The team behind the production of Big Omaha, Silicon Prairie News, set out dishes of candy for attendees. Photo by Malone & Company.
Today, I continue going through the presentation that Danny and I gave to a group of Startup Weekend organizers in Kansas City earlier this month. The presentation centered around the details of Big Omaha, and how they’re such a vital part of what makes the event special. In part one of this post, I covered five things…
- Identity
- Badges
- Timing and Food/Beverage
- Photos and Video
- Chairs
The list continues, starting with something that is hard to accomplish, but makes all the difference in the world with regards to the experience of the attendees…
Thanks to our sponsor
Presentation Setup
Micah Laaker presents at Big Omaha 2009. Photo by Malone & Company.
At Big Omaha, we mandate that we get all of the Powerpoint presentations ahead of time, and that no presenter can use their own computer to give their presentation. We load all the Powerpoints into one large file, and run the presentations straight through. The net effect is that there are no equipment changes, no technical difficulties, and no awkward gaps in the flow of the day.
Additionally, we make sure to have a backup computer in case things go wrong. At a moment’s notice we can switch to a generic Big Omaha slide, to not let the audience know that things are not going according to plan.
Stage Signage
Gary Vaynerchuk on stage at Big Omaha 2009 and Big Omaha 2010. Photos by Malone & Company.
One lesson that we learned after the first Big Omaha event (above, left), was to make sure to have sufficiently large signage on the stage. This might seem unnecessary as everyone knows where they are, but its crucial for the video and photography that takes place. You want every photo of a speaker on stage to be branded with your conference, and not just be in front of a black background. This year we borrowed from TED and had a giant Big Omaha sign created to backdrop the stage.
T-Shirts and Store
Andy Melichar poses in the Big Omaha 2010 photo booth. Photo by Malone & Company.
Lots of conferences have t-shirts and a store, but ours is different. We actually sell shirts and books for a loss. We charge $5 for a high quality American Apparel shirt, which costs us roughly $6.50 to have printed. The reason is, our goal is to get shirts in the hands of as many people as possible, and $5 is a nice round number. With four designs, people are very inclined to purchase one of each for a total of $20. Since it’s a great high quality shirt, they’re also inclined to actually wear it after the event, which is really the goal we’re striving for. It’s worth the loss of a couple of hundred dollars to have 500+ people wearing our shirts all over the country.
Why not give them away for free? We take a hint from our friends at 37signals in thinking that people are more inclined to care about the shirt if they actually pay for it, rather than if they are just given it for free. Charging money for something for them weeds out the people who wouldn’t wear them anyway.
Speakers and Sponsors are VIPs
Alexa Andrzejewski poses in the Big Omaha 2010 opening party photo booth. Photo by Malone & Company.
As a first or second time event, it is incredibly hard to recruit both speakers and sponsors. For this reason, we knew that once we had them, we had to treat them like royalty. From customized gift baskets for each of the speakers, to a fantastic VIP dinner for sponsors and speakers, to picking the speakers up from the airport in brand new cars, we try our hardest to treat both our speakers and sponsors like true VIPs.
Off the stage
Scott Blake displayed his Barcode Art Gary Vaynerchuk at Big Omaha 2010. Photo by Malone & Company.
Since experience is such a huge component of the conference for us, we pay a lot of attention to what happens within the venue itself – away from the main stage. Incorporating art installations, or interactive elements into the event, serves to not only to offer something to look at or play with, but also to get people’s creative juices flowing. We strive for interactivity amongst the attendees, and thought provoking and “cool” art pieces are a great way to spur discussion.
Surprises
Following his presentation Tony Hsieh gave a free copy of his “Delivering Happiness” book to all attendees. Photo by Malone & Company.
Last, but certainly not least, are the super small details which you wouldn’t ever expect from a conference. We hide whimsical signage throughout the space with phrases such as “If you’re reading this, you’re at Big Omaha,” and “Toilet sponsored by Brightmix.” This year we even surprised people by giving all attendees copies of Tony Hsieh‘s book, “Delivering Happiness.”
Wrapping up…
Big Omaha 2010 attendee Will Flavell plays hacky sack after lunch. Photo by Malone & Company.
In these two posts, I’ve outlined just a few of the things that we feel make Big Omaha what it is. We’ve borrowed from the experience of tons of other people and events, but all within the context that we’re going to pay special attention to details and audience experience. We strongly feel that it’s these little touches that separate a remarkable experience from a plain one. It’s these things that make people go home and talk about how not only how great the content was, but how “fun” or “neat” the event was. And at the end of the day, it’s these little things that make Big Omaha what it is today.
To read part one of this post, visit: Big Omaha Behind the Scenes: Event Details – Part One.
To view our “Big Omaha Details” presentation in its entirety, you can view it at slideshare.net/siliconprairie.
