What does event planners who book entertainers know? They know that success is in the details. Every big event, be it a corporate occasion, a fund-raising gala, a wedding reception or a private party is a lesson in project management.
Adding live entertainment to any occasion increases the complexity of the event several fold. That’s why event planners who book entertainers are good at handling the many tasks and details involved; meeting the varying deadlines required; communicating with all the stakeholders, and handling all the questions, concerns and comments as they come up. It’s a daunting job. It’s just part of the job for good event planners.
To make their job easier, event planners who book entertainers turn to full-service booking agencies like TSE Entertainment to handle the entertainment portion of their event. They become part of the event planner’s team and can provide anything from booking the entertainers to handling all the details involved with putting on the live performance portion of the event.
Incorporating a booking agency that provides turn key performance services as part of the event team, allows the event planner to concentrate on the other important issues for the event. A big event may involve, food, venue logistics, transportation, guest communications, theme, decorations, entertainment, etc. The bigger the occasion, the more issues involved and the greater the resources that need to be involved.
Bringing in a turn-key agency that can handle the live entertainment portion of the event only makes sense for such large events.
Event Planners Who Book Entertainers Start by Understanding the Nature of the Event
The first thing that event planners need to understand is the objective or purpose of the event and how the entertainment fits within it. Without this basic understanding, event planners who book entertainers would fail, no matter how well they succeed with the logistics for the occasion.
There are many potential intents for any event that includes live entertainment. Some may include:
- Celebrating a Milestone such as meeting corporate goals, a wedding reception, etc.
- Rewarding People by showing them a good time.
- Fundraising for non-profits by throwing galas
- Networking by getting people who have a common interest together
- Increasing public relations and brand awareness by the nature of the event
- Informing consumers, influencers and stakeholders such as with a product announcement.
The agency responsible for the live entertainment will also want to know the role of the live entertainment in attaining the objectives set for the event. Entertainment can function differently depending on the nature of the occasion. They include:
- Providing the right atmosphere by providing theme music for the main purpose of the event.
- Attracting people to the event through their name recognition and fan base.
- Providing a stage show to entertain seated guests
- Acting as the emcee for the program portion of the event.
- Providing music for dancing that everyone can enjoy.
- Engaging the audience so people feel more a part of the occasion.
- Creating emotions that match the theme and move the audience.
I’m sure you can think of more things to add to this list.
The Right Event Mood Means Creating the Right Ambiance
Event planners work with individuals, corporations, venues, etc. to formulate just the right kind of atmosphere to achieve what the sponsor wants from the occasion. To do that, everything must come together to support the overall end purpose of the event. Setting, decorations, food, entertainment, lighting, etc. all should all complement each other to achieve the sponsor’s desire for the event.
Let’s use a couple of different types of corporate entertainment events to illustrate different purposes for a potential event and draw upon the experiences of TSE Entertainment to see how they differ.
As you will see, the audience for an event can be quite different. That means event planners who book entertainers need to start with the purpose of the event, the audience expected, the theme and the role of entertainment for the mood wanted. Let’s look at some different types of corporate events.
- Product launch/Showcase: This type of corporate event may take place in a number of different settings. It might take place in a corporate auditorium, a hotel ballroom, in the middle of a trade show floor or is a setting suitable for the product being showcased. The latter may include outside settings.
Audience: The audience for these types of occasions is usually the trade press, influencers, stakeholders and industry insiders. Showcases may also target qualified consumers of the product.
Entertainment Role: Entertainment for this kind of corporate event involves regaling the audience before or after the actual product presentation. Product showcases/announcements should be distinguished from tradeshow entertainment used to attract people to the exhibitor. These events are a much bigger deal and the entertainment would be of much higher caliber as well.
Tradeshows do present a unique entertainment situation because the sound generated needs to be confined and not disturb other exhibitors on the tradeshow floor. That’s why tradeshow live entertainment is often made up of magicians, celebrity appearances, caricature artists, etc.
Larger companies will construct a media theater on the tradeshow floor when quality sound Is needed as part of the presentation or entertainment.
Whatever entertainment that is chosen must contribute to the excitement of the event and fit the theme chosen for the showcase. It’s as much about setting the mood as it is about entertainment. A lot depends on the product and the corporate image of the company sponsoring the event. What works for Disney may not be appropriate for Proctor and Gamble.
TSE Entertainment does a number of outdoor concerts in new housing developments each year. The concerts and activities provided are family oriented and are held adjacent to the showcase of model homes. Developers bring in wholesome entertainers who can attract families for the concert. They combine such family-friendly concerts with other activities for the whole family. The result generates brand awareness about the development and attracts many people to the community. While they are there, the model homes are conveniently located adjacent to the concert venue and family activities. The objective is to attract families to the development and get them to tour the model home, before, during and after the entertainment provided for them.
Let’s contrast this with a Corporate Celebration Occasion.
Corporate Celebration Event: Corporate celebrations take many forms. It may involve reaching a corporate milestone, rewarding exceptional performance or simply an employee holiday party. The setting and length of the celebration will depend on the reason for the celebration. Celebrating the performance of high achievers may take place over several days and in a resort environment. Contrast that with a corporate holiday or Christmas party that will usually take place in a local hotel ballroom or some other facility conveniently located to the company.
Corporate Celebration Event: Corporate celebrations take many forms. It may involve reaching a corporate milestone, rewarding exceptional performance or simply an employee holiday party. The setting and length of the celebration will depend on the reason for the celebration. Celebrating the performance of high achievers may take place over several days and in a resort environment. Contrast that with a corporate holiday or Christmas party that will usually take place in a local hotel ballroom or some other facility conveniently located to the company.Audience: While the audience will vary, they are limited to company insiders, e.g., stakeholders, employees, distributors, etc. and their spouses.
Entertainment Role: The entertainment is there to make sure everyone has a good time. Whether it’s a stage show, dance music or combination of both, a good cover band that can play the kind of music that everyone will know and want to dance to is critical. It’s all about showing those attending a good time. The purpose is making people feel appreciated. Everyone loves a good party and that is exactly the purpose of this kind of event.
Whatever the occasion, event planners can make it happen. When it comes to larger events, event planners who book entertainers will often to turn to a full-service booking agency to handle that portion of the event. They know the right agency can make them look good in the eyes of the event sponsor.
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