Promoter Line

Efficiency Takes Center Stage for Event Promotion Firm, Revenues Skyrocket by $500,000

Since 1992, Promoter Line has cultivated a reputation in the event management industry for being uncompromisingly committed to the success of its customers’ entertainment experiences. From A-list concerts to local festivities, Promoter Line attends to every detail. As word about its exceptional service continued to spread, Promoter Line realized that it needed a technology solution to help its employees work more efficiently, especially from remote event locations. NetVision Consulting, a Microsoft® Certified Partner, assessed the company’s operational needs and recommended a solution based on Windows® Small Business Server 2008, Windows SharePoint® Services 3.0, Windows Vista® Ultimate, and Windows Live™ OneCare™. Within seven months of deploying the solution, Promoter Line increased efficiency by 70 percent, expanded business by 40 percent, and boosted revenue by U.S.$500,000.

 

Situation

For the past 17 years, Colleyville, Texas-based Promoter Line has specialized in the planning, promotion, and execution of top-tier entertainment experiences. The company produces functions from festivals and charity events to concerts for performers such as The Rolling Stones, Reba McEntire, Paul Simon, and Black Eyed Peas.

“At Promoter Line, we are relentless when it comes to understanding our customers’ needs and doing whatever it takes to make their events successful,” says Jerry Thompson, President and Owner of Promoter Line. “We have more than 70 years of combined experience in the entertainment and event-planning industries, and we apply every ounce of that diverse knowledge to visualizing, strategizing, and coordinating our customers’ events.”

Event venues can range from exotic locations such as Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, to barren fields in remote, rural settings around the United States. The experts at Promoter Line transform sports facilities, empty lots, and neighborhood parks into colorful festival settings or high-energy concert arenas. Employees possess the technical skill to design the site plan, build the power grid, and set up the performance stage. Promoter Line also has the human resource expertise to manage the 5,100 entertainers, vendors, and contractors the company secures each year.

We can attribute an additional half million dollars in revenue growth this year directly to our use of Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Vista, and the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Jerry Thompson President and Owner, Promoter Line

Coordinating all of these technical, logistical, and personnel details can be challenging, especially because Promoter Line employees spend more than 80 percent of their time on the road. “We work remotely 10 months out of the year doing multiple events in different cities around the country,” says Thompson. “Our biggest business challenge was that we lacked the ability to stay connected—to our office and to one another.”

Every Promoter Line employee had a portable computer, but without a central server employees had no way to easily share documents or synchronize changes. “If we wanted to share documents back and forth we had to send them as e-mail attachments,” Thompson explains. “We had to save all of the documents we’d need for each event on every laptop before we left the office because we had no way to access anything remotely. There were numerous times when we’d be out of the office producing a major event, realize we needed a document that we didn’t bring with us, and have to drive all the way back to the office to get it. This created tremendous efficiency challenges for us.”

Promoter Line also lacked a comprehensive solution to protect its data in the event of a computer failure. “We never felt confident that our office computers or laptops were secure,” Thompson explains. “We didn’t have a system for backing up our data. If a computer failed, we had no way of recovering information. If it crashed while I was trying to do the financial settlement at the end of an event, I had no way of knowing how much to pay anyone. Our IT partner would have to drive to the event and manually repair the computer before anyone could be paid. Our business growth is dependent on our reputation, so we needed to put a system in place that would strengthen our credibility in the industry.”

Solution

Promoter Line turned to the IT experts at NetVision Consulting, a Microsoft® Certified Partner and Small Business Specialist. Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, NetVision specializes in developing automated IT solutions that help its customers maximize profitability by increasing efficiency and productivity.

“At NetVision, we believe in the importance of building strong business relationships with our customers,” says Wade DeVore, President and Owner of NetVision Consulting. “For example, I’ve known Jerry Thompson at Promoter Line for nearly 20 years. During that time, I’ve worked hard to understand Promoter Line’s business strengths and operational challenges. Our philosophy is: the more we know about what our customers need, the more precisely we can plan and implement strategic technology solutions that enhance and support our customers’ strengths and help them achieve their goals.”

NetVision traveled to events with the Promoter Line team, gaining invaluable insight into the company’s real-world business challenges. Based on their observations, NetVision consultants recommended a complete solution built on Windows® Small Business Server 2008 Standard, which includes Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Windows SharePoint® Services 3.0, and the Windows Live™ network of Internet services. The solution also includes the Windows Vista® operating system (Business and Ultimate editions) and the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

In May 2008, NetVision spent two days installing the solution. “The implementation was seamless and the training was top-notch,” Thompson says. “When we did our first event after the upgrade, it was like night and day. I was amazed. Our laptops run much faster with Windows Vista. We also use the Instant Search function to quickly find anything that’s stored on our laptops—e-mail messages, spreadsheets, graphics, videos, audio files, you name it. With Windows Small Business Server 2008, we have immediate access to all of the information we need, even if we’re half way around the world. It is such a relief to have everything right at our fingertips.”

Now Promoter Line employees can stay connected with one another and with the office, no matter how remote the venue. And if they encounter an IT problem, the issue can be resolved immediately. “Two weeks ago we were in Miami and I ran into a technical issue,” Thompson explains. “NetVision and a Microsoft support specialist remotely accessed my laptop and fixed the problem while I was still up and running.  Ten minutes later, we were able to put the band Earth, Wind, and Fire on stage. We never had this kind of capability until we installed the Microsoft solutions.”

With Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Promoter Line employees can easily share documents regardless of whether they’re in the office or on the road, and changes they make to files automatically synchronize whenever they connect to the Internet. “With SharePoint we have access to documents anytime, anywhere,” says Thompson. NetVision plans to build templates using Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office Visio® 2007 drawing and diagramming software to help Promoter Line save even more time in event production and site planning.

Promoter Line also uses Windows Live OneCare™, the all-in-one computer security and performance enhancement service from Microsoft. The Protection Plus component helps automatically safeguard the company’s computers from viruses and malware, while the Backup and Restore feature helps prevent the company’s data from being lost. “We struggled with a competitor’s anti-virus product,” says Thompson. “We also struggled with a backup system. But with Windows Live OneCare, we have peace of mind.” 

Benefits

Within seven months of implementing these integrated Microsoft solutions, Promoter Line boosted revenue by U.S.$500,000, expanded business by 40 percent, and recouped all of its original investment. The initial solution worked so well that Promoter Line decided to upgrade from the Standard to the Premium edition of Windows Small Business Server 2008, which includes the Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 Standard data management software and the Windows Server® 2008 Standard operating system. Using Windows Server, Promoter Line can take advantage of additional remote access and virtualization features such as Terminal Services and the Hyper-V™ technology.

Boosted Revenue, Expanded Business

By enhancing efficiency, Promoter Line has more than doubled the size of its business. “Since we put this system in place, we’ve grown from three employees to seven,” Thompson says. “We’ve added a second office in Boston, Massachusetts, to handle a new division dedicated to bicycle tours and run/walk events. We can attribute an additional half million dollars in revenue growth this year directly to our use of Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Vista, and the 2007 Microsoft Office system. We never would have been able to expand our business in this way without these solutions.”

Staying Connected, Increased Efficiency

Wherever they go, Promoter Line employees are able to stay connected with one another, with the office, and with their customers. “Our customers see us working on our laptops in the most remote places, synchronizing changes to documents in real-time, and they’re amazed,” says Thompson. “Before, we’d leave our laptops at the hotel because they were useless onsite. Now we use a wireless card to keep us connected and with Windows Small Business Server we’re productive wherever we go.” Promoter Line also uses the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration client to share calendars, manage customer contact information, and centralize e-mail communications.

“Our business success depends on efficiency,” Thompson continues. “Before implementing these solutions, we worked much too hard. Now we’re using technology in smart ways so we can get more done in less time. Thanks to these Microsoft solutions, we’re 70 percent more efficient now than we were before.”

Return on Investment

Many small business owners expect to see a return on their IT investments within two to four years of the initial outlay, but Promoter Line has recouped its investment in less than 12 months. “As a business owner, a return on investment of less than one year is extremely compelling,” says Thompson.

Enhanced Peace of Mind

Promoter Line relies on the flexibility of Windows Vista to interoperate with third-party software, especially during festival events with upwards of 1,000 participants and many multi-format files, such as digital demos, promotional materials, photographs, and financials. “We don’t have to worry about multiple file types because Windows Vista is incredibly user-friendly and compatible with a vast array of applications,” Thompson says. “Windows Vista also works flawlessly with our mission-critical applications such as our third-party accounting software.”

Thompson concludes, “With Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Vista, and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, we have a solution that is complete, simple, and tailored to fit our unique business needs. This has given me the confidence to seek out new business and expand our company into new markets. At the same time, I can keep my finger on the pulse of what our employees are doing, which gives me tremendous peace of mind.”

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For more information about NetVision Consulting products and services, call (817) 794-5600 or visit the Web site at:
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For more information about Promoter Line products and services, call (817) 557-1009 or visit the Web site at:
www.promoterline.com