Month: March 2024

Kitty Hart Shines on Your Brand Amplified Podcast: Inside the World of Experiential Marketing

Posted on by McKenna LaFave

Ever wondered how a brand can sweep you off your feet, creating those magical moments you just can’t stop raving about? Get ready to satisfy that curiosity as Anika Jackson dives deep into the vibrant world of experiential marketing with the amazing Kitty Hart, Heroic’s VP of Client Brand Experience on Your Brand Amplified Podcast. Together, they embark on an insightful journey through this ever-evolving landscape that’s all about captivating hearts and igniting senses.

Kitty: The Experiential Marketing Maestro

Kitty’s expertise lies in experiential marketing. “Any touchpoint we have with a customer is an experience,” Anika states wisely. Kitty sheds light on the fact that while experiential marketing isn’t new (it goes way back to the 1800s!), its importance has skyrocketed in our digital age. Despite our digital immersion, there’s an irreplaceable need for physical brand experiences. Yet, in today’s world, surprising and delighting audiences has become a delightful challenge.

Your Brand Amplified Experiential Marketing

The Evolution of Experiential Marketing

The evolution of corporate event marketing has been nothing short of fascinating, especially in our work at Heroic. From national sales meetings to incentive trips, we traverse diverse terrains. Even though our focus is often corporate, it’s crucial to remember that whether it’s business-to-business or business-to-consumer, we’re all humans seeking genuine connections. We want attendees excited about events, feeling the pulse of momentum, and leaving refreshed and more connected to the company and their goals.

How to Incorporate Experiential Marketing

Establishing a solid foundation rooted in your company’s core values is key to integrating experiential marketing. Go back to basics: What defines your brand? Who are your customers, and what drives them? Once you have these insights, let creativity soar. Collaboration across departments is vital here, and don’t let budget constraints dampen imaginative sparks! Kitty emphasizes that any brand, big or small, can weave experiential marketing magic by focusing on one sense at a time and building experiences around it.

The Hybrid Experience: Blending Physical and Virtual

Many companies now blend in-person and virtual experiences to accommodate diverse needs. Whether it’s remote employees, geographical challenges, or budget considerations, creating dual experiences has become essential. This duality necessitates crafting tailored experiences for both physical and virtual participants, ensuring everyone feels engaged and valued.

The Importance of Business Development

Kitty’s sales success stems from selling experiences that unite people and brands. Her mantra? Seeing consumers as humans first, not just potential buyers. Today’s consumers are savvy and seek authenticity over pushy sales tactics. Anika notes that, “the new equivalent of the old, pushy sales person is the LinkedIn inbox.” Building genuine relationships and leveraging referrals are key strategies. Kitty’s sales superpower? Wholeheartedly believing in what she sells. She states, “I’m just a matchmaker finding people who need what we have.”

Kitty concludes with a powerful message: let’s value the experience and wisdom of individuals, regardless of age. Women over 50 bring immense value and insight, just as 20 somethings offer fresh insights. Respect and collaboration across generations enrich our experiences and drive innovation forward.

In Conclusion: Embracing Experiential Magic

As we conclude our journey through the realm of experiential marketing with the effervescent Kitty Hart, one thing becomes abundantly clear: magic happens when brands connect with audiences on a human level. From understanding core values to crafting immersive experiences, the key lies in authenticity, creativity, and genuine connections.

To have your own conversation with the experiential marketing maestro herself, contact Kitty Hart.

To learn how to incorporate stellar audio/visual production into your next event experience, visit our website.

Meetings Today Event Industry Trends for 2024

Posted on by McKenna LaFave

Calling all event enthusiasts! Meetings Today has just dropped their “Trends for 2024” eHandbook packed to the brim with insights sure to help you plan for the upcoming year. The 2024 Meetings Today Trends Survey was conducted using Alchemer between 10/27/2023 and 12/18/2023 and includes 181 complete responses from meeting and event planners.

Meet 2024’s Meeting and Event Planners 

Ever wonder who’s behind the magic of event planning? Well it turns out, almost half of meeting and event planners seem to fall between the ages of 42-57, consisting mostly of Gen Xers followed by the second largest group being 58+. More millennials and Gen Zers will eventually make their way up the ranks, but not anytime soon. Experience is the name of the game here, with more than half of our survey respondents boasting over two decades in the biz! Oh, and did we mention? The event management scene is rocking a fabulous 78% female power surge.

Meetings Today Event Industry Trends for 2024

Hot Button Issues

Politics and social issues may make headlines, but do they sway our planners’ destination decisions? When asked if a location’s climate on controversial political and social issues impacts destination selection, the majority of responders fell between “somewhat” and “has no influence on my destination selection.” And what about labor unions? Meh, not a deciding factor for 70% of respondents. In fact, when picking a destination for their meetings and events, the respondents said they mainly care about location! Accessibility, airlift, and weather play the next most important roles in decision making.

Meeting Logistics: Location, Location, Location

Picture this: bustling events, buzzing with energy, and attendees aplenty. That’s the vibe for 2024, with planners expecting a crowd of 101-200. And the fun doesn’t stop there—the majority of planners say they are planning to have 3-5 or even 11-50 events throughout the year! While, about 57% of planners say they will not be going international in 2024, 11% say they plan to in the future. 

Activities offsite are nothing new to the world of corporate meetings and events, but what type of options are planners considering when perusing local Yelp pages? It’s no surprise that restaurants came in at number 1. Planners are also considering historic buildings/landmarks, museums, and trailing not far behind are wineries/breweries and sports facilities. But what kinds of activities specifically are we talking about incorporating? Obviously networking is first, followed by more than one third saying that team building activities and wellness activities are on their priority lists. And let’s not forget the allure of a round of golf or a pampering spa day—because who doesn’t love a little indulgence?

When it comes to hotel selection, the majority of planners are picking based on, you guessed it, location. Room rates come in second, followed by food and beverage and then attrition policy. 

Meetings Today Event Industry Trends for 2024

Looking Ahead to the Future

The biggest foreseeable challenge for our meeting planner friends seems to be increasing costs. Hotel, supplier, and food and beverage costs seem to be skyrocketing along with inflation, and over 87% of planners see this as their biggest challenge moving forward. Staffing levels and navigating attrition policies also spark concern, followed by the perennial challenge of managing tighter budgets.

Yes, the events industry has bounced back with gusto, but it’s a journey sprinkled with both triumphs and hurdles. Embracing the blend of old-school expertise and new-wave innovations, about 32% of planners are still keen on hybrid events, keeping the virtual realm buzzing with possibilities. 

So, fellow event professionals, let’s tackle 2024 with excitement, creativity, and a dash of tech-savvy magic! Together, we’ll make every event an unforgettable experience.

To see the entire comprehensive report, visit meetingstoday.com.

Let’s turn vision into reality with stellar audio/visual production, contact us.

Want to learn more about event trends in 2024? Visit our Marketing Events in 2024 blog.

Kitty Hart on The Faces of Business Podcast: Creating Unforgettable Events

Posted on by McKenna LaFave

At Heroic Productions, we were fortunate to have our very own Kitty Hart, our VP of Client Brand Experience, as a guest on The Faces of Business podcast with the one and only Damon Pistulka. In this episode, Kitty takes a deep dive into the world of brand experiences, unraveling the secrets behind creating unforgettable events that truly resonate with audiences.

Kitty Hart: A Marketing Maven

Kitty isn’t just your average marketing professional; she’s a visionary with over 28 years of experience, specializing in breathing life into brands through strategic storytelling, impactful brand strategy, and innovative experience design.

The Value in Event Production

According to Kitty, her favorite part of working at Heroic is all about setting a stage and ensuring the people on stage are seen, heard, and remembered. The most thrilling moment for her team is seeing a concept evolve into a spectacular reality. It’s a journey that can take up to a year, from brainstorming ideas and creating room renderings to the actual event day. Her secret insight: being “on comm” with a headset during an event is the key to understanding all the behind-the-scenes magic that goes into producing these top-notch events.

At Heroic, our mission is crystal clear: our client is the hero. We’re not here to take the spotlight; we’re here to ensure our clients shine. Our happiness stems from their satisfaction. It’s essential for our customers to select a production partner who can execute flawlessly and be the expert in stage design, audio, and lighting. So when that speaker steps onto the stage, they don’t have to worry about technical glitches or whether the audience can see and hear them.

Kitty explains how some of our events span several days, which means our team needs lots of stamina. Consequently, staffing and crew management play pivotal roles in ensuring everything runs smoothly.

The Faces of Business Featuring Kitty Hart and Events

What Sets Events Apart?

“It drives a constant focus on creativity,” Kitty emphasizes. Many of our clients host the same event year after year, and they’re eager to keep things fresh. They often draw inspiration from outside their industry to inject new life into their corporate events, especially considering that the current workforce spans four different generations.

Kitty’s personal favorites are events that incorporate music and impactful lighting. “Surprising and delighting people is becoming increasingly challenging,” she notes. Beyond visuals, the choice of speakers and entertainment plays a substantial role. Transforming a simple ballroom into a rockstar experience is no small feat. When you can infuse as many of the senses into an experience, the more impactful that experience becomes. “It’s the senses that drive our memories,” Kitty notes.

Additionally, she goes on to mention a baseball stadium that pumps the smell of cotton candy into their stadium! Using scent to elicit the feeling of hunger and nostalgia. 

Challenges in Events

Damon inquires about the most challenging event Kitty has ever been a part of. She recalls an event for a beauty brand Heroic worked on. It spanned multiple days, with exceedingly high expectations, especially for the staging. It was a haircare product, and the main event was a fashion show. The event was one of our larger projects, demanding long and high-energy days. Our team was a part of keeping that energy high.

Education, entertainment, and networking are the key components to corporate events. With consumer brands, getting products into people’s hands to sample is a big part of it. For B2B clients, it’s about designing an engaging experience that goes beyond traditional PowerPoint presentations. Recreational time for attendees is undoubtably crucial for maintaining attention spans.

Success!

When asked about success, Kitty reflects on Super Bowl 52 event hosted on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. Our crew endured long days in subzero temperatures, but the event was nothing short of amazing. Over a million people flocked to Minneapolis for the Super Bowl festivities. Being part of such a remarkable event in our hometown was truly life-changing.

What’s Next for Events?

What’s next for event production? For Heroic, we’re keeping a watchful eye on AI, and we’ve also got our hands on the new Proto Epic hologram machine!

As Kitty and Heroic look to the future, one thing remains constant: our unwavering commitment to making every event exceptional. So, whether you’re hosting a corporate extravaganza or a show-stopping product launch, you can count on Heroic Productions to be the secret ingredient that transforms ordinary into extraordinary.

Stay up-to-date on what’s next in event tech with our latest blog post.

To get in touch with Heroic for your next unforgettable event, contact us.