My Event Full Life is your chance to take a peek inside the lives of some of Eventbrite’s most seasoned organisers as they share the secrets behind their success. What lessons have they learned along the way? What advice has been the most valuable? And what keeps them up at night? Get ready to be inspired.
Eventbrite’s TRNDS 2024 report identified VIP experiences as a key trend for events this year, and it’s something Marlon White of A1 Events has mastered the art of. From day parties and signature weekend brunches to movie after-parties and more, his guests get to party like A-listers at some of Washington DC’s hottest venues.
It’s no coincidence that these top-tier experiences attract partnerships with world-renowned brands such as Grey Goose and Moët Hennessy, as well as regular celebrity appearances.
Here, Marlon reflects on the importance of mentorship, forging authentic partnerships, building an engaged community, and staying relevant.
Read More: TRNDS 2024, Eventbrite’s Annual Trend Forecasting Guide
My biggest thrill is meeting different types of people from all over the world. Events have helped me meet so many people; business partners, best friends, people from different backgrounds. Learning what they do… I still get excited for that. When I’m heading to an event, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, I still look forward to who I’m gonna meet that night.
I’m really big on mentorship. Try to find mentors. I reach out to people who are already doing it and get as much insight as I can. Having conversations with my peers about things they struggle with, their events and the success that they’ve had… a lot of times they’re excited to share that information with you. Those things are free.
Read More: My Event Full Life – Vibes In the Park
Partnering with venues and people that align with my vision is important. Try to find like-minded people in your area who want to do the same things and who have the same vision as you. Knowing who to partner with, what cities and what neighbourhoods to do your events in, is really important. And knowing that early on. Really knowing the capacity and the capabilities of the venue in and out before you decide to actually do it at that space.
We prefer intimate venues where we can really curate the vibes. We don’t like venues that are too big. We want to try to cater to a specific clientele, which is people who really enjoy hip-hop culture, high fashion streetwear, and really just anything that’s fly! We try to curate that type of vibe for our audience.
No matter how well you plan, unexpected challenges can arise. I think the most surprising lesson I’ve learned as an event planner is the importance of flexibility. Just trying to be adaptable at all times as things change so quickly.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is to have a contingency plan. Be prepared for unforeseen issues. Have back-up plans to help you navigate any challenges you might have before the event, on-site or after the event. During Covid we moved our operation to Virginia, which was a lot more lenient. So it just goes back to being adaptable and being able to move as quickly as this space moves.
As a company we create a lot of content. During Covid I started interviewing a lot of celebrities on Instagram Live. It kept my personal brand relevant and we just started creating content on social media a lot. In D.C., people know who I am. I have a pretty big social media following. But when I’m doing stuff in other cities people don’t know who I am, I’m kind of anonymous.
I had a lot of scary moments, especially early on. Sometimes you lose a ton of money on something you thought would hit. I had to get more strategic about the way I was planning and marketing my events; not relying on social media so much and really getting personable with inviting people. I think that’s a lost art now because social media has made it so much easier for us to contact people, but there’s nothing like someone reaching out to you directly, whether it be a phone call or a card… those things go a lot further.
I’ve built my community up by networking and working with different types of people. Whether it’s creatives, musicians, DJs, artists, business managers or business owners. Also using social media to promote my content.
Meeting client expectations can keep me up at night. Attendee satisfaction and trying to manage unforeseen problems and little hiccups is important, because not every event is just gonna be smooth all the way through.
People doing things that aren’t up to par can give you a bad rep as an event planner. Just let the people that are truly passionate about executing events at a high level completely own the space.
As told to Matt Bagwell
