NewsBeat

October 2018 NewsBeat 13 Q: What worked? A: Obviously, not all events are created equal. At Star Tribune we plan around six specific event types. They each have unique characteristics and distinct objectives, and so we have different expectations for each type, in terms of outcomes. At one end of the scale, we have our tentpole events, where the attendance expectations are in the hundreds or thousands and the revenue expectations are into six figures. Our focus here is on top-line revenue and profitability. Examples include our consumer travel expo, the Top Workplaces program, and the all-metro high school sports awards. At the other end of the spectrum we have events that try to capitalize on niche coverage, newsroom personalities, or a moment in time. For these, an audience of 100 or revenue of $10,000 might meet our expectations, because our emphasis is on engaging new audiences or delighting subscribers. These include our Photos of the Year event and our holiday cookie contest, and smaller events like neighborhood walking tours where reporters discuss history or architecture. The key, I think, is to identify distinct categories of events and the objectives for each. This helps to prioritize, to create shared expectations for all the collaborators, and, importantly, gives you a framework for celebrating even "small" successes. Q: What didn't work? A: Because of our selection criteria and my own inherent fear of "flops," our approach could be considered conservative. I want to minimize failure because in events failure is expensive and potentially embarrassing. But not everything has worked perfectly. When we moved to the new Star Tribune Building in 2015, we were excited to launch a series of events in our spacious ground-floor atrium. Imagine newsmakers on stage with our journalists; for example, a panel with the president of the Minnesota Twins in conversation with our beat writer and columnist on opening day. These events drew huge noontime crowds, but suffered from an insurmountable problem: terrible acoustics. After several well-attended but hard-to-hear events, we pulled the plug. We still do events in our atrium, but only events that don't involve people speaking and amplified sound. We cancelled another annual event called the Star Tribune Arts Forum after two years. The Twin Cities has a thriving arts scene—visual arts, performing arts, the full spectrum. This event put four arts leaders on stage with our critic in a wide- ranging "state of the arts" discussion. We had good attendance and the target audience of arts professionals and patrons loved it. But we couldn't nail down a sponsor and thus couldn't get the event into the black. It was an operational success and good for our brand, but you could say it "failed to thrive." We have a few other events that are currently on the bubble—they will either find their next gear or we will retire them and put our attention elsewhere. Q: What happened that you didn't expect? A: As our portfolio grew and we began to analyze the financial performance of our events individually and as a group, we realized that a sizable portion of the profits was coming not from the events themselves but from the associated ad revenue. On their own, the events deliver margins in the range of 10–15 percent. When accounting for associated ad revenue, margins are north of 60 percent. A good example is our Top Workplaces program. The celebration luncheon honoring the recognized companies is a sell-out every year with 650 paying attendees but is slightly better than break-even. But the special coverage, which is inextricably tied to the event, delivers more than a quarter-million dollars in print and digital ad revenue. So now we try harder to create opportunities that drive associated ad revenue. Q: What would you do differently now? What did you learn? A: We are learning all the time. One area for improvement that we've identified is sponsorship selling. We have a talented sales team, but selling sponsorships is fundamentally different from selling advertising and digital marketing solutions. In many organizations the decision makers and their priorities are different. Q: What advice would you give to others who try to do this? A: Four things: 1 First, be guided by your market and its unique characteristics. What works in Minneapolis-St. Paul or Denver may not work in Sacramento or Omaha, and vice-versa. For example, we see so-called "ideas festivals" work well in other markets but have seen several bombs here. I would love to launch an ideas festival in our market, but I don't think we can do it any better than those who have already tried. Understanding and accepting the "event context" of your market helps you minimize failures and speeds your path to success. 2 Second, you might have to help others in the business adjust their expectations around margin. An event with 25 percent margins is a very successful event, but those used to expecting 70-plus percent margins on advertising may not see it that way. 3 Third, if you're just starting out you can experiment and bootstrap it for a while but eventually you must manage your events efforts as a line of business, with all the necessary roles, skills, and processes. You have to develop a P&L and hold your team accountable for delivering profitable results — if not for every individual event, certainly for the portfolio. 4 Finally, cut your losses quickly. There might be many reasons an event doesn't work the first time out. But if it doesn't work the second time the market is telling you something. Listen.

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