Packed House. Standing Room Only. Full Media Coverage

The words in the headline of this article represent a successful event. Those words equate to what good looks like, from our clients' perspective.


Successful events require skill and tenacity ... and even a bit of luck.




Skill - you have to know how to do it. We rely upon our trusted RSVP process to guide us in strategy. Then, we rely upon talented professionals, failsafe systems, flawless execution to get the job done. You have to understand when and how to contact the media (if they are part of the event mix).




Tenacity - when things go wrong, or break or fail to show up (and they always do), you have to have the wits and the toughness to work through such adversity. Plus, you have to have the confidence and poise to avoid getting flustered.


Luck - you have to be lucky in the sense that bad weather, a natural disaster, a competing event or major world news event can hurt your event's attendance. Stuff happens.


Personally, I truly love working on events... love conceptualizing, planning, promoting and working events. And I love the high stakes nature of events. Many of my colleagues at Maple do, too. Regarding our performance in this area of our practice, Maple is "undefeated." Every single time, without exception, the results are: packed house, standing room only, full media coverage.

The photo above was taken at our most recent event, the public announcement ceremony for a tourism project in Beckley, West Virginia. See the packed house. You can see a few pieces of media gear, too.


No one does events better than Maple. That's not arrogance. It is, perhaps, pride in what we do ... and the passion that we bring to our work. And I make no apologies for such statements.


Whenever someone is engaged in something that they love, isn't it magic? Isn't it beautiful to see passion in action! Can passion rightfully applied ever be defeated?

This next photo below shows Michael Haid and I passionately engaged in our work at the event. It was taken just prior to the start of the press ceremony. Look closely and you'll also see the nice stage setup, the backdrop and the phenomenal artistry that our design team does on brand identity. More details about the event and the project are available here.

Urgent Plea to Media: Don't Publicize Suicide Notes

To the producers at CNN, MSNBC and the network news organizations, I am issuing this very sincere plea: do not publicize the suicide notes left behind by mass murderers.

As a communications professional, as a parent and as a human who inhabits this earth, I demand some decency and ethical behavior by those in charge of what gets on television. This is senseless, and it must come to an end.

About 10 days ago, when the networks aired the suicide note, I was running on the treadmill at my local YMCA. I hopped off the machine and shouted at the TV screen, "No way! How can they be doing this--again!" And they did more than just report it, they used the drama of a soon-to-be-reveal suicide note to tease the audience, hyping it at segment openings and closing. How utterly distasteful!

First with Cho at Virginia Tech and now with Hawkins at the shopping mall in Omaha, the national media is fulfilling the deranged desires of these murders by broadcasting their suicide messages to the world. The media is almost encouraging copycat behavior. Hawkins' note, as you probably know, hinted at the fact that his message would be broadcast worldwide, making him "famous."

Am I right or wrong here? Do we not deserve better!

A to Z of Marketing – O is for “One Doesn’t Work”

Would you place all your life’s savings into one stock or mutual fund? Of course you wouldn’t. Yet, it's baffling that so many companies place all of their marketing investment in one basket. Some rely solely on newspaper advertising. Some rely on radio advertising alone. Still others focus solely on direct mail, coupons or flyers.

Marketing plans that rely on one tactic are fatally flawed.

The single-prong approach assumes you will be able to identify the one channel, or medium, that will enable you to connect with your prospective customers. Truth is, there’s no such thing. Your customers view a wide variety of media. They read, surf the Internet, watch TV, listen to radio, see billboards, get mail and attend events. With a single-prong approach, you might just miss them entirely.