Podcast: Aaron Kaufman, president, Fifth Element Group on business in events

12/12/19 • 44 min

Fifth Element Group is an award-winning live experience company that is recognised throughout the world for creating large-scale galas, events, fundraisers, conferences and activations. On today’s podcast, president, Aaron Kaufman, spoke to our host, James Dickson, on how to keep events “real”.

Speaking from the head offices in Canada, Aaron stated that Fifth Element Group was born from him discovering a “gap in the industry” 16 years ago when clients’ expectations were not being met properly. Aaron wanted to merge the management and design of an event into one firm.

Transparency between event planners and clients regarding fees is critical for a successful relationship. Aaron explained the planner should break down each rental/purchase to the client who then, in turn, appreciates where their money is going. Hiding costs suggests the planner is not confident they are providing good value for money.

Aaron also claimed that healthy competition is ideal within the industry. “Going after” your competitors and their clients is something that should be practised to stir up business for companies. However, he stressed that this needn’t result in bitterness between event professionals.

“We’re in business to do business.”

He also stated that he uses business practices to obtain his objectives. As an event organiser, he needs to create memorable experiences for his clients, therefore, if “any solution” gives him the opportunity to do that, he will absolutely do it: “That’s business ownership.”

Overall, Aaron believes that organisers should follow solutions that will help them continue to conduct business. Though the event industry is fuelled by creativity, it is fundamentally a business.

If you would like to feature on an episode of the Event Industry News podcast, please email [email protected].

“We’re in business to do business.”

Overall, Aaron believes that organisers should follow solutions that will help them continue to conduct business. Though the event industry is fuelled by creativity, it is fundamentally a business.

If you would like to feature on an episode of the Event Industry News podcast, please email [email protected].

Previous Episode

Podcast: Vivacity Consulting founder on getting the most from your speakers

Joining the Event Industry News podcast this week was Deborah Henley, the founder of Vivacity Consulting. Deborah is a professional speaker and former event booker with training in psychology. Though her education in psychology may not be event-related, she stated that it has given her a deeper understanding of audiences, languages and how to engage people.

Deborah used her time on the podcast to discuss how best to choose a speaker for your event and describe her top practices to get the best out of them.

Deborah lives by what she calls the ‘KFDs’. Before speaking, she asks herself, what does she want her audience to know by the end of her presentation; what does she want them to feel and what does she want them to do.

Additionally, she claimed that if your speaker can describe in simple, concise terms what their subject is about and the key points they wish the audience will take away, you, as an organiser, can feel reassured that they will transfer this concise description to their presentation.

“If [your speaker] can’t tell you in one paragraph what their talk is about, then they might ramble in the actual talk itself,” Deborah said.

She also suggested that allowing speakers access to the area in which they will be presenting prior to their session is beneficial. It allows them to “own the stage” and do their own “mental rehearsal” to better prepare themselves.

Lastly, Deborah explained her “seven Cs” to which she refers when choosing a speaker where she questions their:

Ability to connect
Credibility
Ability to put their thoughts into context
Conviction
Ability to collaborate or build a sense of collaboration in the room
Ability to cause action and inspire people
Ability to create a community

If you would like to feature on an upcoming podcast, email [email protected].

Next Episode

Podcast: Universal Live offers insight into its creative design process

Speaking from Universal Live’s Bradford base, our podcast host, James Dickson was welcomed by its commercial manager, Neil Clappison, and creative graphic designer, Gaby Watson.

On this episode, Neil and Gaby explained the creative design process the team at Universal Live undertakes with each project and how it may differ from client to client. They delved into the various tools, hardware and programmes they use as well as discussed how they generate ideas from brief to brief.

The Universal Live duo discussed the tools and programmes they use in the design process, stating that drawing their ideas is much more beneficial than trying to describe them over email or on paper. Having a visual representation of their ideas immediately allows clients to understand exactly what they are thinking, and discussions become a lot more fluid.

Additionally, Gaby explained that if her creative process was dependent on the tools she already had at her disposal, she would already be starting off on “the back foot”. Neil added: “You’re hindering yourself if you have to use just what’s in the warehouse. You’ve put walls up on your design.”

The team at Universal Live utilises virtual reality to help them demonstrate their designs to clients. “We can take the client to the venue, put the VR goggles on and our design is there, almost in the flesh,” Gaby explained, stating that using VR technology in this way allows them to walk their clients through the event design.

“They can experience it from different angles, have the content playing on the screens.”

Neil and Gaby also described the hurdles that are often thrown their way during the design process – whether it be client expectations, the venue space or brief deadlines – and how they overcome them.

If you would like to feature on the Event Industry News podcast, please email [email protected].