Photo: Courtesy of Adam Rosen
How he got his start: Rosen has officially been in the event industry for almost 25 years. But "I like to think my career in events started before that, when I fell in love with being backstage in the theater in high school," he adds. "I studied film in college and worked on the production side, but I didn’t have the same feeling I had. Then I found events, and it was everything I had loved about the theater—live, only one chance to get it right, thinking quick on your feet to solve problems, and then on to the next event."
He kicked off his career on the live music side before moving into entertainment events and experiential marketing. He ended up in the university setting 10 years ago.
"These work experiences have been the building blocks in my career as an event producer, and without each of them I would not be the producer I am today, nor in a position to lead my department as I do," Rosen says.
What innovation means to him: To Rosen, innovation is about taking risks and pushing beyond the current trends. "As producers, it is about design, food and beverage, AV, communication, program, and every aspect that goes into our events. In 2022 it is also about not just accepting technology as part of how we produce events, but embracing it as an integral piece of our events, and pushing it to serve as a tool that enables us to better connect our audience to our message."
How he stays inspired: "I find that inspiration is something that has to be both pursued and passively taken in," Rosen explains. "Proactively, I am an avid consumer of the incredible content of other professionals’ talent. I read a ton of blogs and online magazines around design, F&B, event design, gardening, architecture, and more. I probably look at [more than] 500 posts a week."
Rosen also finds inspiration from more unexpected sources, like his family and children, being in nature and gardening, eating and cooking, and the team he works with.
Career highlights: Naming favorite moments from his career feels like "picking a favorite child," Rosen jokes. "I have worked on so many events over the years that have challenged me creatively, professionally, or physically, and those tend to be the ones I remember the most for years."
From earlier in his career, he cites the premiere of the George Harrison documentary Concert for George. "I was responsible for the red carpet—which was purple—and I was able to set up a photo with surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, George’s son Danny Harrison, and Yoko One. Paul came over after to say thank you, and it was an event moment that I’ll always remember."
More recently, Rosen recalls the opening of the $700 million USC Village in 2017. "We celebrated with a 1,000-person outdoor gala for the university’s top donors and supporters. Set in the village’s main piazza, the event opened with a flash mob with over 125 student dancers and singers performing, and closed with a spectacular performance of the finale from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, 'Make our Garden Grow.'"
"The animation built the visual crescendo of the evening as the music pulled the audience along until the final moment, where the closing tympani bellowed and fireworks shot off the building," Rosen says.Photo: Courtesy of USC
The performance featured the 80-member USC Chamber Orchestra along with 60 students from the Chamber Choir and vocal lead from seven opera students, Rosen adds. "As the finale was set to start, the facades of the village buildings that created the backdrop for the evening went dark. As the music began, the buildings came to life—and what the audience thought were theatrical lights painting the facades in color throughout the night turned out to be video projectors. The entire audience of guests, plus another 800 or so students who had assembled to watch the closing number, audibly gasped as the digitally video-mapped facades visually illustrated the music."
Another memorable moment comes from May 2021, in the midst of pandemic-related capacity restrictions. "We produced the first major university graduation on the West Coast that was fully in-person, as well as with a complete hybrid online/broadcast component," Rosen remembers. Due to COVID restrictions, the ceremony that normally takes place in one day on campus instead took place twice a day for seven days at the LA Memorial Coliseum in order to accommodate all the students.
"Over that time, we saw almost 15,000 students cross the stages to receive their diplomas, with just under 30,000 people watching live and online," Rosen says. "We had more than 320,000 view the 182 broadcasts that went live or participate in the hybrid activities, which included a 360-degree AR camera, virtual processional, photo booth, and more. It picked up more than 298 million media impressions and was featured on 58 TV segments."
Rosen notes that the undertaking required 300 staffers, each working 14- to 16-hour days. "The coordination and preproduction to get there was immense—but the payoff was even greater to see those students, who had lost their senior year to the pandemic, get to experience commencement like that, in the LA Memorial Coliseum for the first time in 50 years. It was incredible."
His favorite thing about the event industry: To Rosen, it's all about the little things. "Seeing the tiny details buttoned up as the event begins," he says. "Witnessing the audience being moved by a program. Fixing a major issue before the attendees are affected by it. Observing guests as they taste an exquisite bite. And contributing to the impact of a larger entity."
This feature is sponsored by Hubilo, a leading virtual and hybrid event platform built to drive engagement, with clients including Deloitte, Coca-Cola, Amazon Web Services, and more.
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