Episode 73: Creating Immersive Event Experiences with Utopia Experience

Jeff: Welcome to Elevate Your Event, your favorite podcast for transforming fundraising events. Join us weekly for expert tips and creative ideas to make your next event a standout success. On this episode of the Elevate Your Event podcast, we are joined by our friend Joey Goone with Utopia Experience as he walks through creating a more immersive experience for your guests. Enjoy.

Jeff: All right, welcome back to the Elevate Your Event podcast, where we talk about all the various ways you can make your next fundraising event better than the last one. So in the studio today, we've got Lori Makkai -- marketing, event manager, teacher extraordinaire, event coach.

Lori: I like that.

Jeff: And we've got a really cool guest today. So we've got Joey Goone from Utopia Experience. Is that how you say it?

Joey: I mean, you can call it whatever you want. It's really utopia as you define it. It's funny.

Jeff: Please introduce yourself.

Joey: Yes, my name is Joey Goone. I'm with Utopia Experience. We are a St. Louis-based event and video production company. We've been around since 2002. Our specialty is something that, before we hit record, it was like, wow, there's just so much alignment here. It's really about creating immersive experiences. Everybody says that they want to retool their events and do something different. But what exactly does that mean? I'm excited to unpack that today because that's really our secret sauce, our superpower if you will, is creating immersive and interesting experiences for our nonprofit partners and our conference partners all over the country.

Jeff: I think that's awesome. Because guest experience is at the top of our list at Handbid. Obviously there are some mechanical things about events -- a lot of them are very similar -- but making sure that you create that memorable, in a good way, guest experience where people feel like they really got something good out of it and weren't frustrated in the process is important. Beyond the ask video, the heart video where you're trying to get the donations right before the paddle raise, beyond that kind of experience. We're talking immersive, really getting into it. So tell us a little bit about what that looks like for you. Joey, what does it look like when you say immersive experience?

Joey: So, I could speak for three hours just on this. So you guys are going to have to stop me if I get too far out in left field. But our team talks about 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 events. And so we always talk about how people come to events for three reasons. And so before we even dive into the tactical, nitty-gritty strategies of how do we create something immersive and meaningful with technology or little mission connection activities during our events, for us it's understanding the neuroscience and the psychology around why people gather. I nerd out -- I've got some of my neuroscience and events psychology books behind me. A couple of my favorites. They're sitting on the shelf. But we take our clients through this 3C philosophy that we borrowed and repurposed from our friends over at the Exchange Approach. They're incredible. They're an event facilitation company. And so the 3C model really unpacks why people come to events. And we say that they come for three reasons. Number one, the first C is that people want to come for content. They want you to teach them something new. Two is connection -- people want some element of social interaction and networking. And most events typically stop there and they miss the most important C, which is the third C. And the third C is -- when people say we need to evolve and change, we're like, okay, but how much are you willing to lean into this third C and understand that it's so critical if you want to create an event that people want to come back to? And it's community. It's that people want to be part of something that is more meaningful than just themselves as individuals -- this larger aspirational purpose. And so quite simply put, just philosophically and psychologically, people are looking for community. And so that's the most important element that we try to bring to our events. And I think as event organizers and people that are trying to put on these immersive experiences, if we don't understand the psychological safety element of when people walk into a room, how important it is for us to recognize the three Cs and then create the space where people actually feel safe -- because the three Cs are really informed by something much deeper and something much more meaningful. And again, I could go for three hours on that.

Jeff: No, I think that makes sense. I'm connecting what you're saying to an event that I've run for 15 or 16 years. It was the catalyst for us building Handbid in the first place. And I'm just thinking through our last event because every year, not tooting my own horn, but every year it was like, oh, this was the best one yet. And I'm thinking to myself, how did we do on content this year? Well, we actually show a horse race and people bet on it, but I think there's other parts of content too -- like what our organization does. I think we've nailed the connection part because of the type of venue we're in. Because to me, the ballroom that's crowded is not connection. It's connection with the eight people I invited to my table or seven people I invited to my table. But it's not connection with everybody else. But the venue we use allows people to roam around, mingle, greet, chat, talk. So I think we've got that down. And then I'm thinking, how are we building out this community piece? I love the three Cs you're talking about here. How am I connecting the donor at the event with something that they feel is meaningful to them in the sense that they're contributing to society? That they've connected with something bigger than themselves -- a greater purpose. And I think a lot of our charity clients, when we go to these events, that's the part they struggle with the most.

Joey: Yeah.

Jeff: I mean, it's like, probably due to the presentations I've seen at so many of these things where I'm like, oh boy. Boring. So when you talk connection, I think it does roll into what you were talking about with immersive. And this has come up in another podcast we've done, which is how do I get people connected in a different sense -- in the community sense? How do I get them connected with what it is that we do in an immersive way? Because that's going to make them connect into our organization and into our mission and our purpose in a really meaningful way. And we talked about this one organization who was all about clean water. And the water on the tables, Joey, was clean, but it looked dirty. So they filled the pitchers with nasty, dirty water just to kind of remind people that there are people around the world that drink this stuff. And I'm not suggesting that people put that on their table. It was actually just -- I don't know what they put in the water to make it look like that.

Lori: Vitamins.

Jeff: Yeah, I think it was some form of a brown powder. But either way, their goal was to say, this is how I want to connect you to what people see, what people do. And I think you've probably had some ideas -- I'm sure your organization tries to give people a realistic view of what the organization is all about.

Joey: Yeah, for sure. And I think we have to realize how the brain works in environments with large groups of people. Because if we don't -- and the reason I sort of prefaced with that -- is because if we don't fully understand how to create the conditions where your audience can psychologically, emotionally, and mentally fully come online, then the conditions that you've talked about like creating those mission moments, they just sort of come and go. The people don't really connect to the deeper meaning if you don't get the prefrontal cortex part of the brain online. And the prefrontal cortex is the part that, if you ever get into a flow state and time falls away because you're just so deeply connected to the thing that you're doing or the conversation you're having with the person in front of you, like with grandma when she's talking about the memories of her past. If we don't get that part of the brain online and people are stuck in fight-or-flight amygdala because they're racing home to get their kids ready, they're getting the babysitter, they're running here, they're running there, they're coming to your event and they're greeting you with this energy. So the first thing that we need to do is answer the question -- people walk into the venue with 500 to 1,000 strangers, or maybe 200 or 300, however many you have at your event. And everyone's asking some version of the following two questions: Am I safe in this community? And do I belong? Can I be myself and fit in? And so when we talk about immersive experiences -- how can we create an exceptional arrival experience? Something that we just did is we had greeters in the parking lot and they were guiding people in and they knew everyone by name. It was 25, maybe 30 volunteers that knew the vast majority of people by name. And as people were coming in, we gave them different colors associated with the ribbons that they were wearing. And these ribbons, for us, were just a symbol of who do we really need to, as the production team, spend more time with. The fundraising auctioneer knew that the people that were wearing certain colors that were given to them at check-in, those individuals were ones that really needed to be recognized and we needed to spend more time with those people. So we had this red carpet entry experience. And we were pulling over as many people as we possibly could. And what that space created is an opportunity for people to let their guard down and make them feel welcomed and appreciated. And this was for a private school. And so what we did is we're interviewing people on the red carpet, and we could just ask surface-level questions around what do you like about the school. But it was more of, who's your kid's favorite teacher? Why is that their favorite teacher? How old are your kids? Oh my God, you have a three-year-old that's not yet enrolled in our school? Wow, that's awesome. And then what we did -- so the questions were deliberately intentional. And so on Monday, our team would turn that footage over to the school and the admissions team. So now the admissions team knows that this three-year-old kid is going to age into their program in two years or a year, and they're starting to plant those seeds so they can pick up the phone the following week and start to have those conversations. And so in this exceptional arrival experience, we're using technology not only as a means of creating this really cool thing like flashing lights, paparazzi excitement and creating a fun arrival experience, but it's also a way to capture information on your most important relationships and inform your follow-up strategy after the event.

Jeff: I love it. And the key there is follow-up. So many of our clients don't do such a great job of that. So it's awesome. You're giving them the ammo that they need to be able to successfully follow up.

Lori: I think it's cool.

Jeff: Yeah, look, I mean, you and I were on a panel several months ago and you started talking about some of these things. And it's funny, I rolled into my next event planning meeting and I was like, we need to greet people in the parking lot. We need to thank them for coming the moment they walk up to the front door. And so we started implementing some of that stuff and got a huge reception. Just in terms of the positive response we get, because people, to your point -- I guess I don't remember this part of it, but it makes total sense. They're going to feel safe. When they walk in the door and you greet them and you thank them -- we had families of kids with my daughter's rare genetic disorder all with ambassador name tags on, sitting at the front door thanking people for coming, introducing themselves, handing them stuff, directing them over to the video wall and our photo booth where they can take their photos and whatnot. So it was different for us, but it had a tremendous impact. So obviously that's great advice for anybody out there thinking about that. You called it exceptional arrival experience, is that right?

Joey: Yeah, that was just -- I love it.

Jeff: I just pulled that one out of the ether. No, but think about it. Because for us, when we move to technology -- and I think uniquely for us, not all charities do this -- we built our own software that ended up becoming Handbid. But we did it all around creating a better guest experience. But what we fought for years was people who believed that technology was going to create a worse guest experience. You're going to make my people and my guests use their phone. Well, so you've got to balance those things out. You've got to say, yes, I'm going to create certain tasks for these people to do, but those tasks have to pay off.

Joey: I have a perspective on that because that's so powerful. And for anyone out there right now thinking that your phone is a distraction, I would push back and I would love to debate you on this.

Jeff: We should have a debate with Joey and some other people we know that say those things. Oh, AJ.

Lori: We get you and AJ on the call.

Joey: No, in a mindful and appropriate way, I believe that when you use it thoughtfully, it can do so much for your organization. Here's an example. We just did an event for a hospital foundation not long ago. The hospital foundation -- 60% of the room were new donors. They don't know who these people are. They're friends of friends, people that have cancer being served and taken care of by the hospital in some capacity, maybe friends of friends who are being treated by the hospital. And so the biggest opportunity was for us to create donor profiles for these individuals that were filling those 60% of seats. So one of the things we did is during the event, right after one of the videos played and before we went into the live auction, we put a QR code up on the screen and we did a two-question in-event survey and we played some really fun music. And one of the first questions that we asked them was, how do you like to be thanked? Multiple choice. And then the second question was, how long have you been a donor? And that was multiple choice too. It was, first time, first event we've ever been at, been a donor for one to three years, five to ten years, ten years plus. And so we had people -- the B, C, and D group, people who had been there before -- stand up so we could recognize them. And then we had the A group, the 60% of the room that was there attending for the first time, we had them stand up, we acknowledged them, and we said, hey, everyone right now, stay standing. If you're standing, we are about to give you the biggest hug and the biggest welcome to this new community that you could ever possibly imagine. Everyone in the room right now who's seated, go and find someone who's standing and give them a hug. High-five them, love on them, connect with them. And it just created that exceptional feeling of the community wrapping their arms around you. Like, wow, this is my tribe and I feel welcomed and appreciated. Then we went to the live auction. Then we played the heart video, the need video that rips your heart out and emotionally connects you to the mission. And then we did the paddle raise. So it's like, wow, this is my community. I'm feeling incredible. Oh my God, this is the life-saving, life-giving work this organization is doing. Of course I can get behind it and raise my paddle.

Jeff: That's awesome. I love that. As you're thinking about it, I'm thinking, okay, so in Handbid, we built this live interactive polling system that will show results live on the screen. And I'm like, that's what we're going to do next year at my event. And anybody who's a Handbid client could do this now. You can put those questions in. You can push them through the app. And literally as people answer them, you could show bar charts on the screen of who's answered what.

Joey: It's so powerful, guys. It's so powerful.

Jeff: But that's the technology part. Now, you have to make it -- obviously you're asking people to do things when they're using their phone. So in order for all of that to work, they have to be registered in some sort of system. And when we fight this battle -- I'm curious about your opinion on it -- we fight this battle a lot where people are like, I don't want my guests to do anything. I want them to walk in, get out of their car, walk in and sit at their table. And I'm like, okay, that's ideal. Maybe someday in the future, AI can scan their face and we know they checked in. But right now, I need to ask them who they are. I need to get their email address, especially if they're new, or if they're a guest to somebody and we don't know them. And for us, we constantly remind our clients -- events are an entry point to a relationship with a donor. And so you want to know who these people are coming into your event. You're not trying to inconvenience them by having them standing in line when they arrive. So let's figure out how to solve that part because Chick-fil-A has obviously figured out how to get people through a line fast. So I think we can figure those things out, but we can't skip that step.

Lori: Well, I think people need to look at check-in as part of the connection piece. So I love what Joey was saying about going out into the parking lot. Why can't you check them in with an iPad out in the parking lot as they arrive? Why do you have to -- walk with them and give them that whole experience. It doesn't have to be -- I mean, I am just on a mission. In general, I am tired of the 10-foot tables that are covered with the 16 desktops, everybody sitting there. They each have a mouse. Everyone has five printers. And they're looking up, hi, what's your name? The person's looking down at them. Be on the same level. Stand up. I mean, you don't need to be down at a table at a laptop with your face in a laptop. This is your chance to connect with people. And guess what? Your donors want to be known. I'm sorry, but your donors are not coming in there to not know people. And I agree with you, Joey. That's part of that connection piece and that community piece. They want to be known. So when they walk in, their name's on a guest list. They're known when they come in. When they go to their seat, they are greeted by people. People are knowing them. And I think that's so important.

Jeff: That's cool. For me, it's the check-in experience -- if you can get past some of the line issues or whatever that tend to, I think a lot of times, be driven by poor planning and poor setup, not necessarily the software itself. I always have pleasant conversations with people walking in the door. And you do make them feel welcome. And you can do fun things. You thank them not just for coming, but you get them relaxed and kind of diffuse whatever stress or tension came from, to your point, racing home, getting the babysitter, putting on the suit, getting in the Uber, racing down to a downtown hotel ballroom and walking in the door. You fought with your wife the whole way there about something else. You walk in the door. And it's like, how do you diffuse that? Are you providing an experience that's allowing them to exhale? It's a glass of wine and a joke or two. Or are you making them mad when they first walk in? Then you're just building up on that. Let's let them exhale. Let's let them take a breath.

Lori: I like that. I always like the idea of having something to do before you have to do some form of check-in too. I love the red carpet. I like photo booths. I like a bar. Anything where they kind of get funneled into check-in, but it doesn't feel like they're waiting in line. But they kind of are. But it doesn't feel like it.

Joey: Yeah, for sure. And guys, maybe you resonate with this, but I went to an event not long ago. I wanted to support the organization. My wife couldn't make it -- our babysitter bailed. And so it was just me walking into this place with 800 people, 800 strangers that I never met before. I never really interacted with the organization. And so we talk about the prefrontal cortex, which lives up here, the limbic system, which is the emotional social brain, and then the amygdala. My amygdala was firing for the entire event. I didn't feel safe. I didn't feel connected to the community. It was exactly as you described. I checked in. There was like a, here's your paddle. Okay, now go walk around the silent auction area and drink some wine. And then I sat down at my seat and we were delivered a three-hour program that was one-way, on the stage, passively delivered for three hours. And it's a cool organization. But I obviously reached out to them and said, let me help you. And so now they're a client of ours and we're helping them create a more immersive, intentional experience for their donors and for the attendees. And so if we don't understand that 90% of the time as human beings, especially as high achievers that are coming to your event, that amygdala is on. And you've got to do whatever you can to disarm that amygdala as soon as you possibly can at your event. So people get into the social, emotional brain. Their heart opens up. They get into the prefrontal cortex. And that's the giving and the receiving and we're vibrating in this high, powerful flow state where you're connected to source and this deeper vibration. And that part of the brain can come online at your events.

Lori: And to your point a moment ago, if you're just bringing people into the venue, you're checking them in and then you're putting them at a table for four hours, they're just a passive recipient of information instead of an active, engaged participant. And so I think it's really just determining what type of experience you're looking for. If you want a transactional donor, your organization is treating them like a cash register, then maybe the four-hour passive seated dinner is the thing for you. If you want to create really intentional, deeper relationships with your donors, and you're going to do the work and follow up with them on that Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday following the event, put the extra work in, spend the extra money, get the partners at the table that can help you deliver an experience like this. And then hopefully you see dividends from it as a result.

Jeff: Yeah, it's never just about the event. It's never just the event itself. It's everything leading up to the event, their experience leading up to it, throughout the event, and then post-event. So your event -- I hate to break it to y'all -- this isn't a wedding where it's just one thing and you're done. It's not just an event. It's a whole experience and it should continue on past that event, well past that event throughout the rest of the year.

Lori: So you mean, you think if I continue to reach out to the people that came to my wedding, they would give year over year to the Porter family?

Jeff: Now we're talking. That's not going to happen. But anyway, the first thing -- I don't think everybody also realizes where that first experience or first touch is. We've been talking about arrival in the parking lot, but this can start a week or two or three in advance. And so we try to coach clients all along -- what's your ticket-buying experience like? What are you doing the week before your event? What kind of communications are you sending out? How equipped and knowledgeable are your guests about where to even go? And we've learned these things over the years. It's also evaluating the venue and understanding what's going to happen. I remember we do a Kentucky Derby party -- for those that don't know, but if you've been listening to this podcast, it's been overly discussed. But we went and looked at one venue, and the entrance to the venue is just a small circular, half-circular driveway. So you could pull up, drop off. They do not allow valet parking here. And they're like, well, we don't have valet here, but the parking garage that everybody can park in is right there. And I look over and it's about 100 yards away. And I'm thinking, what happens if it rains? Who wants to have their guests walk 100 yards in the rain? And you're not going to let me do valet here. So how are we going to pull this off? And we're thinking, if we go here, we're transporting people in golf carts. I mean, that's the kind of stuff we're talking about. You have to think about even before you walk in the door, what that's like. And where are your disabled guests going to park? What's the parking map look like? Where's the entrance? I remember the first year we did our event at Fiddler's Green. I had people text me going, where do I go in? This is a massive concert venue. I'm like, oh, I probably should have told you guys that. We have so much signage now. It's not even funny.

Joey: But what you're describing, Jeff, is -- as event planners, many of us think, and by the way, it's awesome. It's really cool if your responsibility in your organization is planning your biggest annual event or events. It's a really awesome opportunity. I'm blessed and fortunate that I get to do this daily as a full-time role. It's very exciting. But something that I've got to admit to myself is nobody cares about the event that we're doing as much as we do. And so you've got to go out there and sure, we have to showcase why it matters. But more importantly, people that are coming in that don't know who we are, that don't know us, that don't understand the hard work that's gone in -- all we have to do, our biggest responsibility of that night, is show how much do we care about them. How can we put them in a position to show them how much we appreciate them for being there. So the hard work is the curation of all the ideas and the stories and also those intentional connection moments where we're not just connecting donors and attendees with our mission, but we're connecting them to each other and we are, as a result, connecting with them too.

Jeff: The golf cart thing -- so intentional. I can just imagine my grandmother being like, I'm not walking a hundred yards. So you take those concerns away from your attendees by thinking thoughtfully about the entire experience. I've brought this story up before, but you check into a hotel, you arrive at the airport, you're going to a hotel near the airport. What's the first experience at the hotel? The shuttle. It's the shuttle. No one thinks about that. And I've had so many poor shuttle experiences, especially when you eventually have to jump in an Uber. And you want to talk about amygdala firing -- when you walk in the lobby of the hotel and you've been waiting an hour for the shuttle. I, on the other hand, had a really great shuttle experience in Montana. And I go to that hotel just because of my shuttle experience. Because the owner of this boutique hotel came and picked me up, and he came to pick up whoever was there, but I was the only one. He came and picked me up and drove me and I learned all about the whole town. I learned all about everything. I mean, normally you get in the car and you don't talk to anybody, I just want to get to my hotel and chill. And I was completely engaged. And every time I go to that town, I want to stay at that hotel. And I do, just because of that experience.

Joey: Same thing when I go back. Yeah.

Jeff: So I love it. Let's tell some stories here. I want to hear more immersive experiences. Give us some examples of some of the coolest experiences you've seen or done at events.

Joey: There's one that we just recently did down in Florida. We did these guided tours in an art museum. And we did intimate groups of 20 to 30 attendees. So the beginning of the event, we have this cocktail hour going on and we call certain groups and we're leading them through this really engaging, impactful, and emotionally immersive experience. And this tour was led by volunteers who are really educated on the organization. A number of them are families that are actually benefiting from the services that the hospital provides. And so we wrote up various talking points to create this consistent messaging. And along the tour, there are photo op stations, banners with statistics. And the coolest part of the tour culminates in this massive room where we have three-foot by six-foot vertical LED walls. And each of them showcased a 90-second video highlighting a story of a family whose lives have been enhanced by the organization that all the attendees were there celebrating that night. And so attendees were watching these videos and went through this tour and they're being led by these kids that are benefiting from the hospital directly. And people didn't know each other 15 minutes ago, but now they're connecting, they're laughing, they're crying. I heard a group making dinner plans with each other. They're like, didn't know you, we're best friends now. And so it's that third C of community that happens in these intimate groups where we're getting people to connect through this visceral, shared emotional experience. And it creates this element of connection and vulnerability and belonging and empathy. And then and only then did we invite people into the main ballroom to begin the program. So they went through this whole thing during cocktail hour. We're not wasting time or space. It's just a different form of a really intentionally immersive cocktail hour.

Lori: It's like a Brene Brown experience.

Joey: That does sound Brene.

Lori: Oh, I love her.

Jeff: Reminds me of, as you're talking about this, I was thinking about this -- if you've ever been to the Olympic Training Center down in Colorado Springs, they are so smart. Of course, you pay to get in there. But then they have actual Olympic athletes broken up into different groups. And they're the ones that give you the tour of the whole place. And you learn their story. And they're talking about the whole experience. If you've never been, anybody on this podcast has to go to the Olympic Training Center. It's my favorite place to take tourists. Anyway, athletes are taking you and you're learning all about their sport and their experience and what it was like for them. And then at the very end, you go into this room and they show this amazing video that's been designed about how wonderful the Olympics are and all this stuff. And then guess what? You have an opportunity to give. Now it's not a fundraiser, but they'll take your money. They still need your money. But it's such a wonderful experience. I just never really thought about doing that at a fundraising event to that extent. I mean, I'm an experienced person -- I want people to have an experience. But I love the idea of imagine the Prader-Willi families taking them through an experience of what it's like to be a Prader-Willi kid -- locked cabinets, locked refrigerators. You could do some amazing stuff like that.

Lori: I agree. That is cool.

Jeff: We were joking about one. So we have a client who does this party every year. They're a health foundation, and it's for colorectal awareness. And it's the Colorectal Awareness Party. And its initials are CRAP. The CRAP party.

Joey: It's the CRAP party. Actually, that's pretty great marketing. It's hilarious. And you got to go Google it.

Jeff: Because you walk into the event through a colon. Which I think is not going to set my appetite the way that I would want an appetite set for a gala. But they do a great job. And it's just -- you want to talk about diffusing that amygdala firing. You're all frustrated. You just walked 100 yards in the rain, whatever it is. You walk in there and they walk you through a colon and the name of the party is CRAP. You have to chuckle a little bit.

Joey: That is awesome. Absolutely. And it's probably the cleanest colon anyone's ever seen.

Jeff: Exactly. Well, we're not going to go too far into it. But we could digress. So I know there are listeners hearing this and they're like, wow, this sounds really cool. I want to start implementing this. And the first thing most of these people are thinking is, what about the cost? What about -- oh my goodness. So I know that's got to be your biggest pushback -- investment, right? We're working with nonprofits. They need to be cost-conscious.

Jeff: Full disclosure before you answer this question, Joey. So we've done our Derby event for 16 years. I think this is the 16th. We hired an event planner for the first time ever this year because of so much pushback from our board about, is this an expense? And finally we're like, yes, it's an expense. Because even though we partially do this for a living -- we obviously build software, but we also run a lot of events -- I'm sitting at my table this year. I paid for it, and that's what I want to go do. And so it is not unique to any one group. It's across the board. But there's a return on that investment.

Lori: Yeah. So talk a little bit about that.

Joey: I think some people on my team might kick me for this, but regardless of the technology that you use, there's a thoughtfulness that has to be incorporated into the event. And I say regardless of the technology because LED walls aren't cheap. But you don't have to do it with an LED wall. You can do it with a TV screen. You can do it with a simple projector. And so rather than being reactionary, the approach that I would encourage everyone to consider -- if you're on a budget, think about doing what I just said. There are ways to design an experience that are not extremely costly. Maybe you start small and then you scale up. But I would say naturally, you've got to be thinking about it -- not for the sake of bringing on all this technology to spend a lot of money and do something really cool to wow people. Use the technology to create a purposeful and meaningful event. So they're infused with a deep desire to help because someone cared enough to deliver a different experience and do something different. And I could share the data. The group down in Florida, they did $700,000 last year. They did over a million this year. We've got a client that did $400,000. They did $1.1 million with us just a couple months ago. So I could share the data. But I think the most important thing is, yes, there's a return on investment for it, but we have to be equally as committed to doing the work. We could come in and design this incredible thing that connects people. They're laughing. They're crying. And then maybe you don't follow up with them the following week. And I would tell you, if you're not going to put that initiative and effort into it, we're probably not a good fit for each other. And so we're very transparent in that regard. We want to make sure that we pay for ourselves. That's the most important thing. And that's how we've existed for 20 years and why our nonprofit clients come back to us -- because we genuinely want to ensure that we pay for ourselves. And if we don't feel that it's going to be a win-win relationship, then we don't want to engage you, and just the same, you wouldn't want to engage us.

Jeff: Handbid feels the same way. There are certain clients where it's just not a good fit. Because our job is to not just pay for ourselves, but also generate an extremely positive return. So we want to take your $700,000 event to a million-dollar event with our software and our experience. And if we don't feel like we can do that because of changes you're not willing to make or challenges that get in the way, then best of luck to you. Because we feel strongly about that. Not that it has to always be done our way, and I'm sure you're the same way, but when we walk in the door, that is our goal -- to generate that return. Kudos to you. Because as you're giving me your explanation, I'm thinking to myself, we kind of need to start measuring amygdala issues.

Joey: We can hook people up to brain scanners during your event.

Jeff: Well, what I was actually thinking -- and this was funny. So I'm at Cabo. I landed at Cabo Airport. You go through immigration. That is not a fun experience, especially when four flights all land at the same time. And guess what? They don't care. But then you go to customs. And when you walk out the customs door, the first thing that is in front of you is the red, yellow, and green buttons of how was your customs experience?

Joey: Red.

Jeff: Well, they measure it. And if you say red, they want to know why. You see these in bathrooms and stuff. What was your bathroom experience like? I'm just thinking, you don't need red, yellow, and green buttons. But imagine around the event if you're just constantly measuring people's frustration levels. Because that to me, there's a correlation to how much I'm going to give you at the end of the night. The video and the program, all that stuff has an impact on it. But if you've frustrated me all night, I'm probably not going to be generous.

Lori: I found amygdala-ing.

Joey: I have another question that your clients can consider adding to their survey in your platform.

Jeff: What's that?

Joey: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate tonight's experience? And if it's anything less than a 10, can our director of development call you on Monday?

Jeff: Yeah. Like sussing out or gauging people's level of joy or frustration that they're having at your experience and then just get super curious. Don't defend. I always say don't go in with a bunch of answers as to why maybe they justified giving a seven because this didn't happen or that didn't happen or the food was lacking. Just go in with a super curious mind and listen and let them tell you how to make the experience better for them.

Joey: Right. And look, you're not going to please everybody. We know that. We had two live bands at our event and a live viewing of the horse race on this 50-foot screen. So it's loud. And so when this lady came up to me and said, it's too loud in here, I can't have a conversation with my friends at my table -- we offered to move her table. But the whole point is that her definition of loud and 350 other people's definition of loud could be extremely different. And so you do have to take some of that with a grain of salt. But I love the idea of going in there unarmed. Give it to me. What did you like? What did you not like? Didn't like the vegetarian option you had for catering? Cool. Got it. We'll let the caterer know. Rather than make excuses. Because you know how you have conversations with people and instead of curiosity, they just want to explain the reason why you had a bad experience the whole time. You're like, this happened to me. Well, that happened because these people didn't show up to work. And you're like, kind of not my problem.

Lori: Right. I'm just reiterating.

Jeff: Well, this has been a cool conversation. I've enjoyed talking to you, Joey, about immersive experiences. Utopian experiences, by the way.

Joey: That's right. I love it.

Jeff: The brain stuff too -- amygdala. I'm going to create the AMS, the Amygdala Measurement System. It's going to be a big giant tub of ice cold beer at the entrance.

Joey: Thank you guys for joining us today.

Jeff: Joey, it's always a pleasure chatting with you. I learn something every single time we've connected. So how do people get in touch with you, Joey?

Joey: Utopiaexperience.com. Check us out.

Jeff: And are you St. Louis only or are you guys willing to travel?

Joey: We're everywhere. Everywhere you want us to be. We're as far west as San Diego and east as Jersey.

Jeff: Okay, well, Elon Musk is planning a trip to Mars. And so, Joey, you need to give him a call. Let him know that you want to create an exceptional experience arriving on Mars. That'd be cool. Since you're everywhere.

Joey: A non-Earth affair.

Jeff: All right. Thank you guys. And so we're going to wrap this session up. Until next time, happy fundraising. Thanks, Joey. We hope you enjoyed this fun discussion with Joey from Utopia Experience as we discussed immersive events and how to implement them in your next event. Be sure to reach out to Joey at utopiaexperience.com. If you enjoyed our show, please take a moment to leave us a review. You can find us on Apple, Google, and Spotify. Don't forget to subscribe for more great content. And if you're a fan of video, check us out on YouTube. Until next time, happy fundraising.