Bringing in performers is one way to keep attendees coming back for more year after year. At the Atomic Saloon Show in The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, Spiegelworld includes performers like jugglers. Courtesy of Lindsay Sanna / Spielgelworld

A captive audience is a valuable opportunity. And how you maximize that opportunity can impact your next event. Keeping that in mind, professional planners book quality entertainment for events not only to draw attendees and stakeholders, but to maximize interaction and value to the overall event experience, while increasing their brand storytelling.

Whether it’s top-tier talent or a local interactive artist engaging attendees, the entertainment portion of a meeting or event helps create a positive atmosphere and can even reflect on the company itself, proving its commitment to fostering an enjoyable work environment. It is also one of the most likely aspects of the meeting to be shared on social media and talked about long after the meeting is over.

“Entertainment is the highlight of a meeting. It brings joy and a memorable experience,” says Jaki Baskow, owner and founder of Baskow Talent and a preferred vendor for Caesars Entertainment for more than 40 years. “Everyone loves to take away memories from a meeting and we try to provide things that are different.”

Baskow cites the example of booking light artist Alex Dowis, who was featured on America’s Got Talent, to customize a show recently for a client with a message through painting with light rays. “Our clients are still talking about it,” she says.

Don Ross, Vice President of Meeting Operations for Caesars Entertainment, concurs that planners can elevate a corporate event by bringing a touch of sophistication and excitement. “Entertainment elevates a conference by injecting vitality and fostering a more engaging atmosphere. It serves as a powerful tool to break the monotony of presentations and discussions, revitalizing participants’ energy, and focus,” Ross says.

Engaging entertainment also boosts networking and relationship-building among attendees, breaking down barriers and facilitating communication. “Additionally, entertainment adds a dynamic dimension to the event, leaving a lasting impression on participants and creating a buzz that extends beyond the conference,” he says. “Overall, it transforms a conference from a routine gathering into a vibrant and impactful experience.”

Caesars Entertainment utilizes its talent from the myriad shows and headliners who perform at its properties for conferences and events. “With access to a diverse range of entertainment options, Caesars Entertainment tailors its offerings, ensuring a unique experience,” Ross says.

Spiegelworld, one of the entertainment companies that produces shows at a variety of Caesars properties, including adult circus comedies “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and “The Hook” at Caesars Atlantic City, works with corporate groups in a variety of ways.

“Attendees want to experience the destination. They want a flavor for what you would get if you were coming into that market as a tourist,” says Lindsay Sanna, vice president, marketing and sales for Spiegelworld. “When we started focusing on groups and corporate events, it was important to make sure we were elevating and giving something really memorable throughout the conference, so you’re not leaving town feeling like you’ve missed the chance to experience Las Vegas or Atlantic City.”

Options run from groups using one of the performance spaces for a morning networking session to incorporating some of the acts while they are at those spaces for an opening night event.

“In that scenario, we work with the group on themes and how we can bring in food and beverage options for them and then highlight it with our performers,” Sanna says. “They might rent two or three acts that perform, and everybody gathers around to watch it. It might be atmospheric entertainment. Depending on the level of audaciousness the company is willing to go to, it could be a burlesque performer. But if they need to keep it PG, it might be a juggler that works the room and comes around and interacts with you and your business partners to provide that moment of wow. We really have a lot of scalability.”

One planner who works with Spiegelworld, Gabrielle Mourino, director of national accounts for the Imprint Events Group, utilized “Absinthe’s” entertainers and the show’s tent and courtyard as a space to integrate performances and a culinary interactive element into a recent event for 140 entrepreneurs and executives. Prior to the event, Chef Cory Harwell of Carson Kitchen came to the hotel for a discussion with the group and gave them some history on the culinary scene in Las Vegas and also highlighted the chefs that they would be meeting at this event.

“Guests got really excited before they even got on the bus to get to this event,” Mourino says. “The event began in the courtyard area, and we had each chef with a station so it was an experience where guests could go up and interact. The chefs were each serving an hors d’oeuvres and they could tell the story of it with the guests and talk to them.”

Harwell also acted as a second emcee of the night and during the event introduced each chef. With each course, Harwell posed a question that tied back to the chef’s story. “We were helping attendees create dinner conversation,” Mourino says. “I think it gave them a way to easily connect with each other. They assigned tables so attendees would sit with some new people and learn from each other. We also put a box on each table and encouraged people to put their phones into the box so that they could be in the moment.”

Several performances by the Absinthe entertainers were interspersed throughout the event — a contortionist, an arial act and tap dancers. “They loved all the entertainment. It wasn’t intrusive, and I think that was also a big hot button for the client and the attendees. They wanted to connect with each other. They wanted to talk. It was really important that we selected entertainment that wouldn’t encroach on that too much. The way we spaced it out in between the courses still allowed them to sit and watch and be wowed but still have enough time to interact and converse.”

Events can be interactive, like bringing in a celebrity chef and having groups compete for the best decorated cake, like at this Exchange event for which Imprint Events Group produced the team building. Photo by Garrett Lobaugh

Using entertainment that provides a common ground for attendees to connect and interact with each other is great, but it can also serve as an icebreaker and facilitate networking at corporate events.

“Now more than ever, people want to network; people want to interact with each other. It’s important to not have a stop, listen and watch type of performance,” says Lauren Rios, vice president of sales and marketing for event production company Platinum XP. The company partners with a group called Quixotic, which has become a popular option for corporate groups. “It’s that Cirque du Soleil style,” she says. “A really cool, kind of niche type of performance where people can enjoy it while also enjoying each other.”

She also sees interactive entertainment as a key to a successful meeting. “Activations are such a huge part of our industry now and people want something that not only they can take away but something that they can say they participated in. While that’s not like splashy entertainment, it’s something unique to them and something that they can take with them to remember the experience.”

Whitney Butler, vice president of planning and business development for Platinum XP, says that attendees are expecting experiential moments to be immersed into the programming. “It’s not even a second option anymore. It’s just something they’re expecting when they arrive, to have this incredible experience. People connecting is more important than it ever has been in the past. So, having those moments of entertainment, whether it’s the first-night opening reception, throughout the awards banquet, or immersed throughout their experience,” Butler says. “Roaming performances are popular, as are entertainment options with photo ops. Different hands-on experiences and on-site gift takeaways such as custom engraving are also trending. Giving people more of those personal touches that make the event feel more personalized to them.”

There is still room for booking larger name acts for concerts and other entertainment. Steve Einzig, owner and president of BookingEntertainment.com, which has been in the online business of booking entertainment for more than 28 years, specializes in concert bookings.

“If you’re going to have Maroon Five at your party, Maroon Five is obviously a big band and there’s a lot of added value that comes with booking a band like that. It’s the prestige of having a band like that at your event. It’s also the experience of being able to see a band like Maroon Five in an intimate setting versus an arena.”

The band will do meet and greet many times, either before or after the show. “It’s a good way to get 20 or 25 of your key VIPs to have an experience of meeting the band and take pictures with the artists. A lot of people will post pictures on social media. It’s a way of saying ‘Hey, look, we can afford to do this,’ which in a lot of ways is a good thing. It’s saying this is what happens if you’re associated with our company, you get to have an experience like this that other people can’t have.”

Entertainment during incentive trips is important to inspire attendees. The entertainment really does play a big part in why people are incentivized to want to work hard and be a part of that event. It’s not just a procedure of going to the trip because you did such a great job. But, if it’s really fun, it’s great for the morale of the company. The musical entertainment can add a real wow factor.

“I’ d say that 70% of our shows are surprises,” says Einzig, who sees a benefit in announcing a major act before the event. “If it’s announced six months before or nine months before, that gives the people even more incentive to want to work hard to qualify, so that’s another added value, to incentivize the team to want to work hard.”

According to Einzig, production is important. “We’ll spend a lot of money on LED walls or lasers or confetti cannons just to give it that added production. You want to give them a wow factor not just in who the act is but in the production itself.”

The choice of entertainment can reflect the brand image and values of the company hosting the event, which planners consider before booking entertainment and speakers.

Einzig also works to find speakers for corporate groups, and notes, that can become more involved in who the company is and the reputation of the company.

“You have to be careful when you have a speaker,” he says. “You want to make sure that the messaging is right for the people there. That is tricky if there is a comedian who can go off the rails really quick. When it comes to speakers, you want to make sure it’s a good fit for the demographic. You want people to be engaged the entire time and you want the client to get real value out of it. You want people to walk away and say, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ It’s an art form to finding the right fit.”

The key to working with planners, according to Baskow, is to first find out information about the theme of their meeting or product they are pitching. “We work with their budget,” she says. “We ask questions: What did you do the last two years? What seemed successful?”

When booking entertainment and speakers, consider where the audience is from and the age range. “Do we want audience participation like handing out custom drumsticks and having the Golden Knights drummers or the Las Vegas Raiders house band open their meeting?”

As in any part of the event’s process, budget can be a challenge. According to Rios, when Platinum XP works with smaller groups, it becomes a bit trickier and harder to work within budget constraints. “I do think that we always try to incorporate some sort of live entertainment, whether that’s a background soloist that’s playing something fun, or activations like an engraver — somebody who can custom engrave gifts for the attendees is always a big hit.”

Whatever the art form, quality entertainment is key to deepening attendees’ connection to a brand. The more reason to add them as an interactive and engaging component to the event experience. C&IT