When is the last time you experienced a “mountaintop experience” in your professional career? You hear people describe these experiences in their personal lives after they come back from a thrilling adventure or exotic vacation. Something happens that is uplifting and inspiring, maybe even life-changing. I would guess that most of us have experienced something similar in our personal lives. But have you had that mountaintop experience in your career?

Attending Venue Management School (VMS) earlier this summer was exactly that for me. I mean literally, Oglebay Resort and Conference Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, the permanent home of VMS, is on the top of a mountain. The views are incredible, especially compared to the rolling hills of farmland that I am used to in Southern Indiana. But beyond that, VMS is a powerful tool in the development of a young professional’s career. VMS effectively teaches the venue management industry, positions attendees to effortlessly network with other industry colleagues, and inspires you no matter what stage of career you are in. If you are a young professional in the venue management industry, you need to find a way to get to VMS.

Teaching the Venue Management Industry

At its core mission, VMS successfully teaches the venue management industry. The amount of information I was able to absorb in this week-long course (taken in two consecutive years) about the industry was incredible. I’m sure many young professionals out there are similar to me, in that you sort of fell into this career. For me, I was a basketball junkie. I grew up as an athletic director’s son, played sports throughout my entire life, and was a staff member for the IU Basketball team during college. Sports were (are) my passion. So when I saw an opportunity to gain valuable experience managing people and a budget but also to be involved with athletic events, I jumped at the opportunity. What could be a better job just out of college? But my lack of industry knowledge was very evident, and I was not as effective in my role as I could have been. Fortunately, my boss is a true believer in professional development and an even bigger believer in IAVM. VMS has helped fill this void of venue management knowledge over the past two years. Topics like booking and scheduling, tenant/management relations, venue law, crowd management, and dozens of others that directly target issues we all deal with are taught by instructors who are industry veterans.

Even for those young professionals who have always wanted a career in the venue industry and already know the ins and outs of venue management, VMS will further your education. Other classes, such as controlling costs, creativity, and strategic business planning challenge your thinking and look to enhance your career development. VMS truly is for everyone, but especially for all the young professionals in the industry.

Networking

I know, I know, the term networking is used far too often these days. Articles, book, research studies, and TV segments are specifically devoted to the importance of networking. We all understand how value it can be. We have grown up with our parents, teachers, and the media shoving it down our throats. We get it: networking is important. But truth be told, networking can still be awkward for all of us from time to time. I remember thinking going into Year 1 of VMS last summer, “I don’t know if I will be able to handle six straight days of networking.” I felt like a kid whose parents were shipping him off to summer camp where I knew no one. I was more than a little bit nervous. But by the end of day one, all of my fears and reservations were gone.

VMS finds a way to put all of its attendees in easy, convenient situations for networking. Peer mentor groups (led by Year 2 students), ideal class sizes, group events in the evening, and late night “study groups” in the library (also known as GlassWorks Bar) make networking easy and simple. And because all other VMS attendees are looking to network as well, it takes the pressure off meeting people. In my two years at VMS, I am confident that I have made friends for life. These are other young professionals that I will be able to go to for advice or questions as things come up, but they are also the people that I will look forward to spending time with at future IAVM conferences or the next time I visit their city. And as a bonus, at VMS you are not only networking with other young professionals but seasoned veterans of the venue industry as well. Attendees range in all ages and stages of careers—I had classmates who were directors and vice presidents of their venues. Additionally, the professors (who are all big wigs in the industry) make themselves available daily to network, interact with, and ask advice. Networking at VMS goes far beyond business card-sharing; it creates meaningful, long term relationships with other industry professionals.

Career-inspiring

While learning about the venue industry and being able to network were great aspects of VMS, the best part of the experience for anyone, but especially Young Professionals, is how VMS inspires you in your career. Remember that mountaintop experience I was referring to earlier? I have come back from VMS with countless ideas on components to implement into our organization, ways to streamline our processes, and approaches to inspire our employees.

Some of these are very specific things we have already begun to implement. Paul Turner, director of event operations and security at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, taught the “Planning Life Safety” course. At IU, we have already adapted a version of his “Life Safety Briefing” to use for all of our supervisors on game days to more effectively communicate to our staff about emergency preparedness. The “Employee Training Programs” class taught by Kerry Painter, assistant general manager at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, inspired me to revamp our employee training programs to include elements that directly engage multiple generations of staff. IRG Sports + Entertainment’s President/CEO Jason Rittenbery taught “Enhancing the Experience,” making me appreciate that we can always be doing something more to improve our guest’s experience at our events. I will be issuing a challenge to all of my managers of events to continually find ways to enhance the experience. And the list of practical ideas and tools that I came away with from the classes at VMS goes on and on.

But it’s not just the classes that inspire and teach. Between round-table discussions, dinner conversations, and networking opportunities, you constantly find yourself surrounded by other young professionals that have gone through similar difficulties in their career or workplace. VMS cultivates an atmosphere of question-asking and idea-sharing. And I know this atmosphere will continue far beyond the week at VMS.

So…Attend VMS!

If you are a young professional and have not attended Venue Management School, start the conversation with your superiors. The investment will not only help you in your professional career, but it will also benefit your organization. I have been privileged to experience something as powerful as VMS early in my professional career. The tools and skills that I have learned through the program have already proved useful, and I know that I will rely on this education for years to come. If you have any questions, reservations, or concerns about VMS, I would love to chat with you. Feel free to contact me at mwsanta@indiana.edu. I will also be in Baltimore at VenueConnect, so feel free to look me up!

Ads are not evaluated in isolation, and emotions invoked by them can affect adjacent products, according to a recent marketing study.

“Marketers typically don’t consider that the emotions produced in one marketing message may be influencing more than just our feelings toward the targeted product,” wrote Jonathan Hasford (Florida International University), David M. Hardesty (University of Kentucky), and Blair Kidwell (The Ohio State University). “Our study should encourage marketers to think about how the emotions we associate with one product may affect how we view the next product we encounter.”

The researchers conducted a series of studies to find out how emotions awakened by one marketing effort affected a consumer’s feelings toward another marketing effort. The first study, using posters of Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, examined how a positive image (Swift) affected school supplies shopping after seeing a unfavorable image (Cyrus). Participants in a second study watched ads for a movie with a favorable celebrity (Will Smith) and an unfavorable one (Justin Bieber) and then viewed an ad for a shoe company and evaluated the shoe brand.

It was found that viewing the positive image increased consumer spending—viewing the negative image decreased spending. The same results held for the shoe study. A favorable image let participants to be more positive in their evaluations of the shoe brand.

“Whereas marketers often focus on price and prominence when purchasing ad space, this study stresses the importance of nearby ads and how they affect the primary message,” the authors wrote. “In television, this would mean considering ads airing directly before the target ad. In magazine advertising, marketers should consider ads on nearby pages. No matter how carefully designed, advertisements are not evaluated in isolation, and the emotions in one message can absolutely affect a neighboring product.”

So, once again, Taylor Swift wins.

(Image: Dean Hochman/Creative Commons)

Dodger Stadium held it’s annual Pups at the Park on Saturday, June 20. This is Gizmo T. Pug’s report of the day.

Wimbledon has begun and with it some biometric measurements from fans.

Luxury car maker Jaguar is the official car sponsor of the tournament and it gave fans wearables and installed court sensors to measure moods, emotions, heart rates, and movements. The company is sending out the results via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #FeelWimbledon. You can also view the results online.

“There’s no other tournament like Wimbledon and the experience gets better each year,” pro tennis player Tim Henman said in a statement. “The drama, passion and excitement, shared by both players and fans alike, is what makes Wimbledon the No. 1 tennis tournament in the world, and it’s great to see Jaguar celebrating these unique qualities as part of their #FeelWimbledon campaign.”

The effort is also a way to celebrate products.

“With 500,000 people attending Wimbledon this year, it provides Jaguar with incredible exposure in London, and a fantastic platform to showcase our products, especially the Jaguar XE,” said Laura Schwab, UK marketing director at Jaguar Land Rover, in a statement.

We continue with spotlighting recipients in the IAVM Foundation’s inaugural class of 30|UNDER|30. This time, we feature four from the class and ask them, “What influenced you to get involved in the venue industry?”

Laura Doyle
Guest Relations and Event Security Manager
SMG – Chesapeake Energy Arena & Cox Convention Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

“When I was growing up, I wanted to be the quarterback for the Washington Redskins. When I was a little older, I realized that probably wasn’t going to happen, so I set out to find another way to get involved in sports. I decided to go to the University of South Carolina, where I studied sport and entertainment management. I had the opportunity to really get into the venue focused side of it. I learned from some really great professors, had mentors there, and I got to see more about how events are run and how buildings are run.”

Joe Giordano, Jr.
Booking and Marketing Manager
SMG – Santander Arena and Santander Performing Arts Center
Reading, Pennsylvania

“From the time I was very little, I remember my mom was the kind who always wanted to be involved in every event or fundraiser that happened in my town. She always took each event to the next level with her creativity to ensure everybody was happy. No matter how much time it took her—or how much floor space it took in my house—she always made sure every detail was wrapped up. I loved seeing the hard work translate to what it did for the patrons who attended those events. I always wanted to work in an event-driven industry where the ultimate goal is to make people happy and create lifelong memories. For that, I can thank my mom.”

Sean Loyst
Assistant Supervisor, Events and Guest Services
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
Kitchener, Ontario

“The reason I got involved with the venue industry is because I studied sports and entertainment, majoring in sport management. I also volunteer my time quite a bit with minor pro hockey, as well as coaching minor league hockey. Just being around an arena a lot of the time really helped me focus my intentions on getting into the venue industry.”

Alicia Ruach
Event Operations Coordinator
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
Toronto, Ontario

“As a lifelong sports fan and competitive athlete, I was naturally drawn to an industry that would keep me in the game. What I have discovered, much to my delight, is that my passions, skills, and success on the soccer pitch could translate to producing winning events. My first big test came two years ago as the game operations and events coordinator at BMO Field for Toronto FC, our city’s Major League Soccer team. Right out of the gate, I was on the field directing the ceremonial pre-game march onto the pitch, which included not only players and officials but more than 100 kids, some as young as five-years-old. It was a blast, punctuated by an explosion of fireworks.”