
Karen Dalzell, C.E.O. of Dalzell Productions, recently spoke to the Event Leadership Institute about her event career, which has included creating all the events for the Tribeca Film Festival when it launched in 2002 and running them for the following eight years. She has also produced the Fragrance Foundation's FiFi Awards and the Dumbo Arts Festival.
Here are some (condensed) highlights from the interview. You can watch a video of the full conversation here.
On how her company charges for its services: "We do a flat-fee project fee. I feel that my clients understand what I'm charging, there's no hidden numbers anywhere, and then when I do the budget it's the actual budget. For a lot of nonprofit clients, that's really important, because they have to report back to a lot of funders or government agencies, so it's very important that there is a complete transparency in those books. ... It's sometimes not perfect, because of course, the work becomes out of control and the fee is not that high, so sometimes there is a bit of juggling there, but basically, that is how we handle it."
On reusable step-and-repeats: "Once you construct the basic white backdrop, however long that might be, we can reuse that backdrop for years and years and years. The way we handle it for different clients is that we use the sticker process. So that means we use biodegradable ink stickers and we stick the logo or the event name or whatever on this reused back drop, which, I mean—one of our backdrops we have used for the last seven years, as long as we keep it clean."
On nontraditional seating arrangements at galas: "People buy lounges for their friends and clients, so instead of buying a table for 10, they buy a lounge for 20 or however many they decide to buy one for. It's a really interesting way to do seating, and it's a way to increase the sort of party vibe of your event without losing the ability to raise money, which is a really a big piece of the puzzle."
On hiring: "Everybody thinks working in events is going to be the most glamorous job in the universe, which it is about 1 percent of the time, and 99 percent of the time it's the most ridiculous job in the universe, and you are dirty and work hard and do boring things like mailing lists. So I need somebody who can understand that, and someone who is brave and can deal with the issues that are coming up and not be afraid to try new things because I expect them to do new things."