Purchasing Entertainment | Event Entertainment Buying Picks Up

The economy is on the rebound-and so coincidentally is entertainment buying.

Whereas in the past few years the economic downturn prohibited companies from buying entertainment for corporate events, the trend now is an upturn in the number of companies providing their clients with concerts, celebrities and comedians at special events. "We are seeing a noticeable groundswell in requests for concerts, comedians and speakers recently, not only for corporate events and conferences, but for society events and private individuals, such as for a milestone birthday," said Ed Bazel, Chief Entertainment Organizer of The Bazel Group in Nashville. "Our products are often considered discretionary income items; thus, in the past few years they have been drastically cut from the budget. We are happy to report that is now changing. The performing arts industry has been called the ultimate barometer of the economy."

According to Bazel, entertainment for private functions has become serious business.

Tim Shelton, executive vice president and chief financial officer for ISCS, an insurance industry software provider, is one of the many companies that is booking entertainment for their meetings. "We utilize celebrity concerts as a way to increase our brand awareness and to say a special thank you to our clients. Our events range from The Pointer Sisters to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to LeAnn Rimes. We understand very clearly the return on investment when it comes to thanking our clients."

Entertainment is positioned in the corporate world for a variety of strategic reasons, including:

• customer appreciation events,
• kick-off promotions,
• enhancing competitive advantage in the market place,
• improve employee morale, and
• reducing customer defects and simply making a statement.
  

According to Bazel, adding a celebrity concert to an event can make the difference "between a 'black and white' TV and a high-def big-screen experience." "I see this trend absolutely continuing," Bazel added. "We've turned a corner and decision makers are once again recognizing the value of providing their clients with memory-making concert experiences."