Impact of Special Event Businesses on Election 2004

By Ashleigh Dorfman, CSEP
ISES DC VP Marketing Communications

It is well known that campaign staffers and the media impact elections. The staffers go door-to-door and make numerous phone calls to win votes and the media reports the daily poll results, broadcasts campaign debates, and talks endlessly about public opinion. But did you know that special event professionals impact the election too? Local event planners and suppliers produce the national party conventions, election night victory parties, and inaugural festivities that have become celebrated traditions every four years.

Day to day, many local event professionals are called upon to produce weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, corporate parties, conferences, tradeshows and non-profit fundraising galas ... and given the close proximity to the Nation's Capitol, they also produce political events. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by ISES DC, 33.3% of the respondents played a role in producing election night victory parties. For example, one ISES member served as the President's campaign photographer while another provided decadent chocolate fountains for guests to savor the sweetness of winning. Sixty-six percent of the respondents have worked on previous Inaugural events, from providing plant décor for the reviewing stands and big galas to coordinating VIP ground transportation from airports, hotels and various government buildings to multiple destinations around town. And a whopping 83.3% have already secured or are optimistic to secure Inaugural business this January.

To illustrate the huge impact of special events business on elections, I offer three scenarios: entertainment for a Democratic National Convention party, an election night victory party, and student tours planned in conjunction with Inaugural festivities.

This summer, Cast of Thousands Entertainment Company was approached to provide creative and artistic entertainment for a ‘Caribbean Beach Blast’ party at the Boston Aquarium to honor retiring Senator John Breaux (D-LA). In typical ‘Cast’ fashion, they provided beguiling mermaids, an imposing King Neptune, a Johnny Deppish pirate, a Trader Joe, dancing school of fish and sinuous seaweed maidens who grooved to the reggae sounds of the Ziggy Marley band. According to Jan Kearney, principal, ‘the buzz on the street was that the event was the hottest party going during the convention, and was included on several "top ten party" lists in a number of publications.’

On election night, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center hosted 'Victory 2004' on behalf of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the Republican National Committee. According to Julia Rapley, VP of Sales, 'this was an unusual event and an enormous undertaking.' In addition to the normal event elements - catering, staging, décor, and lighting, this event required a five-tier platform with electronic print, phone and radio systems for approximately 400 credentialed press professionals and a separate press registration tent on the Woodrow Wilson Plaza for the more than 1000 press involved. Furthermore, the event started as a one-day event, and due to the delay in reporting election results, grew into a two-day event. Without advance notice, the many entities involved had to respond with creativity and enormous flexibility until President Bush made his acceptance speech at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 3.

Lastly, one ISES DC member has long secured Inaugural business. In January, Maricar Donato of WashingTours & Events will provide 55 middle school students from across the US with tours of our great city and ground transportation to the Capitol to visit their congressmen, as well as to the Inauguration ceremony, parade and finally, their own inaugural ball. According to Ms. Donato, 'we are ambassadors for the city and my tours are meant to be educational while inspiring this new generation of leaders'. Ms. Donato also makes the tours fun by sharing presidential trivia, including anecdotes on the presidents' children and stories about growing up with a Presidential father.

One final thought on the impact of special event businesses on election and or political events. The examples in this short article are few but the opportunity for ISES DC members to secure Inaugural business is huge. Whereas select companies traditionally garnered all the election and Inaugural business, there are now numerous events and a significantly greater number of talented and professional special event companies. The most frequent comment made was the short lead-time in producing these events, which on the flip side means that you still have time to win your piece of the pie!

by Pamela J. Fromhertz, Continuity of Operations Planning Experts

Ever wonder what if something disastrous happened at your event? What if the Homeland Security Advisory System was elevated to red? What if a snowstorm cancelled the event? What if there was a power outage in the middle of your event? What if your main vendor had a major injury and was unable to deliver his/her service? Actually, some of you may have already encountered such situations.

As event planners we put the majority of our efforts into 'wowing' the clients and their guests, but what if something happened? This article demonstrates how things changing inside the beltway are affecting events and what we can do about it.

How things Have Changed
On October 19th, at the Willard Hotel, ISES DC held its first educational toolbox - "Preparing for the Unexpected". I moderated and presented, and Major Sal Lauro, Commander with the Special Forces Branch with the U.S. Park Police, presented and answered many questions.

Major Lauro brought to the audience's attention how the current environment has brought about many changes in the way they conduct business. For example, over the years fences were added to enable checking attendees for alcohol, but were broken down before the fireworks were over to allow for easy exiting. As security concerns rose, fences were used to check every attendee to protect the event. However, pulling down the fences early became a new security concern, so fences were left while finding other means to provide safe exiting. Communication and proper training was essential to meet the security and safety needs as the environment changed.

Additionally, event planners holding events in government buildings are affected by roadblocks and security check points. These new security measures add time and costs not previously considered when organizing timelines and budgets.

When most event planner hears the word "security" they think about the folks you hire. Well, there is much more to security than that. There are many professional in the area that can assist with providing additional uniform security. But as event planners, we can do so much more when planning our events.

How Can We Prepare?
At the ISES toolbox, I spoke about the need for contingency planning - preparing for an emergency and the what if's? There are several key parts, similar to planning for any event - conduct your research, analyze the information, coordinate with all key players, and evaluate the outcome. In preparing our events we are essentially deriving the solution that will work. In this case, it is a safety and security plan. Such a plan addresses many components -

These components should be addressed in planning for your event. Start making a difference. By planning for the unexpected, you will keep your clients, guests, and your business safe.