Eventex in the spotlight with Laura Schwartz: Brandt Krueger

Eventex in the spotlight, the series that brings you closer to event industry leaders and Eventex Awards jury presidents, welcomes Brandt Krueger, a technical producer, educator, speaker and consultant, and senior production manager at EideCom. Joining us from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brandt shares valuable insight on how to improve events using technology and sheds light on what makes an impressive awards entry. 

An event technology journey

Exposed to computers and technology from an early age thanks to his cool big brother, Brandt found his way into events from the theater side, initially working for a theatrical rental company. He then moved into corporate events where he has been applying his skills and love for tech ever since. 

“I’ve always been interested in technology and how we can use technology to improve our events. I was the guy that came running in, saying, have you heard there’s now this five-disc changer that you can put five dinner jazz CDs in and play dinner jazz, like, all night long, without ever hearing a repeat? And that became an iPod, not too long after that. So, always, how can we push our events further and further using technology? Just to make that experience more amazing, more of a wow, more incredible.”

The most crucial piece of event tech  

When asked about the most crucial piece of event tech in any event and budget, Brandt says he always starts with audio and works his way down. 

“There’s been studies done that if you’re struggling to hear, it’s actually stress-inducing. And so if you think, we’re putting our attendees through an eight-hour session and they’re struggling to hear, end of the day, they’re gonna be exhausted, whether or not they loved what the actual content was.” 

That said, he loves display technology too, including projection mapping, LED walls, and panoramic screens.

“I love projection and how that can add that extra layer of pizzazz, as well as that extra layer of amazing content, being able to design our presentations to be less bullet-pointy and more, you know, these wide-screen presentations that are big bold points that emphasize what it is that we’re trying to say.”

All the buzzwords  

Unsurprisingly, Brandt also gets his inspiration from advancements in technology which the event industry is set to adopt at some point. 

“So, as we look out to things like VR, and AR, and even some of the blockchain-type stuff, all the buzzwords, all of those things. By keeping an eye on technology in general, I can say ok, that’s probably four or five years out for our industry.”

He notes, however, that most events cannot deal with things that are bleeding edge. 

“We’re very reticent sometimes to embrace change, and try new things and it really has to be tested and bulletproof so we can do that. So, that gives me a bit of an edge just keeping an eye on technology in general.” 

Brandt meanwhile has his own event technology podcast which he co-hosts with Will Curran of Endless Events.

“It gives Will and I an excuse to get together and nerd out about event technology every week.”

How to get an edge in Eventex Awards 

Brandt further gives some clues about how those who enter Eventex Awards can get an edge. 

“I love the newness of it. Seeing what can you do, even with off-the-shelf technology, doesn’t have to be stuff that you’re spending a million dollars on, right? You can do some beautiful things.” 

About Brandt 

Brandt Krueger is a technical producer, educator, speaker, and consultant who currently provides freelance technical production services to a variety of corporate and association clients, teaches public and private classes on Technical Meeting & Event Production, and is a senior production manager at EideCom.

About Laura 

Laura Schwartz is a professional Emcee and Keynote Speaker — one of the top 7 speakers in the US. She’s been the Director of Events for the Clinton Administration, where she created and executed more than 1,000 White House events. Laura is an Eventex jury president, host of Eventex in the Spotlight series, and partner. 

About Eventex in the Spotlight

Eventex in the Spotlight is a new series by Eventex which showcases prominent leaders from the world of events and experiential marketing. Watch all the episodes and get inspired.