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In search of "The P"

By Guy Hedderwick posted 03-22-2015 21:44

  

We all have that moment; that “I was there” moment. In 1996 Rugby World Cup final in South Africa, Joel Stransky kicks the winning goal to give South Africa the World Cup against New Zealand. Watching Nelson Mandala, the first black President of South Africa, dressed in team colors holding the World Cup aloft and unifying a whole country. That is my moment. And it is just a moment, because we move on and although it’s never forgotten, one never has that feeling ever again.

I have been lucky. I have seen or witnesses many moments, and when I think back on them for a split second, I get close to that feeling again and life seems worth it. There are many such moments in sport and entertainment. I watched Elton John walk on stage and open the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. For me as a venue manager, this was a special moment. I have watched Usain Bolt break the 100m world record, seen Lance Armstrong admit to taking drugs, and witnessed the heart break of Tony Romo’s botched snap against the Seahawks which cost the Cowboys the game and advancement into the next stages of the postseason.

You will have your moments as I have mine. The great thing about what we do, is that although we don’t control those moments, sport will keep dishing them up in the wonderful stadiums and arenas around the world. I crave that feeling, that anticipation of what may come and it’s why I am involved in the venues and stadium business. I know how important those moments are for me and therefore must be for you and everyone else who attends such events. I want every event to be memorable, and memorable for the right reasons.

That is why I am always in search of the “The P”- The perfect event. I know it is elusive and I know it’s impossible, but I still feel we need to search for it and strive for it. I always have an opening line for my staff as we run our event risk mitigation strategy “someone will do something we never thought anyone would think of doing”. Risk mitigation plays such an important role in our business, but without understanding and accepting risk, we will never deliver an event that will be memorable.

Sport and Entertainment play to our emotions and it is, after all, feelings that create actions and importation.  With this in mind, we need to ensure peoples emotional needs are met at our events.

We need to understand the event journey, right from the connection to the team, through the ticket purchasing process, to leaving home and arriving safely back again. Our mission is to positively affect each part of that journey in a positive manner, understanding our audience and delivering to their needs, wants and desires.

They say the great thing about sport is that it is a formulated, exciting, emotional movie without a scripted ending. As I search for perfection, I create havoc. I insist on sending my staff to train with the ticketing company so we have a deep understanding of what they do. I don’t want to just sell a ticket, I want to ensure we sell a pleasant experience. I don’t employ ushers, I employ customer service representatives; from the person on the car park to the people at the door, I want patrons to feel welcome, at home and in a friendly, caring environment. I want security to be engaging, helpful and proactive in ensuring people have fun.  I time queues and want my guests to be through them in under 4 minutes, receiving the best hot dog and fried possible, served to them by engaging, smiling and friendly staff. I want game day to be memorable in every way I can influence, because the one thing I can’t influence is the result.

Often we get caught up in process and procedure when planning events. We mitigate for the worst in society and not the common man. Times have changed and we can no longer expect events to be free of serious risk such as terrorist attack. We are so afraid of the risk that we ensure the event is almost sterile. We are under huge pressure to deliver financial return that we forget why we are here. People don’t come to events simply for the game, they come because they have an emotional attached to the team, or are with a group of friends to connect, to network with their business colleagues or simply to have a fun family day out. Our job is to allow them to enjoy that moment and to create that memory in a safe, fun environment without impinging on others fun.

I still search for the elusive Event Perfection, not yet achieved, but maybe one day I will discover “The P”. You should continue the search too.

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Comments

Sam Dores
03-24-2015 20:43

Guy,
Reading your article reminded me of a video that we used to show our game day staff regarding the process of creating a memorable experience, similar to what you wrote. What the video reinforces and what helps me teach my staff as we work towards "The P" is the notion that we aren't selling games, we're selling experiences. It's about moving away from the task mentality (taking a ticket, setting up for an event, selling a soda, directing someone to their seats, etc.) and moving towards an experience mentality and creating a positive experience with simple gestures such as a genuine smile, using the guest names, welcoming them back, etc.
The video can be found here (starting around the 1:20 mark - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s74N3InhUQ). The audience mentions everything that stood out about Disneyland - They talk about the cleanliness, the organization, the friendly staff and the attention to detail but no one mentions the rides. Disneyland isn't selling the rides, they're selling the experience! Those are the things that we as venue managers need to instill in our staffs to expand the product to include the entire experience. It's not just the game or event - it's the experience. It's the "I was there" moment. It's the memories. As you've mentioned, we need to understand the event journey and all of the processes involved so we can teach our staff to strive for "The P" and create a positive experience, regardless of the type of game or event.

Erik Waldman
03-24-2015 11:29

Guy – Thank you for kicking off the Stadium’s Blog with such an excellent post. There is nothing like having the “I was there” moment that makes the countless hours worked all worthwhile. My moment was the tip off of the 2013 Men’s Final Four here at the Georgia Dome. The years of planning culminated with a sold out house to see Louisville take on Wichita State in game one of the National Semifinal game. The moment that ball was tossed in the air to start the game made me thankful that this business had chosen me.
Sharing these moments with your team is most important. Earlier in the week, we worked it out to allow our staff to come onto the floor to have their photos taken at center court. To this day, you can walk around the offices and see these pictures hung proud. Having a sense of pride in your profession is all any employee is really looking for. I’m thankful that I work for an organization that “gets it” and shares these moments with the team.

I challenge all venue managers to remind yourselves every day to think of that plus one you can do for your team. Help them understand their contribution to “The P”.

Brad Mayne
03-24-2015 08:50


Guy, Your pursuit of perfection is not without merit. Vince Lombardi once said "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence". Congrats on creating memorable experiences with the original reality games, sports and entertainment.