FAQ

FAQ

Throughout the years we have been asked many questions concerning entertainment for meetings,conventions and special events.We hope the following will be of help to you when working with us.

Planning your next meeting or conference can be a daunting task, as there are many details and logistics involved in producing a successful event. Here is a brief guideline to help you plan your next event:

Six to Eight Months In Advance

  • Establish meeting theme and objectives
  • Establish meeting budget
  • Determine audience participants: size of group, facilitators, dignitaries etc.
  • Select meeting date
  • Contact venue sites: convention centers, conference facilities, hotels, convention and visitor bureaus
  • Check references of other meeting planners that have booked the facility
  • Select meeting locale and meeting site
  • Decide on topics and speakers/trainers that will address the topics and objectives of meeting
  • Contact speaker’s bureau to check on availability and speaker’s fee
  • Are you having a celebrity concert? Now is the time to book your headliner entertainment.
  • International considerations: Climate at time of meeting, cultural considerations, third-party vendor contact information, banking arrangements, receiving agents for shipments needing to be secured through customs, interpreter arrangements

Four to Six Months In Advance

  • Decide on the length and the agenda of the meeting
  • Inform attendees of date, place and objectives of meeting
  • Finalize facility arrangements
  • Decide on food and beverage arrangements
  • Finalize the specific meeting rooms and layouts required
  • Have all decisions finalized in contractual form including appropriate clauses for display or use of competitive goods and services, issues of attrition, indemnification, arbitration and other issues where appropriate
  • Make all necessary hotel reservations for attendees attending out-of-town
  • Contract with appropriate transportation services
  • Decide on the use of giveaways. Order and confirm delivery date if applicable
  • Arrange for any on-site communication needs such as internet provider, telephone accessibility, office services, pagers and cell phone accommodations etc.
  • Make all arrangements for shipping materials and confirm

Three Months In Advance

  • Determine what materials need to be reproduced.
  • Determine what materials need to be included in registration packet
  • Arrange airport arrival requirements for meet and greet arrivals, ground transportation arrangements, designated luggage tags for group participants, etc.
  • Determine meeting room setups and notify site of additional requirements
  • Order necessary signs, conference banners, and room signage

Four to Six Weeks In Advance

  • Reconfirm with all external vendors
  • Copy all materials that will need to be distributed
  • Send attendees information regarding meeting attire, agenda, hotel and travel arrangements. Include pre-printed luggage tags, and participation requirements, pertinent telephone numbers and contact information.

Two Weeks In Advance

  • Prepare registration packet and name tags
  • Ship all required materials in numbered boxes to meeting site. Request acceptance receipts and confirmation of arrival notification.
  • Confirm number of attendees with hotel and caterer.

One Week In Advance

  • Check weather report for possible delays and determine a back up plan for weather altering scenarios.
  • Coordinate delivery of special guest room deliveries such as VIP gifts or employee incentive gifts.
  • Meet with necessary security and parking officials to coordinate meeting logistics
  • Confirm rooming list with registration desk and procedure for check in. Double check rooms for VIPs and those with special needs.
  • Discuss with front desk appropriate information to be included on site marquee boards
  • Meet with accounting department of the site facility and confirm master billing procedures.
  • Check inventory of materials and supplies pre-shipped. Compile registration packets that will be distributed. Set up a separate registration area if necessary.
  • Conduct a meeting with personnel about on site administration and delegate responsibilities where appropriate.

Post Meeting Follow Up

  • Send thank you notes to facility and to personnel that went above and beyond to ensure success of meeting.
  • Send thank you notes to VIP’s for their attendance where appropriate.
  • Document meeting notes, prices, vendors, and suggestions for future meetings.

Have you wondered why you should use live entertainment or speakers at your corporate event, conference or meeting? George Bernard Shaw once said, “Without art, the cruelty of life would be unbearable.”

Consider using entertainment or speakers for these reasons:

  • Enhance your competitive advantage in the marketplace.
  • Entertain customers and clients
  • Reduce customer defections (thereby lowering your operating costs)
  • Improve employee morale
  • Celebrate successes
  • Commemorated anniversaries
  • Recognize achievements and milestones
  • Make a statement
  • Show appreciation
  • Thanks attendees or employees
  • Attract an audience
  • Draw attention to products or services
  • Kick off promotions
  • Unite people
  • Promote camaraderie
  • Create exposure to excellence
  • Heighten your company’s industry awareness
  • Excite and motivate employees

Think about this – your event is similar to a television show.Adding live entertainment makes the difference between a “black and white” and technicolor production!

So, if you are planning a special event and are seeking serious professional entertainment coordination- we stand ready to assist with celebrity talent coordination for corporate events, conventions, conference, sales meetings, new product promotions, banquet entertainment, holiday parties, concerts etc. Contact us today to get started!

By Jay Alexander (From the June issue of Meetings West magazine)

It is the opening night of your conference and the hired magician produces your CEO in a whirl of confetti, spotlights and mist. The crowd goes wild. Or perhaps jugglers are passing knives around the head honcho, asking him about any proposed departmental “cuts”. The crowd goes wild. Or the band calls your boss to jump on stage and belt out Bachman Turner Overdrive’s, Taking Care of Business. The crowd winces uncomfortably.

As a corporate entertainer for the past twenty years I’ve seen executives stuck in 70s disco-wear for skits, cut in half by illusionists, and even shot out of cannons. Some of these attempts to incorporate the CEO in the conference entertainment worked very well while others were embarrassing flops. Whether using the company’s leader is the best or worst idea of your life depends on many factors, including the tone of the conference, experience of your performers, and most importantly, the personality and enthusiasm of the CEO.

Why Use a CEO at All?

Want to build enthusiasm, camaraderie, and a passion for corporate products, services and goals? The best way to invoke such emotional responses in your organization is to have them come from the top.

The CEO onstage, at play, is humanized and lets the company see him or her in a different light. A little fun can make the big boss seem more approachable, warm, and exciting. Here is a chance to build rapport by being one of the gang, Here is an opportunity to display a sense of fun and to show how passionate the CEO is about a new product, a new plan, or the organization in general.

CEOs appearing in a comedy skit, assisting a hypnotist, or moderating a parody of Jeopardy (with questions about the company’s new product launch) can create a special bond with the conference attendees. These see the big boss as a regular person, which builds credibility.

Plato wrote ”You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

How to Use the CEO

A conference for Global Business Networks had a circus theme, and as part of the bill the company’s CEO was to be shot from cannon into a waiting net. A comedy illusion was set up, so that the poor leader-turned-bullet apparently missed the net, slammed into a brick wall and fell behind a pile of hay bales. As the crowd gasped in surprise, the healthy, smiling CEO stood up and waved to the roaring crowd cheerfully.

This act worked terrifically because the CEO played along, already had a reputation as a fun guy, and the magician who conducted the illusion made sure to make the CEO the unflappable hero of the skit.

If your boss has good presentation skills, a sense of humor, and is naturally extroverted, there’s almost no limit to how they can be employed creatively in a conference. Corporate comedian Dan St. Paul writes comedy skits utilizing CEOs and whole executive teams of companies. John Murray Productions had a team building retreat set up like a boot camp. To kick it off, the CEO flew in on a helicopter wearing full fatigues and gave a Pattonesque pep talk before flying off into the wild blue yonder.

Sometimes it can be no more than clever use of theater craft and costume, such as when Rick Herns Productions created a huge remote control space ship to fly over a crowd and land on stage. The door opened and the CEO emerged in a full spacesuit.

And then there are the crooners.

“We love to get corporate heads on the stage,” says Mikey Luv, of the popular band Bud E. Luv, known to make even the worst warblers look good. “If they can’t sing, we’ll back them up on a rap tune with custom lyrics that  the audience can relate to, and their message gets all the way back to the office with a nasty backbeat that you can dance to!”

Singing with the band certainly requires a bold character (and perhaps a few drinks), but there are also entertainment options out there for the more reserved CEO. The Raspyni Brothers’ comedy/juggling act knife passing routine needs little more than a warm body to riff around.

“We’ve met some very funny executives, but frankly it’s more dangerous with the ‘lives wires’, says Dan Raspyni, who’s been using audience “volunteers” for over twenty years from companies such as Eckerd Drugs, Merck, and many others. “The CEO doesnt have to be entertaining, thats our job, if you leave it in our hands they will shine!”

Keeping the CEO from looking bad or being humiliated is at the core of any professional performer’s use of a volunteer. Not only is the executive writing the check, but he or she also acts as a representative of the audience. The rank and file may think they’d like to see their boss take a pie in the face, but inside they don’t want to see the crowd’s emissary taken down a notch.

It is imperative to make sure you book quality entertainers who understand corporate culture and know the show is not about the entertainers, as much as the company and making the CEO look like a star. Many times companies will book a name entertainer who might have TV or movie credits. These musicians or comedians are great for creating buzz but they sometimes do not understand or care what the company does. So often lesser known, but professional acts that specialize in corporate entertainment are a better choice.

And no one says you have to put your exec up there under the lights. Companies and event planners have staged auctions with prizes such as formal dinner parties, using the executive team and CEO as waiters. Incentives to meet company goals have included pet-washing by the CFO, and one daring regional vice-president announced that if his team met their quarterly goals he’d shave his head at the annual meeting. (They did, and he did.).

Warning Flags

So outside of employing careless or clueless entertainers, are there situations where using the CEO is a bad idea? Absolutely.

Inappropriateness: What’s the tone of your conference? In a climate of business turmoil, you may be going with a more somber feel. No one wants to see a CEO take off a balloon animal hat to announcing lower profits or the possibility of future lay-offs

Lack of Preparation: In some cases, your CEO may like the attention, agree with the idea of being a star, but never commit to preparing for the event. Corporate entertainers know that an executive’s time is precious and usually don’t require much rehearsal of them, but if the CEO doesn’t set aside even a little time to prepare there’s the risk of botching the act. This is especially true with performances with comedians or improvisation groups. (Again, if you do go this way, it’s important to use a seasoned troupe that can provide a teleprompter and a professional to run it.)

Unwillingness: I’m very careful in choosing which executive I use in an act. While the CEO is an ideal option, as the leader and most public face of the organization, some executives are determined to avoid the very humanizing I’m writing about. These men and women prefer to have their employees at arms-length, to keep an “untouchable” status. Perhaps they’re extremely shy or just very fearful of being made to look silly.

In any case, this attitude can hamstring them from acting the part and undermine the intention of the performance. Often, switching to a VP of Marketing or some other well-known executive is the best idea.

We understand how you feel and why you are inquiring about a donated show from an Artist. We have no doubt that your cause is extremely important, and you would like to have a celebrity appear to raise awareness and to sell tickets.

We have found that most successful Fundraisers/Charity events have felt the same way. However they have found that most Artists/Speakers do indeed donate a portion of their time to their own personal causes and charities. Anything over and above this amount of donated time, and the Artist will need to meet a payroll for their staff – and it is considered a normal paying engagement. We are not exaggerating when we say that Artists are asked to give their performances for free on a daily basis.

We find that most professional fund raisers go ahead and secure the Artist at their normal appearance rate, and find corporate sponsorship to assist in this endeavor. They also make sure to sell gold circle ticket (higher priced which include front row seats and a Meet & Greet with the Artist) to get the best return on their investment.

We hope this helps you in your fund raising efforts. We stand ready to assist on checking on the Artist/Speaker’s availability when you are ready to move forward.

If you are planning a special event and are seeking serious professional entertainment coordination – we stand ready to consult and deliver celebrity talent for corporate events, conventions, conferences, sales meetings, new product promotions, banquet entertainment, holiday parties, concerts etc.

Again, we sincerely thank you for your interest in the Artists listed on our web site and wish you the best of success in your endeavor.

Once your agreement with us has been authorized, and the initial amount deposited in our event escrow account – we will provide you with a free 12 week event promotion planner – the same planner used by major events around the world.

If you are planning a special event and are seeking serious professional entertainment coordination – we stand ready to consult and deliver celebrity talent for corporate events, conventions, conferences, sales meetings, new product promotions, banquet entertainment, holiday parties, concerts etc.

Again, we sincerely thank you for your interest in the Artists and Speakers listed on our web site and wish you the best of success in your career.

By Jay Alexander (From the June issue of Meetings West magazine)

It is the opening night of your conference and the hired magician produces your CEO in a whirl of confetti, spotlights and mist. The crowd goes wild. Or perhaps jugglers are passing knives around the head honcho, asking him about any proposed departmental “cuts”. The crowd goes wild. Or the band calls your boss to jump on stage and belt out Bachman Turner Overdrive’s, Taking Care of Business. The crowd winces uncomfortably.

As a corporate entertainer for the past twenty years I’ve seen executives stuck in 70s disco-wear for skits, cut in half by illusionists, and even shot out of cannons. Some of these attempts to incorporate the CEO in the conference entertainment worked very well while others were embarrassing flops. Whether using the company’s leader is the best or worst idea of your life depends on many factors, including the tone of the conference, experience of your performers, and most importantly, the personality and enthusiasm of the CEO.

Why Use a CEO at All?

Want to build enthusiasm, camaraderie, and a passion for corporate products, services and goals? The best way to invoke such emotional responses in your organization is to have them come from the top.

The CEO onstage, at play, is humanized and lets the company see him or her in a different light. A little fun can make the big boss seem more approachable, warm, and exciting. Here is a chance to build rapport by being one of the gang, Here is an opportunity to display a sense of fun and to show how passionate the CEO is about a new product, a new plan, or the organization in general.

CEOs appearing in a comedy skit, assisting a hypnotist, or moderating a parody of Jeopardy (with questions about the company’s new product launch) can create a special bond with the conference attendees. These see the big boss as a regular person, which builds credibility.

Plato wrote ”You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

How to Use the CEO

A conference for Global Business Networks had a circus theme, and as part of the bill the company’s CEO was to be shot from cannon into a waiting net. A comedy illusion was set up, so that the poor leader-turned-bullet apparently missed the net, slammed into a brick wall and fell behind a pile of hay bales. As the crowd gasped in surprise, the healthy, smiling CEO stood up and waved to the roaring crowd cheerfully.

This act worked terrifically because the CEO played along, already had a reputation as a fun guy, and the magician who conducted the illusion made sure to make the CEO the unflappable hero of the skit.

If your boss has good presentation skills, a sense of humor, and is naturally extroverted, there’s almost no limit to how they can be employed creatively in a conference. Corporate comedian Dan St. Paul writes comedy skits utilizing CEOs and whole executive teams of companies. John Murray Productions had a team building retreat set up like a boot camp. To kick it off, the CEO flew in on a helicopter wearing full fatigues and gave a Pattonesque pep talk before flying off into the wild blue yonder.

Sometimes it can be no more than clever use of theater craft and costume, such as when Rick Herns Productions created a huge remote control space ship to fly over a crowd and land on stage. The door opened and the CEO emerged in a full spacesuit.

And then there are the crooners.

“We love to get corporate heads on the stage,” says Mikey Luv, of the popular band Bud E. Luv, known to make even the worst warblers look good. “If they can’t sing, we’ll back them up on a rap tune with custom lyrics that  the audience can relate to, and their message gets all the way back to the office with a nasty backbeat that you can dance to!”

Singing with the band certainly requires a bold character (and perhaps a few drinks), but there are also entertainment options out there for the more reserved CEO. The Raspyni Brothers’ comedy/juggling act knife passing routine needs little more than a warm body to riff around.

“We’ve met some very funny executives, but frankly it’s more dangerous with the ‘lives wires’, says Dan Raspyni, who’s been using audience “volunteers” for over twenty years from companies such as Eckerd Drugs, Merck, and many others. “The CEO doesnt have to be entertaining, thats our job, if you leave it in our hands they will shine!”

Keeping the CEO from looking bad or being humiliated is at the core of any professional performer’s use of a volunteer. Not only is the executive writing the check, but he or she also acts as a representative of the audience. The rank and file may think they’d like to see their boss take a pie in the face, but inside they don’t want to see the crowd’s emissary taken down a notch.

It is imperative to make sure you book quality entertainers who understand corporate culture and know the show is not about the entertainers, as much as the company and making the CEO look like a star. Many times companies will book a name entertainer who might have TV or movie credits. These musicians or comedians are great for creating buzz but they sometimes do not understand or care what the company does. So often lesser known, but professional acts that specialize in corporate entertainment are a better choice.

And no one says you have to put your exec up there under the lights. Companies and event planners have staged auctions with prizes such as formal dinner parties, using the executive team and CEO as waiters. Incentives to meet company goals have included pet-washing by the CFO, and one daring regional vice-president announced that if his team met their quarterly goals he’d shave his head at the annual meeting. (They did, and he did.).

Warning Flags

So outside of employing careless or clueless entertainers, are there situations where using the CEO is a bad idea? Absolutely.

Inappropriateness: What’s the tone of your conference? In a climate of business turmoil, you may be going with a more somber feel. No one wants to see a CEO take off a balloon animal hat to announcing lower profits or the possibility of future lay-offs

Lack of Preparation: In some cases, your CEO may like the attention, agree with the idea of being a star, but never commit to preparing for the event. Corporate entertainers know that an executive’s time is precious and usually don’t require much rehearsal of them, but if the CEO doesn’t set aside even a little time to prepare there’s the risk of botching the act. This is especially true with performances with comedians or improvisation groups. (Again, if you do go this way, it’s important to use a seasoned troupe that can provide a teleprompter and a professional to run it.)

Unwillingness: I’m very careful in choosing which executive I use in an act. While the CEO is an ideal option, as the leader and most public face of the organization, some executives are determined to avoid the very humanizing I’m writing about. These men and women prefer to have their employees at arms-length, to keep an “untouchable” status. Perhaps they’re extremely shy or just very fearful of being made to look silly.

In any case, this attitude can hamstring them from acting the part and undermine the intention of the performance. Often, switching to a VP of Marketing or some other well-known executive is the best idea.

Have you wondered why you should use live entertainment or speakers at your corporate event, conference or meeting? George Bernard Shaw once said, “Without art, the cruelty of life would be unbearable.”

Consider using entertainment or speakers for these reasons:

  • Enhance your competitive advantage in the marketplace.
  • Entertain customers and clients
  • Reduce customer defections (thereby lowering your operating costs)
  • Improve employee morale
  • Celebrate successes
  • Commemorated anniversaries
  • Recognize achievements and milestones
  • Make a statement
  • Show appreciation
  • Thanks attendees or employees
  • Attract an audience
  • Draw attention to products or services
  • Kick off promotions
  • Unite people
  • Promote camaraderie
  • Create exposure to excellence
  • Heighten your company’s industry awareness
  • Excite and motivate employees

Think about this – your event is similar to a television show.Adding live entertainment makes the difference between a “black and white” and technicolor production!

So, if you are planning a special event and are seeking serious professional entertainment coordination- we stand ready to assist with celebrity talent coordination for corporate events, conventions, conference, sales meetings, new product promotions, banquet entertainment, holiday parties, concerts etc. Contact us today to get started!

We understand how you feel and why you are inquiring about a donated show from an Artist. We have no doubt that your cause is extremely important, and you would like to have a celebrity appear to raise awareness and to sell tickets.

We have found that most successful Fundraisers/Charity events have felt the same way. However they have found that most Artists/Speakers do indeed donate a portion of their time to their own personal causes and charities. Anything over and above this amount of donated time, and the Artist will need to meet a payroll for their staff – and it is considered a normal paying engagement. We are not exaggerating when we say that Artists are asked to give their performances for free on a daily basis.

We find that most professional fund raisers go ahead and secure the Artist at their normal appearance rate, and find corporate sponsorship to assist in this endeavor. They also make sure to sell gold circle ticket (higher priced which include front row seats and a Meet & Greet with the Artist) to get the best return on their investment.

We hope this helps you in your fund raising efforts. We stand ready to assist on checking on the Artist/Speaker’s availability when you are ready to move forward.

If you are planning a special event and are seeking serious professional entertainment coordination – we stand ready to consult and deliver celebrity talent for corporate events, conventions, conferences, sales meetings, new product promotions, banquet entertainment, holiday parties, concerts etc.

Again, we sincerely thank you for your interest in the Artists listed on our web site and wish you the best of success in your endeavor.

Ready to rock your next corporate event?

Submit an RFP and begin working with a TBG team member today!