TalkingTree Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of production and executive producer of the Shephard Companies. We’re comprised of two major business units. We act as a general service contractor for the trade show industry, and we have an audiovisual production division that produces corporate product launches, major entertainment, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TalkingTree Creative?

Due to COVID-19, there was a complete hibernation of our business and sudden growth of the digital virtual business. Before, we made trade shows for 160,000 people in Las Vegas or L.A. and provided all the logistics and services necessary to do those events.

With federal and state mandates that limited the number of people in a room, our clients needed to figure out a way to continue to market to their customers, and many people chose to do it digitally. Just like some of our competitors, we got clobbered because a virtual meeting used to be a Facebook stream or pay-per-view television stream, so it was from one to many. Then, all of a sudden, it became necessary to do completely interactive events from many to many, and we went from doing a couple a year to 75 between May–December 2020.

This need was different from Zoom or Microsoft Teams, so various third-party vendors created several support platforms to enable virtual meetings between thousands or tens of thousands of people. Like many companies, we furloughed many employees, so we couldn’t do that much with our internal resources. Therefore, we partnered with third-party vendors that we’d worked with before and subbed some of the events to them, which was the case of TalkingTree. They were trying to figure out how to pivot, keep their employees busy, and embrace digital, and we were overwhelmed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We continued to manage the project regarding the client connection, but we subcontracted most of the operational execution to TalkingTree. The project at hand was for one of our long-term clients, and they needed a virtual meeting for architects. It was a three-day event, and it took place at the end of October 2020 with about 7,000 attendees. They had about six hours of programming per day with multiple channels filled with content.

We brought in TalkingTree to schedule what would’ve been presenters at a live conference. They recorded them remotely and edited them together using vMix into four videos that would play at a certain time. They customized the Catalyst platform using HTML5, HTML6, and CSS. They also managed the critical path, worked on the project management platform hosting platform designs, configuration, and logic, handled live sessions, had virtual happy hours, and created an exhibit hall component with five exhibit booths where exhibitors could do one-on-one video meetings.

For customization, we got brand guidelines from the end client and had meetings with TalkingTree to discuss the direction and look. Then, TalkingTree worked on it and gave it back to us for client approval.

What is the team composition?

We interfaced with at least half a dozen of them. We had a project manager, and the rest were developers and designers. My main point of contact was Craig (President), and I worked with a couple of his video engineers as well.

How did you come to work with TalkingTree Creative?

I’ve known Craig as a video director and creative director for more than 20 years. I’ve used TalkingTree over the years to produce videos or direct cameras and shoots for broadcast television. It was easier for them to adapt to these virtual meetings because it was just different electronics, and they already had the mind for it.

How much have you invested with them?

It was between $150,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was done last summer and finished in November 2020. However, we’ve contracted them for multiple shows later this year, so it’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The client was satisfied, and that’s the best metric. They considered it a success and saw value for the money they were charged. Some other clients aren’t happy with the events even though they operate well technically. They’re frustrated that they can’t make the revenue by having people coming ink, so they just want to do live shows again. For example, concert tickets can be anywhere from $100–$1,000 depending on the seat, but there’s a huge difference in the online monetization model.

In this case, the client did like it because they were sophisticated. The architects were very bright and used to working with computers. One of the things that attendees enjoyed was the ability to network. It worked well for job boards and job hunting, so virtual meetings gave them great networking capabilities. All in all, they were happy, and it worked out for them.

How did TalkingTree Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly team calls. They were short or long, depending on where we were at the project. We were very rigid, and we followed deadlines. We put everything on Google Docs so everyone could see it, and we adjusted the project each week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

TalkingTree stood out for its competence, adherence to deadlines, creative ability, and customer service. As the world changed, many clients were under stress last year. There was a lot of education, calming down, and listening that went into customer service to make people understand that their show would be successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t really have a negative pushback on it. The project took place during the worst part of the COVID-19 crisis, so it was challenging to get through that successfully and on budget, and they did it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define how success looks like to you. The most important thing is to talk for a while and see if they’re the right fit. I often don’t respond to people who just send me an RFP; I won’t waste my time with someone price shopping. If you want to do some work, you have to have a relationship. Nobody is a good fit for everybody.