Carson Worldwide

19/07/2024

When STEM and Entertainment you have a festival!
Another successful year producing this multi-dimensional for school kids and families on the Hudson~






Carson Worldwide

13/04/2024

Stop by the https://brooklynhalfmarathon.com/ and say hi on Friday or Saturday, April 26th or 27th if you’re picking up your race bib.

As the Expo Director it will be busy but I’ll find some time to connect while you’re there at the Expo in Brooklyn!

On April 28th, 2024, tens of thousands of runners will complete a remarkable running journey at the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon.

26/01/2024

Authenticity affords you confidence in the comfort you may never embarrass yourself in front of prospective clients or others, especially if they don’t know you.

09/01/2024

There is no such thing as bad publicity in the game of getting notice and free media exposure.

Despite Swifties being up in arms and complaining there are millions more who now have heard of him and will actually seek out and watch his content to see what the fuss is about. Classic when are an unknown and you don’t have a magic bullet for exposure except to stir up controversy. Free, fast and viral!

Jo Koy is a trending topic just hours after stepping off the Golden Globes stage in Beverly Hills, but the comic feels some anger over Taylor Swift’s expression during the award show may have…

26/08/2023

When you are enrolled in what you are passionate about and helping others in the process you no longer worry about what the meaning of life is but bask in the positive flow of the success you aspire to.

Proud to be the Executive Producer for the 2022 and 2023 SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival at Pier 84 in NYC!

You are invited to join the incredible stewards volunteering to help navigate and inspire young lives of the the children and families seeking to explore and discover the possibilities as they touch, feel, see, and hear at our STEM based public and free festival.

Help create a future, help make dreams come alive, and be the light that helps guide the little ones to a brighter and inspiring future through awareness and a novel way of seeing and learning.

HRPK has a big Special Event coming up in September and we are looking for engaged volunteers.SUBMERGE (9/29 and 9/30) is an annual two-day interactive festival encouraging kids to explore STEM...

21/02/2023

"Take your passion and make it happen!" There are no truer words when you seek to succeed.
Don't just say it, sing it. Be the voice, and be the change you seek in your business or career~

Soundtrack from the 1983 Adrian Lyne film "Flashdance" with Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle T. Heffner, Lee Ving, Ron Karaba...

03/02/2023

What to expect in the future with your business, career and outlook as AI ramps up and speeds up to the offramp to today!

03/02/2023

Be fearless!

When the world seems to be at your heels and all seems bleak, remember how you got where you are today through the gauntlet of life. You've donned that bullet…

09/01/2023

My article on the process your customer goes through in making a buying decision...

28/12/2022

Have you seen this video? This is a great lesson in building your business and relationships.

For a strong infrastructure and solid foundation we must first build horizontally before we jump the gun and go to the top faster than what our capability is stable to sustain.

In building events we often look horizontally before cutting to the chase and getting vertical to the end result. Another brick in the wall is only as strong as your strategy on how you build it.

25/12/2022

An article on experiential to create results from your target audience.

20/10/2022

At some point at your event(s) you may have to communicate to the guests. It is best to communicate not just what you need them to do but to also tell them why.

It does not mean posting there is an active shooter present is a good idea as it will cause mass panic, hysteria, and most likely physical harm.

Some people will not act, will complain and resist, or create their own reality of what to do if they are not given what seems a valid reason to take action (or not). It is part of our human psychology baked into us for expecting continuity, clarity, or comfort.

14/10/2022

In the world of events, if there isn't a last minute change I want to know the secret sauce. Case in point .. there are four ballasts as you see in photo. The layout was approved across 17 site plan revisions, meaning the decision maker(s) agreed it is as it should be, right?

The ballast and steel base in the photo weighs 4,500lbs each x 4. It took some setting up to get it laid out. Guess what? The decision maker after they finally arrived decided they wanted to move the structure after it was already past the point of any reasonable return without great expense and energy to redo.

Here is the lesson - no matter how well along you are in setting up an event, no matter much energy is involved to that point, you can count on the fact someone will decide what they agreed with for so long may summarily change their mind once they visually see it materialize before their eyes despite any irrational opinion.

Lesson - get them out to the setup site to review the site before any large structural install before it's too late to reverse direction. Have them drop everything and get out there to make a final executive decision to confirm it is as they want it.

Fortunately for us, we were able to convince them that the layout is what they wanted over months of revisions, and that the way it was would work out just fine and not cause any issues they believe it would offset.

10/10/2022

Did you see the course ad where the headline stated people do not make purchase decisions based on rationale?

It is true, most people make their purchases based on emotion and then justify it with logic. Even when people think they are buying something out of need they often lean towards a particular brand because of color, smell, packaging, etc. helping them choose one brand over another (those are not logical metrics but emotion based anchors.

When Carson Worldwide helps develop an experiential event for our clients to reach their customers we help determine what those customer pain points are and integrate education and messaging embedded throughout the event platform. An educated consumer is a happy consumer and often an agent of WOM.

10/10/2022

When events are not run efficiently you may get negative experiences. When you run your initiative in an effective and efficient manner every thing will run smoothly and your Run Of Show will stay in perfect lock step.

The person we caught on camera had to stop every 20' (literally) to reorganize what was under his arms and in his hands to keep them from falling when instead he could have loaded everything onto the hand truck he was also pushing and optimized his time and efforts.

At Carson Worldwide we operate at high efficiency when we can. It is why we can get events planned and produced in 1/3 to 1/2 the time it often takes others to do the same.

27/07/2022

When planning a successful event or festival, data is the building block to success. The events we produce often take into account habits, trends and behaviors whether fear or reward based.

The following link is from Placer.ai to their migration data nationwide with specific stats from NY, PA, and IL. It is a fascinating report that may shed some light on which way your target audience is shifting and what is or isn't influencing their behavior (in the example here it cites the pandemic).

"https://go.placer.ai/library/domestic-migration-trends-june-2022?submissionGuid=7b7bed54-792c-463a-8c78-7d6391e18965"

12/07/2022

Interesting interactive map of flood zones throughout NYC

22/02/2022

I understand inflation making the customer base smaller due to more people curtailing going out to eat what they can make at home, but staffing? Here is a solution - although it will require upfront investment..

If you've been to an airport lately, high-tech food court, or even Chilis here is how they are getting the job done with less staff needed:

1. Take credit card payments through POS instead of solely tradition cash register ops; and
2. Have a POS order (and payment) system on every table. How does this work?
A. Order from your table without need for staff except for special orders or questions.
B. Limited physical staff would be used to bring out food, bus tables, seat people, manage problems, and take hard cash payments (although some places no longer accept cash, ironically there are some that don't accept cards at all (another reason),
C. Kitchen staff would need to remain same size although most kitchens don't have monster sized staffs.
3. Better pay? Busier food or premium venue staff have told me directly they rather stay on tip system since they make much more even when receiving a $3 base. On the contrary lower volume lower cost venue workers would benefit with living wage without tips. Tips have been corrupted to subsidize the venue owner's obligation to pay staff a living wage. IMHO paying a decent living wage to workers instead of having the customers subsidize their wages when there are countries proving that subsidizing wages with tips is not necessary would make it seemingly more palatable for customers to frequent the restaurant more often (depending on the pricing).

With the above proven solutions, restaurants can reduce their wait staff needs by 30%-50% meaning the concern from 91% of the industry stating their concerns from struggling business being staff shortages is no longer an issue. The primary issue would thus be food prices (and some venues are taking advantage of the situation as an excuse to raise prices to unwarranted highs, the other is customers staying away due to prices and lack of getting a reservation or conveniently walk in due to lack of wait staff.

As many as 80% of restaurants nationwide say they are in danger of closing without assistance.

16/02/2022

If you have been glued to your monitor watching a video that seems to take a million years to get to the point. A video that is just one long cliff hanger keeping you anxiously waiting for the punchline or results that sometimes never arrive or are a big let down - there is a reason for this. It's an algorithm strategy.

Content may be king, but engagement is what is needed to get there. In addition to clicking on a link which raises the posters rank (you've heard of click bait? Another shameful time waster that steals your time but benefits poster; another story).

In the case of long winded videos it's about about 'engagement'. It's married to how long a viewer stays connected watching or reading a site (and yes, the companies know exactly how long you spend on every page you visit and what you're looking at).

An example is the social web host will perhaps let your posts out to 10% or less of your total connected viewers (or that amount that are not connected to find your post (a reason it's better to control data with your own site). If they see you are getting incredible engagement they may allow more surfers to find your post, and vice a versa.

The more engagement the higher the reach you're allowed - okay that is a simplified explanation of something very complex and constantly changing; a reason if you are using social media to get your message out you need to keep on top of .the ever changing new algorithms.

My personal tip? If you're attracted to some interesting looking video on a social site that does not provide any substance in first minute - you're wasting your time. Click off and move on. That is if you want to now waste your time.

Curiosity and continuity are ingrain into humans. These are employed in creating experiences. They can be employed for good, evil, or just self serving time wasting. In the events I've produced I have employed similar techniques to stop deconstruct and get rid of bad behavior while installing new better behaviors or beliefs. Why would you do this if someone needs help or seeking some resolution in their life or business?

You need to engage first. You also need to hold attention and focus if you want to get your message or learning point across. One thing I never do is seek engagement that is all fluff and wastes times as I deplore those who purposely waste my time :)

Here's an interesting article or algorithms:

https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/how-do-social-media-algorithms-work

How Do Social Media Algorithms Work? page on the Digital Marketing Institute Blog, all about keeping you ahead in the digital marketing game.

10/01/2022

It's interesting what someone defines as success. Michael Lang died at age 77 from Lymphoma but he left behind a historic legacy and namesake that will live far beyond our own years despite the events big financial hurdles and challenges.

The event work I did for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society had me working with its volunteers. When one understands our place on Earth is not about just ourselves it reminds us we can create bigger and better outcomes when we passionately work in creating experiences and outcomes for others. RIP Michael.

https://www.jambase.com/article/michael-lang-woodstock-co-creator-dead

Woodstock co-creator and organizer Michael Lang has died at the age of 77.

03/11/2021

09/09/2021

Another Frye Festival? The pain may be similar but the intent was possibly different. Nevertheless when you don't plan properly for catastrophe the consequences speak for themselves.

It's easy to be an armchair quarterback or only focus on isolated incidents that become what is believed systemic or at the least addressed in a draconian manner. We don't know what actually happened to the majority of guests although certainly there were enough complaints to ponder if there was some substance to the myriad of calls for refunds and the negative posts.

The biggest take away for festival producers and their stakeholders who were not there, should be to learn from the mishaps, errors, and omissions of others. Having looked at some of the issues that the host stated were in place it seems communication may have been stuck in a huge chasm. Perhaps if there was a solid backup plan with logistical calculations to account for food, water and lavs, then why were there so many complaints to the contrary?

This is not to judge either host nor treat the complaints as the truth for all or the majority of guests but the truth will rise to the top eventually. The point is, take these situations under consideration and the complaints occurred as mileposts to what to avoid by addressing them in advance with generous treatment with the guests comfort and bottom-line experience in advance.

https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/2021-elements-festival-allegations-apology.html?fbclid=IwAR0cykf3YbeUZN7rrw9qb86aBsGjud2781WqBFFQdI20Hy6Q9EWEAe6wPo8

Elements Festival was a Labor Day weekend sh*tshow, according to attendees who allege they were left without food, water, and sanitation.

07/09/2021

It often pays to contract an event company that has a proven event logistics track record.
The last event Carson Worldwide developed and managed for our client, not only had we worked with the client to secure air conditioned flushing portable restrooms it also bought out parking garage space throughout the area.
The load-in and load-out logistics worked like a military operations with vehicles moving in and out across three load and unload points with timing limits to allow the next in line to get in quickly and efficiently.

With live events anything can happen and they will - Murphy's Law. A great planner/producer will have several contingency plans. Some occurrences are just out of the control of the host's hands but they should at least be ready to implement and shift quickly as needed despite the grumblings of several patrons.
More importantly if guests were promised something that is within the control of the festival like checking Covid-19 vaccinations the host needs to stick to what they promise they would do as it may be the reason the some guests decided to go after weighing whether they should or should not attend the festival - no excuses.

I never thought there would be another Frye situation and I am sure this is not because it doesn't seem they sold the festival based on air that was non-tangible, but rather subjected to conditions they were left flatfooted on because whomever planned did not take into consideration the potential of hurricanes or tropical storms whether predicted or inherent during the time of the festival.

Social media has been abuzz with Fyre Festival comparisons and rumors of attendees contemplating a class action lawsuit.

22/05/2021

Thank you for your interest in the event position. The role is now filled. Best wishes on your search.

We’re looking for a freelance part time event coordinator who can handle coordinate logistics
for three upcoming festivals.

It is preferable to be in a EST time zone due to connecting with suppliers and vendors during business hours.

Resume required!

Bottomline:

1. Work independently,
2. Is trustworthy,
3. Is dedicated to what they are responsible for,
4. Can find info on internet,
5. Can get the job done,
6. Can get needed information,
7. Is detail oriented,
8. Is personable on the phone,
9. Is organized and can enter and maintain data on Google Sheets,
10. Is articulate with the English language, and
11. Has some experience with planning events or activities

This is a remote position. Your current location does not matter for this position. You can work from the beach or from your living room.. wherever you can do research, enter info online, and make calls in a quiet space.

Desirable Qualifications:

-Events
-Planning,
-Project management, or
-Internet research

Personal Traits:

-Personable,
-Work quickly,
-Follow directions,
-Detail oriented,
-Available if deadline is at hand,
-Tenacious,
-Clear spoken and understandable in English,
-Dependable,
-Polite,
-Focused, and
-Capable of conducting work remotely without constant supervision or reminders of what needs to be done by a deadline as a freelance event planner/project manager.

Retirees, college students also welcome as W-9 freelancers.

You will be on a one week probation to determine if you grasp what is needed and that you can generate deliverables in a timely manner for planning and production of outdoor events with concert and raw space logistics.

If you're interested please contact us with your experience, background and contact information.

02/02/2021

It's not rocket science to plan an event, but it does take years of experience and a thinking-on-your-feet proven track record to ideate, plan, launch, and manage budgets, operations, and logistics to impress, run a seamless event, and to insure sustainable outcomes.

This video is a brief overview of what events and activations we've been involved, created, produced and managed over the years.

23/01/2021

When you think outside the box tips, clues, and strategies for areas outside what you believed relevant or possible for succeeding in business become ‘aha’ moments you find new and fresh ideas, and approaches, for applying what has not and currently doesn’t work what you learn may surprise you.

In the course of developing and producing successful events I often find unique and different ways to looking at scenarios and paths to accomplishing what others believe is the way but often miss some not so obvious but more effective methods and strategies.

I credit being of open mind and someone who practices at least considering and then if it seems applicable applying what I just learned.

This also should remind us that a constant and never ending curiousity and hunger for information and learning should be part of the business evolution and success model.

Take for example this article on diet and weight loss (go figure). If you apply these tips in similar ways to how to approach your business you may get new and surprisingly results just because you never thought how other models succeed in areas outside what may not be directly business topics.

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/dieting-pitfalls-to-avoid-if-you-want-to-lose-weight/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MFP_NewNormal_20210123_14D&utm_content=hero

Setting specific goals and having strategies to implement them is key to long-term weight loss.

10/12/2020

Analytics are critically important to planning and producing the events and meetings I am involved. In event marketing one needs to understand the audience and be able to serve them from a collaborative platform of contribution, service, integrity, and value.

The value proposition in anything you are making available to others is best positioned if your customers consider you an ally or advocate rather than someone looking to make a quick buck.

We can't be all things to everyone but we can metaphorically try on their shoes and offer what we have to help in their desire to gain pleasure, satisfaction, confidence, and success; or to the contrary - the need to avoid pain, discomfort, anxiety, or failure.

The answers and treasure map embedded in what you discover in analytics (if applied correctly) can be both a gold mine for the organization and a beautiful solution for the customer/guest (provided what the business are offering isn't junk or fluff disguised as snake oil).

Check out the 2020 Google's most searched terms and words and see how they can be applied in your analytic and marketing strategy.

Explore the searches that shaped 2020, from Google Trends.

19/11/2020

This is the enormous raw space that was used for the legendary which attracted 150,000 guests. The converts three blocks, three football sized fields, a pier, and other raw space into , crafts, sponsor, and food activations.

It benefits 24 non-profits and charities. Occurs over a two day period. Takes place in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Timeline: the week past Columbus Day each year.

04/11/2020

The Presidential election results should provide invaluable insight into how effective physical events vs. virtual are.

It is not to say virtual doesn’t have its place but if you want to make a huge impact and activate a call to action, physical immersion is still king of the hill.

In conceiving and producing experiential events over several decades the evidence is overwhelming how powerful live physical events are in your marketing mix.

28/07/2020

When consumers become leery and distrusting of messaging from businesses the tried and true strategy of WOM by their friends, family, and social circle rules the space.

Having built, tested and successfully implemented social messaging by building trusted communities through immersive events has proven and reminded us there are no platforms as effective and powerful as refers, suggestions and advice from their trusted sources which are mostly from within their circles not ads, commercials, nor business websites.

Most marketing and sales teams view consumer behavior as a difficult puzzle that can never be completely solved. Consumer preferences have changed though – so here is what really matters to them in the modern digital era.