The King and the Big Idea

Once upon a time, the King of Brandopia decided to hold a product launch for his latest invention, the stay-sharp sword. “Invite the finest event producers in the land to come with their ideas,” ordered the King. The Wise Man, who’d served many kings in his time, coughed politely. “My Lord, may I remind you that our coffers are getting rather low.” “Don’t be such a pessimist,” said the King, dismissively.

And so they came, one after another, with their colourful presentations and confident claims. The King made his choice. He loved their Big Idea, though he wasn’t quite clear why it needed to be so complicated or costly. The Wise Man felt the first pangs of anxiety. “A clear case of overselling,” he said under his breath.

The day of the build arrived. And so did the problems. Suppliers all over the site needed water but nobody had prepared a pipe plan. Hours were lost as bucketfuls were brought in. When the stage went up, the cheap roof leaked. So when the rain arrived the expensive & exquisite stage set got soaked. But in any case nobody could see the stage properly because it was too high.

The furniture was beautiful. But it was delivered halfway through the show and had to stay outside on the cart. The drapes were luxurious. But the proscenium fell down. The finale fireworks were magnificent. But they all went off at the same time. The reveal moment had been hastily rehearsed, leading to a rather nasty accident with the sword.

And then, after the event was over, the Producers presented the King with a long list of “extras” that cleaned out the King’s coffers altogether. “I could have told you so,” muttered the Wise Man to himself.

The moral of the story is: Don’t be wise after the event. Be wise before the event.

Event Wisdom from KGA
Who Does What When and How

Exceptional experiences are created by precision planning and realistic budgeting. A great idea poorly planned & executed is a poor experience. A great idea, unrealistically budgeted, can become an expensive experience.

Planning is KGA’s strength. As we like to say, we’re Natural Born Planners. We love logistics. We love checking and double checking. We love budgets that tell the truth. We hate ambiguity and nasty surprises. 

With KGA, twenty years of experience in the events business comes free with every new project, whatever the budget. 

KGA  Wise before the event.