Technology Shines a Light on The Future of Event Planners
Coachella, Stagecoach, EDC, March Madness and Met Gala were all canceled and left thousands of people with nothing to do, and no jobs to go to. And yet, the entertainment industry insisted that the show must go on. Artists, plus technology, have developed creativity on a global scale.
The cast of Hamilton performed on Zoom. Black Thought from The Roots performed a Tiny Desk Concert at home. And as quarantine continues, artists like John Legend are taking advantage of technology to connect with fans via livestreams and virtual concerts. Resources like Zoom have been readily available to help brands translate their content online. In-person experiences are expected to be changed forever. The trickle down effect has impacted roughly 37% of the entertainment workforce and event planners are trying to find new ways to monetize their creative services. Ticket distributors, janitors, security guards, event producers, cooks and more will be affected by the event cancellations.
Cris Jerome, a 27-year-old digital marketer is the founder of RnBae, an event marketing agency that supports upcoming musicians, has had to find a new way to approach her work. Her company has collaborated with brands like Hennessy and RedBull to create bar activations at live events. Like many business owners during the crisis, her biggest challenge has been loss of money from all of the event cancelations. “We had programming in Atlanta at the end of March, we had a panel set up, we had a show and we were working on a fundraiser that we were linking with single mothers.” says Jerome, “So obviously, all the funding for that is down the drain. I do have a team that works for me and we have a payroll system that obviously isn't being funded because there aren't any events coming in.” To adapt to the current shutdown Jerome has been keeping an eye on what other brands are doing.
Jocelyn Valencia, 25, runs a production company and music festival. She is founder of the Tucson Hip Hop Festival and curates activations for other large events like Rolling Loud. “I actually was on a zoom panel last week and it was a pretty good discussion because I realized that we're all kind of on the same boat.” she says, “And no one really knows exactly how this is going to affect the industry.” Hip Hop festivals like these attract thousands of fans and the future of their existence looks bleak. Valencia says, “there's really not much we could do right now because if your whole work revolves around a large gathering of people, there’s not really much you can plan for.” Although her panels can be moved online, what devastated her the most was cancelling her music festival. Other than a financial loss Valencia says “I think one thing that weighed pretty heavy on me when we postponed our festival was all the performers who looked forward to the event and prepared for their performances. Because, you know, for our festival in Arizona, the artists and the people involved, they look forward to it all year and work towards it all year.”
For some, it’s time to take a much needed break from the rise in music festivals and conventions. “I think a lot of people are just kind of reflecting and planning on how they're going to tackle their work when everything kind of goes back to, quote unquote normal,” says Valencia. She is worried that her events might be cancelled indefinitely, ever since she read an article that said “larger events like festivals and conferences might not be able to happen until 2021.” It has given her a chance to reflect. “I've kind of already been preparing mentally about the possibility of not even working with those kinds of productions anymore,” she says. The reality of the situation is hard to grasp for everyone so it takes time to adapt to the current social climate.
Jerome thinks everyone should slow down and research the best ways to present their brand. Fortunately, technology has helped ease the burden of the virus on employees who can work from home. For brands who have yet to develop their online persona, it will take time to play catch up. As a marketing consultant, Valencia sees technology as a resource that should have been used a long time ago. “I do think that it's a necessity,” Valencia says, “just to keep your brand alive for now. I'm sure those that didn't already have that before this happened, are probably kind of freaking out a little more because they don't have that.”
Virtual Zoom meetings are the rage. “Right now I see a lot of online events, I see a lot of zoom panels,” says Jerome.” I see a lot of things that are kind of taking place online with twitch as well. So I do see people pivoting to that, but I'm not really sure how that's going to affect everyone in the long term.” Which is the underlying question in the future of creative freelancers. According to the Freelancers Union, “57 million Americans, representing 35% of the workforce, freelanced this year.” The same report found that freelancers contribute $1 trillion to the GDP.
Valencia has been dedicating time to research on YouTube, trying to figure out how to translate panels into a digital business. She has started building her YouTube channel withJocelyn with Q&A’s and book recommendations. Valencia says “I'm also trying to think of ways in which what I create is easier to digest, people are feeling like there's an overload of zoom panels and IG live interviews.”
Creativity is key during these unprecedented times and Jerome is working on developing content that fits her audience’s needs. Jerome agrees that “moving forward, live streaming concerts is not for us at all,” she says “I have been spending a lot of time just organizing and curating a visual concert.” She has hosted virtual events like Love Language, to help promote new music on Instagram live. She plans on airing carefully curated variety shows of some sort. “That way people can watch it at their own time,” she says, “Sponsors are able to get their ads in that way. It's time oriented, rather than a live stream where you have to jump on at the wrong time and miss something.” She has been watching brands like Revolt TV develop their online platform and seeing how brands are collaborating with filters to gain sponsorship.
As brands use technology to adapt, Valencia has been using her closest resources to get through the crisis. She says, “I think the biggest resource for me has been just talking to other people in my field and how they feel and when they are planning or starting to plan? Or if they're still planning events in the fall, like when are they doing that? Like when is their first event?”
KQED released a list of Emergency Funds for Freelancers, Creatives Losing Income During Coronavirus. Jerome is paying close attention to government sources and thoroughly reading the funding bills. “There are p p p loans that are helping payroll for our people, “ Says Jerome, “So I have applied for that. There's a lot of small business loans that are very low interest rates that people have applied for. I would just say pay attention to that.
Freelancer funds are urgent during this time, “people don't think about us that are on like 1099, that aren't, you know, in the system. So we can't really apply, we're going to apply for unemployment, but it's not going to be the same as somebody that's actually worked.” People filing for unemployment in California require a W-2, but freelancers have no employers to provide them with the form. Making it harder to receive money as quickly as those who are on a payroll system. And I believe that more and more companies hired people as freelancers and consultants before covid took hold, just so they would not have to pay taxes or health benefits.
A music festival, a convention, or any large event where people are gathering can be an inspiring experience. It can make a person realize that they are not alone and create lasting relationships between people from different backgrounds. Valencia’s job is to enhance these experiences with interactive activities like creating a space for fans to write their thoughts on a post-it and stick it to a purple Rolling Loud wall. To ease client fears she is preparing to address any safety concerns her clients may have. “Moving forward, I'm going to add a page in all my decks and contracts of how my team and myself will be regularly sanitizing,” says Valencia. “I think that's an important conversation to have now, which honestly should have happened forever. But I think people now are realizing, you know, how important that is, especially when a bunch of people are put together in one space.”
After the impact of COVID-19 it’s safe to say that going out might never be the same. There will be a new fear of gathering and Jerome stresses the importance of paying attention to the customer’s concerns. “You got to think about your customer. So many people haven't been working, so they don't have the money to spend. They don't have money to buy your ticket or buy your drinks and stuff like that. Also, there's a huge scare of just going outside so people have to think about that too.” Her suggestion is to think outside the box. She suggests, “maybe you might want to work with a company that's able to brand gloves or brand some type of protective gear. You know, you have to think, I guess above it, because that scare of health is not something that you can get out of people.”
It is hard to say what the future of large events looks like but the CDC has provided guidelines on how to prepare for gatherings once the public opens back up. They suggest promoting daily preventative actions, providing protective gear, and being flexible with attendance or sick-leave. However, going to see your favorite artist perform may never be the same if they can’t jump off stage into the crowd.
