Real Talk from David Merrell
A Letter from David Merrell
Hello from the edge of the world!
If you are like me, you’ve been through the ringer in the past few months as we search for ways to navigate anew. Personally, I needed a journey that would bring both relief and inspiration. I found it all in a road trip.
I haven’t taken a true road trip in years and this was the perfect time to do so. Seeing the country we usually fly over at 500 miles an hour at an easy cruising speed of about 70 or slower was just the right pace for life as it is now.
I found inspiration everywhere! In Marfa, a small desert city in west Texas, I was charmed by the unique art installations, such as this “Prada store.” And outside town, at just the right time of year, the mysterious orbs known as the “Marfa Lights” phenomenon can sometimes be seen.
We didn’t get to see the lights, but further in our journey we found another phenomenon, otherwise known as one the Seven Natural Wonders of the World — The Grand Canyon.
This was my first time there, and it had quite an effect on me. All that beauty and sense of powerful forces filled me with a sense that some things are bigger than us. The best we can do is embrace it all. I returned energized to continue this journey into what live events will become. Things aren’t over by a long shot folks!
Which brings me to why I’m writing today (aside from sharing my mini travel journal).
You don’t stay in business for 30 years as I have and not have to make some tough decision now and then. What gets us through times like this (and these are some of the wildest) is perseverance, ingenuity and simply the deep knowledge that things will be fine. There will be an end, and a new beginning to all this.
To survive, we shift, pivot, and morph. So as soon as we went on lock-down, my team and I immediately began to pool all the talent and creativity we had channeled into our offline live events before COVID and now into virtual live events. In a matter of weeks we were up and running with a very successful debut of Virtual Engagement Strategies.
This live event format fuses broadcast-quality live productions with virtual entertainment, swag, and more. Most important, it complies with the recently published recommendation for live events from the Center for Disease Control. At the top of the CDC’s list for the safest type of event is a virtual event.
Corporations are already coming to the realization that virtual events are no longer a back-up event, and they’re going to bring them to the foreground. We know that live events will come back. Yet, virtual events, and elements of them will remain and live together in the same world.
And THIS is what I want to talk about with you on Tuesday, June 30, at 9 a.m. PST. It’s time for real talk and important conversations. I hope you can join me.
On this webinar, Sandy Hammer, founder of All Seated, and I will discuss the future of events. It’s a conversation I want you to be part of. Come prepared to participate in this forum.
See you Tuesday morning.
Until then, keep looking up!
