Meeting News - May 19, 2008 - (Page 50)

Live from the Forum @ MeetingNews.com TOPIC: What to do when your entertainment goes wrong W e hosted a dinner involving some of the top leadership in our ﬁrm and hired a comedian that we researched and interviewed. Once on stage, he became the most angry person and completely went from PG-rated (as requested) to X-rated. Attendees commented that they had never seen anything like it before. Of course, he was paid in full. Do you have any thoughts on how to proceed? Would you go back to him with feedback? What happens when your entertainment turns into your worst nightmare? Do you have a burning question to ask your peers? Log on to the MeetingNews Forum to get answers fast. meetingnews.com/forum Darlene Fisher, Meeting Planner, Deloitte Services LP, Wilton, CT We had a similar experience last fall. We hired a well-known TV entertainment reporter as an emcee for a corporate celebration. She was bright, bubbly, and sophisticated in front of a camera, but she absolutely froze onstage in front of 500 live people. She couldn’t ﬁnd her microphone, read her introduction badly, never introduced the main attraction, and let long lapses go during segues that she supposedly would be able to improv through. Also, many horrible things happened to her that day. Her salon caught ﬁre while she was having her hair done, making her miss her sound check and run-through. She lost her cell phone, making it impossible for her to call me and tell me why she was four hours late. We did go back to her with feedback—I called her personally and then we had a conference call with the client—to no avail. She was extremely defensive and claimed she didn’t understand why the client wasn’t happy. Technically, the client could have put a stop payment on her check, but was hesitant. The client really hoped to work something out with her, which never occurred. She cashed the check. Karen Brown, Managing Partner, Conferences by Design, Salisbury, MD While there are no guarantees, with a speaker bureau or entertainment agency, there is usually the ability to negotiate some of the fee back when contract agreements are not met. When it comes to comedy, even with PGrated material, it’s easy for comics to slip. I recently watched a video of a “clean”comic and behind her was a ﬂip chart with an acronym that when read wasn’t clean at all. So, buyer beware. Stipulate your needs clearly in your contract and make sure your expectations are known and the talent understands the demographics of your attendees. Gloria Nelson, CEO, Gloria Nelson Event Design, Winneconne, WI Clients often think that they will save money by going direct to a celebrity rather than using a bureau, which knows speakers’ capabilities, how they perform, and if they can be trusted. A bureau also would have been in touch with the talent and known about the ﬁre, the cell phone, etc., and would have helped to get the talent to the event on time. Of course, nothing is perfect, and things happen, but you certainly have a better shot with a bureau. Pat Ahaesy, President, P&V Enterprises, New York City Believe me, I tried to hire through an entertainment company. I ﬂew 800 miles three times to audition emcees with the client. In the long run, the client chose the particular person based on her on-camera persona and one in-person meeting. The client was running out of time and was star-struck. The person preferred to go without agency representation. The client wanted her. Karen Brown As a lecture agent, I certainly agree that using a bureau can help avert this kind of disaster, but it doesn’t help you deal with this situation after the fact. My advice is to absolutely go back to the comedian with your feedback and, moreover, be aggressive about seeking a refund. He was contracted to deliver one thing, and he did not. You deserve your money back—or at least a portion of it. I’d demand a written apology, as well. Make your request on the phone and then in writing if he balks. Beth Martin Quittman, President, Samara Lectures, Seattle I never understood how being an anchor or a newscaster correlates with being a great emcee. Great emcees have training in improvisation, comedy, and audience interaction. Anchors have training in reading teleprompters and looking at a camera. Comedians are risky acts. I loved hearing a story about a comedian who went into blue area. The CEO (also a minister) walked up and said, “Thank you for your words of wisdom. I’ll pray for you because you need it.” He then took the microphone away. Courage, that is what it was. Why would a meeting planner rather hurt the audience’s feelings than the speaker’s? Step up and take control. If a speaker doesn’t play by your rules as agreed upon, then he/she should pay the consequences. Pegine Echevarria, President and CEO, Team Pegine, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL As a corporate stand-up comedian, I hear these stories all the time. Ask to see a DVD or videotape. If the footage was shot in a comedy club, beware! The comedian better have proof that a corporate venue is a familiar setting. Remember, there are no rules in comedy clubs! If an 8- to 10-minute demo still isn’t enough proof, ask for a complete show. A good corporate comedian should have one of those, as well. About a month before the show, schedule a call between the comedian and some executives from the client. I send all my clients a questionnaire asking for topics to cover and, more importantly, avoid. Be careful about hiring celebrities who may have made a name for themselves on a sitcom and not have proven track records as comedians. Greg Schwem, President, Comedy with a Byte, Chicago MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, May 19 2008, Vol. 32, No. 10 is published semi-monthly except for August and December, which is monthly, by Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 100039595, tel. 646-654-5000. Subscriptions are offered free of charge to individuals actively engaged in planning meetings or conventions in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualiﬁed subscribers is $79 in the U.S. and $95 in Canada (Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729). The cost of a foreign subscription, payable in U.S. dollars, is $195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing ofﬁces. MeetingNews is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media. Copyright © 2008 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - May 19, 2008

Meeting News - May 19th, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Hotels & Resorts
CVBs
Destination Insider: Reno-Lake Tahoe
Advertisers Index
Insider Report: Midwest Meetings
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - May 19, 2008