Octagon First Call

First Call Tips: Speakers & Private Entertainment

With the amount of corporate speakers we hire for brands, I decided to quiz my colleague Clare O’Boyle (who runs our Entertainment & Speakers efforts) on the changing marketplace. Her industry knowledge and experience spans 15+ years so figured we would go directly to the source for this information.

Question: Has the economy affected the way companies buy talent? How has the industry changed?

Clare: More often, clients are looking for a speaker who is reasonably priced who can deliver more meaningful content or take-away as opposed to spending money on a ‘name’ (headline) speaker (Note: If you are competing for attendance with other events, that could be an appropriate time to get a headline name vs. content). Clients are definitely looking for a greater value for their investment. You can leverage the investment by asking the speaker to do more. For example: allow time for a q&a following the presentation – get your audience involved. Have the speaker attend a reception where Event VIPs have the opportunity to meet with the speaker and ask questions. Make sure all attendees get signed books.

Question: How are companies buying talent differently now than in the past? Is there more transparency? Do they look to be more accountable to shareholders?

Clare: Absolutely. Customer, employee, shareholder perception is top of mind. Clients want to make sure they are getting the best value for the company dollars they are spending. They want a speaker who resonates with attendees and provides meaningful information each attendee can use in the workplace (i.e. have the speaker tailor the presentation to meet the overall meeting objectives and make sure the speaker understands his audience). There’s no room for a ‘canned’ speech, if the speaker isn’t willing to customize, someone else will. Make sure to provide the speaker with information about your brand, campaign and general tone of your company. Get on the phone with him/her in advance!

Question: What are the current trends in the speakers marketplace?

Clare: Thought leaders/Futurists, Experts on Change, Innovators, Economists and Social Network Marketing experts are currently the most requested type of speaker. Personally, I like a speaker who provides a demonstration as part of the presentation. One example is Dr. Charles Limb, who once wondered how the brain works during improvisation, so he put jazz musicians and rappers in an fMRI to find out. What he and his team found has deep implications for our understanding of creativity of all kinds. He is the perfect speaker for a technology event, where engineers and IT attendees will be captivated and intrigued by his discovery of the neurological effect of music. You can see the presentation (and demonstration) here.

Question: Who are your favorite speakers?

Clare: I have 6.

Dan Pink (and he is currently the most requested by brands) - He is the author of four provocative books about the changing world of work — including New York Timesbestsellers, A Whole New Mind and Drive, which together have been translated into 32 languages. He’s an expert on leadership. He shares his research, real-life examples to explain what truly motivates us and how we can use that knowledge to work smarter and live better. He’s highly motivational and very relatable.

Fareed  Zakaria - Former columnist for Newsweek, currently editor of Newsweek International, and Editor-At-Large and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS.

A brilliant advisor on global issues.  Fareed will discuss the economic crisis/lessons learned, emerging markets – the challenges and opportunities, etc. He is in high demand with financial organizations. Excellent moderator.

Tony Hsieh - Brand Expert, CEO of Zappos and Author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose.

Tony’s book outlines his path from starting a worm farm to life at Zappos.com.  He talks about the different ingredients used by Zappos.com to build a long-lasting enduring brand, including the importance of customer service and company culture. He’s  focused on delivering happiness to customers and employees, which has enabled the company to expand beyond selling shoes to clothing, bags, and other product categories.

The Heath Brothers (Dan & Chip) - Co-authors of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard and Made To Stick, critically acclaimed books.

I highly recommend both books, they are fun to read and thoroughly researched. Dan and Chip are both very effective speakers and top of mind when a client asked me to recommend someone to help them with change. They talk about some fascinating findings based on their extensive research.  They reveal a simple, 3-part framework that will help you change things in tough times, the change you seek is at work, at home, or in society. In their second topic, the brothers reveal the six principles that make ideas “stick.” Whether you’re an executive sharing a new strategy with your team, or a marketer pitching a product to customers, or a social entrepreneur fighting for social change, Chip or Dan will show you practical ways to maximize the impact you make with your ideas.

Anton Musgrave - Joint CEO of FutureWorld SA and a Partner in FutureWorld International. Futurist, business strategist, public speaker, businessman and entrepreneur.

His keynote is titled  "Ten Lessons from the Future'. It covers shifts in consumer behavior and the implications for society, companies and markets; he talks about technology shifts and the forces shaping the tech future…always very interesting and he shares some great examples that most people have not even realized yet. In each of the areas he looks back very briefly, and then focus on the future and what we can learn from that in our business today. Very insightful and passionate speaker.

Peter Sims - Best-selling co-author of Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Come from Small Discoveries, about a creative process of experimental innovation that uses little bets to build up to great outcomes.

Sims shares the stories and lessons he has learned from some of the world's most-respected leaders, including both their successes and failures, from his work on leadership while at Stanford Business School combined with his research from  his previous book True North. He co- authored True North with  Bill George and that put him on the map.  He’s a great back-up to Pink and now is a good time to book him as he’s on an upward trajectory. I would recommend Peter when a client requests an expert on leadership.