You’ve Got Talent!

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iStock_000017088878MediumClients often come to us to find specialists in disciplines that aren’t a “core competence” under the corporate roof. It takes visual designers, audio technicians, digital editors, and more to put together a great event. But within our client base, we often uncover hidden talents that add just the right touch and sensibility to resonate with the audience, and help take the show from good-to-great.

Here are some recent examples of clients who had hidden talent employees;

  • Rock my conference world: Every show we create needs its music interludes, the walk-in, transitions and stings that set the tone. This year, we were able to draw on the formidable musical knowledge of Doug Mow, Courion Corporation Chief Marketing Officer, who crafted a playlist that lifted the spirits of all who attended the annual Converge customer software conference, in New Orleans, LA.  In addition to classics from groups like Cream, Dire Straits and the Allman Brothers, Doug’s playlist introduced us to great music from Galactic, Four80East, Down to the Bone and others. The combined conference soundtrack reflected Courion’s message and mindset, helping to deliver a memorable customer experience.
  • Bring the heritage to life: Any long-lived industrial firm has gone through a lot of change, and has stories that a current generation of leaders can learn from. To bring those stories across, it really helps to have a champion of history like Ken Julian. Ken is Director of Corporate Communications at Harsco – a multinational firm whose roots go back to 1853 – and a railroad buff. At the recent Harsco Leadership Forum, we built four multimedia segments to build awareness of the extraordinary company legacy and evolution of its businesses. Ken not only guided our scripting and editing: when last-minute agenda updates forced a change of direction, he became the face and voice of history, providing live narration of each segment on stage.
  • Customers take the prize: Tradeshow raffles are a marketing staple, but Rocket Software raised the bar by several notches when they began giving away custom electric guitars (created by employee Steve Bice) at the annual IBM Information On Demand conference. Rocket sponsored a live concert by Fun this year, but what attendees didn’t know is that Rocket CEO Andy Youniss is an accomplished guitarist himself. So with a bit of urging by friends and fans (Preston included) he was persuaded to play on stage before doing the guitar giveaway and introducing the band. Even someone with Andy’s playing skills doesn’t find it easy to face an audience of thousands in a packed arena. So we helped him prepare with advice on timing, sound check and crew communication. The result? “People came up to me afterwards,” he said, “and told me, ‘I thought you were with the band!’” That, along with a very cool video clip for the next Rocket promotion, took the prize.

Every company is made up of individuals, each with a hidden talent waiting to be shared with the entire world.