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TEDxBerkleeValencia – June 21st 2014
Culminating Experience Reflective Report
Alejandra Menéndez González
Global Entertainment and Music Business
Operational Project: TEDxBerkleeValencia
Initial Role: Marketing Department
Student ID: 0763109
June 27, 2014
Descriptive Summary
of the Project
Technology, Entertainment and Design: TED, a non-profit organisation, has been devoted since
1984 to spreading ideas in the form of maximum 18-minute talks. Having begun as a
converging point for these three topics, the success of this initiative has made TED conferences
cover almost every topic nowadays, in more than 100 different languages. On the other hand –
again in the spirit of ideas worth spreading
–
the
TEDx program was created featuring local,
self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
Living in a creative hub such as Berklee College of Music, the fit seemed perfect. Having
obtained the license to organise our very own first TEDxBerkleeValencia event, enabled us to
take advantage of TED’s well-positioned brand, giving our community many possibilities and
advantages. Staff and students were given the chance to audition to be a speaker, sharing their
own creative and innovative ideas, hence stimulating their own selves while generating
awareness among the Spanish community for Berklee Valencia. TEDxBerkleeValencia has
awareness among the Spanish community for Berklee Valencia. TEDxBerkleeValencia has
been the perfect opportunity to combine and cross promote both brands, hopefully becoming a
precedent that will add national and international exposure. TED and TEDx videos have
millions of views online, meaning the marketing potential for Berklee Valencia and its
community is huge.
The theme chosen by the curators was Creative Catalyst, empowering a broad range of subjects
to be exposed, and stimulating the students and staff’s creativity even further. The initial
intention was to explore the creative challenges that shape ground breaking innovations in
different disciplines such as the arts, science, sports, and business. The selection of speakers was
based on personal stories, ideas and fascinating contemporary examples that drive our society
towards new, undiscovered challenges. As mentioned before, the chosen theme fit perfectly
with Berklee’s mission statement and reputation as a state-of-the-art educational institution, as
well as attracting professionals from different fields based in the creative arts such as music,
films, art, design, dance or innovative business models and entrepreneurship.
TEDxBerkleeValencia took place on Saturday 21st June 2014, in harmony with the World
Music Day. Although the venue wasn’t confirmed until last minute, we were lucky enough to
rent the Aula Magistral in the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía, part of the City of Arts and
Sciences in Valencia. The Aula Magistral is a 370 capacity venue, located in an ideal cultural
environment, which obviously helped us generate the awareness we were after. The show was
intended to last over 4 hours, but amazingly we were done before schedule. Over 300 attendees
had the chance to listen to 13 international speakers and 4 performers from 9 different countries,
with very different backgrounds but a common passion: creativity. Illustration, film
composition, videogames, dance and percussion, were some of the subjects covered.
The Process
Probably due to a lack of experience in event production, the initial roles were not established in
a coherent way, meaning I am unaware of the criteria applied to select each member and the
tasks assigned, but the team building was not solid enough, making the whole process even
more challenging and sometimes even tense. The team was put together around November after
the core members interviewed all the candidates and assigned roles, splitting the team into 3
departments: Artistic Direction, Marketing and Production.
I believe this division might have caused confusion at the beginning when dividing tasks, as the
boundaries were never defined, nor was there an official hierarchic structure to follow. These
details might seem unimportant, but a good, solid structure is extremely useful communication
wise. Weekly meetings where held during the initial phase, but most of the members had little to
do, and information did not flow transversally. Spending time in an inefficient way is
exhausting and highly demotivating, being difficult to regain later. During this initial anarchic
phase, we started shaping the event.
My colleague Cristina Domínguez and I, were in charge of the Marketing Department, although
our actions were very limited due to the lack of information and transparency between the team.
An initial marketing draft was planed, though our target customers were defined before the
venue was decided. We had to adapt and draft a plan with the ideas we potentially wanted to
develop, and the whole marketing strategy (including social media) was again not solid at all.
Obviously, the average consumer at the Palau is very different than that at the Rambleta
(another possible venue). As time went by and meetings were being held, the concept of the
event remained unclear, at least for the marketing department. We developed and implemented
several basic strategies to generate awareness, such as printing posters and having a team photo
shoot, distributing flyers and shooting promotional videos.
While trying to be proactive, Cristina and I brainstormed and researched several things such as
potential sponsors, possible gifts for the attendees, promotional tools, t-shirts, as well as the logo
design and image guidelines. Unfortunately, due to the lack of structure, these tasks ended up
being taken over by other members of the team.
Human beings, especially ambitious ones like those in our community, need to work, be active
and constantly motivated. This human factor was a huge issue during the development of the
project, as the meetings began too early and too many people were involved since day one. This
lead to confusion and demotivation, which ended up with our own underperformance as the
result.
As the time came closer, the team dynamic was not positive, making the process harder and less
attractive for most of us. As it was clear that the initial structure was not working, the roles
executed by each team member were redefined.
My specific role as Marketing Manager faded away as other demanding tasks regarding the
production of the event increased. Although I was able to play around with the website and
create content taking SEO into account, I tried my best to keep the team spirit up and working
as the day approached. Due to my previous experience having to build an international team of
interns, I was able to pick up certain signals that were not positive at all for the project and the
development of each member.
The structure of the team was readapted in a way, as more demanding tasks appeared that didn’t
fit into any specific category or department. Having dealt with producing other similar events, I
figured out that the whole project I first had in mind was not going to happen, so I readapted
going from Marketing Manager to “miscellaneous multi-tasker” or in other words, producing an
event. Supervising content creation, folding t-shirts or picking up the heavy linoleum became
daily tasks, as well as taking over part of the social media management. Alexandra Morancy did
her best as our Community Manager but had obvious limitations, as she does not speak Spanish
nor have a network in Spain.
Finally, the ticketing had to be managed. The chosen platform was Ticketea, which has many
advantages and innovative widgets to provide analytics and information post event. If the idea is
to repeat TEDxBerkleeValencia each year, having this data is crucial for future success.
And after several months, the day arrived. I had to miss the general rehearsal that took place on
June 20th, for I was dealing with the list of attendees (some invited, some VIPs and some
general admission), as I was on the actual day of the event. Coordinating the registration table
and solving any unexpected issue in creative ways.
On the previous picture we can see two of our volunteers, Manuel Delgado and Vanessa
Barabad, trying to deal with the wind blowing our posters away, using a bottle of water!
Results
TEDxBerkleeValencia was definitely a huge success, having in mind that it was the first ever
TEDx event hosted by Berklee and run by students. Not only were all the objectives
accomplished, but also the event was sold out. Exact numbers are yet to be analyzed, although
the venue looked beautiful and for the first time I was part of an event that finished almost half
an hour before schedule. All the comments we’ve received have been positive, meaning we
have probably managed to set a precedent in Berklee Valencia, for which I’m proud.
Obviously, results are aligned with personal expectations and project expectations, which are
not the same. Personally, even though the event was a huge success for the audience, I did not
appreciate the tension and lack of good vibe that was in the air mainly due to miscommunication
and rushed organization. It is a shame, for it was the first experience for many of the team
members, and I would like them to have a good memory. Projects like this always end up
happening and well perceived by the audience, but the journey should also be remembered as a
good one.
On the other hand, I would not recommend 4 students relying on TEDx for their Culminating
Experience, as there is not enough space for everyone to develop and frustrations appear, when
comparing experiences with the rest of the students.
Next Steps
TEDxBerkleeValencia didn’t end on June 21st for many tasks are yet to be done in order to turn
this event into an on going one in Berklee Valencia. A thorough data analysis about attendees is
yet to be done, in order to create a database containing all the information gathered from the
ticketing. Ticketing sales should be studied to try and determine which marketing strategies
were most effective. The website should be improved, maybe even redone using a better
template or an actual programmer to avoid the technical limitations we faced. All the content
that was generated on the day of the event has to be uploaded on the website and on social
media, so that the fan base we’ve developed does not disappear and lose interest for following
editions.
Creating a guide for future TEDxBerkleeValencia editions would also be helpful for future
generations, as they wouldn’t have to cope with issues that are expensive and exhausting. I
would probably also recommend a “post event collective team reflection” of some kind, so that
the experience and effort – challenges included – are not in vain.
To the date, the exact number of attendees hasn’t been established, as I need to go over all the
lists to make sure there is no mistake. Meeting the Financial Manager at Berklee will be an
important step, to make sure the invoice from ticketing is correct and all the information legally
required is provided.
Contribution to the discipline and profession
There is no doubt about how TEDx events contribute spreading ideas within different
communities around the world, and I am proud to have taken part in doing so. We made the
students participants, allowing them to apply and have their time on stage to share their ideas to
a general public, while generating awareness about Berklee Valencia in Valencia and Spain.
Obviously a lot is still to be done, but as I mentioned at the beginning of my reflection, the cross
promotion born by the union of these two entities is definitely a positive thing for the
Entertainment Industry and any curious human being. The range of theme possibilities TEDx
provides is immense, aligning perfectly with Berklee’s role.
On the other hand, speakers involved will have new material to promote themselves and the
chance of gaining tremendous awareness due to the number of views TED videos have online.
Impact on the Student Completing the Work
As mentioned before, adapting was a crucial part of my experience during the process. Any
experience in life teaches one a new lesson, and in my case I definitely validated the previous
ideas I had about team building and team management. Dealing with human beings is not easy
if the organization is not previously defined, turning an amusing process into frustrations and
tensions, which aren’t worth it. However, it has helped me understand that the “start-up” in my
professional career is over, at least for now.
Culminating Experience Reflective Report
Alejandra Menéndez González
Global Entertainment and Music Business
Operational Project: TEDxBerkleeValencia
Initial Role: Marketing Department
Student ID: 0763109
June 27, 2014
Descriptive Summary
of the Project
Technology, Entertainment and Design: TED, a non-profit organisation, has been devoted since
1984 to spreading ideas in the form of maximum 18-minute talks. Having begun as a
converging point for these three topics, the success of this initiative has made TED conferences
cover almost every topic nowadays, in more than 100 different languages. On the other hand –
again in the spirit of ideas worth spreading
–
the
TEDx program was created featuring local,
self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
Living in a creative hub such as Berklee College of Music, the fit seemed perfect. Having
obtained the license to organise our very own first TEDxBerkleeValencia event, enabled us to
take advantage of TED’s well-positioned brand, giving our community many possibilities and
advantages. Staff and students were given the chance to audition to be a speaker, sharing their
own creative and innovative ideas, hence stimulating their own selves while generating
awareness among the Spanish community for Berklee Valencia. TEDxBerkleeValencia has
awareness among the Spanish community for Berklee Valencia. TEDxBerkleeValencia has
been the perfect opportunity to combine and cross promote both brands, hopefully becoming a
precedent that will add national and international exposure. TED and TEDx videos have
millions of views online, meaning the marketing potential for Berklee Valencia and its
community is huge.
The theme chosen by the curators was Creative Catalyst, empowering a broad range of subjects
to be exposed, and stimulating the students and staff’s creativity even further. The initial
intention was to explore the creative challenges that shape ground breaking innovations in
different disciplines such as the arts, science, sports, and business. The selection of speakers was
based on personal stories, ideas and fascinating contemporary examples that drive our society
towards new, undiscovered challenges. As mentioned before, the chosen theme fit perfectly
with Berklee’s mission statement and reputation as a state-of-the-art educational institution, as
well as attracting professionals from different fields based in the creative arts such as music,
films, art, design, dance or innovative business models and entrepreneurship.
TEDxBerkleeValencia took place on Saturday 21st June 2014, in harmony with the World
Music Day. Although the venue wasn’t confirmed until last minute, we were lucky enough to
rent the Aula Magistral in the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía, part of the City of Arts and
Sciences in Valencia. The Aula Magistral is a 370 capacity venue, located in an ideal cultural
environment, which obviously helped us generate the awareness we were after. The show was
intended to last over 4 hours, but amazingly we were done before schedule. Over 300 attendees
had the chance to listen to 13 international speakers and 4 performers from 9 different countries,
with very different backgrounds but a common passion: creativity. Illustration, film
composition, videogames, dance and percussion, were some of the subjects covered.
The Process
Probably due to a lack of experience in event production, the initial roles were not established in
a coherent way, meaning I am unaware of the criteria applied to select each member and the
tasks assigned, but the team building was not solid enough, making the whole process even
more challenging and sometimes even tense. The team was put together around November after
the core members interviewed all the candidates and assigned roles, splitting the team into 3
departments: Artistic Direction, Marketing and Production.
I believe this division might have caused confusion at the beginning when dividing tasks, as the
boundaries were never defined, nor was there an official hierarchic structure to follow. These
details might seem unimportant, but a good, solid structure is extremely useful communication
wise. Weekly meetings where held during the initial phase, but most of the members had little to
do, and information did not flow transversally. Spending time in an inefficient way is
exhausting and highly demotivating, being difficult to regain later. During this initial anarchic
phase, we started shaping the event.
My colleague Cristina Domínguez and I, were in charge of the Marketing Department, although
our actions were very limited due to the lack of information and transparency between the team.
An initial marketing draft was planed, though our target customers were defined before the
venue was decided. We had to adapt and draft a plan with the ideas we potentially wanted to
develop, and the whole marketing strategy (including social media) was again not solid at all.
Obviously, the average consumer at the Palau is very different than that at the Rambleta
(another possible venue). As time went by and meetings were being held, the concept of the
event remained unclear, at least for the marketing department. We developed and implemented
several basic strategies to generate awareness, such as printing posters and having a team photo
shoot, distributing flyers and shooting promotional videos.
While trying to be proactive, Cristina and I brainstormed and researched several things such as
potential sponsors, possible gifts for the attendees, promotional tools, t-shirts, as well as the logo
design and image guidelines. Unfortunately, due to the lack of structure, these tasks ended up
being taken over by other members of the team.
Human beings, especially ambitious ones like those in our community, need to work, be active
and constantly motivated. This human factor was a huge issue during the development of the
project, as the meetings began too early and too many people were involved since day one. This
lead to confusion and demotivation, which ended up with our own underperformance as the
result.
As the time came closer, the team dynamic was not positive, making the process harder and less
attractive for most of us. As it was clear that the initial structure was not working, the roles
executed by each team member were redefined.
My specific role as Marketing Manager faded away as other demanding tasks regarding the
production of the event increased. Although I was able to play around with the website and
create content taking SEO into account, I tried my best to keep the team spirit up and working
as the day approached. Due to my previous experience having to build an international team of
interns, I was able to pick up certain signals that were not positive at all for the project and the
development of each member.
The structure of the team was readapted in a way, as more demanding tasks appeared that didn’t
fit into any specific category or department. Having dealt with producing other similar events, I
figured out that the whole project I first had in mind was not going to happen, so I readapted
going from Marketing Manager to “miscellaneous multi-tasker” or in other words, producing an
event. Supervising content creation, folding t-shirts or picking up the heavy linoleum became
daily tasks, as well as taking over part of the social media management. Alexandra Morancy did
her best as our Community Manager but had obvious limitations, as she does not speak Spanish
nor have a network in Spain.
Finally, the ticketing had to be managed. The chosen platform was Ticketea, which has many
advantages and innovative widgets to provide analytics and information post event. If the idea is
to repeat TEDxBerkleeValencia each year, having this data is crucial for future success.
And after several months, the day arrived. I had to miss the general rehearsal that took place on
June 20th, for I was dealing with the list of attendees (some invited, some VIPs and some
general admission), as I was on the actual day of the event. Coordinating the registration table
and solving any unexpected issue in creative ways.
On the previous picture we can see two of our volunteers, Manuel Delgado and Vanessa
Barabad, trying to deal with the wind blowing our posters away, using a bottle of water!
Results
TEDxBerkleeValencia was definitely a huge success, having in mind that it was the first ever
TEDx event hosted by Berklee and run by students. Not only were all the objectives
accomplished, but also the event was sold out. Exact numbers are yet to be analyzed, although
the venue looked beautiful and for the first time I was part of an event that finished almost half
an hour before schedule. All the comments we’ve received have been positive, meaning we
have probably managed to set a precedent in Berklee Valencia, for which I’m proud.
Obviously, results are aligned with personal expectations and project expectations, which are
not the same. Personally, even though the event was a huge success for the audience, I did not
appreciate the tension and lack of good vibe that was in the air mainly due to miscommunication
and rushed organization. It is a shame, for it was the first experience for many of the team
members, and I would like them to have a good memory. Projects like this always end up
happening and well perceived by the audience, but the journey should also be remembered as a
good one.
On the other hand, I would not recommend 4 students relying on TEDx for their Culminating
Experience, as there is not enough space for everyone to develop and frustrations appear, when
comparing experiences with the rest of the students.
Next Steps
TEDxBerkleeValencia didn’t end on June 21st for many tasks are yet to be done in order to turn
this event into an on going one in Berklee Valencia. A thorough data analysis about attendees is
yet to be done, in order to create a database containing all the information gathered from the
ticketing. Ticketing sales should be studied to try and determine which marketing strategies
were most effective. The website should be improved, maybe even redone using a better
template or an actual programmer to avoid the technical limitations we faced. All the content
that was generated on the day of the event has to be uploaded on the website and on social
media, so that the fan base we’ve developed does not disappear and lose interest for following
editions.
Creating a guide for future TEDxBerkleeValencia editions would also be helpful for future
generations, as they wouldn’t have to cope with issues that are expensive and exhausting. I
would probably also recommend a “post event collective team reflection” of some kind, so that
the experience and effort – challenges included – are not in vain.
To the date, the exact number of attendees hasn’t been established, as I need to go over all the
lists to make sure there is no mistake. Meeting the Financial Manager at Berklee will be an
important step, to make sure the invoice from ticketing is correct and all the information legally
required is provided.
Contribution to the discipline and profession
There is no doubt about how TEDx events contribute spreading ideas within different
communities around the world, and I am proud to have taken part in doing so. We made the
students participants, allowing them to apply and have their time on stage to share their ideas to
a general public, while generating awareness about Berklee Valencia in Valencia and Spain.
Obviously a lot is still to be done, but as I mentioned at the beginning of my reflection, the cross
promotion born by the union of these two entities is definitely a positive thing for the
Entertainment Industry and any curious human being. The range of theme possibilities TEDx
provides is immense, aligning perfectly with Berklee’s role.
On the other hand, speakers involved will have new material to promote themselves and the
chance of gaining tremendous awareness due to the number of views TED videos have online.
Impact on the Student Completing the Work
As mentioned before, adapting was a crucial part of my experience during the process. Any
experience in life teaches one a new lesson, and in my case I definitely validated the previous
ideas I had about team building and team management. Dealing with human beings is not easy
if the organization is not previously defined, turning an amusing process into frustrations and
tensions, which aren’t worth it. However, it has helped me understand that the “start-up” in my
professional career is over, at least for now.
