It’s been quite the year… But, in typical fashion, the creatives of the industry have seized opportunities to shift their businesses so that the shows—even if virtual—can still go on. Here are just a few examples from these event pros across the United States that would even make Ross Geller proud.
“From live to virtual, after the initial shock of our industry shutting down,
we did what we do best: We provided solutions. The Baker Group decided to quickly pivot into the new world of virtual events. Highlighting why an event planner was still critical in this new space, and taking our 20 years of experience producing live events, we knew collaboration would be key to our future—partnering with several technical and audiovisual companies, as well as renowned television producers, to develop and execute virtual events over the last few months. Our goal is to ensure that our clients’ brand and guest experience translate into the same high-impact virtual event experience.”
Tammy Dickerson, The Baker Group, Founder & President, Los Angeles
“For over 30 years, J&L Catering has implemented corporate and social events on both large and small scales around Chicago and beyond. As COVID-19 quarantine orders were implemented, we immediately saw a need for fresh, healthy, and interesting meal deliveries for our clients. Our chef/owner, Kevin Kelly, developed menus that can be sent earlier in the day with contactless delivery right to our clients’ homes. As we begin to safely do special events again with smaller
guest counts, our popular online ordering will continue.”
Nitin Vyas, J&L Catering, Event Planner, jandlcatering.com, Chicago
“We’ve rolled out a brand-new service, which we call ‘Remote Notes.’ It is essentially the same service we did in the past, [live sketching at events], but applied to a virtual context: One of our Sketch Effect Live Artists logs into a
virtual meeting, webcast, or webinar,
they sketch on a digital tablet while the content is being discussed, and produce amazing illustrated summaries. They can even share their screen for meeting attendees to watch in real time. It's an exciting service that boosts engagement, increases alignment, and gives clients a great form of follow-up. More than anything, it's a simple way for our clients to differentiate their virtual events.”
William Warren, The Sketch Effect, CEO & Founder, Atlanta
“When the entire country shut down and our large-scale events were getting postponed or canceled, rather than panic, we pivoted. A friend of ours reached out to us wanting to help medical staff at hospitals that were heavily impacted by COVID-19. We formed The Collaborative Care Group and pulled together our resources to provide medical rest lounges called ‘Care Cabanas’ for frontline workers. The Care Cabanas include a 20x20 tent with seating areas, healthy snacks, vitamin-infused waters, juices, aromatherapy diffusers, and medically tailored meals. We have set up rest lounges at hospitals
in Southern California, and the response has
been overwhelming from the doctors and
nurses who use the area to relax and recharge.”
Shantee Wright and Mena Wright,
Wright Productions, Co-Founders & Principals, Los Angeles
“Arena Americas had the distinct honor to provide multiple structures for the largest Alternative Care Facility commissioned in the U.S., located in Stony Brook, N.Y. Our crew of over 100 installers and project managers worked around the clock to install 250,000 square feet of structure in a matter of days. We also partnered with hospitals and local officials across the country to install dozens of surge sites and testing centers. These sites provided overflow space for healthcare facilities and brought mass testing to our communities. We could not be more proud of our incredible Arena team who bravely traveled into pandemic ‘hot spot’ areas to build
these facilities timely and safely.”
Jon Tabeling, Arena Americas, President, Oak Creek, Wis.
“We had an event cancellation at the beginning of the pandemic and didn’t want the swag to go to waste. Sending the items to would-be attendees as gift boxes brought much-needed smiles to everyone stuck at home. Since then, we’ve pivoted from producing parties to producing promotional gift boxes. It is a safe way to get product in people’s hands while also building brand awareness
through social media.”
Robyn Baskin, Baskin Events LLC, Founder & Executive Producer, baskinevents.com, New York
A version of this story appeared in the fall 2020 issue of BizBash.
