Events are in my blood – I truly grew up in the event industry. Attending events from a young age and learning from the very best in the business, my mother, has allowed me to forge my own path and take Paulette Wolf Events to the next level.
My mother made me work in every area of our industry to learn from the best about their craft, so I would be fluent in all areas of our business. From working at a hotel front desk and learning to pre-block rooms for entertainment to working for a caterer and learning all about F&B and menu planning, as well as how to put out a Sterno to working for a tent company to understand all of the details surrounding outdoor events. I even worked at the Greek Theater in LA in entertainment relations learning all about entertainment riders, production, VIP meet & greets and how to be the “Voice of God” before performances – all of these experiences gave me great respect for our collaborative partners and what they bring “to the party” every time.
PWE is a 100% certified women-owned business.
How long has your company been producing events? What is your main focus?
Paulette Wolf Events began over 40 years ago and quickly became a leader in the event industry known for creating unique, innovative, and experience-rich events with a personalized approach among Fortune 500 Companies worldwide like McDonald’s, Disney and NetApp as well as premier sporting events like the Olympics, Super Bowl & Kentucky Derby.
During our 40+ years in the industry, we have acquired and produced over $300 million in musical acts, entertained over 80 million guests/consumers, and produced over 5,000 events.
Our foundation is built upon the “Live Event”, listening to our clients to best understand their brand, culture, and goals, allowing us to co-author, design and deliver an event of the highest quality and service for the best value.
Paulette Wolf Events is driven by the philosophy that experience changes everything. We redefine the live event for our clients through engagement solutions that harmonize & highlight the strategy allowing them to engage before, during and after the event giving a broader footprint and a longer tail to the messaging that our clients want to share.
Our difference is truly in our team, the culture we’ve created and our commitment to going above and beyond for our clients.
Paulette Wolf Events handles both the corporate and social markets. We produce everything from product launches, incentive travel, grand openings, foundation events, galas, and entertainment production to weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and milestone birthday celebrations.
What do you enjoy most about your role in corporate event planning?
I love that it is never the same. You are constantly reinventing the wheel. Each client comes to the table with their brand, culture, and goals and we get to co-author, design and deliver an event that best represents them and the message that they want to share.
How do you keep up with the constant change in the industry?
It comes down to understanding the demographics, habits, and preferences of meeting attendees—whether boomer, Gen Xer or millennial, to an old-line industrial industry or fast-growing technology startup. How much do they care about health, wellness, and sustainability? Do they want to sightsee or settle in for educational sessions? Do they want to be wined & dined or do they want menus stressing veggies over meat or even discussing CBD oils in menu items?
Everything has to be customized and tailored based on the audience.
How do you mix the current trends with the traditional to create a meeting that is engaging and informative?
Special events are no longer just about fancy centerpieces and gourmet food. Today, event entertainment is at a premium and everyone is looking for fresh and innovative ways to enhance the guest experience.
The growth of technology supports this shift and will play a role in all future events, from video-mapping to virtual reality. On-site artists, unplugged artisan groups, roaming musicians, and live entertainers (think acrobats and aerial dancers) are all popular choices for bringing more life to the party.
What are some ways to personalize a corporate event?
Make time for brain breaks. Events are full of content and activity, and attendees want to maximize their investment of time and money. But, packing several sessions to attend, booths to visit, notes to take, and people to meet into two or three days can be quite demanding for conference attendees. Adding areas or just time where attendees can unplug from the event and allow them to process what is happening and reconnect allows them to come back energized and engaged.
We recommend fitness classes, meditation, and fun activities in between sessions to help unwind and “give the brain a break.” These give a personal touch making employees feel like they are part of a “family” that cares about their well-being.
What do you see as the corporate event industry’s greatest challenge, currently?
The panic of the Coronavirus. Companies are canceling & postponing events in large numbers and the cancellations are having damaging ripple effects across the hotel, airline, entertainment, marketing, restaurant, and other industries. We will not know the economic impact until later this year, but it is definitely substantial.
Rescheduling events can pose serious financial issues for organizers where they lose deposits or might not be able to book the same venue for their new dates.
And attendees miss out on the opportunity of making deals or business connections when they can’t meet face to face. Obviously health & safety is the priority, but we want to try and remain calm and make educated decisions on behalf of our clients.
Sustainability is a current movement that can be challenging for large events. What is your approach?
Consider sustainability. Our corporate clients are committed to leaving less of a footprint in the world, and that goes with their event design plans. Small and large businesses are recognizing their global responsibility to reduce their environmental impact, and the effects of that shift are showing in their events.
As a result, companies are requesting more recyclable and reusable items, as sustainability aligns with many organizations’ corporate values. Corporate clients want their events to be as “green” as possible, so they want us to consider eco-friendly options and reduce waste as much as possible.
In the interest of sustainability, there’s no need for flashy disposable items such as napkins and stirrers. For some clients, we have created pillows with a corporate logo, which is used as part of the decor but can be taken home by guests as swag, so they’re not wasted.
How do you measure the success of an event?
As an event professional, you learn to recognize whether your event was successful or not. But besides your gut instincts, it’s crucial to know how to measure the success of the event in order to properly evaluate all your efforts.
Depending on your goals: brand awareness, returning attendees or maximizing revenue, you need to define key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can evaluate whether you have achieved all your objectives. Depending on which of these are the most important, then you can determine what you need to look at for success.
Some of the criteria that we look at is social media activity, post-event surveys, sponsor satisfaction, ROI, number of new leads, etc.
