Panic stations yet? No?
Furthering your brand’s success is paramount this year. No kidding right. The two
core dynamics that drive your brand are namely; Clients and Staff. The very same
dynamics, you will at some point, bring under one roof to ensure building and
maintaining of client relationships, placing your products and/or services in front
of decision makers. Another scenario to add is turning the dial up a few decibels
to increase staff morale or to simply say thank you for supporting your business.
So, what does all this talk of brands and people have to do with the price of DJ’s
in the market? Fast forward two months on. Oh boy, your company’s end-of-year
function just got urgent and there’s a party to be had! You require a professional
DJ for the event.
Breathe. We’ve got this.
Whether you are a hands-on CEO or Director of Operations, or not, the final call
on all things ‘The Party of the Year’ will be your responsibility. It is going to boil
down to hosting a memorable event whatever your objectives. Word’s out though
that you’re holding the purse strings. Quite tightly apparently. Good move given
that you don’t have an appointed events company to do the work for you. Smartly
you should have a right hand go to person in your office.
Where to start? Venue hire, catering decisions, possibly accommodation, snazzy
invites, direct mail teasers, gifts and, though always the last thought, a DJ. There
is no sure fire method of choosing the best DJ, but there are ways to ensure you
find the DJ that best suits your needs. In order to help you ensure a successful
event here are a few pertinent pointers for you and your event co-ordinator.
Firstly establish your needs and wants for the event
• Are you going the themed route i.e., smart casual or black-tie?
• What type of venue will you be hiring i.e., a restaurant, hotel or conference
facility? You catch my drift.
• Identify what music your guests would prefer listening and dancing to. To be
more specific what genre of music are they into. It will most likely range from
Commercial e.g., the Top 40 kind of songs like One Direction, Lady Gaga,
Maroon 5, old school, 80’s, 90’s through to current house, tech-house, techno
(possibly) music or the latest local flavour.
• The play list can be exhaustive hence it’s a good idea to get your guests and
staff’s input. Sending out an e-mail to get the names of their top 3 dance
tracks certainly helps the DJ. A skilled DJ will determine the genre and order
of songs to be mixed and played.
• Matching the DJ to your event is important. Once you have finalised your event
theme, venue and the type of music your guests prefer, you can determine the
type of DJ required i.e., a club DJ or corporate events type of DJ? Point in
play (no pun intended) is that you want a professional and versatile kind of DJ
to ensure all guest’s dance moves are met.
• Request recommendations from your staff members and contacts.
What are your expectations of a DJ?
Now that you have your needs and guests’ wants down pat you’re free to start
sourcing your DJ. It’s not every day you hire a DJ and certain key questions may
not be on your radar.
• Decide on whether you want a male or female DJ? Its common knowledge the
DJ industry is male dominated. There are, however, good, professional female
DJ’s in the industry. Do your research.
• Check out your potential DJ’s websites and social media pages. It’s not likely
for your DJ to have an office or shop that you can visit. Determining their level
of professionalism may be a tad difficult. However, most professional DJ’s will,
at least, have a website.
• Once you have met with the DJ, request client references. A reputable DJ
should have testimonials that he/she is eager to share with you. You may go
as far as obtaining permission to talk to his/her previous clients.
• Attend his/her next pubic performance so you can observe their interaction
with the crowd, check mixing skills, energy levels and get a general feel for
their personality.
Questions to ask your DJ
• Do you have a demo CD we can listen to?
• What experience do you have for my type of event?
• How many events do you do a year?
• What other types of events do you do?
• What features are included in your costs?
• How do you maintain and keep your music collection updated?
• May we be involved in selecting the playlist for the event?
• Do you take requests from guests?
• May we submit a ‘Do not play’ list?
• Do you require a deposit to secure the event and what would that be?
• What do you require from us on the day of the event i.e., table,
tablecloth, etc.?
• What kind of equipment do you use?
• What time would you be setting-up and breaking?
• What are your costs should we require you to play over the agreed hours?
• Do you have back-up equipment?
• What additional equipment do you require from the venue?
• What is your back-up plan should there be unforeseen circumstances?
In short you want to know exactly what you’re getting. Ultimately you want an
event that will leave your guests tweeting and talking for a good few weeks.
Your Return On Investment (ROI) translates to happy, productive staff, committed
returning clients hence a successful brand and a positive bottom line. Let the
party begin!
About Sharm Pillay
Having always walked to the beat of her own drums, Sharm’s single-minded
mission is living her Truth with Pure Passion and soul enthused creativity,
impacting the world, one frequency at a time. Sharm is South Africa’s first
Indian (proudly so) Female Techno DJ. The world is her stage.
For more info on gigs, bio and media
updates visit:
Contact:
Mobile:
079 181 8501
Twitter:
@sharmpillaydj
Mixcloud:
sharmpillay
Facebook:
Sharm/DJ
We are well into the second half of 2015. Where has the year gone you may well be asking yourself?
The finish to a successful year hinges on pretty much the same outcome, be it a Small Medium
Enterprise (SME) or large corporate. Two words: Bottom Line, which translate into looming deadlines,
financial year-end, reaching sales targets, staff KPA’s on the horizon (i.e., salary increases)
and pending must do client visits to name a few.
Sharm Pillay
Nex Media •
Vol 3 Issue 2
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