Planner Perils: The High Price of Cheap Entertainment
Dangerous Waters Ahead Corporate meeting and event planners navigate dangerous waters. Even in a great economy, event planners and producers are right to be cost-conscious. Experienced planners, though, know that there are always significant hidden costs and risks associated with putting low-fee, bargain-basement entertainers or speakers in front of their audience. It destroys the event’s effectiveness. It embarrasses the audience. It undermines the organization’s credibility. Sometimes it can even cost the planner his or her job or client. In the last decade and a half, I have helped numerous planners overcome “last year’s disaster” – cheesy, amateurish, or foul-mouthed ‘bargains’ that ultimately cost them much more than they thought they had saved. People who know that value considerations are at least as important as price concerns make great clients, but I always wish they could have avoided the painful lesson that got them there. Unfortunately, it took a bad experience — followed by a great experience with me! — for these good folks to learn what savvy consumers have known from time immemorial: You get what you pay for. Especially during tough times, I get calls for events where it is clear that the planner is dialing through a list of phone numbers looking for any breathing human who will stand on a stage in return for whatever budget remains after paying for the room, decor, and food… that is to say, for nearly nothing. In their quest to save money, these inexperienced planners are basing the single most focused and memorable part of the evening on ‘whomever we can find for what we have left.’ What They Remember Most Counts Most Your group will be talking to each other and interacting while having cocktails and dinner, but their full attention will be focused on the after-dinner performer for the better part of an hour. From the time the show starts until it ends, the quality of that performance doesn’t just affect the quality of the event – it is the quality of the event. That experience is what the audience really takes with them as their memory of the event – not the floral arrangement, gift bag, or logo-embossed desk accessory. Good or bad, that performance is going to be discussed more than any other element of the event. – If the food is mediocre and the entertainment is great, people will remember the entertainment. – If the decor is mediocre and the entertainment is great, people will remember the entertainment. – If the food is great, the decor is beautiful, the venue is breathtaking, and the entertainment is bad… people will remember the entertainment. No matter what else happens, people remember the entertainment because that is what holds their attention for the most time and with the most focus and intensity. The 10% Non-Solution Some time ago, I got a call from an association that was planning an annual gala in a beautiful, trendy hotel in Atlanta. This was a small group of only a few hundred people, but they were business professionals from around the region, celebrating an important annual event with a nice dinner. They also wanted a professional after-dinner show, but the fee they proposed as an entertainment budget was literally about one-tenth of a reasonable starting price for that service. Many performers and speakers would have quickly ended the conversation and moved on. I took a different approach, though, because I want this group to have a successful event whether I’m there or not. Here’s what I shared with them: As much as I’d love to get your organization’s business immediately, I’m more interested in helping you have a successful event. That way, I’ll have earned your trust, and you’ll know that I’ll be honest and professional with you when you call me in the future and you have a realistic budget to work with. So here’s what you need to know to have a successful gala event this year: Do not proceed with this plan. The nature of the venue you have chosen demands more than the lowest-common-denominator. If $X is your real budget, you should not hire an entertainer this year. Get extra drinks, or decor, or music. Show a fun video montage of people in your organization. But do not use that money to hire an entertainer. Any performer you could get for that fee is not a performer you want to put in front of an audience of professional adults at an annual gala, especially in such a nice venue. That substandard performance will only cloud your interest in having a true professional at a future event when you could have afforded it. I have no doubt that you can use a phone book or a search engine to find someone who will do this for you at that fee. When you find that person, run as fast as you can in the other direction. You will have found an inexperienced, sub-par performer who is desperate to put the words ‘corporate events’ on his or her web site or résumé. This is not what you want for your audience. Better to save the money than hire anyone for that amount. Hidden Costs and Unintended Consequences For professional audiences and events, cheap entertainment is an expensive, high-stakes wager on a losing proposition. The hidden costs – reduced effectiveness, diminished credibility, and lasting negative impact – far outweigh the tantalizing prospect of getting an imagined bargain on a speaker or entertainer. There are creative ways to achieve professional results on a wide range of budgets, and I love working with my clients to find those solutions. But you can always trust me to tell you where the real opportunities and the real limits are, and to be honest about what will work best for your event and your audience. Bottom line – the success of your meeting, conference, or gala is as important to me as it is to you. I look forward to working with you, whether
“One Enchanted Evening” in Vicksburg Sept 8
Mississippi Native Turner Brings Magic, Music From Atlanta to Vicksburg NOTE: Listen to a radio interview about this upcoming appearance! Interview by Annette Kirklin on The Directors Report, WVBG Radio, Vicksburg, MS (8/17/2011) Atlanta speaker and entertainer Joe M. Turner will perform “One Enchanted Evening” at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center on Thursday, September 8. Turner, a Brandon native, will present a unique show of sleight-of-hand illusions and music performances. The Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation takes immense pride in welcoming acclaimed international speaker, corporate entertainer, and Brandon, Mississippi native Joe M. Turner back to his home state for a one-night-only, one-of-a-kind theatrical performance on Thursday, September 8th at 7:00pm in the SCH Auditorium. Turner will present a multi-faceted evening of variety entertainment including unreal sleight-of-hand mysteries, uncanny psychological illusions, and unforgettable piano and vocal classics, all woven together into what some consider “a 21st-century one-man vaudeville.” Don’t miss this unique entertainment event! This limited engagement will sell out, so don’t miss out! Tickets are $25 for SCHF Members, $30 for Non-Members and $225 for a Corporate/Private Table. Ticket price includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, punch, a cash bar, and an unforgettable evening of magic, mentalism, and music! Tickets are on sale now at the SCHF Business Office, Paper Plus or charge by phone at (601) 631-2997. You can get tickets and directions online at https://www.southernculture.org Joe M. Turner combines seven years of corporate experience in training design and development, business communication, human performance development and change management initiatives at Fortune 100 clients with extensive theatre experience and magical talents to create customized magical presentations for his clients. Joe is a member of the National Speakers Association, the Academy of Magical Arts at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Society of American Magicians, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, The Magic Circle in London (A.I.M.C. with silver star), and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. He is also a popular speaker, onscreen and onstage talent, a professional pianist, an accomplished vocalist, composer and playwright. Visit his website at https://turnermagic.com Space is limited and an advanced ticket purchase is suggested. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the SCHF office at 601-631-2997 or email info@southernculture.org ### Based in Atlanta, Georgia, professional speaker, mentalist, and corporate magician Joe M. Turner delivers unreal entertainment and keynotes for corporate meetings, events, trade shows, conferences and private events worldwide. Category Entertainment, Event, Arts
