Promoter Perspective
EMG Shares Top 5 Tips for Promoters
Events Management Group has learned much over the years to help improve its shows and is sharing some of those lessons with others.
1. "Think outside the box when it comes to the floor diagram of a show and mix things up,” said Event Director Denise Wynn. “Before I started this job, I had quit going to one of my company’s shows because I thought they had the same artists each year and no one new.”
When she took the job, Wynn said she realized a “lot is about optics, and one of the first things I did was change some of the artists in the front rows of the show and rotated artists in these spaces each year. It has made a big difference in the reactions of our attendees. It does not look like the ‘the same old show.’”
Photo courtesy of Events Management Group
2. Wynn said another important thing the company has learned is to “use what is happening in society to your advantage.” Last November, the company used the advertising tagline “No Shortage of Gifts this Season! All your Christmas Shopping in one Location — Nothing Stuck on Ships!” Wynn said it helped.
3. She also said that when promoters form “kind, respectful relationships with artists over the years, it is appreciated, and they will return to you after a major event like a pandemic (if they haven’t retired!).”
The most common mistake a promoter makes, according to Wynn, is “taking the artists for granted, assuming they will always return to do your show, and not seeing that without them there is no show.”
Her advice to overcome that mistake is to not treat artists as numbers and dollar signs. “Make sure they know you have their best interest in mind when making decisions about a show — and be open and honest with them,” Wynn said.
4. Something learned at one of their most recent shows that will help them improve future shows was “it’s okay to be honest about what is happening in your show and to seek out advice from artists — they are a great resource,” she said.
5. Wynn shared what EMG did over the last year that made a big difference. She said they made more sitting areas and enlarged the width of rows, so people felt more comfortable and there were not as many “traffic jams” when the show opened.
“Some people are not comfortable when the crowd is all pressing against them, and this allowed for more breathing room,” she said
EMG produces three shows. This year’s Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market is May 13-15, while its Northern Virginia Christmas Market is Nov. 11-13, and the Virginia Beach Christmas Market is Nov. 25-27.