Planners get the picture all too well upon submitting their event entertainment budgets: Corporate “suits” still aren’t quite ready to loosen their ties or their purse strings over the “fun and games” line item. The fear of being perceived as excessive in the current economic climate has scaled back the level and types of entertainment that used to be such a standard part of meetings. This bad news for entertainers would seem to be bad news for attendees, too.

Yet, for the planners who have tried to draw some lessons from the past few years, it’s actually not all bad. For one thing, they’ve learned, through necessity, that they can stage great meetings without huge entertainment costs. And, for another, they’ve learned how to be more creative in sourcing and working with entertainers who can provide just as much bang for a lot less buck.

Event Experts Vent

“We need to remember that, because of the drop in entertainment budgets, entertainers have suffered, as well,” said Jaki Baskow, owner of a highly regarded Las Vegas DMC Baskow & Associates. “And the lesson they’ve taken home from the past few years is that they may not be able to charge what they were charging before. We’ve found that you can now get someone who used to charge $30,000, for example, for half that amount.”

Baskow is also adept at finding entertainers who may not be as well known as some of the big stars — but are every bit as entertaining.

“I use an impressionist named Andre-Philippe Gagnon,” she said, “and people really love his act. I use Skip Martin, formerly of Kool & the Gang — the man who wrote ‘Let It Rip.’ He has a great band, and he’s flexible in his pricing. I use a magician from ‘America’s Got Talent’ called Nathan Burton; and, again, he gets people really involved. I’ve used people like Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy. These people can really bring a house to its feet.”

Baskow noted that many companies are focusing on good guest speakers instead of big-name e

Magician Bob Higa customized his act to help motivate the sales force of a new medical information solution developed by a partnership between IBM and Seimens. Photo by Elaine Cohen, Live Marketing

ntertainers; these people often charge less…and they have the ability to motivate attendees and generate excitement. Many of these “speakers” are, increasingly, well-known entertainers, many of whom are starting to see speaking as a new opportunity to connect with audiences.

“Here in Las Vegas, bookings are up for 2010,” said Baskow. “I think people have come to realize — possibly because of the cutbacks in meetings over the past few years — that face-to-face meetings are still the best way for people in the company to connect. And they’re still the best way to instill enthusiasm and motivation in your people.”

Mona Meretsky, CSEP, is president of Fort Lauderdale, FL-based COMCOR Event and Meeting Production, and COMCOR Consulting Service. She believes that, even with the economy showing some signs of recovery, it will still be several years before things get back to normal on the meetings side. Regular company meetings will be the first to come back, she said, followed by special events and then incentives.

“At this point, I think it’s more a perception problem than a financial one,” Meretsky said. “Some companies are still hesitant to schedule any activity that even remotely seems like fun because of worries about how it will be perceived.”

Meretsky agreed that forward-thinking companies are finding ways to still show their people a good time after a hard (and long) day’s work — but they’re doing it much more wisely. She said they’re cutting down on the big-name entertainers. They’re emphasizing more audience-participation events. And they’re using entertainers such as psychics, who can analyze auras, read palms (but never predict anything bad!), and get a lot of audience volunteers.

“Some companies have had knee-jerk reactions to the events of the past few years, going overboard to avoid perception problems,” Meretsky said. “But you can’t punish the people you’re counting on to help bring the company back. They’re going to leave if they don’t feel appreciated. And you don’t have to go very far to find great talent. You can usually find it in the meeting’s home city; and that way you can save on airfare, in-town transportation, hotels and food.

“Companies need to realize — and I think they’re starting to — that it’s possible to reward your people without going over the top.”

Aron Steck agreed. Steck is owner/president of Global Event Management, a full-service meeting and incentive-planning company based in Framingham, MA. But he pulls no punches in speaking of the difficult terrain still ahead. He’s still seeing entertainment budgets, particularly in headline entertainment, being pulled back significantly. And, he added, the problem has been exacerbated by prima donnas: entertainers who refuse to recognize that the landscape has changed.

“The craziness we saw a few years ago is a thing of the past,” said Steck. “And I’m not sure it will ever come back. The ‘AIG Effect’ will leave lasting impressions on companies — even those that never did

Attendee participation in variety acts, such as the American Idol attraction at Walt DIsney World Resort, are a hot ticket. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World Resort

outlandish parties. Everyone’s afraid of ending up on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Companies are very careful about what, when and how much. And however (innocuous) the event, they don’t want to publicize it.”

Having said that, though, Steck agreed that some entertainers are being more flexible in their rates. He sees a number of other trends emerging, as well. There’s now more of an emphasis on good local entertainment, such as “show bands.” These are groups of eight to 12 people, perhaps with several lead singers, and maybe a couple of dancers, who can put on a show that gets people out of their seats — and do it for $50,000 less than big-name bands.

“I recently used local talent for a couple of Las Vegas events,” Steck continued, “and they were wonderfully received. We used a great sleight-of-hand magician who did one-on-ones with attendees, for example. We’ve also used artists from the ’70s or ’80s, such as Christopher Cross (“Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “Theme From ‘Arthur’”). They can put on a great show, and are very reasonable in their pricing. Another emerging trend is the use of variety acts, with formats similar to ‘American Idol’ or ‘America’s Got Talent.’ And we also use a ‘composite band’ called Rock & Pop Masters. In this concept, famous pop stars from the past each do a few of their hits; but they all use the same band, which saves tremendously on costs.”

One of the biggest challenges, Steck believes, is internal.

“It’s our responsibility to come up with solutions for challenging times,” he said. “If you’re not hung up on the big names, there’s great talent out there. It’s our job to be creative and find it.”

Mark Sonder, CSEP, has one of the more interesting titles in the event-production business. He calls himself the “Chief Entertainment Officer” for Linden, VA-based Mark Sonder Productions.

One of the trends Sonder is seeing is a desire for entertainment that brings us back to the good old days of the ’60s or ’70s. This type of entertainment is a lot less expensive than more contemporary superstars. For example, Sonder just signed the LPT Drifters, a reincarnation — with some original members — of the renowned Drifters. He’s also worked with a “Hall of Fame Tribute Show,” with the Drifters, the Platters and the Coasters.

“People are looking to capture the feeling of the old days,” Sonder said, “but they don’t want to pay top dollar for it. And these bands are more reasonable, cost-wise, because it gets them back in the limelight again.”

Another trend, according to Sonder, is interactive entertainment, which gets attendees more involved. For instance, he works with Alain Nu, a mentalist who claims he can tell you exactly what you’re thinking, and who can bend spoons through the sheer force of his will.

“Another example of interactive entertainment is hypnosis,” Sonder said. “We’re always pleasantly surprised at the number of attendees who volunteer to be hypnotized. Our client companies tell me that people are still talking about it weeks afterward. And these entertainers are generally happy to do meet-and-greets.”

Sonder said meeting and event producers today are facing more challenges than ever: “There are other factors besides just budgets,” he noted. “How will the entertainment support the branding of the company? How will it help show a good ROI for the meeting? How will it support the company’s goals and objectives?

“Our business is built on relationships. And if you want to build a relationship in the post-AIG climate, you’d better be able to answer these questions.”

Janet Johnson, manager of trade shows and events for BASF, agreed that the old days are gone forever. And she agreed, too, that entertainment for the sake of entertainment is no longer acceptable. The entertainment needs to convey a strong, focused business message. Though she’s seeing less entertainment at trade shows, the acts she is seeing are focused on the message of the meeting as well as on entertaining.

“The days of the boondoggle stuff are gone,” Johnson said. “Huge hospitality suites, huge shows…this is all gone. We can no longer afford the luxury of being perceived as extravagant. Today, entertainment must have a relationship to the business message.”

Johnson agreed with the rest of our experts that it’s not necessary to break the bank to provide good entertainment.

“We rely heavily on event-production companies, because they perform a very valuable function,” she said. “They’re familiar with the various locales. And they know where you can get your biggest bang for the buck.”

Sleeping on the job is all part of the entertainment provided by Erick Kand, who performs hypnotism for a corporate group. Photo by Studio 212 Photography

Entertainers Step Up

Anyone who’s ever liked the pop music of the ’70s will remember a band called Orleans. With their great

A meeting that rocks! The Rock & Pop Masters shows feature star performers from top groups of the last several decades, a less costly option than hiring individual bands. Photo courtesy of Rock & Pop Masters

guitar work and their distinctive voices, they had a string of hits such as “Dance With Me,” “Still the One,” and “Love Takes Time.” They’re still together. And they’re still busy — playing at corporate events.

“We do a show that gets people out of their seats,” said Larry Hoppen, guitarist and lead singer with the band. “And we realize, because of the times, that we have to do a little extra. So we’ll do meet-and-greets, we’ll play golf with the attendees, we’ll hand out backstage passes. And we get the audience involved. By the end of some of our corporate concerts, we’ll have upwards of 50 people on stage with us.”

Orleans is part of a tandem with Rock & Pop Masters with star singers from the last several decades, each performing a few of their hits, but using the same band behind them. It’s a concept that’s really gaining popularity in the corporate- and incentive-meeting sphere: Attendees can see and hear the stars of their youth, but companies don’t have to pay the enormous costs that would accrue if each entertainer brought his/her own band. Among the performers in Rock & Pop Masters are legends such as Edgar Winter, Felix Cavaliere from The Rascals, Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad, Spencer Davis, Larry Hoppen of Orleans and Russell Tompkins, Jr. of the Stylistics.

“We can present up to 30 performers, from the past 50 years, in one show,” said Andy Broady, business manager and partner of Rock & Pop Masters. “But we can do it at a fraction of the cost it would require for each performer to bring in their own band. Because of the events of the past few years in the meeting industry, we’ve gone from where

“I’ve used [comedians] like Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy (right),” said Jaki Baskow of Baskow & Associates, a Las Vegas DMC. “These people can really bring a house to its feet.” Photo courtesy of PRNewsFoto/CMT

price was no object to where price often seems the entire object.”

Broady is seeing, as well, the recognition by companies that entertainment is vital to rewarding their people; but that you don’t have to let costs run amok to do it.

“People leave our shows energized and excited and feeling good,” said Broady. “And companies are starting to realize that’s the whole point of entertainment programs — creating a work force that feels rewarded for their efforts, and excited about the prospect of doing more.”

Orleans and Rock & Pop Masters have performed for a wide variety of corporate and incentive events, for companies such as Fuji and The Hard Rock Cafe, along with numerous pharmaceutical and insurance firms.

A Producer’s Predictions

“I can confirm that we’re seeing a move away from large-ticket entertainment,” said Howard Stovall, chairman of the board at the International Association of Corporate Entertain­ment Producers (IACEP). “Our challenge is to be more creative, to seek options that engage our audiences in unexpected ways, but on more limited budgets.”

Stovall cited drum circles, gymnastics performers, unusual musical performances, interactive magic acts and acrobatic acts as options that get people involved and excited…at a fraction of the cost of a big-name show.

He began seeing an upward trend in entertainment at corporate events last summer. And he expects the trend to continue, but at a moderate pace.

“For a while there,” said Stovall, “almost any entertainment act was tarred as inappropriate, because of the economy. But, as the economy improves, we think we’ll see an upward trend through 2010.

“I think, when we started ‘webinaring’ instead of meeting,” Stovall said, “that people began really understanding the value of face-to-face meetings. And that being in the same room creates an energy that no audio or video-conference can touch.”    C&IT