When it comes to events, this year will continue to evolve. As much as we strive for “normality,” our industry is changing. Here are the top 7 event trends of 2021 that we at Heroic expect to see.
Our Top 7 Event Trends in 2021

When it comes to events, this year will continue to evolve. As much as we strive for “normality,” our industry is changing. Here are the top 7 event trends of 2021 that we at Heroic expect to see.
The meetings and events industry has been shaken by the realities and uncertainties of the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Companies have started to second-guess their meeting plans, or are canceling them altogether, especially when travel is involved. Hindsight will be 20/20 as to whether or not these steps are overreaction or prudent. But, at the very least, they are certainly well-intended. And though that intention for your audience is there, the delivery of your event’s message has now been compromised. So, short of canceling altogether, what can your organization do to share its message, in a safe and timely manner?
Continue reading “Don’t Cancel That Meeting. Consider Live Streaming!”
Point fixture, flip switch, ta-da—Lighting. Hang on, there’s a bit more to the art and science of lights and lighting gear, techniques and design. Let’s begin with some options and definitions:
Key & Fill Lighting — Illuminate the front, from two slightly different directions.
Side Lighting — Add more definition in an unusual way. Strong side light from a single direction can produce dramatic shadows on the floor or walls.
Backlighting — Separates people and things from the background – eliminate it and things recede. Picture your host emerging from a darkened rear stage, stepping into the front lights and picking up her backlight as she steps forward. She literally comes to life.
Continue reading “Conference and Event Lighting: Considerations, Color Schemes & Tips”
Creating an engaging experience that attendees can share on social media platforms is crucial to the success of your event and future attendance. And what better way to invite your attendees to engage with the event than by installing an Instagram museum, where they can snap selfies and post to social media!
Continue reading “No Filter Needed: How to Add an Instagram Museum to Your Event”
Nowadays, Wi-Fi is a necessity when it comes to events. That is unless your event is an off-the-grid, bark-eating, silent retreat in the Wind River Mountains (in which case, toilet paper is a technology).
Here in Minnesota, where choral music traditions are mythic, we are blessed with an abundance of Christmas concert performances. And one of those cherished traditions is Christmas in Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College.
When you talk to people about Christmas in Christ Chapel, the word you hear most often is joy. Happily, there is a long-standing connection between the Heroic Productions team and Christmas in Christ Chapel, or C in CC as it is known locally. In a way, you might even say Heroic has been there from the start. Continue reading “How Gustavus’s Christmas Performance Fosters Student and Alumni Engagement”
Technology is everywhere in our lives, often when we don’t even realize it. We see and feel the effects, or the direct benefits, without considering their source. You certainly cannot produce an event without lights, sound, and video technology! And there are ever-new technology options that make planning your event easier and put spectacular experiences right into the hands of your attendees.
Here are some tech trends already popular with event planners and some you’ll want to consider putting into play as we head into 2020.
Continue reading “The Latest Technology Trends Going Into 2020”
Camera! Action! Wait, where are the lights? We often take lighting for granted, but as an event planner, the more you know about the creative side of lighting, the more you can engage your audiences and impress them with memorable experiences.
The best way to add drama with lighting is to take a tip from the theatre. Stage lighting pros are experts at using light to evoke emotions and create a dramatic (or romantic, or we-mean-business) mood. The same goes for big music events because nothing uses more lighting to make an impact than a rock concert!
Here are some stage lighting tips and tricks we regularly use: Continue reading “Theatre Lighting Techniques for Dramatic Stage Lighting At Your Event”
No matter the size or purpose of your gathering, LED signage can vastly enhance your content as well as the features of your venue. For example, you can welcome attendees at the entrance with an LED scenic that creates an atmosphere or LED signage that displays the agenda or map of the venue or promotes the keynote speaker.
Continue reading “Outside the Box: Creative Ways to Use LED Signage at Your Next Event”
Just over a year after providing technical support for Super Bowl LIVE in Minneapolis, we were honored to accept the Star Award for Best Technical Production from the International Live Events Association — Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter for the big event.
“Anyone who owns their own business knows you only receive these awards if the entire team contributes. Team Heroic is unbelievably good and made this award possible. I accept it on their behalf” – Jon Young
Don’t know what the Minnesota Star Awards are? Here’s a little information about the award and a recap of our experience at Super Bowl LIVE. Continue reading “Heroic Production’s Super Bowl Live Earns Star Award for Best Technical Production”
Projection mapping is a great way for entertainers or speakers to engage with their audience. But have you thought of combining sight and sound by syncing projection mapping to music? We can do that. Talk about creating a cohesive and eye-catching AV element! Your event is sure to be the talk of the town.
Continue reading “How Syncing Projection Mapping to Music can Enhance Your Event”
Nowadays, providing a customized experience is a common goal for retailers, entertainers, and event planners. The more personalized an event feels to your attendees, the bigger impact it has. It will be more engaging, more memorable, and more shareable. To make that happen, you’ll need one essential tool — technology — because it takes tech-driven data to customize.
Technology comes in many forms, so there are many ways you can use tech tools to enable event personalization.
Continue reading “Event Personalization: How Technology is the Key to a Memorable Event”
Producing a large event is a lot of work. Heck, even a smallish event can have a lot of moving parts, and they all have to come together just-so. Why not make your job a little easier by investing in quality event management software? Technology can help you save time, avoid overlooking important details, watch your budget, and give your attendees the best possible experience. All with less worry and stress.
Here are some of the best software options to try in 2019, along with some tips to pick the best one for you.
For every event, there is a maximum capacity, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have virtual attendees. More and more events are providing ways to participate from anywhere. But how can you engage with your online guests and make them feel part of the crowd, rather than an outsider looking in?
It takes some extra planning and the right equipment, but it can be well worth the effort. (And, PS, you can also earn more revenue to help cover the costs.) So, let’s take a closer look.
Continue reading “Virtual Attendance: How to Engage With Your Online Guests at an Event”
Interactive touchscreens are gaining traction in the event world, and for good reason. They are versatile, functional, and just plain fun. You can use them to enhance your event and inspire audience engagement, to provide a more sensory, immersive experience. How? That depends on the type and size of your event.
Here are some examples of ways to use interactive touchscreens at your next event.
Continue reading “How to Use Interactive Touchscreens to Enhance Your Event”
Video is key for any event whether you’re enticing attendees with an introduction video or live streaming to remote locations. But if you plan to use video at your next event, you must decide whether to use front or rear projection.
Simply put, front projection reflects light off of a screen whereas rear projection diffuses light through the screen. They cost about the same and take similar time and effort to load in and load out. So, what makes one better for an event than another? Here are several factors to consider.
Continue reading “Front vs. Rear Projection: Which is Best for My Event?”
Video has become a common feature in many successful and engaging events, and most of these videos are displayed on an LED screen. But, if your formatting is off, your display may fail to fill the screen, or it will look squished, stretched, or worse. No one wants that! To ensure your event video has maximum impact, here are some tips on formatting for a large LED screen.
Continue reading “How to Format an Event Video for a Large LED Screen”
We all know how important first impressions are. Your event entrance is your guests’ first impression of what’s to come. It sets the tone, so you want it to engage, excite, and fill them with anticipation. You want to wow ’em.
You can do that in big and small ways, limited only by your imagination and budget. The secret is to make it a multi-sensory experience to trigger maximum engagement. Here are some of our favorite ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
Continue reading “11 Memorable Event Entrance Ideas with a Wow-Factor”
LED screens are a great way to liven up your event. Sure, you could use projectors and screens, but the advantages are that screens created from LED panels are brighter (think daylight and outside use) and easier to see in rooms with ambient light issues. They can be assembled at almost any size and screen ratio, and don’t require the extra space and positioning concerns of a projector.
You can use them as a backdrop for your stage, to display social media posts with your event’s hashtag, or live stream the main presenters from a different location. But that’s just the beginning. Indoors or out, LED screens can transform your next big event in other unexpected and memorable ways.
As an event organizer, you want to wow attendees, whether you’re producing a one-off concert, an annual conference, or special festival. LED screens are so versatile, they can give your guests a more engaging, immersive experience and leave them wanting more.
Nothing is worse than starting your event off with a bunch of ear-piercing shrieks coming from your speakers. Or no audio at all. Although sound glitches are common, they don’t have to be. Audio feedback and numerous other annoying problems can easily be avoided or quickly fixed.
Whether you’re working with a professional AV team or not, it behooves you as an event planner to know basic preventive measures. Here are some tips, straight from the pros, to help you treat your audience to crisp, clear sound instead of a cacophony of weird, unpleasant noises.
Continue reading “How to Avoid Audio Feedback and Other Sound Issues at Your Event”
If you’re looking for a new way to amaze and impress attendees and indelibly brand your next event, projection mapping might just be the ideal solution. Instead of projecting a simple image to a screen, wall or building, you could use projection mapping to create an entire 3D “atmosphere” or make static objects appear to be moving. (If you’ve never seen examples of projection mapping, you’re in for a treat! Here are links to a large-scale mapping project, and a fun, smaller project.)
Continue reading “Projection Mapping: How to Add Dimensional Variance to Your Event”
Nowadays, there’s an app for just about everything — even your large-scale events. Whether it’s Pathable for conferences, Attendify for networking events, DoubleDutch for consumer events, CrowdCompass for engaging event participants, or FestApp by Aloompa for festivals, conference apps can help attendees fully experience your event with the help of their phone or tablet. But how? And which app should you choose for your event?
Continue reading “There’s an App for That: 7 Ways Conference Apps Can Enhance Your Event”
Creating an event that stands out from anything your guests attended before is top of mind for any quality event planner. While there are many facets to event design, visuals may be the most important. But not just any visuals.
Visuals create instant impact — that all-important first impression. Branded visuals take your event to the next level — reminding attendees who is responsible for this magnificent event! And they do so in an engaging way.
Here are some types and examples of branded visuals and which ones work best for your event.
Continue reading “Event Design: How Branded Visuals Can Take Your Event to the Next Level”
When putting together an event, audio may be one of the last things you consider. You just plug in a mic and go, right? Wrong! Audio requires careful attention to detail and forethought like so many other aspects of event planning. Let us walk you through just a few of the basics of audio.
Continue reading “Audio Considerations for Your Next Event [VIDEO]”
Whether you’re organizing a rock concert, a conference, or a family fun run, digital displays can help you create the right atmosphere and relay important information during large-scale events. But with a wide variety of display options available such as:
You want to make sure you’re choosing the right technology for your needs.
The display best suited for your event typically comes down to lighting, audience size, and the other staging elements available. Use this blog to choose the digital display that will make the most significant impact at your next event.
Continue reading “Digital Projectors, LCD Screens, or LED Panels: Which is Right for my Event?”
Thanks to evolving technology, you can host an event that attracts audience members who aren’t even on-site. Virtual events and hybrids that serve both in-person and remote attendees are a hot commodity these days, and growing fast in popularity. Why not? Everybody’s a winner if you do it right.
Hybrid and virtual events allow you and your sponsors to deliver your messages to more people, on a local, national or even global level.
Continue reading “How to Host Hybrid or Virtual Events for Multi-City Involvement”
Today, you can live stream just about anything — from a fundraiser, birthday party, or vacation to a cooking lesson, wedding proposal, or corporate event. It’s an excellent way for those who cannot attend in person to enjoy the experience in real-time. For companies hosting corporate events and concerts, it’s a great marketing tool, as well. That is if you do it right. And do it well.
Continue reading “6 Must-Know Tips About Live Streaming Events”
Why do we bother to attend live music concerts when we could stay home and listen to a CD? Because we want multi-sensory engagement. We want to be a part of the crowd. Interactive technology can help foster this. It makes things more interesting, more fun, and more convenient. It can do all that and more for your next event, bringing it to life instead of delivering the same-old-same-old.
Continue reading “10 Ways Interactive Technology Can Bring Your Event to Life”
Our team sat down with Do Good Events, to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to planning a virtual event.
Continue reading “A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Planning Virtual Events”