How TrivWorks Produces Last-Minute Corporate Trivia Events

TrivWorks is a premium corporate entertainment and team building vendor, servicing primarily high-end clients. As such, most of my events are booked well in advance to guarantee availability of my specialized services – often many months in advance. However, this isn’t always the case.

Last-minute booking requests come in often – perhaps more often than you might think. It could be for any number of reasons: another vendor backed out, there’s a sudden gap in a programing agenda, or maybe the boss simply decided to do something on the fly. No matter the reason, the planner is suddenly left scrambling, trying to find a viable solution.

I love to accommodate these requests whenever possible. As an events industry professional for over 20 years, I’ve had my share of crises, last-minute snafus, etc. I know the relief that comes with a replacement vendor, venue, etc., and very much want to help alleviate the stress of my fellow planners by coming through for them. But how? I’m providing customized, professionally-emceed trivia entertainment, after all. Doesn’t this require significant preparation and planning?

Here’s a quick rundown of what I do when a last-minute trivia event request come in:

Step 1: Check Emcee Availability

This is the first thing I do when I get off the phone with a stressed-out client, who needs something ASAP. I can’t deliver my professional emcee services without an emcee, so this has to be at the top of my list. I am fortunate to work with a team of highly skilled and experienced professional trivia hosts, and I myself have of course been doing this forever. We all love the job and want to work gigs, however we also have lives. If the date request is too close and neither my emcees nor I are available, well…that’s pretty much the end of that. However, assuming I DO have someone available (or can staff the gig myself), that’s the first big hurdle jumped!

Step 2: Determine the Client’s Budget

I actually do this second, after I’ve made sure an event is even feasible. Why? Because while I can make recommendations and accommodations based on a client’s allocated spend, I can’t do anything at all if I have no one available. I also have fixed expenses I can’t get around for every event I produce: staffing, materials, transportation, etc. However, if a client’s budget makes sense for me and I can come through for them in a pinch, I see no reason why I can’t “take the hit” in order to be the hero, you know? (Incidentally, when I “take the hit” this means me, personally – I never ask my emcees or production staff to take a cut in compensation, simply because an event is booking late and/or has a tight budget).

Step 3: Get Customization Info from the Client

Whether it’s a short turnaround event or planned months in advance, I often tell my clients that the customization part of what I do is actually pretty quick. This is by design; I want my services to be turnkey, and don’t want my clients having to devote tons of time to researching, writing or fact-checking trivia. This comes in super handy for last-minute bookings, since the process is already there – I just plug and play. That’s not to say I don’t still put in the time and effort to tailor each of my events to the degree they deserve, even with a ticking clock – see below.

Step 4: Customize the Content

Once I’ve locked in staffing and gotten everything I need from the client to customize the questions, I get to quick work tailoring the material. This is actually the most time-consuming part of preparing corporate trivia events, so it can be a little stressful on my part. But if I agree to take on a client last-minute, that means I also assume the responsibility for properly customizing the experience as I’ve promised. Truth be told, I may or may not be able to provide fully-customized questions about the company or attendees. However, it won’t be a generic experience, either; at a bare minimum, I’m going to ensure the content is relevant and appropriate to the demographics of the audience. I’m also going to make sure our visuals are fitted with the client’s logo, and that the emcee knows exactly who will be at the event, it’s goals, etc.

Step 5: Deliver a Full-Hearted Experience

I never want to “dial it in” with last-minute events. Regardless of who the client is, how much their budget is or how little time I had to prepare, I want to blow their minds just like I do for a regularly-booked gig. My late-booking client will still get a fantastic emcee, great trivia questions, and a high-quality, professionally-executed experience.

Click here for another article on last-minute party planning.

Step 6: Mentally Prepare for Cancellation

While I do love coming through for my clients with last-minute corporate entertainment and team building activities, it doesn’t always work out. Despite my best intentions and willingness to be accommodating, things do sometimes fall apart at the last minute, through no fault of my own.

Case in point, a few months ago I was contacted by an event venue I’d hosted a gig at the night before. A different client staying at the hotel had their whale watching boat tour rained out, but they saw how much fun my people were having at their trivia gig, and wanted to bring me in to fill the slot the next day. I quickly cleared my schedule and sent over a contract – but didn’t hear back. The following morning, after I’d reached out several more times, I received a perfunctory text that they’d changed their minds – no reason given. I tried following up, but never received a reply.

This was extremely frustrating and disappointing, especially since I cancelled out all of my other appointments to make myself available on short notice. Oh, well – so it goes.

In Conclusion

Producing corporate team building and entertainment activities at a moment’s notice isn’t something that every vendor can do. Fortunately, given my unique experience and the stellar professional talent I work with, I often come though for these requests. I can’t always deliver every single time, and it may not be as highly customized as it would be if I had more time to prepare. But I do guarantee an experience that exceeds expectations, which audiences always enjoy and planners feel great about!

For further reading, you may be interested in “Case Study: Pulling Off a Last-Minute Corporate Entertainment Event.”