Planning Events In Dallas

How Do You Rent Concert Production Equipment?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:07:48 -0600

If you’re going to plan an event that incorporates entertainers, which are never cheap, then you might as well spring for the cost of good audio production. While you’re at it, don’t skimp on the visuals either. You had a great idea, providing live entertainment, now make sure you set aside enough of the budget to make the most of your expensive talent!

Your talent will require certain types of equipment. Whichever Dallas venue you choose to work with will probably have some audio equipment at least. However, whatever talent you’re booking may have certain requirements that you have to fulfill in either lighting, audio equipment or event instruments. This is generally called “backline” and just about anything you could possibly need is available.

How Much Should I Expect To Pay?

This is the catch, of course. Renting any kind of production equipment is going to be fairly pricey. However, most of the time you only need this equipment for a single day and you rent the equipment by-the-day, so its possible to use really amazing technology during your performance without having to buy the insanely expensive equipment that’s required.

Still, it’s very reasonable to expect to pay anything from a few thousand for basic large-scale production to $30,000-$50,000 for really massive production. Though, when I say really massive production, the possibilities are almost endless. These days, the technology available in event production is truly mind-blowing.

Chances are you’ll pay something like $500-$2,000 for a renting the venue’s sound equipment and you’ll pay any additional $1,000-$5,000 for backline equipment. Then if you need any special equipment to create the production you desire, expect to pay a few grand a piece for any really special video or lighting equipment. If you need to build a stage…budget $5,000 for the most basic stage and $10,000-$20,000 for the type of stage you’d see at an arena concert.

Who Puts Everything Together?

If you rent your equipment from the right vendor, they’ll show up on site ready to construct everything for you. However, you can expect to pay well for the labor. Your venue and what kind of special rigging is involved in “flying” your rented equipment will determine what you end up paying.

You should also find a production manager that has a lot of experience producing events the scale of what you are trying to create. Your venue may have one already and certainly should be able to suggest someone to you. Alternately, the company you rent your equipment from could certainly make a trustworthy recommendation.

Who Runs All The Equipment?

Most venues work with sound engineers already and probably also have, or would recommend, decent lighting techs as well. However, if you rent any special equipment, or video expect to pay for a tech, specifically for that equipment.

In any band performance you can expect to have at least a “front of house” engineer, a sound engineer for on-stage monitors, a lighting director and a stage manager (usually the same as your production manager). Each of these individuals will have a daily fee from $200 on the low end to $600 on the high end.

Can I Get Everything In One Place?

Yes, in fact you probably will have to get everything in one place. In the end, its worth the convenience to pay the nominal upcharge if the company you rent everything through has to outsource a few specific pieces of equipment.

You need to have everything delivered and constructed as part of a symphony of moving parts. Your production manager will deliver a better end result it if he or she can work in tandem with just one production rental company.

Who Do I Contact?

Any of these production companies should have what you need. Prices vary and so will the exact equipment you can rent from them. All 3 companies can provide you the necessary labor and are all highly qualified providers in concert production technology.

On Stage Systems: http://onstagesystems.com/

LMG: http://www.lmg.net/corp/

Gemini: http://www.geminilightsoundvideo.com/

Alternatively, you can choose to work with a Dallas concert promoter, like Tactics Productions. Someone who already “knows the ropes” and has relationships already established with the production companies. Now, you aren’t likely to actually save any money by working with a third-party like this, but you can save yourself from the hassle of learning about the equipment, overseeing the process of building your stage and benefit from their years of experience in the industry.

How I Created A Trade Show Booth In 24 Hours

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:28:00 -0600

I am the marketing director for Gilley’s Dallas and G Texas Catering (sister companies) which host and cater (respectively) some of the largest and most impressive events in Dallas each year. In my job, I am responsible for brand managing, creative design, advertising and promotions.

Our biggest business, for both companies, is always corporate events in the Dallas area. Corporate events tend to have the greatest needs, most complicated production and the highest standards for quality and service. This also means that they have the largest budgets, which gives the talented event planners at Gilley’s the ability to produce truly spectacular events for their clients.

One of the challenges in representing the two companies is that they operate as a conjoined brand sometimes and as totally separate entities at other times. This is a fundamental strategy for the organization because Gilley’s works with many vendors on behalf of their special event clients and G Texas Catering works with just as many different venues.

When opportunities arise like the annual Partyfest trade show (held in downtown Dallas every year) I have to convey that both companies are available independently while also demonstrating how well Gilley’s and G Texas Catering operate as a unit.

While its always nice to have extensive time to plan; it is not often in the real world that things happen so conveniently. Most of the time we find ourselves scrambling to make the most out of what’s right in front of us and it is our ability to adapt quickly that makes us come out ahead of the competition. In the special event business, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year. So, right afterwards when we realized that Partyfest 2012 was already on top of us I had to make the most out of what was right in front of me.

Trade show booths can be terribly expensive to have custom-made and it’s not like it serves any purpose at all to have an uninteresting or common-looking booth. Presentation is key in our industry and some of our competitors obviously pay a great deal for their booths. I have no interest in spending a big chunk of my budget on a once a year occasion like Partyfest, so I had to come up with a quick and inexpensive plan that still gave off a great impression of both companies.

I built a booth out of equipment that we had on hand already, using the merch booth at Gilley’s (the general store), poster-sized photographs of our food and a display of delicious catered appetizers created by G Texas Catering. Before building the booth on site, I took the time to mark off the same size space inside of Gilley’s to perfect the design.

Once on-site at the Dallas Market Hall we constructed the booth quickly and easily and I had time to photograph the process from beginning to end (below).

Unloading the booth the night before Partfest 2012.

The morning of Partyfest 2012, I first set up the black grates (originally part of the merch display at Gilley’s) and hung poster-sized photos of food items from G Texas Catering. These photos were created last year after a photo shoot (for G Texas Catering) with talented local Dallas photographer Scott Hartzler.

G Texas Catering was on-site to serve the appetizers and to arrange the catering display. The previous afternoon I had 200 rack cards (flyers) printed for both companies from designs I had created last year. We used them to decorate our booth and to hand out to prospective clients.

Gilley’s event specialists working in tandem with G Texas Catering to serve the catered appetizers.

Small branded merch items like keychains and matchbooks were arranged in the glass case of the “Gilley’s General Store”. Photo albums, brochures and other items were displayed on top for visitors to browse through.

A stand-up banner we found in storage and a laptop with a photo slideshow was used to fill in the side of the booth and make our branding visible from each direction of approach.

The final catering display looks fantastic!

Catering and event specialists meet with visitors and answer questions about our services while offering the mouth-watering appetizers.

Food really draws a crowd! You can see Adrian here at the end of the booth, ready to gather business cards, offer brochures and put a friendly face on Gilley’s Dallas.

For the record, even though I work for both companies directly, it is with genuine confidence that I recommend working with G Texas Catering for all of your Dallas catering needs and Gilley’s Dallas as one of the best corporate event venues in Dallas.

Ten Things Anyone Planning An Event Should Consider

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:11:31 -0600

So you’re planning an event… there’s lots to do and everything costs money. You’ve probably got important goals for your event; things that you need to happen a particular way. Getting those critical details worked out perfectly can sometimes distract party planners from the big picture, causing them to miss important details that can have a huge impact on the event’s success.

Like the saying goes… The Devil’s in the details. The little things you might overlook are often the most important to your guests and in the end the guests are what the party is always about.

Here are ten things anyone planning an event should consider:

Location, Location, Location…
This old adage is true in every circumstance. Where you host your party will determine how many of your potential guests will show. Think of all the different levels of accessibility from highway access to traffic flow to parking capacty (or special event valet service).
What Is My Event Trying To Accomplish?
It’s hard to stay on message if you’re not sure what the message is. Events can be expensive without being effective. The truth is that they should be more effective for a lot LESS expense. You need to have simple, specific goals and not very many of them. Is your event a just celebration or is it making a memory for a liftime? Is it a concert or is it really an interactive sales pitch? Is it just an opportunity to hear someone speak, or is it really a forum to create a base for a new product launch? Consider your goals carefully so that you will know when your event has been truly successful.
What Will Make My Guests Excited To Attend?
Entertainment is a great way to get people excited about attending your event. There are many great options from live music concerts to comedians to guest speakers, djs, interactive games and so much more. Attract a crowd by designing your event around what your target audience would be most excited about. Find entertainment that complements your audience. Every industry is a niche in a sense and for every niche there is a community. The people in that community share other common interests, just because its human nature. You can privately, or sometimes openly, ask advocates within your community what they would most like to see in your event. Make a few real people excited about your idea and use their excitement to promote your event. You get their valuable input as well as their cooperation as advocates.
How Can I Get The Most From My Event Budget?
Every detail of event planning is expensive and there’s so many people trying to get a piece of the pie. To make sure you get the most value from your event planning budget, focus your attention first on the elements that will attract and retain your guests. Decor is beautiful and impressive and is often crucial to branding messages and sponsorship. However, it doesn’t make the event exciting in itself and will never help promote the event in advance. Expensive live entertainment is great, but if that occupies only 45 minutes of a 3 hour event, you will have difficulty keeping people with you before and after that performance. Catering and beverage service is always a great way to attract an audience. Keep in mind that the guests will make a quick exit when the food and drinks are gone so make sure to accomplish your goals first. My recommendation is to have a balance of several appealing factors. Offer free or discounted food and beverage for a limited time early in your event. Entertain guests while simultaneously accomplishing your goals by sandwiching the best (and most expensive) parts of your event with sponsorship and brand messages.
How Do I Get The Word Out?
An event is only great if its well attended. To fill your event with enthusiastic guests you need to aim for a much larger audience than could ever fit in your venue. The best problem you could ever have is to have more guests than you can fit in your Dallas venue. So the question remains, how many people do you have to reach with your promotions to get enough of them to show up to make your event a success? Consider what competition there may be at the same time as your event. Look for the community that represents your niche in the local area. Take the time to establish a communication channel to your audience far in advance of actually promoting your event. If that isn’t possible then attract the attention of thought leaders in your niche. In some cases you can directly contact outspoken bloggers and people on Twitter or Facebook and get them involved. Whatever you do, aim high and don’t slack off promoting until your event is a blowout.
How Long Should My Event Last?
Sometimes its a really good idea to leave your guests wanting just a little bit more… Plan your event so that your audience is captivated during the most important moments of your event with your best offerings and end the event with a bang. Make sure the important parts of your event happen while the majority of your crowd is actually in the room. It’s a common mistake to start the good stuff either too early or too late. Give your audience a full hour after you open before you get started with any entertainment or important content. Assume that some of your crowd will leave before the end of the event, so try to get anything critical done before the last 45 minutes of your event.
What Day Of The Week Is Best For My Event?
Timing is important… If your event will take place late at night, try very hard to secure a Friday or Saturday night. If that’s not possible, schedule it for a Thursday and try to plan your event to be done before midnight. If your event takes place during happy hour, I highly recommend planning your event to occur Wednesday through Saturday. If your ideal day of the week isn’t available when you want to plan your event…strongly consider moving your event or selecting a different venue.
How Long Will It Take All My Guests To Park & Enter The Venue?
A simple thing like entering the venue seems like it would never be a problem. The truth isn’t so simple. A few people entering and exiting at once is hardly a problem, but a few hundred or a few thousand becomes another thing entirely. Venue capacity is partially based on the number of entrances but there are still plenty of venues that are just not equipped to handle a large volume of guests arriving all at once. My friends at Advantage Valet told me once that, on average, you can expect 2.5 people per vehicle arriving at a venue. That means if you have 1,000 people arriving all at once, you need to be able to quickly accommodate parking 500 cars. You will also need to consider how many lines your will call/box office/registration process can run simultaneously. Checking in 1,000 people one-at-a-time is a terrible plan for an event on a tight schedule.
What Will My Guests Do Before & After My Event?
Where your guests come from and what they plan to do after your event will set the tone for how they act at your event. Consider the difference between coming from work for a happy hour and dinner event and traveling out for an all day event. If your event is a party, concert, comedy show or other nightlife-style event it is likely that your guests will want to continue their good times after your event. If people can plan out their entire evening out in an area of town that has great entertainment options it will be easier to convince them to come to your event.
How Can I Leave A Lasting Impression On My Guests?
If you have a brand message, or any other type of goal for your event try to build up to a big moment sometime around 3/4 of the way through the event. Then give your guests something tangible, literally something they can take home with them, as they walk out the door. Even better, give them something on their way in to entertain them through the slower parts of the event and give them something of value as they leave. Slap your brand all over something that you can give away with pride, something your guests will keep.

Getting Started Selling Event Tickets Online

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:25:00 -0600

Some parties are just for fun (holiday parties, celebrations, etc…) and others are just for accomplishing some business (corporate events, meetings, trade shows, etc…). Certain events, while fun or otherwise valuable for attendees, are all about making a profit, generally by selling tickets to the event.

Concerts, comedy shows, conferences/speaker events, theater, dance, musicals and others are ticketed events. Organizers for these types of events often go out on a limb, investing into the idea of a big, profitable event with the hope of selling enough tickets to cover costs and generate revenue.

Obviously there are many important considerations when booking a public, ticketed event. There’s a lot that I will cover in future posts about how to seek out and book talent (artists, musicians, speakers), advertise and promote, attract audience, get press and of course coordinate the event itself. First, the most important consideration for ticketed events is what online ticketing system to use.

Selling tickets online is essentially the same process no matter what event ticketing service you choose. The important differences between ticket brokers are the cost to the consumer and the amount of control and access event coordinators have to their sales data.

I have no love for Ticketmaster and wouldn’t recommend them to my worst enemy. The fees are exorbitant and Ticketmaster retains all of your customer data and DOES NOT SHARE THE INFO WITH YOU. Incredibly offensive… I know… So avoid Ticketmaster like the plague, there’s no amazing service they offer that is better than the rest and their system is ancient, user-unfriendly and expensive.

Now that the elephant in the room is gone… Let’s talk about reasonably priced online event ticketing software that has all the features you need. First decide if the event you’re promoting is a one-time occurrence or if you plan to sell tickets to events in the future as well. Just about every ticketing service will allow you to set up one-time events, but the bigger companies are likely to charge more for one-time events.

EventBrite
Certain companies like EventBrite specialize in selling tickets to small and one-time events. The fee for EventBrite is 2.5% of the ticket price plus $.99 a ticket, one of the lowest fees in the industry for such a relatively big player. The benefit to using EventBrite is in how quick and easy it is to put an event up for sale. Their site is slick, attractive and user-friendly. They advertise your event on their site and provide tools to promote it on social networks, etc… It is easy to track sales and attendance and to manage administrative details like Will Call/Check-In, refunds, etc… No question, Event Brite is a very safe and trustworthy platform that any novice can use effectively.

EventBrite is a great tool for small, one-time events. If your event is going to be more than a few hundred people, or you want to continue hosting similar events in the future, its worth considering a bigger player. There are some really great advantages to building a long term relationship with a ticketing company, like account representatives, access to marketing opportunities, tech support and so on.

Prekindle (www.prekindle.com)
Developed locally in Dallas, TX, Prekindle is a really great product for mid-level event promoters. The system was designed with concerts in mind and is most often used that way. However, Prekindle works for most any type of event without assigned seating. They are a very young company, so depending on your position you might appreciate that or not. Prekindle has been very successful so far, so I’m not personally concerned about them sticking around but there’s always that possibility with newer companies. On the other hand, there’s no time like the present to build a lasting relationship with an up-and-comer. There are plenty of benefits to being an early-adopter with internet companies.

Front Gate Tickets
Front Gate is a regional (Austin, TX based) ticketing company that is a major competitor to TicketMaster. Though clearly not as big of a company, Front Gate Tickets system allows you much greater control over your ticketing process than TicketMaster will allow. Fully-featured with online, easy-to-use administrative and marketing tools, in addition to a great front-end for consumers. Fees start at around $2.50 and increase proportionately with ticket prices. Long-term customers (on a contract) will enjoy the benefits of a personal representative to help build events and answer questions. Consumers feel very safe with Front Gate Tickets and in my experience, this is the best option for serious event promoters.

Carefully consider what services you need and contact at least a couple of these options. I’m sure you will find a trustworthy and reliable online ticketing company. There’s lots more to consider about how to market your tickets, how much to charge and how to accommodate all your guests and I’ll cover those issues in future posts!

How To Book A Dallas Venue

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:56:00 -0600

When planning an event, one of the first steps is booking a venue. Because the venue will inevitably change some part of your party plans due its size and layout, you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by designing your event around the venue you select.

I also highly recommend working directly with the venue of your choice, without involving an intermediary. Event planners can be very useful in their own right, pulling together the many resources necessary to create an impressive event. Naturally their time costs money and you will end up paying more the venue by 10%-30% unnecessarily. The cost of renting a venue will probably be one of your bigger expenses already, so avoid the added fees and go direct.

The first thing you need to understand about renting a venue is the process. Its rare that the first date you pick will A) be available at the venue B) work out in all your plans. The process of booking a venue usually involves requesting several dates from a venue and confirming them later.

Renting A Venue, The Process:

Start planning months in advance whenever possible.
Select at least 3 potential dates for your event.
Contact at least 2 different venues about your dates.
Pick a Dallas venue and request holds on the available dates.
Pick your ideal date and confirm everything you need is available.
Challenge the date, requesting the venue officially confirm your event.
Pay your deposit and sign your contract.

This is the general process you’ll have to go through. I’m going to explain some of these steps in greater detail so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Plan In Advance
What’s far enough in advance? That depends on what time of year your party will take place. Peak times of year like Spring and the holidays can fill up far in advance, so even up to a year isn’t unreasonable. Much less time will be required for off-peak periods.

Select Multiple Dates
Most of the time it will take playing around with a few dates to find one that’s suitable for your plans and available at the venue. Just have a few in mind and one in particular that would be most ideal. Try to push for the ideal date but be flexible to move your event if it makes everything else work in your favor.

Place Holds On Your Target Dates
Placing a hold on a date puts you in line to confirm the date. Because multiple parties may have holds on the same dates as you, the parties in front of you in line will have the first right to confirm their date when you challenge.

Challenging A Date
When a date is challenged, the booking agent will clear the date by offering anyone with a hold in front of yours the opportunity to confirm the date for a period of usually 24-72 hours. If no one confirms the date, you can take the date!

Understanding the process of renting a Dallas venue will certainly make the process smoother for you and will help ensure that you receive the best possible service.

Which Dallas Venue Is Right For My Party?

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:55:42 -0600

Picking the right venue is one of the most important steps in planning an event. There’s a lot to consider and each venue is going to represent itself as the best solution in the community. Trust me when I say that there are unique features in most of the event venues in Dallas and that each of them have limitations as well.

The most important thing to remember is that by the time your event is taking place, you will have lit and decorated your space and worked very hard to change its appearance. That’s why I say that the “look” of the venue is probably the least important thing to consider. Now… its not that you shouldn’t worry about its appearance, but owners are well aware that visual appeal is an important part of running a venue. You’d be surprised how nice a place can look with a fresh coat of paint once a year and the lights kept dim.

By far, the most important thing to consider is, as in most cases, location. Your guests need to be able to locate and access the venue you choose with the absolute least amount of effort. Regular event-goers are accustomed to enduring a little inconvenience to enjoy the overall experience. However, any guest which doesn’t frequent entertainment events will be turned off immediately by the hassle of trying to find event parking or not being able to contact the venue.

Do yourself a favor and try to visit the venue first as a consumer to experience what it will be like for your guests. Search for it online, drive to it, park and locate your venue on site. Watch for problems or bottlenecks with administration, ticketing, catering, etc…

The second most important thing to consider when booking venues anywhere in Texas is what kind of liquor license the facility has (if any) and what legal restrictions that implies. Texas, unlike most other states, has rigorous and complicated laws regarding the sale of alcohol. Some events may not need alcohol to be served and can move on to other considerations; but the vast majority of events will use alcoholic beverages as a key motivator for their guests.

There are essentially 3 different situations you will encounter regarding alcohol in Dallas venues. The most common situation and the one you will find in any restaurant, bar or live music venue space is where the venue maintains a Mixed Beverage License under the name of the business which owns/leases the property. In this situation the venue is legally required to purchase all of the liquor which enters the premises through the Texas Alcohol & Beverage Commission and their approved distributors. This means that no one, under any circumstances, can bring or donate alcohol to your event.

It also means, even less conveniently, that you are legally prohibited from naming the venue and any alcohol sponsors together in any advertising. Events that incorporate sponsors very frequently involve liquor and beer companies; especially in co-branded advertising. That’s why its vital to know what limitations your venue may have regarding alcohol.

The next situation you might encounter with regards to venues and alcohol is very similar to the first but with a key difference. Venues whose liquor license is owned by a third-party like a concessionaire are not subject to the same advertising restrictions. It’s still not possible to bring in liquor or have it donated.

Certain venues may have decided that selling alcohol isn’t in their business plan. If a venue doesn’t have a liquor license it isn’t allowed to sell liquor, which means that alcohol can be brought in but it must be given away. These sorts of venues are ideal for events where a liquor sponsor wants to give away alcoholic beverages to promote their brand.

Other than location and the logistics of serving alcohol, the choice of a Dallas venue comes down to the little details. The quality of your guests experience can be greatly affected by the professionalism and friendliness of the venue’s staff. Your guests will enjoy themselves more if the staff appears to being enjoying themselves and responds well to customer service concerns.

A well run venue will provide you an experienced representative who will act as a liaison between you and the venue staff. Then, if any problems do arise, you have a direct line to a decision-maker within the organization. Trust your gut about the people you work with and look for a venue that offers the highest level of customer service. The success of any event comes down to how motivated its organizers are to make sure every guest has a great time.

Dallas' Booming Special Event Industry, 2011 In Review

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:45:00 -0600

Mostly based on my experience at Gilley’s Dallas (I am the marketing director for Gilley’s), it seems like 2011 was a much busier year with better parties and bigger budgets. Though not as busy as the Gilley’s team recalls being from 2006 to 2008, the general consensus among our staff was that parties were confirming more often and the purse strings seemed a little looser than the year before.

The year got off to a big start with the Super Bowl being hosted at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, TX. The Super Bowl related parties and special events were massive and incredible, with gluttonous funding and big production. The poor timing of the arrival of a major snowstorm unfortunately kept many people indoors and away from the spectacular events and putting a financial strain on some of the area’s promoters. Despite the inclement weather there were still dozens of successful events including the Bud Light Hotel, The Jack Daniel’s Kick-Off Party featuring The Flaming Lips and many others.

Several notable conventions came to the Dallas Convention Center including the annual Dallas Auto Show, Ultimate Women’s Expo, The Texas International Hair and Trade Show, Mary Kay, Solar Power International and more. Conventions drive a huge percentage of special event business. With every Dallas convention there are likely to be dozens of smaller events like corporate meetings, trade shows and special events designed to attract and entertain potential clients. A rise in the number of conventions that come to Dallas is a great sign for the special event industry.

Perhaps the most exciting event in 2011 for the special event industry wasn’t even a special event. It was, quite possibly, the opening of the new Dallas Convention Center hotel the Omni Dallas. With the addition of the new hotel, which is connected directly to the convention center, convention goers are more likely to stay in downtown Dallas increasing the revenue the city will earn significantly. This also means that the satellite events that take place because of a convention are more likely to happen in the downtown Dallas area as well; bringing extra business to hotels and other special event venues.