I'M FROZEN AND NOT BUDGING ONE INCH

Chicago – Kanye West

Situation:  You are executing a store signing in Chicago with the Top R&B artist.  

Problem:  It’s been ‘warm’ by Chicago spring standards. But, today, there’s a winter wind sailing on the jet stream which your location feels like it’s in the middle of. Fans huddle for hours in their warm cars.  The event team is huddled in the warm store location. About 2 hours before the artist arrives, fans start to line up as more people come. No one wants to lose their place.  Hundreds of fans are cold and miserable. You and your team are huddled in a warm store. How do you balance the climate? 

Solution: Starbucks is 2 doors down. Tell them to brew hot cocoa, serve it to fans and keep serving until the event ends.  $300 of cocoa and Dixie cups later, the client is happy and fans feel appreciated.  

Learning:  You don’t want fans to leave with a bad Brand experience.  You can’t plan for every contingency.  But , if you look around and ask questions, you will usually find a feasible solution.

YES, THE BOTTOM OF MY SHOE IS STICKING TO THE ASPHALT

Phoenix- Fergie

 Situation: It’s summer in AZ.  Fergie will be doing a short outside performance then sign signatures inside the store. 

Problem: Fans will be coming out at 11am for a 3pm event.   Your primary concern in the planning is how to protect the fans from the sweltering heat.  

Solution: You’ve instructed the client to secure kiddie swimming pools and fill and re-fill them with ice and bottled water. A misting machine is secured and some canopies.  You ordered AC for the stage which only helps a little, but ‘a little’ goes a long way when it’s 110 in AZ.  

Learning: Extreme weather can put the brakes on your event. Plan for it and brand it if you can (branded bottled water, fans, ponchos, canapies..).  

HELLO, THIS IS LONDON CALLING

London – Linkin Park

Situation: You’re escorting a contest winner to a London concert of Linkin Park where the fan will also get to meet the band at the Meet & Greet. A dream come true for this 16-year old!   

Problem: You’ve coordinated all the details before you left CA. Now in London, the box office can’t find your tickets and your international Blackberry™ won’t call a local number IN London even though it called the London number from the USA before you left home. The assistant who was to take the winners to the Meet&Greet at 7pm  escorted them at 6:50pm . The box office says the escort will come back, but after 10minutes you start to wonder.  The winner, meanwhile, is getting nervous and looks like he’s going to have a massive breakdown.  

Solution: Don’t wait for the escort to materialize.  Get closer to the source. The blackberry has no problem calling California from London, so you call your LA band contact, tell her the situation and ask her to call your on-site contact in the basement of the venue you are standing in to dispatch the assistant back to the meeting place to get the winner.   The assistant returns, apologizes for the misunderstanding, finds your tickets and races you and your winner the ¼ mile distance to the back of the arena to meet the band.  

Learning: When in a pickle, exhaust every option. Don’t be afraid to press people until you get what you came for.  Be courteous but be compelling. 

1 PART HEAT. 2 PARTS FIGHTING MOMS. 1 PART POTTY MOUTH BAND MEMBER. WHIP.

Texas-  Artist unnamed

 Situation:  It’s over 105degrees. Fans are lined up to meet a Top 10 pop star.  The location has not brought in any shade or water as planned.  The trailer for the Artist is parked 50 ft from the rear of building instead of butt up against the building and barricaded. The location has secured neither barricades nor police.   

ProblemS - No shade, No water, No barricades, No hired police and 2 fighting moms that need to be separated. The band finally arrives and the food secured per the food rider is not good enough. He wants a particular burger from a particular fast food restaurant and he wants you to get it. You know what city and state you’re in and nothing else. You tell him you don’t have a car, you can’t leave once the artist has arrived but that there is a restaurant next door (where the rest of the band fled to) and if he does not want that, then you will ask his driver (the one you hired for him) to find him a burger.   Apparently that was not the answer he was looking for. He calls you a very very bad name behind your back that somehow gets back to your boss. 

Solutions: Move as many fans to under the store awning as will fit; impress upon the client the importance of water and liability if someone passes out; find rope or security tape or chairs to make-shift a barricade; tell the moms their setting a bad example for the children and ask them not to talk to each other. As for potty mouth, you try to paint the full picture for your bosses (who weren't on site) and hope they can put themselves in your shoes (ok, a long shot).  Down the road, you call the band manager to apologize for upsetting his artist. He says he never heard about the situation and that he thought you were a “REAL PRO”!   Nice!!!! 

Learning:   When faced with multiple issues, weigh the importance of each, then tackle them one at a time. You can't make everyone happy all the time. Not everyone will think you did the right thing, especially those who weren't there to witness the situation who seem to always have 2cents to share. So, do your best so you can sleep at night. And sleep like a bear I did.

 
YOU NEED THIS PACKAGE IN VEGAS BY WHEN?
Las Vegas – Black Eyed Peas
Situation:  You just got the green light and thousands of preprinted collateral need to be in Las Vegas by the AM for a weekend guerilla marketing effort to promote the show. 

Problem:  It's Friday night. You and your printer have tried alternative solutions including Kinko’s in the destination city but they won’t be printed in time. 

Solution: You suggest putting the printer himself on a plane to take the collateral from CA to Las Vegas. The printer is happy for the free trip. The package is delivered and you get a verbal confirmation from the hotel.  However, even though you’ll reimburse him, the printer can’t find a room for the night.  He plans then to hang out in the airport until the flight back or try to take an earlier flight. Not acceptable. You get on hotels.com and orbitz.com and book a room for your printer in a nice hotel. You call him back and tell him he has a room. He is genuinely grateful.  

Learning: There are NO small players. Your supplier, the fan, the security guards, the guy who delivers the pizza for lunch... is as important as the client.

 Green Day, Simple Plan, Shakira,  Wyclef Jean, 

Justin Timberlake,   Good Charlotte,  , Maroon5, 

Jonas Brothers, Akon, RBD and Keith Urban.