You, as an IAVM member, are our most important asset. Without your commitment to the association and to the venue management industry, we wouldn’t be here. Because of your support, we are featuring member profiles in our I Am Venue Management series. If you are interested in participating in the I Am Venue Management series, please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story.

If I wasn’t doing this I’d be a: part of another sector of the hospitality or beverage industry.

Most impressive person I’ve ever met is: Ray Charles. He was genuinely warm and engaging with our crew, staff, and students. At the same time, he had a keen business sense. He demanded excellence and professionalism from everyone on his tour and always gave the audience his very best.

 I unwind by: spending time on the water with family and friends.

 On my desk right now is: a few industry publications, my MacBook Pro, and some photos of my wife and daughter.

 My favorite IAVM program I ever attended was: Venue Management School, class of 1999.

 If I were on the other side of the seats, I’d be: an artist manager or producer.

 One trait an up-and-coming venue manager should have is: the ability to maintain perspective in a chaotic situation.

 One up-and-coming venue star in the arena industry is: my friend, Al Karosas, at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State. He’s never afraid to try something new to make his venue better.

 One of my goals for this year is to: help foster more transparency between the work of the IAVM Board of Directors and our members.

 How do you plan to help elevate the profession? Work to provide meaningful experiences in venue management for young people interested in the industry.

 Where do you see new growth opportunities in the profession? Strategic use of social media, the next generation of guest experience initiatives, and more seamless collaboration with the artists and teams that play our venues are all areas where we can continue to innovate.

 How do you stay current with industry trends and developments? Visit other venues, read the various industry blogs and publications, and check in with friends and colleagues throughout the industry.

 Who are three people you’d invite to a dinner party and why? Peter Drucker, my favorite management guru; Walt Disney, one of the true architects of guest experience; and Dave Chappelle, because what dinner party wouldn’t be more interesting with Dave Chappelle?

Doug Booher, CFE, is the director of Indiana University Auditorium and the 2016-2017 first vice chair of the IAVM Board of Directors.

We wrapped up VenueConnect last week, and up next is the 2016 Arena Management Conference (AMC) in Tampa, Florida, September 18-20. The AMC programming committee has worked hard at creating a great educational schedule and they’ve secured a notable keynote speaker: Steve Griggs.

Griggs is the chief executive officer of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Storm, and Amalie Arena. He oversees all of the organization’s business operations at the arena. He was executive vice president of sales and marketing for the Orlando Magic for three years and vice president of sales and service for the Minnesota Wild for eight years prior to joining Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment.

We asked him a few questions about marketing, leadership, and guest experiences.

You have a strong marketing background. What are some of the new trends you’re noticing in marketing in arenas? How easily can these be scaled to venues of various sizes?

Steve Griggs: During my career in the sports industry, I’ve watched how marketing initiatives have evolved to better engage franchise’s fan bases. Recently, I’ve seen virtual reality activation be a new tool to bring sports teams and fans closer. Second-screen activation has helped sponsors bring their product closer to fans that attend games, enhancing sponsorship money for sports teams.

How has your leadership style changed over the course of your career?

SG: My leadership style has evolved over my career in the sports industry by understanding the importance of leading through example. I have found that throughout my career that it’s backing up my words with my actions. In order to drive the global vision of the company and get the best results, it’s very important to lead through action and words. I’ve found that being a leader is about motivating people by different means, but leading through my actions has the most positive results.

The Lightening continue to see increases in game attendance. What are you and the organization doing to help drive rising attendance?

SG: The Lightning use a variety of different tactics to help improve our growing attendance from year to year. Our on-ice success over the past few years has certainly helped with our attendance numbers but we have also used strategic planning, analytics, our fan experience, and our community engagement to grow awareness of our brand. When our fans attend a Lightning home game, they are treated to a world-class sporting event from the moment they park their car to when they leave the building.

Finally, what thoughts or ideas would you like attendees to take away from your keynote at AMC?

I would like the attendees to leave AMC thinking about how solid leadership can build a great vision and lead a brand and company transformation. The success of your company greatly depends on the culture you create among your employees. Building a world-class organization begins with developing and investing in your employees. It’s also important to remember that the transformation of a brand begins with a strong, strategic plan that focuses on improving the local community and delivering the consumer a great product.

AMC registration is open. See you in Tampa!

(Top image: Matthew Paulson/Creative Commons)

IAVM has announced a new strategic partnership with AVAI Mobile Solutions, LLC (www.avaimobile.com), one of the world’s foremost mobile technology platform providers dedicated to creating the next generation of onsite mobile experiences for venues.

AVAI Mobile will work with IAVM to produce native mobile apps for IAVM events, including VenueConnect and sector meetings. The app launch begins this month, with new updates and features releasing throughout the year.

IAVM will be leveraging the same mobile technology platform that many venues are already leveraging to create a compelling visitor experience for their patrons year-round.

“As we enter a new era of increasingly sophisticated mobile technologies, venues face tough challenges staying ahead of a shifting demographic landscape,” said Josh Meler, CMO of AVAI Mobile. “Our mobile platform is built to unite what are traditionally separate systems into one cohesive mobile ecosystem. This will give visitors unprecedented access to everything a venue has to offer, such as ticketing or POS, and give venue managers live insights and real-time access to tools that allow staff to shape the visitor experience anytime, anywhere. We believe this is a necessity of doing business in a modern world.”

“We are pleased to form a strategic partnership with AVAI Mobile,” said Christy Jacobs, director of marketplace sales for IAVM. “By joining AVAI Mobile’s expertise in mobile technology with our mission to educate and inspire venue professionals, we can lay a foundation for exciting new opportunities and digital transformations.”

About AVAI Mobile

AVAI Mobile’s mission is to provide venues with a better way to build and manage mobile apps.

At the core of IAVM’s mobile strategy is the AVAI Mobile Platform, AMP™. AMP is designed to deliver powerful out-of-the-box functionality, unprecedented access and configurability, world-class performance and scalability, and seamless third-party integrations. To date, the AVAI Mobile platforms have been used to create over 1,800 native mobile applications, for a variety of destinations, events, and experiences.

Keynote Speaker Daymond John entertained a packed room of attendees during Saturday’s Opening General Session at VenueConnect 2016, telling them the world needs venue managers now more than ever before.

“You’re way more important than you’ll ever understand,” John said, reminding them that in a troubled world it’s entertainment and communal gatherings that help raise people’s spirits.

Touching on his thought that “every aspect of business is selling experiences,” John offered his “Five Shark Points” to help attendees remember what they should do or how they got to the places they are in life.

1. Set a goal: “We become what we think about most of the time,” John said.
2. Homework: Study and know what has happened in the past and how it will affect you in the future. Know your industry inside out.
3. Amor: “Love what you do, but love your family more. Consider how you’re offering experiences at home,” John said.
4. Remember you are the brand: Be aware that everything you do is available to everyone else in this social media age.
5. Keep swimming: Never stop moving toward your goals.

John presented his points as he told attendees his life story accompanied by a DJ who played old-school hip-hop and rap songs. John’s showmanship was on full display, and the crowd loved it.

After his address, he walked the trade show floor and met with several exhibitors, illustrating once again he recognizes the importance venue managers have in delivering experiences to others.

(Image: Bruce Challgren)

More than 100 attendees participated in “The Impact of New Gun Laws on Public Venues” workshop at VenueConnect on Saturday, July 23. Andy Jabbour, founder and president of Gate 15, facilitated a panel featuring Russell Read, CFE, CMP, vice president of Operations at AT&T Performing Arts Center; Marcus Travis, guest and security services manager at the Minneapolis Convention Center; Frank Ingoglia, IAVM’s research manager, and Mark Herrera, IAVM’s director of education. The goal of the workshop was to educate attendees about recent gun laws and their impact on venue operations.

Ingoglia opened the workshop with select research findings from the “Firearms in the Venue Study” by VenueDataSource. For example, 66 percent of states have permissive open carry laws, 41 percent of venues that serve alcohol on premises in a state that prohibits open carry are still compelled to allow open carry, and 33 percent of venues have had to increase security due to open carry. The full presentation will be shared on Sunday, July 24, during a Fireside Chat in booth #1347 from 1:10-1:30 p.m.

Following the study presentation, panelists shared their experiences dealing with gun laws.

“Depending on where in Texas, for example, the law is interpreted differently,” Read said. “And it will take a long time and legislation to fix the law.”

Many workshop attendees also shared their thoughts and experiences about the gun laws.

Sherman Bass, CFE

“If it’s important enough for NFL fans, it should be important for fans of Disney on Ice,” said Sherman Bass, CFE, general manager of the Amarillo Civic Center Complex in Texas, comparing how sporting events are excluded from open carry laws compared to other events.

David Causton, regional vice president of the SMG Convention Center Division and general manager of McCormick Place in Chicago, suggested that IAVM help define what a venue is.

“We should work with other coalitions to help the venues be excluded,” Causton said. “We should advocate for a certain security designation.”

IAVM’s Industry Affairs Council is currently working on a position statement regarding the new laws and public venues, and it welcomes member input.

Herrera closed out the workshop by reminding attendees to be very strategic on how they manage their events.

“You need to profile,” Herrera said. “Not people, but behavior. Encourage frontline staff to be aware of unusual behavior.”

(Images: Bruce Challgren)