Event Brew

The Academy Awards have been the talk of the town recently. While the strictly in-person Oscars 2021 felt too exclusive, the Oscars 2022 served us some truly out-of-place drama. And where there is controversy brewing, the Brew Crew comes to discuss. But it's not just the slap that they'll touch upon. They'll also go over stage design, the production team, and give credit where credit is due.

As for the slap, they offer their thoughts as event profs with deep knowledge of how event production works. While the social media rushed to discuss who was at fault, the Brew Crew primarily wonders how could somebody simply run up the stage or make an unscripted joke. Tune in - you'll get a glimpse into the minds of event profs and by proxy, into the backstage at the Oscars. Enjoy!

Here are the episode's show notes.

It seems that the happenings on the global stage just won't give us a break. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is somewhat under control, there is a full-blown war on the European continent once again. And so, the Event Brew takes on yet another controversial topic this week: the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the events industry.

But before they get into the nitty-gritty of economic sanctions against Russia and the prices of gas and oil, the Event Brew recognizes the human toll being paid in Ukraine. They try to steer as much as possible away from politics and only focus on the field they know inside out: events.

Check out the episode show notes on Endless Events.

As our worlds continuously grow more uncertain and hectic, the Event Brew podcast doesn’t run out of hot topics to address. They’ve recently covered planning disruption-proof events in times of uncertainty. This week, however, they tackle another pressing and complex topic, inspired by a message from a loyal listener: the crossroads between event planning and politics.

Here’s the message: The Event Brew podcast discusses the importance of staying updated on current events that are happening within the political climate to fulfill the mission of their organization/stakeholders. Especially in the current state of political unrest in the country, who are they going to put in charge of making decisions regarding things that could be affected by the political climate? Are they going to require colleagues to stay educated within the political sphere? Are they going to consider only working with people/organizations who align with their ideal politics?

Tough questions, but nothing that the Brew Crew cannot answer. Tune in and see how Will, Dustin, Nick, and Thuy navigate working with organizations whose values don’t align with their personal beliefs – and more!

A while ago, the Event Brew talked about social networks, wondering whether it was time to log off. If that truly is the case, another question quickly arises: how to promote events without social media? How effective is social media marketing anyway? As the 365 community model continues growing in popularity, more event profs will come to realize that social media is, in the Brew Crew's opinion, boring and predictable.

Community is one way to go about promoting events without social media, but it's not just any community that will do. Additionally, you need to produce truly exceptional events that will foster attendee retention and potentially turn your audience into advocates. Tune in and find out the recipe for marketing success outside social media platforms!

Event professionals are so other-focused that they often forget about themselves. They try to make sure that everybody, from attendees to sponsors, is taken care of. But what about them? How do they take care of themselves and their teams? Those who do not take time to tune in with their event teams are at a far greater risk for event planner burnout. And nobody wants that!

That's why today, the Event Brew hosts are tackling the topic of team building in the events industry. We all know why team building is important, but how often do we take the time to nurture the relationships within our own organizations?

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the Brew Crew talks about all the ways they show their teams some love and appreciation, from team exercises to planned company events. They understand that nurturing company culture in an event company is crucial to success. After all, we all work better when we know one another and genuinely like to spend time together. Tune in and find out just how loving the Brew Crew truly is!

Great event professionals know that it's vital to always have a plan B ready when planning events. They know how to deal with bad weather at events, and how to build a crisis communication plan. However, according to Event Brew, many are yet to master planning disruption-proof events amidst the pandemic - or at least master the way they communicate the unavoidable uncertainty. 

This Event Brew episode might be short, but it's nonetheless a treat: after many weeks apart, we're finally going to hear from all four members of the iconic Brew Crew! They give us concrete advice on building out backup plans and communicating with attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors. Let's get brewing!

We might be over the biggest obstacles that COVID-19 has thrown at us (at least we can hope so), but in-person attendance is still nowhere as high as it was pre-2020. While we've talked a lot about how the pandemic affected planners and attendees, we haven't focused on exhibitors' experience all that much. We've talked about exhibitors at virtual events and virtual event sponsorship ideas. But it turns out that the biggest challenge exhibitors face doesn't live in digital space but in a world of face-to-face interactions.

In his many years in the events industry, Nick has seen and done it all. Today, he laments about the experience exhibitors have at in-person events these days. But low attendance isn't the worst part; it's event planners' behavior post-event that really grinds his gears. Tune in and learn about the exhibitor's point of view and what you can do to right the wrongs, caused by low attendance.

New year, new Event Brew episodes! We're kicking off the year in Thuy and Will's company - Dustin and Nick had to take a raincheck. Excited for the year ahead, they talk about business strategy for events and planning in these uncertain times.

They talk about what event strategy means to them, who is involved in the decision-making process, and share how they go about creating a business strategy at their own respective workplaces. So, brew something up, sit back, and join Thuy and Will in a brand new season of Event Brew!

The Event Brew is back after a well-deserved holiday break! Inspired by their time off, the Brew Crew will talk about taking a break as an event professional. Will, Dustin, and Thuy know all about staying productive all year round and have all experienced event-industry-related burnout in the past. But as they matured, they learned their ways to work around it. In this episode, they share their tips to stay energized when the going gets tough.

They also share how they spent their time off in December and what they like to do while vacationing. Brew something up, press play, and get to know the Brew Crew on a more personal level!

As they start wrapping up the year, the Brew Crew talks about the final quarter. It turns out that it's the most productive season for most of them! But while some reached peak productivity in October, others are putting lots of hours in in December.

In the final 2021 episode of the Event Brew podcast, Nick, Thuy, and Will talk about their workload in December and Q4 in general. They talk about the (not so good) old days when they were more prone to exhaustion and burnout. But as they got more familiar with the events industry, they started to get a hang of the work-life balance. Make sure to tune in and find out what their secrets are. Personal and genuine, this episode is an absolute classic!