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HOW TO DO BUSINESS AT A NACA® EVENT

A Guide for AdvisorsBrought to you by the NACA® Associate Advisory Group (AAG)

2 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CAMPUS ACTIVITIES

How to do Business at Your NACA® Event: A Guide for AdvisorsNACA’s events are packed with activities and excitement. There’s much to see, do and learn. So before you arrive at a regional conference or National Convention, review these guidelines and share them with the students you advise.

Before the EventKnow your team’s goals/needs/wants before arriving at an event. This will help you target what you need and help you get business done.

Delegate event planning and on-site tasks to students and help them enjoy what they do. Encourage and praise them. Train them and then allow them to work. Be sure they know you trust and support them.

Educate your delegation about how NACA works before an event, making sure they understand the four major event compo-nents: • The Campus Activities Marketplace – Make sure students

understand its purpose and why it’s important to visit each booth.

• Showcases – Explain how and why they’re selected and what’s considered appropriate behavior while attending showcase. While it’s great to be excited, engaged and have fun, it’s also im-portant to be respectful of the performers.

• Educational Sessions – Develop a plan for which educational sessions your team plans to attend so each member can bring back good information to benefit your entire board.

• Block Booking – Make sure to participate in the Block Book-ing Orientations and develop a clear understanding of how the process works.

Review the event schedule well ahead of time so you can better prepare your delegation. This will help you know in ad-vance what your days will look like and help you determine who needs to be where at which time. Is there an educational session during during the Campus Activities Marketplace that shouldn’t be missed? Luckily, you can have your delegates split up and cover both.

Download the NACA App now and select the sessions you plan to attend.

RSVP to the receptions to which you’ve been invited personally and be sure to go.

Plan to bring notebooks, pens and contact information to use and share during the event. Make sure to produce any printed materials you might need before the event. Printing items at a ho-tel or conference center is very expensive.

Are the conference center food options beyond your budget? Learn which food options are available in the general vicin-ity of the conference center. Perhaps there’s a familiar fast food franchise only a block away.

Plan to give something back to NACA! On-site volunteer opportunities are a great way to give of your time. Or you can give of your treasure by donating to the NACA® Foundation. Don’t forget to bring your checkbook.

On SiteTalk to other schools, ask questions and have have fun while you’re doing it!

Attend everything you can while at an event. Don’t just go to the Marketplace and let that be it.

Regroup after every Campus Activities Marketplace, edu-cational session block or at the end of the day. What were the highlights/lowlights of what you experienced? Discuss these things with your delegation to brainstorm ideas for doing busi-ness while it’s still fresh.

Keep an open mind about working with new companies. Just because you’ve always worked with a certain company doesn’t mean you can’t work with someone else just as well. Give every-one a chance to show you what they have to offer.

Be approachable, professional and easy to work with. Have knowledge of the industry. NACA is a great place to listen to new music, watch new acts, and be current about what is going on in the entertainment world.

Collaborate. Find schools similar to yours (even if they aren’t in your region) so you can share ideas. This is a great professional development opportunity and one of the few opportunities where you get to be in the same location with other student program-mers from other areas. Take every opportunity to learn about event ideas, marketing strategies, acts that have been successful, agent customer satisfaction, etc.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions of artist or agents. You might be interested in a band or novelty program. Ask them what the tech needs are, such as the number of circuits or microphones. This will allow you to know if you need to add a generator to the cost or have to rent sound equipment for a show.

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After the Event Follow up on discussions you have at the event, whether with as-sociates or other schools. It shows you care and they will want to continue to collaborate with you. But always be careful. Know the difference between being appropriately persistent and pestering.

Know that business doesn’t end at the event. (See Block Booking Tips on Page 4.)

Encourage students to consider their event experience as career development. Regardless of what careers they pursue, learning how to negotiate, network, work as a team, and make decisions are all important business skills. Keep this in mind throughout the entire event, especially in the Marketplace. It’s very possible students will end up in some sort of exhibit hall later in their careers. The event can be a blast, but it’s also an essential “outside the classroom” learning opportunity.

Communicate with your delegates before, during and after the event to facilitate follow-up.

Campus Activities Marketplace TipsThe Campus Activities Marketplace can be overwhelming to new delegates and sometimes even to experienced delegates. It can be very manageable, though, if you keep the following in mind:

• If you are head of or part of a specific area for your committee, be ready to discuss options with associates.

• If the agent does not have what you book, let them know that and steer them to the person on your board who would be inter-ested in their roster.

• Know what you can and can’t do with regard to requesting dates, contracts, etc.

• Share appropriate contact information so agents can fol-low up with you.

• Know your budget and what you can and cannot afford.• Know your calendar so you can avoid booking conflicts.• Be prepared to ask about riders, sound, housing, and trav-

el, etc., so you can get a full picture of an attraction’s costs.• Be ready with ideas about what you are specifically seeking

for your campus or what you might like to consider bringing to campus. Be prepared to collaborate with agents and explore op-tions creatively.

• Interact with all the booths in the Marketplace. Some booths won’t have showcasing acts, so you might not know what they can offer unless you speak to them. 

• Network and make relationships by talking to everyone.• Be ready to talk about your school’s culture and share what

works or doesn’t work on your campus.• Visit acts in their booths after they’ve showcased to thank

them and/or welcome them to NACA.• Look for booth demos; they can be very informative.• Take promotional materials and information from agents,

but not if someone from your delegation already has done so. Be sure to ask exhibitors before taking items from their booth—not everything is a giveaway!

• Plan times and locations where your delegation can meet daily to discuss booking possibilities.

 Showcase EtiquetteDuring showcases, performers are giving you their all, so return the favor:

• Come with an open mind about how acts could possibly fit on your campus.

• Do not use your phone while an act is performing unless you’re creating a social media post to support the act or submit a booking form.

• Do not leave the venue until all acts have performed – artists and agencies pay for that time and your school has paid for you to be there to see them. Don’t waste anyone’s hard-earned money!

• Make notes in your program or make videos to show other members of your committee when you return home.

• Cheer and applaud for all acts to show your appreciation.

• Take advantage of additional opportunities to check out attrac-tions that might be good fits for your school through Special Events, Samplers, and the Roving Artists who perform each day.

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Block Booking TipsParticipate in Block Booking. This is where the deals are made and where you can save money, especially if you’re on a tight bud-get. Many agents are flexible and will work with you if things are really tight, but they’ll be more willing to do so if the routing is favorable. Schools that can’t contract on site should still attend to be aware of what blocks are forming so they can take advantage of deals after the event. Before you leave campus:

• Teach your delegation what Block Booking is and how it can save your school money on entertainment.

• Show your delegation how online Block Booking works.

• Be sure your delegation knows the level of commitment attached to submitting Strong Interest (SI), Single Date (SD), Contract If Block Is Formed (CB), Contract Re-quested (CR) and Contracted Performance (CP). The levels of commitment vary from no contractual agreement to a contracted date, and it’s important to know which is which.

• Educate your delegation on the value of the SI form and how it can benefit your school, even if you can’t contract on site.

• Discuss in advance whether your delegation can actually be a part of the Block Booking process. If you can’t, deter-mine how you might be able to be a part of the blocks, anyway.

• Don’t miss the Block Booking Orientation on site!

• Know that business doesn’t end at the event. Be sure to follow up on your Block Booking Forms and request contracts on those shows you intend to book.

Educational Session Tips• Divide and conquer! Plan who from your delegation will be

going to specific educational sessions.

• Take notes to share with your committee and share what you’ve learned when you return to campus.

• Write out in advance what you want to talk about at the fireside chats and focus groups if planning to attend them.

Event Survival KitYou will be on your feet and on the go most, if not all, of the day, so plan accordingly:

• Wear comfortable shoes. Are any of your students fashioni-stas? Stress the importance of being able to dress quickly and get down to business at the event.

• Dress in layers. Conference centers can have variable temperatures and layering will help you deal with whatever temperature you encounter.

• Try a backpack rather than an over-the-shoulder bag, which could cause unbalanced fatigue.

• Bring over-the-counter pain relievers for headaches and other aches and pains that might result from long, active days.

• A box of granola bars will allow you to skip the long lines at the coffee shop for breakfast.

• Be sure to pack lip balm and lotion. Many event venues have very dry air.

• Bring a refillable water bottle and stay hydrated.

• Plan for portable snacks to help you manage blood sugar lev-els and maintain energy while you’re on the go all day long.

• Bring pencils rather than pens—ink is forever!

• Don’t forget portable chargers. Your phone won’t last long if you’re taking videos of and posting on social media about all the fantastic things you’re seeing.

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Single Date Price: ...........................$1,000 + SLRMT3 Dates in 5 Days (Block Price): ...$900 + SLR5 Dates in 7 Days (Block Price): ...$700 + SLRContract On-Site Discount: ..........$75

WHAT DO THOSE LETTERS AFTER THE SHOWCASE ARTIST’S PRICE MEAN?The artist’s price may or may not include the following: Sound (S), Lights (L), Rooms/Lodging (R), Meals (M) and Travel (T). For example, a price with “ + T” indicates that you will be responsible for the artist’s travel. Plan your Block Booking accordingly.

3 or more schools(reasonably close to each other)

book the same artist(within a few days)

coordinate their dates(minimizing artist’s

travel expenses)

everybody wins!(artist gets gigs, schools save cash, students see a show)

Attending a NACA® event? New to Block Booking? It’s easy!BLOCK BOOKING (noun)—when three or more geographically close schools work with NACA® associate members in the booking process to coordinate dates and times, maximizing routing for a given act or performer.

Want to know more? Attend a meeting on site or visit blockbooking.naca.org any time.

BLOCK BOOKING GLOSSARYBLOCK 3 or more schools geographically close to one another working together to coordinate times when an artist can perform.

FORM The digital avenue to alert an artist or their agent that a school has interest.

3/5 or 3 OF 5 3 performances in a 5-day span by the same artist with schools geographically close to one another.

5/7 or 5 OF 7 5 performances in a 7-day span by the same artist with schools geographically close to one another.

SI: STRONG INTEREST Lowest level of interest, can be a range of dates not to exceed 1 month. Schools can upgrade at any time.

SD: SINGLE DATE Low level of interest, should be a specific date. Schools can upgrade at any time.

CB: CONTRACT IF BLOCK FORMS School commits to a contract if a block forms within 45 days of the event. Valid only if there is a block, cannot be downgraded after block forms.

CR: CONTRACT REQUESTED ON SITE Highest level of commitment, no block needed, contract will be sent to school within 45 days of the event.

CP: CONTRACTED PERFORMANCE Indicates that the artist is unavailable due to another performance. Schools and associates are encouraged to upgrade all business to CP after schools return to their campuses and finalize their schedules.

Anyone can participate in Block Booking! Schools can use low levels to notify Associates to stay in touch after the Convention.