A CEO’s day in experiential marketing

We often get asked how it’s like to work in this ever evolving, fast paced experiential realm where requirements are ever changing and you are constantly running after one or the other idea.

If you ask me - there is no typical day of work. All our days are filled with different set of challenges and different adrenaline stimulus. One minute I am making a call to a digital partner, another I’m flying another country to check if an activation is done right…

Here is a chronicle of one such distinguished day from my life -

It is 3 AM and I am in the shower recollecting my to-dos for the day ahead. Yes, its 3 AM. I could sleep for some 4 hours from last what I remember I was going through a final deck to be sent to a potential client. This suddenly shifts my ninja-like focus to a challenge to be addressed with one of the activities we were proposing for an event to come. If logistics are not addressed properly, the entire experience can go wrong.

And this is just a tiny example of how different things are running in my head on a busy day. We as experiential marketers are hard-wired to have our heads and hearts in place all the time to be able to take minutes of things out and address them on point. And if you ask its tiring. I won’t say No. Of course it is. But there is a special joy of working in an industry that keeps you on your toes and going further ahead.

I take out my car, I want to drive myself today so I can drive as swift as possible, take shortcuts and reach venue before 5 AM, when the clock hits start for the event. I just wanted to check if things are in place and simultaneously take part in some networking since it is an important networking event from a client, hosting top delegates from across the globe. Networking is in our genes. You never know, when you stumble into a potential client in the hotel lobby, at a formal lunch, in a coffee shop or at the airport…

Its 7 AM, I am at the event venue, checking if all’s set and Hey wait… Did I just see a dome in the ballroom? Oh that might be a problem with the sound. Do we have that considered and adjusted to? Where is my operations manager? Oh Wait, have we also addressed the last minute menu change for the lunch today… I take a sigh knowing team has worked hard overnight to ensure everything’s proper.

Get an idea…

Its 9 AM. I am rushing back to office, meanwhile quickly having a glance through the unread e-mails. There are four important mails seeking my approval on the final idea deck and some regular meetings with existing clients asking confirmation, before I had out to another networking dinner with one of the company partners.

My usual day is always juggling in-between meetings on scheduled campaigns, planning, post event reviews, brainstorming on closing deals and sometimes pleasing a client with smart talks at a dinner.

Its 10 AM and I reach midway to the brainstorming session going on in the office, trying to align myself with the missed conversation. Seems the idea and creative teams have done a great job putting together an entire theme for a new brief. I assign teams to the new tasks and head out to my room to make a few calls for the day. Oh, I also have a research to finish today on a potential campaign to come.

Its 1 PM and I quickly head out to my lunch room where the HR head is already waiting to discuss about a few new hires we were planning for some of our departments. I eat my share of food and the count of what hire spends are going to be for next few months. I head to another team meeting for a venue finalization for another potential client at 3PM, calculations in my head.

Its 5 PM, I am replying to all the mails, with a dose of coffee to keep adrenaline pumping and I get a call from a dear client asking for some hundred human size pandas to be arranged in a day and I take it with a smile very politely, a request to be floated in the team.

Its 6:30, some are wrapping up, some are getting ready to go onsite and start the night race again, delivering perfect setups the next day.

I stand in the lobby looking at those hustling faces, knowing that it is their own passion that is driving them all to work with same energy every single day making difference to others’ lives. We are all driven by our own focuses, tireless demeanors and soaring ambitions winding this never-ending race, after all we all chose to be the change makers.

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Mr. Prateek Kumar, MD & CEO, NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt Ltd