THE END.

My last event. My last day. My last [amazing] meal. It was time for me to pack up my things and head home for gradation. This was a whirlwind of emotions as I said goodbye to many new friends, co-workers and my fabulous studio apartment only to anticipate the excitement and homey feelings only a plane ride away. Sad to leave, happy to be home... but New York hasn't seen the last of me!! :)
(Two weeks after... )I have returned to Phoenix since the end of my internship and I am slowly realizing all of the things I miss about New York and too quickly forgetting all of the things I couldn't stand!! All in all, my experience was epic, eye- opening & unparalleled, and I am still trying to digest the fact that it actually happened! It was, as i heard more than anything else & couldn't agree with more, 'the experience of a lifetime!'
As if it couldn't get any better, I just found out this week that I got a job in Phoenix at Clear Channel Radio!! I was shocked to find anything at all and so quickly...? I have truley been blessed with this new and exciting opportunity & I can't wait to see where my newest endeavor will take me. I guess I will have to start a new blog of 'Kimber in the Desert' so you can know where I'm at and what I'm doing!

Reflections on my experience

Fourteen short weeks ago, I found myself in a new city, a new climate, and a new internship doing what I have felt, for some time, that I was meant to do. In that time, I experienced grueling days with unending tasks and days that bored me out of mind, but all of which taught me something. I improved my prioritizing skills, mastered my multi-tasking ability and quickly got over any fears I had within the first few days because once you’ve been thrown in the mix, anything and everything will come your way and you just have to go for it. And on days when you’re left with nothing to do, you find something to do that will benefit you or the company, whether it be organizing work areas, adding contacts to the database or researching new ideas and venues, there is always something that can help.

At MKG, I quickly realized that rank is hardly evident in this kind of workplace because the whole team is intertwined and everyone helps each other with what needs to get done. Whether you love everyone you work with or can’t stand any of them, you have to learn to work with your team & your clients because your least favorite person might be your greatest asset so there is no sense in burning bridges that you know, at some point, you will need to cross.

I experienced something like this first hand at MKG when, at the start of my internship, I chose to be the exact opposite of another intern who was always the first one to ask when she could leave, questioned every task that was handed to her and who was never ashamed to barter for compensation for anything that required extra effort. Instead, I was sure to offer to stay as long as needed, I performed each task fully and doing my best to do what was needed before it was even asked for. Basically if they said ‘Jump,’ I said, ‘How high? How far? How many times? Do you need anyone else to jump? Should there be any floral, lighting, furniture, step&repeats or celebrities? And is there anything thing else I can do while I’m up there?’ Towards the second half of the internship, I can tell you that nothing was ever said to her for her undesirable behavior, but anytime a producer needed an intern to help with an event they would always offer the opportunity to me first and ask me not to mention it to the other intern. This fact alone made me feel like a valuable part of the MKG team and I can attest to the fact that even though your co-workers or superiors might not always acknowledge your hard work & dedication (which is not the case here, they ALWAYS said ‘thank you’ & ‘great job!’), it will not go unnoticed.

For me the only real problem that I had, and addressed, during my internship was the transition of intern supervisors after the lay-offs. The intern supervisor role was handed to one of the production coorinators, who was definitely qualified, mind you, but almost to busy stay on top of us. He was a great delegator and allowed us in on as much as he could, but he didn’t have the time to set us up to do our Final Project, that they have every intern do before leaving MKG. In the Final Project, each intern plans their own event from start to finish with all of the contracts, designs, and renderings as if it were actually going to be activated. I was so excited for this part of the internship and to get to have such a valuable souvenir and future reference material to take with me. So, even after sending him a few reminders, it was to my disappointment that it was never accomplished.

Nonetheless, I did come away having learned a great deal about the interworkings of event production.

I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds as a person and as a professional in this short time. I have grown in my respect for those who work in the industry, for differing opinions, and for the little companies that may just be ‘vendors’ but without which we would not be able to pull off half of the events we do. My business sense and knowledge of how a production company works has dramatically increased since all of my prior experience in event planning was volunteer. Many things change when you’re hired to produce events and I have come to learn the vital back & forth cycle of client interaction. MKG Productions is still considered a small company, under 25 employees, and in working for a small company I was instructed on the value of brand identity and conforming every piece of communication and collateral to display the “MKG” brand so that the logo becomes a symbol of recognition that will help to grow the brand into the future.

As I embark on my professional journey, I am gradually realizing the sacrifices that somtimes have to be made to progress in the events industry. I know that the best job might not be where I am and the best experience may not be the most enjoyable. At this point, I stand ready for the next step in my career one that will teach me and mold me into a professional well on their way to pursuing the dream of being a business owner that will be known for going the extra mile and giving clients exactly what they ask for and then some!

Experiential Marketing @ MKG

See how MKG Productions is taking their marketing techniques above and beyond...

MKG Newsletter

Delta Pershing Square

Pershing Square is a little known spot (other than the restaurant) just outside of Grand Central Station in NYC. The actual 'square' is an outdoor space located next to the Pershing Square cafe. Delta, one of our clients at MKG, has chosen this location as their newest marketing territory for a several month long activation. Until early July, Delta branding will take over the space and special Delta sponsored events will be held every weekend. 'Delta's Summer Fridays' are among these events and every friday promotion teams will be in place to draw the crowds in for drink specials & drawings to win roundtrip airline vouchers from Delta. My part in this whole production consisted of various odd jobs early on(since I wouldn't be in NY for the actual activation) such as researching collateral peices that could customized with Delta branding and given away as freebees. We hit a snag at one point when we planned to offer discounted alchoholic beverages because everyone seemed to have differing beliefs on what restrictions the New York state law had pertaining to advertising such content. My job was to investigate the laws on advertising discounted liquor/beer and also to provide evidence to validate the findings so that our clients would be fully convinced of the legal standing of their actions. (FYI researching laws= not fun & really difficult). I also had to locate long term parking for the Delta Mini Plane that was being brought in for use on the weekends for the duration of this marketing activation. My favorite contribution was finding, planning and ordering fun, customized uniforms for the Delta spokespeople to wear during the weekend promotional events. Wish I had a picture to show you :(

NYC Pillow Fight on Wall Street

www.pillowfightday.com

For those of you less informed, April 4th 2009 was International Pillow 

Fight Day.  A day in which thousands (likely hundreds of thousands) of people in cities all around the world indulged in a series monstrous pillows fights to celebrate the occasion.  Luckily, on this festive weekend one of my best friends from Phoenix was visiting and we shared the unique and memorable day together with thousands of other New Yorkers.

I had no idea what to expect so we got there early to watch the crowds pour in and take over the streets that were already barricaded and patrolled with officers.  By the time the horn sounded every street in every direction was flooded with pillow-bearing participants ready to wield at any available target.

I am still amazed at the hilarity of it all, and even more so at the success.  This pillow fight and other random events like it (like many organized by Improv Everywhere) really showed me two things.  First, this event alone proved to me the effectiveness of viral marketing, which I had the chance to learn more about in my time at MKG and a means by which I plan to learn how to engage and take advantage of in my career.  Second, I realized that the mass appeal of out of the ordinary, semi-rebellious, fun events such as this one is a great marketing opportunity.  If a company or non-profit organization were to take over something like this and own it and turn it into a benefit or a fundraiser they would not only spread their brand awareness, but also get the ripple of media attention to follow.  For example, at the end of the pillow fight, participants could've donated their new or gently used pillows, which could be distributed to homeless shelters in the area.  

I think that many non-profits could come up with fun events such as this to get item donations for a good cause, because the only thing better than a fun crazy day, is knowing that you're helping out a good cause in the process.  Another added benefit in this is that the more outrageous it is the more attention it gets! Check out this photo.  You can see, beyond the pillow fighters, that the steps of this building and all the others around it are packed with media, photographers, reporters and the like all capturing the chaos. (Can you say free publicity?)

More photos of Tara & I from the NYC Pillow Fight

www.msburdick.com/Kimber&Tara

VW10 Pop-Up store: Why Event Planning is not as easy as it sounds/looks

For the last few weeks I've been working with one of our production teams on developing an experiential marketing activation for Glaceau to launch their new line, Vitamin Water 10.  Our team chose to temporarily take over a retail space in SoHo to launch a 10-day pop-up store showcasing Vitamin Water's new, health-conscience, thirst-quenching drink in 4 of their signature flavors. 

Some of my projects included furnishing the areas dedicated to each flavor with modern lounge seating in colors to match each drink in the new line.  Go look at the colors and tell me how easy you think that was! I also had to do quite a bit of research to find aesthetically cohesive, large, white trash bins, after which I came to realize that a) trash bins are expensive and b) trash bins are NOT attractive.  After several days of online shopping, we were fortunate enough to find a perfect match to our criteria.  I also helped develop the spokesmodel uniforms, find a customizable photobooth, locate refrigeration solutions for the thousands of drinks we needed to keep chilled and setting up a fabulous 3D step & repeat for the red carpet entrance.

(Piece of cake compared compared to what came next! )The pop-up store kicked-off with a opening night VIP Party, which went oh-so-smoothly... from the outside looking in.  But if you asked those working production day-of you would learn that everything that could've gone wrong, did.  First, the a/c went out, which you'd think wouldn't be a big thing in NYC in April, but I kid you not... it was HOT in there and it happened to be warm day on that particular Thursday, also.  Next, our temporary office of computers downstairs were repeatedly blowing the circuits making almost impossible to keep things running in between electrical shortages.  Then, the one bathroom in the entire space gets clogged an hour before doors open.  So my schedule at the store rapidly changed from a 6pm-10pm event-opener shift to a 11am-2am work day! 

Check out how our renderings (above) became reality... 

PSFK article 

BIZBASH article

S.W.A.G.

Schwag, loot, goodies, vendor crap, giveaways, whatever you want to call it, S.W.A.G. is a little acronym that stands for 'Stuff We All Get.' And, as most of us know, it is NOT really stuff the we(/us/you/me) all get.  Luckily, in this industry, we just have a little bit higher chances of snagging any of these leftover goodie bags or even receiving little 'thank you' gifts from our clients.  I have been fortunate enough to land a few items from shoes, apparel & make-up to hats, bags, notebooks & all the Vitamin Water 10 [cocktails] my friends could carry. 

How nice to be on the receiving end when we're usually the ones devising the tempting little freebies for everyone else.  :)

Alizé

Alize is one of our clients, whom we held an event for in Miami beach last week. I was working on the model's uniforms, getting the clothing items, shoes and branding to create the final 'look' for the event. This was a challenge because the coordinator waited until last minute to send this to me for purchasing and we ended up running into some problems. Since a lot of our shopping for model outfits are done online there is never a guarantee that it will arrive in time and in store shopping it is usually difficult to find the amount of items in the sizes and colors we need all at one location. The first dilemma we encountered was that we would have to hit 5+ stores to fulfill the numbers of several of the items. Next we found that several items we had picked out were now discontinued and no longer in stores, which called for last minutes changes that had to be sent for approval from the client before we could make a purchase (frustrating!). And finally, the day before it was discovered that almost all of the shoes were the wrong sizes due to confusion in sizes when ordering converse shoes which are sized differently than normal shoes...errr!

Many phone calls and questions and emails later we got the shoes, but the models did have to work with the fact that the stores in Miami didn't carry half sizes.

A few frantic and stressful days, but it all turned out great so I was so proud of our efforts!

New peeps in the office

As quickly as we saw the effects of this economy eat away at our company, we are now seeing significant improvements to our situation! We went from zero events on the calendar to 15+ confirmed events that we are all happily working on now. This fortunate turn of events has also caused us to bring on some of our freelancers (Teeter, Kyra & Alex) into the office full-time and it has brought back the fun & full feel to the office (yay!).
They are all very different so it was definitely a quick learning experience of how differently each one operates and how the interns had to adapt when working with each one, as we do with the other event coordinators in the office. We gained one that is a nit-picky, serious, but tries to be nice; another that is an over-excited, over-eccentric, over-explainer; the last, who is super-chill, super nice, always awesome and appreciative (she's obviously my favorite).
I have decided that each person that I work with is a lesson in themselves because every one of them is different, yet we have to learn how to work with them all.
So here's to lessons from the office!

Just a few of my favorite things...

Jobs require many different things of us. Some we love, some we hate, but all of them we do.

In my internship I have become very fond of what we all like to call 'Brainstorms' (These are announced in the office more to the tune of "Brrraaaaainnnnn Stooorrm!").  

At MKG, there is nothing I love more than Brainstorms (except maybe dessert vendors who brings samples!).  It is so refreshing to be in our conference room as creative juices flow and build and mold into unique & impressive realities that make our events different from all the rest.  I am always amazed at the ideas/concepts that come out of those meetings whether its engineering a way to do something phenomenal on a tight budget or developing an outrageous spectacle with no budget restrictions to hold us back!  The results are always new, always creative & always impressive, which is why two heads are always better than one, and 12 heads are better than 2!

Whatever the idea, our goal is always to attract attention!  Cool examples:

-> For a sunglasses brand holding a VIP launch party we envisioned an outdoor space covered in reflective materials that make it necessary for everyone to rock their shades at this super cool event.

-> For a luxury car brand showcasing a new model we threw around ideas like covering the ceiling of the venue with the actual autobodies; simply put: cars on the ceiling.  Or having an online RSVP where they design their own version on the car (color, interior/exterior, etc.), then the invite would give a psuedo- location of the event where they would end up parking, next an entourage of the car brand's new model cars would arrive to pick up the guests and each one would be the exact replica from their online car design from the rsvp.

this is why I love this industry (& this internship)!

Active International

Last week I was a part of the on-site production team for a retail marketing summit event for our client, Active International. The objective of their meeting was to facilitate a dialog, between the head marketers of large companies such as Kmart & Coca-Cola, discussing marketing strategies and the integration of new digital media to be used to their advantage. The summit showcased one of Microsoft's newest products, the Microsoft Surface (pictured above). It looks like a coffee table, yet it works similarly to an iphone, with a touch screen & numerous applications were all on an completely unbreakable surface (VERY fun to play with!)! It's so hard to even explain because it does so many incredible things... check out the promo video here.
Back to the production side of things, we were faced with a challenge leading up to the event. Our client wanted 16 floral arrangements to be done with a budget of $250... HAhahaha! That will get you 2 or three if you're lucky! So it was my job to solve this dilemma without spending anymore than the alotted amount. We opted to make our own (which is still hard on that budget) and began brainstorming for inexpensive designs and materials/flowers and then I was off to the Flower District. Our final product was a cyclindrical vase filled 1/3 of the way with white gumballs (my penny-pincher idea!!), next a layer of wheatgrass (soil, roots and all) and finally one single white spider mum tucked in at the outer edge of the grass.
Here's our sample arrangement (it has pebbles substituted for the white gumballs).
The final result was so cute!! And we did all 16 pieces for under $80!! AMAZING.

Only if they IMPRESS us...

We have these things called 'capabilities presentations,' where companies set up a time to come in and present to us (I actually like these). They show us what their business offers and how it would benefit our company. While these aren't always exciting, they are always useful for us to compare with the businesses we currently use to ensure that we are getting the best price for the service/product. We're open to new things... maybe even THEIR new thing, but only if they impress us!
For example, a freight shipping company came in last week to market themselves and highlight the benefits of working with a smaller business for freight & shipping since we do A LOT of shipping of large items for events. As you can see, not so exciting. BUT we had another capabilities presentation with a small company called Mélangerie Inc., which specializes in extremely creative gifts, memorabilia and event details for all occasions. They offer a myriad of services including gift consultation and design, gift packaging and presentation, event identity design, invitation and announcement design, custom event favors and details, custom event websites, custom memorabilia, and custom correspondence. I was amazed at some the cool & unique ideas they have produced... and I'm not the only one. You may have seen them (or their gifts) since they were featured in Target's Red Hot Shop, which show cases up-and-coming & innovative small businesses. The Red Hot Shop sold Mélangerie's oragami-inspired gift wrap packs.
Or may you've seen those 'Home Green Home' gift bags filled with products for greening your home... their idea (someone else just paid money for it)!
These don't even being to scratch the surface of the creativity that I saw from their capabilities presentation, but they're definitely some of my favorites!  You can check out more at the Mélangerie website.

Sad Day/Happy Day

Last week came with a startling beginning of lay-off's and salary reductions across the board at MKG. Within the first hour at the office, four of our co-workers (moreso our friends) were emptying their desks and heading home for the last time. There was no warning ahead of time, but it was a situation that is not so unexpected these days. Our event schedule for January & February was great given the nation's financial decline and our numbers were nearly the same as last year's, which gave everyone here a feeling of hope and immunity during such a downturn. The reality was that as we flipped the pages on our calendars to March or further to April, May, June, there was not one event. Later that Monday, we had an all-staff meeting detailing the changes and updating our currently situation, which made us all acutely aware of the economy's (delayed) effect on our industry.
Fortunately, this week is looking brighter, our situation is improving slowly but surely as our proposals move from the 'In Development' to 'Engage' section of our agendas. The newest project was confirmed and activated 5 minutes ago so I'm off to work on a Venue Proposal for a Vitamin Water Pop up store to happen in April (yikes)!
I'm so excited for the craziness that is about to ensue. :)

FASHION WEEK at Bryant Park

For those of you didn't know, last week was Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week showcasing designer's Fall/Winter '09 Collections.  Being such a huge deal in New York, the occasion required an army of production, PR, and security people, among others, to make it all happen.  So, not only did my company (MKG Productions) run some of the fashion shows, but we also got invited to them!

Friday Night-

Alexander McQueen VIP Shopping Event:  This was essentially a pop-up store filling a large warehouse in the West Village.  (**Pop-up stores are a very popular marketing strategy used during fashion week, especially.)  The space displayed the new McQ F/W '09 line for viewing AND for purchase! There was a star-studded VIP shopping night on Friday before it opened up to the public on Saturday and Sunday.  Luckily, we had the chance to get on that list so some co-workers and I, plus a few friends meandered through the collections enjoying free drinks (hot apple cider brandy, yum!!), hor-dourves and catching a glimpse of celebs such as Whitney (The City/The Hills), the cast from Gossip Girls and Amanda Bynes.

Saturday Night-

Monarchy Fashion Show: Your typical fashion show... short and stylish with lots of designers and celebs.   But, honestly, I can't see why anyone would wear some of the things they design... way too weird!

Sunday Night-(Work) Tim Hamilton Fashion Show: 

(<--- me & designer Tim Hamilton himself!)

This was a long day of set-up, lighting schedules, cue changes, moving, lifting, receiving and maneuvering  around too many European male models in a not so spacious backstage, which would've been MORE than fine by me if they were say... 5-7 years older!! (darn!) 

All in all, not a bad weekend!  :)

p.s. click on the event titles for links to articles, video & photos!

My First Event with MKG!

February 9th, 2009

I experienced my first MKG event last Monday at the MAC Cosmetics (Kabuki) Presentation held in the Union Square Theatre.  They pulled me on board last minute (2 hours before doors open) to help with the production team and run-of-show.  I feel like this event was a great starter for me since it wasn't too intense, as far as production goes, and it didn't ever get hectic or stressful, unlike most of the events I've done in the past.  

The event was a debut of their newest cosmetic line called 'MAC Pro.'   Make-up artist, Kabuki, gave a make-up presentation, which was the main focus of the night followed by a champagne cocktail reception on-stage afterwards.  Our production team was responsible for the installation on the MAC graphic wall and stage set design; overseeing the lighting and AV set-up and programming; music and video rehearsals; run-of-show & load out and the end of the evening.

I had a great time working on this, especially because we were able to watch the actual make-up presentation, which was amazing! After researching more of Kabuki's work since the event, it realized that the 'looks' he demonstrated weren't as intricate and intense as the looks he's known for designing (check 'em out at http://www.kabukimagic.com).

Here are the 3 models from the presentation with their new Kabuki look!