Events That Sell Themselves (Almost): Marketing Magic in action

Join Gayle Hellemn as she dives into all things event marketing with Sara Perry, Marketing and Communications at the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce.

From building buzz around local events to uncovering what truly drives attendance, engagement, and success — this episode is packed with valuable insights you won’t want to miss.

Transcript

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Kinsey, welcome to within the details, a podcast where we take a sneak peek behind the curtains, where we dive into what it takes to truly create a remarkable event. So whether you are an event professional, a community leader, or just simply curious what goes on behind the scenes, this is your all access pass to the details that make the magic happen. Good morning. We have Sarah Perry with us this afternoon, and she is from the Lebanon, Wilson County Chamber, and we are very excited to have her come and share a little bit about her story, her history, and how that relates to events. So welcome, Sarah, hi everyone. Hey. Um, so like I said, you're part of the Lebanon Wilson County Chamber, which is a you've been there how long now? Um, since 2023 that's 2023 Wow. I was thinking it was just a year. Apparently, I was very wrong. So you you mentioned in your bio that you have got about a decade in event history doing events or communication, and that was a true love and passion of yours that I think you mentioned started back in school, when you were always the kid that was always getting in trouble for talking. Yes, always we're kindred spirits, though I would too that, and every once in a while arguing with the teacher, but yeah, you've got the passion for communication. Where do you think that comes from? Honestly, I don't know. My parents are not as outgoing as I met your father. He is definitely not as talkative as you know. They are not as talkative as me, but I just have always been chatty, Cathy and I've you know, it was bad in school, but I just learned to use that as a string. And I went to college. I dropped out because I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I went back to college because I realized I had been marketing for different businesses without the actual title of marketing, and learned to pivot that and incorporate it in everything. And so now I went back to college and graduated and used that, and that was part of your journey here at the expo, also, wasn't it? Yes. So you came here as an intern for, I think it was the last semester of your degree. Was that right? Yeah, yeah. And we worked on right in the middle of the rebrand with Farm Bureau and getting the title sponsor, like throwing a can of worms at you and saying, Here, what do you want to do with this? But it was so fun. I honestly gained so much from that time. In addition to the full rebranding, we did the brand awareness campaign, and learned so much about our community, and learned so much just about the facility that we're at, right because you did, you did a lot of history research on it, I could tell that. And if you look at the website today, you will see that the majority of that text that you had originally put on the website, because I did make a change in terms of who's monitoring and who who created it, and that was nothing to do with your work. That was everything to do with logistics of working with Wix, but, but we kept that research that you did in there. And what I think is interesting, and it's a huge credit to you, is that people use that now when they're talking about the expo, like I hired a contractor recently, and, you know, and within the scope of what we talked about, they needed to do some research. So they went to the website, and it was so funny, because I'm reading their proposal, and I said, by chance, did you pull those? And they were like, Yeah. And I'm like, that's okay, that's okay. It's good information. So that's a huge credit when you see your work. Thank you. And it's funny you say that because I use it currently now too. As the Chamber of Commerce, we try to highlight all the governing bodies, and with the Expo Center falling under Wilson County government, I have a little bit of detail out there online about the facility. And I was like, oh, you know, I have this. So happened? Yeah, my back pocket. So I use that and updated pictures. Because I guess the way it was existing online, at least from our perspective, was before. Our Farm Bureau came in the acquisition, correct? And it was a very different, no, it wasn't that it was bad. It just was just new. It was it was all new. And this has been a growth process. And so sometimes when people talk to me about, you know, changes that have been made, it's like, look, everybody had to start somewhere, you know, and you just take that. I mean, really, that's the essence of life, is you take wherever you're at and you just keep adding on to it and growing, and eventually it becomes what it's supposed to be. So, so, so we jumped a little bit in from being an intern here and then being at the Chamber, but tell us a little bit more about you and your love of communication, because I know you've done more than just here and the chamber, because you did some stuff on your own, and I know you work for some other companies, and just would love to know a little bit about that journey and maybe how that shifted and changed your perception? Yeah, I honestly, I think it's ADHD, a little bit of a spicy brain, that helps me a hyper fixate on different things as as the seasons passes. So it has been fun, going from industry to industry, working with different companies. So I've worked in healthcare, creating community events for those. I have worked with a historic preservation organization, and it's actually in a different county, but I run their website. I do a lot of their event marketing and helping with event planning. I have done community festivals here, outside of the chamber, working with another nonprofit. And then I just love storytelling and so building the full picture for any company or organization that I work with. So storytelling the whole big picture, and that is what I do when I work with any kind of organization, designing graphics for them, creating a solid brand. And a lot of times an organization doesn't have a solid brand, and so that's where I start figuring out why they are passionate about what they're doing, what the messages that they're trying to get across to their audience, and crafting that in a way that we're not only written storytelling, like the captions that go along with posts, even descriptions, but also the visual aspects of it as well, and then getting that push right on. So you say you start with the brand. So I'm just gonna guess that most people that ask for your help, or maybe don't ask for your help, and maybe you just see the need. I don't know you're a lot like me in that like you see a need, you feel compelled to actually say something. But do you find that most of them don't even really understand conceptually, what the what a brand is, and why that's important? Yes, absolutely. A lot of times, organizations will have their mission and vision nailed down, and they've gotten a quick logo and call it a day. But there's just so much more to it than that, and consistency is key, and that's really why I lean into that. I like consistency. Again, maybe it's the ADHD, but I like consistency, and it just helps people develop recognition of your brand visually and like I said, with words, So walk me through the steps of how you would walk somebody through defining their brand? Yeah, I usually send them a questionnaire with the over to give me a good overview of their organization. So letting them tell me background info on the business, mission, vision, the values that they align with, that align with what they want to push out there. And then I will give them color palettes and some mock ideas that I found for inspiration purposes, just to see what what they are visually expecting. A lot of times, companies come across playful, but then they don't want to be perceived playful, and it really comes down to asking those questions to get a full understanding of what they are wanting to present to their audience. Right bridging that gap between who you are. Are as a company or an organization, and then being intentional about how you want to present to your audience. Because your audience may be, I don't know, let's say it's a game or something. Your audience may be kids, but you've got to be intentional in how you translate that to your audience. Yes, absolutely. Okay. Okay. Are there any particular challenges when you're taking on a new client that, or even within the work that you're doing now, anytime you're working with branding? Is there, are there particular challenges that are frequent, I wouldn't say necessarily challenges, but if there any pushback, or the organization isn't positive on the direction we're going, I always go back to, does this align with your mission, vision, or even a tagline as simple as that is something that I do with the chamber. Our tagline is to connect, grow and belong. And so anytime we're having events or adding piece to an event that we've already had for 15 years, but oh, let's add something else, I asked myself, right, right? Yeah, I know, because, like I do, I probably saw that the tagline concept probably more in action. And maybe it's just because it's personal, but like so the baking that I do on the side, my little tagline has become, what are you creating? You know? And it's funny, because people may not remember the name of the company, but they remember that, you know. And so that's interesting to me. And so, you know, for people that are not maybe hugely tech savvy, or maybe they don't really dabble in the social media world at all, you know, if you can go online and just type what that tagline is. Odds are it'll pick up and you'll find it. So it's good, good information for people to to utilize when they are trying to promote something that's important to them. So you've got a good variety of events. You've done stuff for yourself, you've worked for companies, you interned for company, and probably, you probably interned for others as well. But I happen to know about us, what's your favorite project that you've worked on up to now? Probably, I've got to think about that, because I'm they're all so such a wide variety of areas. I was just saying, Yeah, you've got, you've got a nice variety there. For sure, one thing I didn't even mention, I used to work with a PR agency that focused on country music artists and so that would be fine. And I also had another one who it was one of their clients of the PR company managed, and he was a hot rod, and he had a YouTube channel. He was very, very successful. He had a crazy story to go along with it. And so it really has been all over the place this entire journey. Probably my favorite was a full brand development for a hair salon, and it is not your traditional hair salon. And so it was just really fun to lean into her whimsical personality and bring that to life visually. And it's so her. It's definitely her brand. And it was so fun to put together the logo, make it stand out. It's got a little it's got some Easter eggs in it that if, if you're not looking for it, you don't see it, but I see it, and it lines up with everything that her brand was and she was, it's very cottage core fairy like, and it's just not your traditional business. So that's so the average person probably wouldn't have thought of that, but wouldn't that also make it instantly recognizable when you see it? Yeah, yeah. So you mentioned easter eggs. Tell us what the Easter eggs are. So an Easter egg, like, you just want a real definition, just because most people you say easter eggs, yes, you know where their minds go, and they're like, oh, Easter bunnies, and there's easter eggs. And it's like, okay, well, that fits. It's whimsical, yes, but you're talking about No, a little hidden. A little hidden. Am Jeep is somebody who uses this concept, and they have hidden icons throughout their vehicles. And you never know if your Jeep is going to have it and where it is. And so that was something that I did with her logo, was hide a little something special in there. And as I continue to do this, I definitely want to join that. It's not about go redo my logo. It's, it's not about just like basic, you know, basic text and slapping little on the color style, yes, okay, all right, I happen to know about the Easter eggs for Jeep, and I know that it's really funny, because I have a lot of friends that buy jeeps and that they go on this mass search in their vehicle to see if they got one. Yeah. And I just at first I laughed at them, and I was like, Well, yeah, that's kind of cool. It makes your vehicle unique, right? So Mustangs don't have, you know, kind of feel like I'm left out a little bit on that. I get that my baby brother has a jeep, but he just, he's not a Jeep guy. He just ended up with a jeep. And I'm like, Well, what's in your car? And he's like, I don't know. I don't care. And I'm like, Well, get out of the way. Let me look. Did you find it? No, I did. Maybe it's still there. Maybe you didn't, maybe you just didn't find it. So okay, so you've got your favorite event. What's the biggest challenge that you really struggle with when you're working with a client that you know? I mean, there's got to be something changing their mind all the time, or just really not, maybe clearly, have a clear definition in their head what they want. Yes, that definitely. And a lot of times when I present people with the questionnaire, oh, I don't want to do homework and I'm like that. That's part of it, and it helps us really dive in and pick your brain. And you can't just scroll on Pinterest and say, oh, I want that. You've got to really put some thought into it, because ideally, this is going to be a long term commitment, you would think their time Absolutely because you don't want to rebrand every three years when you see something that's cute and trendy, right? How to really commit to something, but it's got to tell your story too, correct? I get that. I get that. That makes perfect sense to me. Um, and so I would think that you do a lot of hand holding. Yes, okay, but there's got to be some satisfaction in that as well, because you're literally guiding somebody to help them learn, which probably feeds that. ADHD, also, because you're helping them see, you're bringing their vision to reality, that's really a position to be in, in that you are helping them create something, even though they're not doing it. I mean, everybody wants the end product, but taking the time. And I'm one of those, I you know, it's like, I'll get somebody to help me, because I don't know, but there's still a responsibility to do your own homework, to even know what you what you want, or at least have some sort of vision of what you want. Yeah, okay, so you've worked on a lot of events. I know this because I obviously work with the chamber here too. But what's your favorite event that you've been able to be the most creative with and really make a difference with taste of Wilson County. I kind of, I kind of have two answers for this. I was very active in the entire process for taste of Wilson County last year, and we really were trying to step up our game. We had new volunteers. We had new ideas brought to the table. And then I also took the taste of Wilson County. And prior to that, a lot of the graphics did not align with our brand. But luckily, the designer of our taste of Wilson County logo, I guess they know a little about branding well, and they're a big company around here, so of course I do, but I love that they took that logo and enhanced it and it aligns with our brand. Now it's a cool logo, yeah, and it made me happy because all the colors aligned. But I love that the mission and the objective of that event is to raise money for teachers in our area, and I have children that go to the public schools, and I just think that that's very important is that we support our teachers. And it was really fun being. Not only the designer behind the event last year, but I also got to I was on all of the planning committees and working with our volunteers keeping track of ticket sales, and I was very deep in it again this year. Yes, yep, we kick back into it here in a couple of weeks, that whole event I can, I can speak to from personal experience, is that what I thought was interesting about the logo, because I do notice those kinds of things, you know, I'm like, Oh, I always do. I'm always questioning in my head, you know, like, wonder why they did this, or I wonder why they did this, but, but if you look at it, just the color palette that they used was timely from a season perspective, okay? And I was like, Okay, that was intentional. That had to be intentional, you know, and then to be able to participate in. It was very cool. I love the connection of doing something that absolutely anybody in the county can or anybody can participate in and enjoy, but it helps the teachers. Okay, so this wasn't you have to be a car enthusiast. This This wasn't you have to be an art enthusiast this. It wasn't that. It was something. It was a gathering. It was a fellowship. And who doesn't like love food, who doesn't love kid friendly activities? Exactly? Yeah, exactly. It wasn't 90 degrees outside. Yes, I really appreciated that, but it really was a probably instantly became my favorite event that the Chamber does, just for that reason is that it truly was making a difference for something very important that affects all of us, even if we don't have kids that go to school, I have grandchildren that go to this public schools. You know, it was just, it was a really cool event. So, good job. I mean, very good job. So what's the second one? The second one is not as much marketing, but I like this is why I do my job. I guess this was really one of those moments, the Small Business Appreciation Week this year was amazing to me, and I really focused on our newer small businesses that have joined within the last couple of years, and we reached out to them, visited them, brought them some cookies and a little token of appreciation, just to show them that we're here for them. Well, there was one lady I had looked into her, and we hadn't seen her in quite some time, and she had been really active. Well, we went and visited her, rekindled that relationship. This would have been, I think, her second year as a chamber member, and just from that approach, she has started coming back around, came to orientation and learned what we really do, because we do so much, it's a little overwhelming when you first join. And so it was nice to see that rekindle with emails. I agree. I agree. So what I hear you saying is, is that the relationship is the key, absolutely okay, and that I stand firm with that across the board that comes down to your volunteers, your sponsorships, and truly, what we can do for you at the end of the day, that's what I want to know, is, what can I do for our members? And it's it was nice to see that visiting that, you know, just a small little event like that could really boost someone's business and bring them back to us. So that relationship process and that development, would you say that translates across to any of the events that you've been involved in? Yeah, I think so you've got to build that relationship, and that helps people feel comfortable to come back to you. It really streamlines the event, because when you are communicating, and that's part of any relationship, true, more likely to be on the same page instead of my philosophy has always been that communication is so key, and the problem with lack of communication is people fill in the blanks for you, if you don't give them the information they're going to fill in the blanks and what they fill the blanks in with a you don't have any control, and may or may not be factual, yes, not with any ill intent, just whatever. I mean, we all know things happen in our lives, and things shape how we feel about stuff and and, you know, you could have somebody take issue with you in traffic and how you look at something 10 seconds later may be different than how you would have looked at it if you hadn't had somebody sort of get in your face about something and so, yeah, communication is important. It eliminates miscommunication. Yes, absolutely. It also helps, you know, if you if you have something you need to do, from a planning perspective, or anything like that. So I think that that's important. I think that's a very strong, strong thing. Do you have any lessons learned along the way that you're like have helped you become who you are today? Honestly, it goes back to communication, while I'm good at telling other people's stories. When I first jumped into this and was doing this on my own, consistent communication was not my cup of tea. And I've learned over the last decade, really, and through adulthood, you've got to be consistent, and that's what makes people happy, and that's what makes me happy too. So if you expect other people to treat you that way, you've got to follow through and do it as well. And so communication and just having that consistency and keeping things answered. Gotcha. Gotcha, I would agree with you on that too. I mean, from an event planner perspective. I mean, I've done, I'm very much like you, and I've done a wide spectrum of had a wide spectrum of roles, but the one common thread, actually two common threads, is communication and relationships. And how to navigate change is another one, and everybody handles that differently. How do you approach when change happens? You know whether that's whether that's with a company that you're working with, from a branding perspective, or within your job, we've all seen a ton of change. How do you navigate change? I like change. I think change is good. Change is a step towards the future, regardless of what it is and it change is necessary for progress. And so I like just a little bit and navigating it honestly, having a system in place, instead of blindly approaching things. So especially with events, change is expected. With events, you have a lot of the unknown if a volunteer is not going to show up, or if a sponsorship falls through, or if it rains, you know, can make all the difference in the world. And so just having a process and having a plan B set up can help the shock factor of any change? True, we've had event planners here at the expo that have totally lost their mind because it was thunder and lightning outside, you know, and rain happens. I mean, I didn't know what to tell them rain happens, but they quickly came up with a plan. So change does happen. It happens all the time. Doesn't matter what you're doing. It's not just events. It's just in life. I like what you said about it being necessary for growth. It's it's important that, I think my dad used to tell me, it builds character, you know, because you have to learn how to think in the moment and adapt. And, you know, my favorite words pivot is, you know, okay, I'm tracking down this. I have a direction, I have a plan, but when somebody throws a roadblock in front of me, okay, well, now what am I to do? You know, and if you don't pivot, then you're standing there with a roadblock in front of you, and you're not going to go anywhere, you know? And I, I will say, in 2020 the event, industry hit a roadblock. No question, you know. I mean, it affected all of us in it didn't matter what kind of business you were in, but the event industry in particular that relies on people gathering ticket sales, merchandising, just awareness or experiences, it all took a hit. Where were you were? Working with companies and events during that roller I will call it a roller coaster timeline, because it felt like a roller coaster timeline. Yeah, honest. Well, I know it wasn't that long ago, but I think a majority of that was here, actually, right? And so I in that I knew you were working on other projects, yeah. Well, in that period of time, I Yeah, so I kind of think timelines, it did that period, I leaned a little more away from events, and that is when I was working remote and building websites and brand development. I was kind of like a baby in brand development then, and so I was leaning away from the events, the major event that I was involved in that year got canceled due to covid, and we came back with one more year following that. And then the company that I was working with, they have just pursued other interests now and don't have that exposition anymore. And so it was a shift, because we were working with vendors. We had models that we were working in. It was a fashion show, and so the way we were constructing our classes and training for the show was completely different, you know, keeping six feet away, which I guess models do that on the runway, but we got through it, and I'm glad that the world has kind of returned to normal, because I think if it would have been a very big shock to me, if I had been in the Chamber of Commerce world then, because things just changed so rapidly. And so it was good that I could work remote and still build my own business, but then also not contribute to the issues with covid, right? Because when you were here, we had the luxury of, well, we have the luxury and the in the huge benefit of being able to be here. So that was, that was, you know, great, but we were working. We were fortunately, we had a website to build, and we had branding we had to do, and all of that could be done internally without us actually having to produce an event for it. So and that was kind of where I was going to there was a pivot. There was a way to survive that. It just kind of refocus and and you did that personally, and you that's when you started building your business. And so that that's the pivot that I'm talking about is that, which is why I wanted you to elaborate a little bit, because it does make a difference. You know. I mean, from working with event planners, we had to pivot with them, and it wasn't so much we the focus was not to recruit events. The focus was to keep secure the planners that we had, and how could we support them in that? So that was a huge pivot, and then coming out of that, okay, now we obviously want to stay supportive, but now we have to go back and focus on trying to recruit. So So I mean that that covid roller coaster was quite the roller coaster that really caused a lot of people to think, and a lot of vent planners went out of business because they didn't pivot. You know, it was they were very, this is just my observation. You may have got the thoughts on it, but they just didn't know how to adapt, you know, or maybe their industry, maybe it wasn't possible to adapt. I mean, that's hard to say, and I certainly would not speak for them, but I did see some struggle more than others, you know. But to your point of communication, that roller coaster ride was huge, I think, in teaching our society that we are not meant to be alone, and that communication is critical to our survival. And it took me a long time. It's kind of embarrassing to say this, but it took me a long time to really realize that, because I have worked remote for several years, and then I had a baby, and I was home with a speechless child, essentially for it wasn't really great and. Great conversation. It was not and I didn't realize until I started working with adults again on a regular basis, how how much I had minimized my personality and my just like day to day conversations, and it was a culture shock, really. I felt like I was reintegrating with society people, yes, and I didn't realize that until I really got back into it. And it did, looking back at it, and especially looking in pictures, I can tell a difference in my confidence and just overall how I felt, and we do need to lean on people to people better our lives in so many different ways. It truly does take a village. Yeah, yeah. I just, I mean, I don't care if you're working in corporate America, I don't care if you're working I don't care if you're working at McDonald's, you know, or you're working for the government, or are you working for any municipality at all? It doesn't matter. It's it takes a village, because truly if, if, and it may seem minuscule at the time, but you you have this cog of things that happen and make things happen and support things, and you can take one out, and you may not feel it, but at some point you'll know it, you know. And I think that's probably similar to getting a flat tire, getting a nail on your tire, you know. At first nothing happens, you know. And then all of a sudden, my tire is a little low, and then my tire keeps getting a little low, and then, oh, guess what, my tire is flat. So I've seen an amazing transformation in you, and over the years I have and I just think that that's just phenomenal, and I'm very proud to have been a part of that. Thank you. So I have a really big question for you as we start to wrap up, what is your WHY for what you do human interaction, and really just I feel fulfilled at the end of the day. While I was actively working with clients and really head in deep with branding and web design. I don't want to say I put it necessarily on the back burner, but the chamber really is my focus now. And so while I was doing exclusively my business, it got the holiday season, and I was like, Oh, I'm going to work a nighttime job, and that way I had my kids covered, and they would never know that I was gone. And so I wasn't I didn't have to have to have a babysitter, because my husband was there to watch the kids. And I worked that job for about a month, and the money was great, but I had no there was nothing fulfilling about doing that job, and that is really important to me, being community engaged, and just seeing that my work is making a difference. So I can totally see where that fits your personality. I can totally feel that and see that your work at the Chamber, I think, has made a huge difference, or the outcomes that you guys are working to achieve. So congratulations to you for that. I mean, that's, that's a, that's a great, great why to have because you will always be fulfilled, because it'll always be changing, yes, and then it really is opportunity, and that's awesome. Is there anything else you want to add to your experience down the road? Um, well, I mean, I genuinely love working with the Chamber of Commerce. I think the thrill of I never know what I'm walking into every day. Yes, it keeps me going, because it's kind of like my career history, I have bounced industry to industry, and so now I can actually do what I love while working with members. We have 1700 members, so they're across all different industries, and it's really fun to go and do ribbon cuttings and spotlights, and even with the community events and be engaged in our community, but in all different business aspects. Very cool. Thank you for being with us today. I appreciate it. I am so tickled to have you on the show and wish you well in your future endeavors with the chamber. Thank you. No problem. You.