objects are just not as fulfilling as doing things; I’d choose an incredible meal at an amazing restaurant over a comparably-priced handheld gizmo any day of the week.
So what is it about creating experiences for others that I find so rewarding? An executive coach recently asked me this exact question, which forced me to give it some deliberation. I ultimately think it comes back to the fact that I love to have fun, and assume that most people do as well. I also love anything involving creativity, high energy, humor, surprises and happy people. Also, for whatever reason I have the ability to visualize events I’m creating through the participants’ eyes; like telling a story or long joke, I have a sense of what people will respond to, as well as when and how.
It’s a fun challenge for me to try and imagine the thought processes people will have when they encounter a situation I’ve created. With scavenger hunts, I love devising clues which I know people will find both clever and entertaining; for trivia, it’s all about asking questions that the group will find highly relevant, perhaps also nostalgic. Even at my recent wedding, my wife and I took enormous pains to ensure that the event was fun and memorable not just for us, but for our guests as well.
In the end, I ultimately receive a great deal of satisfaction having created a unique, positive, memory-filled experience which people really enjoyed. That’s what drives me, and those are the kind of events which I strive to produce for my clients each and every day.
Are you an event professional who also has a passion for creating positive experiences? Please share your story in the “Comments” section below!
5 Collaboration Must-Reads for Corporate Event Planners & Producers
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Whether you work for a large firm or are an entrepreneur like me, you have probably realized that no matter how good you are at what you do, you simply can’t take your business to the next level on your own. Strategic partnerships, collaboration and joint efforts are needed to truly make your enterprise scalable, and are crucial for not only reaching new audiences, but for obtaining honest, objective feedback on your efforts- which, as humans, is something that none of us can do on our own.
Based on the popularity of a recent post on the 7 social media must-reads for corporate event planners, below is a list of 5 important books for gaining a broad, firm understanding of the power of collaboration, and why it is so important for us in the event industry:
1) Never Eat Alone (Keith Ferrazzi) – Perhaps the world’s leading authority on networking, Ferrazzi’s book is insanely popular because he talks about the power of initiating and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Drawing on the expertise of Dale Carnegie and others, this book will give you a great foundation for how- and why- collaboration is essential.
2) Jamming (John Kao) – This creative book by an innovation expert and former Harvard Business School professor vividly equates business to jazz, and will change the way you think about approaching potential partners with a goal of drastically improving your business models, as well as your bottom line.
3) How (Dov Seidman) – A new take on Thomas Friedman’s “world is flat” argument, this is an incredible “big picture” book which will help give you a framework of not only why collaboration is so important in the 21st Century, but how to go about doing what you do best, for maximum benefit.
4) Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed (Robert Dilenschneider) – An important book by one of America’s most-respected power brokers and PR experts, this is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to develop not only strong influencing skills, but the acumen for identifying and gaining buy-in from the right outside partners.
5) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Joe Trippi) – During the 2004 US presidential primary, Governor Howard Dean soared from obscurity to frontrunner, in no small part due to bloggers. Regardless of how you may feel about him politically, the Dean campaign was the first to galvanize large groups of people through the Internet- and Joe Trippi, Dean’s campaign manager, made that possible. Trippi’s book is an incredible case study on the power of working together to make big things happen, and will change the way you approach creating your events.
There are of course plenty of other insightful, better-known books which would fall neatly into this list, such as The Tipping Point, The 7 Habits for Highly Effective People and Good to Great. However, the 5 books listed above will help you develop a new style of thinking about your events, and help differentiate you from the crowd.
If you have any other book suggestions for collaboration & strategic partnership, please feel free to share them here!
Trivia vs. Scavenger Hunts as a Team Building Activity
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Prior to starting TrivWorks, I had the unique pleasure of working for two years as a freelancer for one of New York City’s most reputable – and busy – scavenger hunt companies (yes, there really is such a thing). Companies would hire out the scavenger company to create/host team building, client entertainment, branding and experiential marketing events, and my job was to both write customized scavenger hunts, as well as to produce/host them. It was a ton of fun for me and, more importantly, for the clients.
When I decided to launch my own team building company, I had a choice of either creating a scavenger hunt company- a proven market where I had a good degree of experience- or to branch out into the world of live trivia, a virtually untested area outside of pub quiz. I am of course thrilled to have done the latter, and believe strongly that I made the right choice; however, is there really a big difference between the two types of activities from a team building perspective?
Let’s take an honest look at both:
Scavenger Hunts
No doubt about it, scavenger hunts are a great way for a group to have fun. I’ve always loved them since I was a kid, and as an adult they still satisfy. There is unquestionably a value in creating a fun, memorable experience for your team by sending them off to find clues and take digital pictures, which may be enjoyed long after the event is over. It’s also a great bonding opportunity, as the group must compete as teams against each other.
I found, though, that the clues themselves could never be THAT challenging, as the goal was for all teams to finish the scavenger hunt route in a given period of time. It’s also hard to customize a scavenger hunt, when the goal is to find the next clue location; can you really change a clue to appeal to group of lawyers, vs. a groups of architects? Scavenger hunts also require a huge time commitment to be done right; 15-20 minutes for orientation, 2-3 hours for the hunt itself, then at least an hour for a wrap-up, photo display and awards ceremony. All told, it’s a long day/night, and can be quite exhausting for participants.
Live Trivia
Like scavenger hunts, live trivia offers a great opportunity for both strong impact and bonding for a group. That desire to “win” is powerful, yet good natured; in the end, everyone really wins, because they had a great time playing the game. With trivia, though, I find that there are many ways to creatively customize questions for a group, which leads to greater impact, thus delivering greater value to groups- especially if the goal is to reward and boost morale. I also like how everyone can participate, regardless of age or disability, which is not the case with scavenger hunts.
One advantage scavenger hunts will always have over trivia is changing scenery; let’s face it, for folks stuck in an office all day, it’s fun to run around the city! However, it’s also nice to stay warm and dry; I’ve seen my share of hunts run in the rain (AND snow), and am convinced indoor events such as trivia are more comfortable. Add in that the total time commitment is only 2 hours start to finish, and you’ve got an experience which will be more favorably remembered in the long run.
Ultimately, the choice of a scavenger hunt versus a trivia event will depend on the group, and both will likely be a fun time. From a corporate team building perspective, however, I feel that live trivia picks up the slack that scavenger hunts can’t make up in customization, comfort, convenience and lasting positive impact.
But that’s just my opinion, and I’m somewhat biased. What do YOU think?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
