As we honor the 2015 Women of Influence in print here and in person in Baltimore Aug. 2, we’re also getting more excited about the second annual gathering of RISE, Raising the Industry in Sports & Entertainment, set for Aug. 28 in Long Beach, Calif.
If “event planning” is in your Twitter profile, you know what we’re going through. Planning the event is exciting and challenging. We are fortunate we have so many friends in this industry and the resources to back up our premise.
Our Women of Influence are extraordinary women, all 34 of them since we began giving this award in 2007, and we anticipate this year’s reunion will be as inspiring and uplifting as our first last year in Long Beach.
As Ticketmaster’s Nicole Hobby put it when we were discussing that firm’s sponsorship of RISE, “You’re a mission-based conference.”
We are, and we’re proud of it. It’s not an easy concept to sell, admittedly. Who are we to improve the industry? Well, we couldn’t if it weren’t for our award winners, both Women of Influence and Generation Nexters.
Their enthusiasm for sharing, mentoring and continually learning is off the charts. Robyn Williams, Portland’5 Centers for the Arts, has taken on the task of developing three true-to-venue-life ethics case studies we will discuss, dissect and solve. We’re about doing what’s right.
Reverse mentoring is another topic this year. What does that look like? Our WOIs and GNs know exactly what it looks like. They learn from experienced leaders and those new to the industry. To grow you must be open to all avenues of input and realize the value.
And Adina Erwin, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, will lead a discussion on the layered fan. I first heard her discuss this at PacNet 2014. She talked about teaching her staff to look at the fan as a whole person. That isn’t just a person with a ticket to a seat. That fan has human rights, guest rights and fan expectations, along with lifecycle experiences like anticipation, purchasing a ticket, planning for a babysitter, dinner before the show, parking challenges and so much more.
That is a person, a layered individual, with lots of hopes and fears and we’re there to make this evening magical and memorable for each and every individual in the house. If you look at that person as someone from whom to take a ticket and usher to a seat and that’s all you see, the chance to impact that life and experience vanishes.
It’s much more gratifying to interact with a real person. To recognize them for the multifaceted individuals they are. It’s about personalizing the experience, as we’ve all been telling each other for a couple years now.
We are going to Raise the Industry in Sports & Entertainment in Long Beach Aug. 28 and you, a shining star, and your best employees, the rising stars, need to be there. It’s open to all venue types and all types of professionals. Combined, we will rise up.
God grant you many years to peel back the layers.