Box Of Tricks

The power of music in helping to set the scene, whether at an event or in a restaurant or hotel lobby, is often underestimated, so I was delighted to happen upon Pandora whilst pulling together the soundtrack for our Smile Conference.

Pandora offers me the tools to create a playlist based around a particular song that I like and uses the individual characteristics of that song to suggest other songs that share those characteristics. I listen to each suggested song and give it the thumbs up or down, which helps Pandora refine its search further.

Apart from being a lot of fun, Pandora has allowed me to make a soundtrack based around Simon & Garfunkel's 'Mrs.Robinson' that taps into the particular spirit of that song (which in turn has tapped into the brand profile of the conference itself).

Seems to me that this approach offers event organisers and venue hosts the opportunity to set the scene in a way that's much more likely to strike a chord with their own visitors than the bland muzak that's usually served up.