Ek Event Manager ki kahani..

 Last moment briefs..to power point touchups....



We grill..get thrill..from midnite for setups


 Coffe, Smoke for being awake..


Coz need to ensure that things are in place….



 Travel..Bitching..Crush..thatz part of our life


Promoters the most punctual personalities ever…always messes our life


 Always arranging backups...so that there are no shockups


God knows when the lifes will be w/o goofups

  Servicing and presentations w/o laptops..indicates confirm business


Travelling around the world, with your money indicates problem with business






 Friendships..tears..when we get apart..are nothing but just part of old memories


We really feel top of world when client says great show and we regain our lost energies…



At times there is no time for family, friends and loved ones..


Actually its dream come true for some 1



People call event managers..


WE call it life !!!


Rite..



Wishing for an eventful 2011 !!!

Eventfully Yours

Sanat Solanki

RAJNIKANT...THE NEW VIRAL MARKETER

     Saar..Joke is a very serious thing !!!


Before i start my blog an recent one which came :
 NASA was shut in DIWALI, COZ  Rajnikant has boughht all rockets :-)

On the web, on social networking sites, on sms, everywhere the current reigning topic is the latest Rajini joke. Rajini jokes are today the best conversation starters.



So every Rajini joke also adds to cool quotient of the narrator. In a society where jokes often tend to slip either into bathroom humor kind of category or into crassness, the positivity in the jokes is a remarkable phenomenon.

There is a lot that Rajini Saar in his inimitable style can teach all of us in marketing and communication. Here are 5 possible reasons.




One: Crowd sourcing works, and how. Crowd sourcing does not destroy brand value, it does not diminish the brand equity. If you truly let the crowd control your brand, and if the crowd loves your brand they will make sure that the story of the brand is told well



Two: Like it or not, crowd sourcing will happen. It cannot be controlled; it currently is on its way to become mainstream culture. We as owners of brand will be better off acting as catalysts and not as inhibitors.



Three: crowd sourcing can actually improve your brand in ways you cannot imagine. There is a variety of inputs that comes from crowd, and if you as brand owners are willing to accept, filter and broadcast what is right for the brand, it will make the brand better.



Four: Crowd sourcing can revitalize your brand and fill it with new vitality. What crowd sourcing has done for Rajini brand can be done for any brand. It has made the brand Rajini one of the buzziest brand of our times. Agreed that the Rajini brand has enough in it to spark off the buzz, but than most brands do have enough in them to start a buzz.



Five: To make the entire crowd sourcing effort work, nurture the crowd. There would be times when the brand will not like what the crowd does. Chime in, have a dialogue and together fix the issue. Rajini brand managers could have killed the entire wave of jokes, or they could have curated them. Curating the crowd's opinion always works better




Ladies and Gentlemen the most coveted Rajnikanth Award goes to...



Oscars!!!

ISSUES FACED BY EVENT MANAGERS ON VENUE & ITS BAND-AID

ISSUES FACED BY EVENT MANAGERS ON VENUE & ITS BAND-AID

I am an event manager, an proud statement but then its comes with lots of hard work..vendor pressures.. last moment clients demands..budget issues..and of course maa ..behns..jargons..

Just an attempt to share my insights on , venue challenging measures and empowering them for utmost client satisfaction for HIT SHOW.

Following are few highlighters which I cogitated and if practiced can be helpful to my fellow industry friends “

1) Venue RECCE :

Event planning begins with venue..Then accordingly you customize the experience as per the venue chosen..few measure if inculcated will be helpful for impeccable execution

a)Service entry gate size (base on size, ask your fabricators to get ready made panels…which one can pass on from gate , hence will reduce your setup time

b)Venue Event lay outing conferring hotel ..understand there F&B and seating arrangements..to avoid tussle during setup

c)Genset parking and wiring modalities… so that on event day your vendor don’t tell “wire chota hain..godown se laana padega”

d)Venue Layout approval mail..so that event agency is safe guarded..as sales guy interact initially and on venue ops guy change the scene..as that poor fellow Is also fracionally briefed.

Rest I am sure you guys know as per the event ,venue and BUDGET ..what kind of setup to go for and take respective measures…

2) Security :

Post 26/11, each and every property around country has become more vigilant & hence severe security measures are taken while your stuff is being taken inside the venue…
We should respect the whole ACT in positive fashion and ensure that we abide by the venue law and do the rightful for our very own safety.
Since our vendors/ supplier community are still not that organized labor details and identity is still a issue most of the workers are from upcountry and they don’t have proper identification documentation with UIADI coming, I am sure this will take most of our pain..
Few handy tip:

Instead of giving identification of all the labors submit there owner’s id card, if the owner also doesn’t have an identification proof..then I would suggest don’t take the risks of working with him..

On your company letter head allocate the vendors listing with owners id card next to it..and subsequently mentioned labors name working for the project..with most importantly mentioning there CHECKIN TIMINGS and VEHICE NUMBER



Don’t leave your vehicle check-ins on your suppliers…the interaction between hotel chap and supplier will take lots of your time..as most of the time hotel chap will search the mail..then identity and post that stuff clearance..ensure that one of the agency production executive with security check in letter & concern person from hotel is at gate..such that unit clearance is faster..

3) PRESENCE OF MIND :

Interesting Fact : 5 people I met last week, they said sir I am going on a setup ..Agreed and what you are handling , and reply comes from all 5 people production…

FACT 1: 

There is no clear demarcation of team and its respective KRA, to bring in more efficiency. if you divide your team and give them individual responsibility the efficiency comes out much better.

FACT 2 : 

Make sure that on site production dumping of respective elements is happening at right corners such that we don’t waste time later on pushing stuff from one corner to another and there is less spill over of all the elements across the venue.

FACT 3:

Team allotment in terms of set, lights, sound and av.
Train your executives for at least 6 months on respective segment in a longer run they would become so expert that even if your vendor is not around in moment of crisis your production executive can operate it…same skill is required especially in AV support.

Respective Individual /Team working on these heads will bring in more efficiency and you will wonder that how quick and easy to set whole things right.

FACT 4 : 

Element list and Stage Color copy with line diagram is must have on venue..and while working tendency must have cutoff buffer timings..which I am sure which every one does..

Step 5 : 

Buffer time for technical check…every one says about it, but hardly anyone practices it to the core.. Yes for the bigger shows you have the time levy of doing the entire rehearsal..but for ballroom base shows balancing corporate and entertainment lineup at times become difficult..

Its not about mike testing 1…2…3..or its not about about panning lights in different directions..

Its all about doing a tech rehearsal of a most difficult sequence of the show..i.e your light transformation scheme …to mike adjustments for that sequence..to audio visual / graphics switching happening..for that particular sequence..

Idea is about synergizing timing of various technical attributes at a time..

Folks herby  i end my series one of the blog...there are still lot more points to cover..will post the same with detail insights soon.
An small effort made to share my experience with my industry friends..

An research exercise:
You are running out of time for your setup...staging, lights panning, sound check every thing is pending…clients and guest have already arrived..how would you handle the situation…???

Be sure whether there is a problem before solving !!!

Small Story BIG Thought!!!

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.
Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next…
This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.
By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!"
The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not?"
With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass ...."

Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

Ad Alert !!!

AD ALERT !!!
CAUTION : Experiential , BTL and Event Agencies



Cliché it sounds, but 360 degree support, full service agency and such terms are buzzwords in the advertising and marketing fraternity since the past few years. The big daddies are geared up to unfold brands and render them a larger-than-ever lifespan through multidimensional brand support. One of the finest brands, Tata Nano, was launched by reputed ad agencies , event divisions followed by multi-city brand activation. Similarly, the Lipton Yellow Label puzzle engagement, Tata jaago re and some others received similar focus with activations executed by mainline ad agencies, BTL and event division support.
Most of the advertising agencies have also ventured into specialized rural activations & Exhibitions both of which now seem to be the top booming segments. It is a fact that most of the top experiential agencies do not have dedicated shops to run this segment, and they somehow force-fit this system within the central activation and events unit.
In the case of exhibitions, the interior designer community has aggressively ventured into the arena of specialized stall designing, which has again hit event agencies badly under the butt.
It is now a fact that the radio stations have their dedicated in-house activation and event divisions to cater to their client needs, and indeed do a profitable linkup with on ground activations, making it a value-added deal for the client. Specialised BTL agencies are likely to deliver such support with added cost. So, irrespective of the best engagement exercise, the value of the deal eventually sweeps you clean against such radio activation agencies.
Even our Media and Outdoor agencies are not left behind to deliver our experiential support to their brands. Our agency was recently approached by a highly reputed outdoor agency to handle a five-city event for one of their FMCG clients.
The top 25 advertising agencies have their own in-house BTL& Event divisions, but do top 25 event agencies have even thought of rendering alternate marketing solutions to there brand.. ???
Brilliant strategies and creative exercises are meaningless if they do not achieve business objectives.
Today’s specialized BTL and event agencies must face this challenge of innovating and restructuring themselves to offer a full service mechanism. But how?
Does the client consider event agencies as just another vendor whom they can hire for immediate execution support? Or does it see such agencies partnering it as a parallel and loyal marketing force?
The answer lies in the question and is obvious. Maybe this is the reason why e-agencies have not till date thought of full service mechanism.
With all due respect to advertising agencies and alternate marketing medium agencies to benchmarking yourselves and achieving the standard of specialized BTL and event agencies, you have shared with us a lesson that we now need to learn fast.
And evolve and function as agencies which can house FULL SERVICE SUPPORT to clients.

…by
sanatsolanki@tantraa.net
Follow on Twitter :@sanatsolanki