The New Year’s Resolutions of an Entertainment Agency (2013)
It’s a new year at Sternberg Clarke, and no doubt most other places too – London didn’t collapse under the strain of the Olympics, The Jubilee Floatilla didn’t sink, England reassuringly reached their usual quarter final ‘crashing out point’ in the Euros and the world did not end on the 21st of December. What a relief. So with 2012 out of the way, it’s time to start thinking about 2013.
Last year I shared our slightly tongue in cheek New Year’s Resolutions on this blog and, what with an entire year passing in the meantime, I thought I’d update them for this year. After careful consideration, I’ve narrowed them down to the following three.
Stop Using Britishness as a Crutch
With the Olympics and the Jubilee hot on the heels of the Royal Wedding the previous year, the UK has been coasting on the feel good fumes of patriotism for a couple of years now. But aside from a Royal Baby in the proverbial pipeline, there’s little in the calendar in 2013 that seems capable of prompting the kind of unselfconscious flag waving and national chest beating we saw in 2012. That’s right people; put away your Union Jack hats, pull off those Bradley Wiggins sideburns and for God’s sake, please stop using that “Keep Calm and Carry On” meme – everyone get back to work. In all seriousness, we’ve gotten used to falling back on the idea of quirky British traditions and eccentricities over the past 12 months and while it was fun for the time, 2013 is a chance to seek new and exciting themes that don’t involve Bulldogs and Churchill and Spitfires and Shakespeare etc. At least not all together at once.
Make Good Media/Publicity Material a Priority
I’ve rattled on about the importance of good publicity material in a number of these blogs, but the role that it plays in the events industry increases exponentially with each passing year. When working in a creative industry it’s invaluable to have access to good supporting material. With high quality images, videos and soundclips easily accessible through various websites, clients expect more and more from us when it comes to pitching entertainment ideas for corporate events. The success of Pinterest last year has put an increased focus on the way that people gather ideas and inspiration in the events and wedding industries – it’s not through check lists or bullet points or reams of text, but through pictures, video and sounds. Hopefully, people who work with us on events will notice how much effort we put in to this area in the year ahead.
Keep the Acts Fresh
Much as we like to rely on proven performers, it’s always really important to keep introducing new acts (and more generally, new ideas) into the events industry. If everyone relied on what has worked in the past to continue working in the future, pretty soon all events would start to become a little stale. It’s vital then, to keep an eye out for new and different acts that we can introduce to events and wedding planners so that our events continue to be surprising and exciting. That’s not to say that we’ll ignore the old favourites in favour of new shiny things, and it’s also not to say that we’ll just start sending out untested acts for the sake of being different – we’re offering a service after all – but by striking the right balance between both new and familiar faces, we can stay competitive in 2013.
Be sure to add your own New Year’s Resolutions in the comments.
For more of our thoughts on entertainment and the events industry; head over to our regularly updated blog sternbergclarke.co.uk/blog/
