|
|
|
Let Me Entertain (and Inform, and Enlighten) You
From prognosticators to prestidigitators, companies that want to rally the troops perform their own 'Star Search'
|
Business New Haven
10/27/2003
By: Karen Singer
|
At a recent Starbucks corporate meeting, magician Bill Herz borrowed rings from three employees and with a little hocus-pocus, abracadabra action, linked them together.
The trick was an entertaining - and effective - way to draw attention to one of the themes of the gathering.
"I told them the rings symbolized commitment, which is what they've got to do when they're communicating with customers," explains Herz, a Riverside, Connecticut resident
who works more than 200 business-related events each year. He has made CEOs such as Bill Gates and Lew Gershner magically materialize on stage, and often teaches executives tricks to dazzle underlings.
For Herz and other entertainers and speakers plying the corporate circuit, the medium may not necessarily be the message - but it certainly can serve as an effective delivery system.
"Guest speakers or entertainers enhance issues important to the company," says Gene Bayliss, an event consultant in Wilton. "Bringing in someone from the outside provides another perspective."
Diane Goodman divides the speaker world into three categories: professionals who make a living at it, experts who don't do it full-time and celebrities. Goodman is president of the Goodman Speakers Bureau in Windsor, one of several hundred in the U.S. working with companies seeking to streamline the search process, which can be time-consuming, given the sheer volume of talent and ways to track it down.
There are dozens of speakers bureaus on the Internet, enabling surfers to gain some insight into the range of topics and prices. They typically take a percentage of the fee from speakers they book.
Other companies, such as Celebrity Access, charge an annual fee for unlimited use of a searchable database containing 30,000 listings, including fees as well as agents, managers and other contact information.
"It saves them a lot of toil, and is cost-effective because it cuts out the middleman," explains Marc Gentilella, who runs the data center in East Lyme.
When working with clients, Goodman always tries to find out as much as possible about the audience and purpose of the meeting before making suggestions.
"Each organization is different," Goodman says. "Each audience is different. And each event is unique."
Speakers on motivation, leadership and (always, of course) sales issues are much in demand these days.
Heidi Pascale, event manager at Essex Industries in New Haven, for example, is working with Goodman to find someone who not only can deliver an inspiring speech but also critique sales pitches in workshops at a national sales meeting next January.
Michael Rion, a business ethics consultant and speaker in West Hartford, reports that the Sarbane-Oxley Act - legislation passed in response to U.S. corporate scandals requiring more management accountability - is a hot topic for him. So are the ethical dilemmas faced by employees of managed-care companies.
Rion tries to learn as much about the culture of an organization as he can before a speech. "Most [requests] come out of my consultant work and are companies I know already, which I like a lot," he says. During presentations Rion tries to engage audience members to participate in discussions involving hypothetical scenarios.
Duane Cashin, president of XL Color in East Granby, says he is receiving more requests for speeches from companies "pleased with the performance of their team, but finding a bit of complacency in their ranks."
Cashin employs insights from his experience as a company owner to enliven his presentations. "I'm a practitioner, not just a teacher," he explains.
\drop cap\"Team building" has become an increasingly common theme over the last couple of years, according to Bayliss, who has hired big-name business school professors as well as comedy troupes for that purpose. Humor "helps break the ice and gets people working together," he notes.
SBC/SNET, which hires speakers for business sales and consumer sales meetings, recently brought in Chicago's famed Second City Comedy troupe to help motivate its own troops, according to company spokesperson Beverly Levy.
Speakers with harrowing tales of survival or rags-to-riches stories can reinforce personal growth and development themes, Goodman says.
Even entertainers are encouraged to spout the company lingo. "A good guest always does research and uses it, so the presentation sounds personalized," says Bayliss, who once booked Phyllis Diller for G.E. Capital. Before the meeting, he "fed her lots of corporate names and titles," which she pronounced correctly and seamlessly wove into her routine.
When education is the purpose of the meeting, the planner's goal is to find the experts.
"I seek out specialists," says Phyllis Conon, who as director of technical information for the Wire Association International in Guilford sets up technical conferences and workshops across the globe. Preparations for a conference in Italy, for example, involved coordinating audio/visual facilities and translation services for 60 speakers of various nationalities.
The job can be a daunting juggling act for Conon, who says her nickname is "The Haunt" because of the relentless way she follows up on speakers she has signed up, making sure they send in photographs, biographies and abstracts of papers they're going to present.
And - of course - making sure they show up.
On a more modest scale, Susan Pellerin recently enlsted the help of six experts for a seminar on consumer-driven health plans for the Connecticut Human Resources Council, an affiliate of the national society of Human Resources Management. She sought out CEOs and owners of companies who could discuss how they've implemented such plans as well as a lawyer who could explain the tax implications. All agreed to appear without compensation.
Part of the preparation included a conference call with all the speakers "to make sure they were not stepping on each other's toes, and to determine the presentation order," explains Pellerin, director of human resources for Fletcher Thompson, a Shelton architectural firm.
Sometimes event planners can be unrealistically optimistic about the availability of potential speakers.
"About a year ago, we thought it would be a fun thing to bring in Emeril Lagasse for an arts event," says Lynn Fredericksen, communications director for the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.
That thought was quickly dispelled when contact with the renowned chef's staff revealed that Lagasse's appearance fee was $100,000. "If it had been $10,000 we might have been able to get a sponsor," Fredericksen says wistfully.
The chamber, however, was able to wheedle a freebie from MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews, who spoke about U.S. involvement in Iraq at this year's annual chamber meeting in April. "He filled the house and we didn't pay him," Fredericksen says. Arrangements were made through WVIT-TV, the local NBC affiliate and a chamber member.
When it comes to finding speakers and entertainers, John Slater, owner of TM2 of Madison, which markets and manages trade shows, prefers the do-it-yourself approach.
"You try to get the best that's available for your budget," he says.
Slater generally seeks CEOs or other well-known personalities within an industry, who often don't charge a fee for speaking. He also makes a habit of asking sponsors for suggestions.
"I'm always trying to conjure up what would make people excited and what would be relevant to them," he says.
For a ski and snowboard show in Branford, Slater hired Olympic champion and World Cup Skier Nico Fontaine, as well as bluegrass musician Phil Rosenthal, based in part "on word of mouth" endorsements. Before hiring Rosenthal (who lives in Guilford), Slater checked out the musician's Web site and attended a concert on the Branford Green, where Rosenthal performed with '60s folk legend Richie Havens.
Those in the speaker/entertainer business say it used to be more robust but has suffered some setbacks in recent years.
"Corporate parties are down big-time this year and last year," explains Leigh Henry, a musician and deejay who books deejays and bands through his Stratford-based company Leigh Henry Music, LLC.
"First it was 9/11," he says. "Then there was a kind of a pall over everybody last year as people questioned how much visible celebrating they wanted to do. Meanwhile, the economy took a downturn, and Christmas parties that didn't happen in 2001 weren't renewed. When businesses are laying off people, they don't want conspicuous displays of money being spent."
There's evidence lately that the tide is turning, however, even though many companies are working with smaller budgets than in past years.
"It has been a challenging couple of years," acknowledges Goodman of the Goodman Speakers Bureau. "People have been afraid to make decisions - and we've learned to adapt to last-minute situations.
"In the last couple of months, however, our phones have really been ringing with more long-range planning."
Recently Goodman sees more inquiries for information on time management, health, lifestyle and stress management.
"The trend is going more toward educated speakers on business issues and away from celebrities and fluff," she explains.
But "fluff" has its uses - especially for non-profits trying to encourage potential benefactors to open their wallets.
Long Wharf Theater's annual fundraiser this year, for instance, featured a medley of Broadway songs sung by Broadway performers Judy Blazer, Steven Sutcliffe and Dana Reeve.
"This year, they wanted to give the audience a little more entertainment [before asking for money]," says Matthew Nareff, the theater's annual fund manager.
A little flair also can add to the success of these kinds of gatherings.
"At a corporate event it's not enough just to have entertainment to fill the void," notes Andrew Rubenoff, a theatrical event designer in New Haven. "The entertainment you choose sends people signals. It tells them what your taste is like, how you want them to behave and also gets them into a frame of mind."
For a recent New Haven Symphony Orchestra fundraiser, Rubenoff transformed the interior of a tent on a Payne Whitney Gym basketball court into a nightclub for cabaret singer Andrea Marcovicci, complete with tables bearing cocktail lamps with red silk shades. "She sang a lot of Cole Porter, and told entertaining stories about his time at Yale," says Rubenoff, who designed the lighting for the singer.
Rubenoff is planning an even more lavish event for the 125th anniversary of Bridgeport Hospital on November 1. Guests will travel through "a time tunnel" from the mid-1880s to the 21st century. Along they way they'll encounter actors and volunteers dressed in period costume and enacting vignettes from various eras. Big Wave International, a Roxbury event production company specializing in interactive entertainment, is providing some of the special effects.
"This is the biggest year we've ever had," says company president Brian Winthrop, "but everyone is more cautious and wants more for less."
Likewise a sign of the times, companies are increasingly likely to make requests for speakers for meetings targeted to sales and management goals, notes Goodman.
Herz, too, has noticed the trend, as well as a more positive atmosphere these days.
"People are much more optimistic than they were two years ago," says the magician, who performs for companies large and small. He also books 60 other magicians worldwide through his company, Magicorp, which specializes in using magic tricks to drive home corporate messages.
"A couple of years ago, I'd be asked to perform at meetings where a division had just been laid off or the new sales force was getting together for the first time as a result of downsizing," Herz says.
"Now I'm seeing more emphasis on ways to think smarter, things like, 'This division has got to be able to sell this other division's stuff," Herz adds. "They're also thinking about new markets, different ways to sell their products and more creative deal-making."
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
