Dan Roberge
Well, Jo, good to meet you. Where are we? And what are you doing here?
Jo Fostock
Yeah, it's not the natural progression for somebody like me to be at this place, but where are the sports facilities conference? And, my name is Jo Fostock. I have a company called ProofPoint Experiences. I'm a hospitality consultant, and I do event marketing and management. What that means and why I'm here, I was asked to speak on a session tomorrow. So super excited to get to meet more of the people here, and inside, to see this reception today. But we're talking about ways to generate revenue in the off season. So utilizing nontraditional venues for corporate events, which is my entire background.
Dan Roberge
Wow. And so what kind of nontraditional events would you do there?
Jo Fostock
So by that, I mean, I have hosted events in the desert. I throw out the red carpet and have an entire SKO just in the desert. Internet, everything production, I've done on the beaches of Miami. I've done a keynote in a tent right there. But if you're actually looking at physical brick and mortar, I've done train stations, you know, fire stations, and then what we're looking at here is sport venues. So how to repurpose a baseball diamond, a basketball court. How can we make this not just the sports during the day, but what we do at night to transform it to get that additional revenue.
Dan Roberge
Oh yeah. Absolutely. And so what kind of events do they usually attract?
Jo Fostock
I mean, you could do galas. I mean that's a that's the low hanging fruit, right? You know having those corporate gala type of things. But you know, we also can do a full conference at an ice skating rink, you know, put a stage in. You already have the seating built in. So that's fantastic. You have the AV. It's on the ceiling up top. You have the food and beverage. It's already there. So why are we not attracting ourselves into that circuit of options, and leaving the money on the table?
Dan Roberge
That's incredible. So you're a consultant in your company, but how do they utilize your services? Because they get an idea from you, but do they actually book things through your company?
Jo Fostock
Absolutely. I have a Rolodex of network over the years, from destination management companies, convention visitor bureaus, I have everyone in different areas of the U.S. and some that travel as well. So, you know, if it's a very small town, I have somebody that can travel, build an entire program, utilize the local sources that they have, and then create this entire experience and design that they come up with.
Dan Roberge
So that's amazing. That's amazing. So is this your first time at this?
Jo Fostock
Yeah.
Dan Roberge
How many people you're going to speak in front of?
Jo Fostock
I don't know, I mean, if there's two that show up, or the full packed house. Yeah, it really just depends. It is not an early morning session, it is at 10:15. So hopefully people will be able to roll out of bed, and be able to make it to that. But I talked to some people too here tonight that are asking What time is it? Where's it at? I really want to check it out. So hopefully we'll have a few people there.
Dan Roberge
Well it's revenue generating for them. And if they've got downtime during different seasons, this is a no brainer to do. So how did you get into this? Like what's your background?
Jo Fostock
Yeah, I've been in events for 15 years, and that's another thing. Just speaking on what you just said, if they don't have the people in house that can do that, they don't have an in-house salaried sales manager that's selling the space in that way. That's when we come in, and that's when we're able to sell it on their behalf, and paint the picture, and do those things, and then partner with the venue. But 15 years in events and hospitality as well. I have a big hospitality background. So anticipating needs, seamless memories, and experiences. That's really what I strive for. And then just partnering with conferences, and even these ad hoc pop up events, and Instagrammable, experiential, these are the words right now. So whatever we can do, and bringing them into a nontraditional venue is the way that we do that. It's no longer about the ballroom. People want to get out. It's a proven fact that you have more creativity in a room that's not a ballroom, right? Because you actually have to think about where you are, and the people around you. So putting them into a different atmosphere just creates a collaboration, and all of the creativity that comes with that.
Dan Roberge
That's amazing. So where do they find out more about your services if they want to reach out to you?
Jo Fostock
It's ProofPoint Experiences. You can check me out, Jo Fostock. Check me out on LinkedIn. That's the easiest way to get a hold of me directly. I'm your girl for everything. So if I can't make it out to your venue, or you want to shoot some images over, we can take a look at them together. Definitely do that as well.
Dan Roberge
Amazing. Well, thank you very much. Thank you. I think people will be reaching out to you for sure.
Jo Fostock
Thanks so much for having me.
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