Spectacular Events Keep Encino Firm in Demand

In college, Andrea Michaels booked bands for bar mitzvahs. Today, she books bands for corporate America.

An events organizer, Michaels specializes in staging shows, stunts and promotions for companies looking to do everything from introducing new products to boosting employee morale.

“I always know when a car is not selling,” said Michaels--because that’s when the auto maker calls on her.

For computer software maker SAP America Inc., Michaels arranged a private concert by singer Rod Stewart. For 20th Century Fox, she staged an elaborate stunt in which Chairman Peter Chernin was introduced to a crowd by smashing into a sound stage aboard a “runaway” bus--at a time when Fox was enjoying the success of its summer hit “Speed.”

She also offers clients a long list of stock theme parties, from “Baywatch” and “The Wizard of Oz” to Whalers Village.

“She’s clever, resourceful and cost-effective,” said Patty McJennett, senior vice president of international marketing for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They’re an imaginative company.”

The strong economy is good for business. Michael’s company, Extraordinary Events, reported revenues of $10.3 million last year, up from $3.9 million the year before.

But Michaels said costs are also high. She reports a profit margin in the 10% range, charging clients her costs, plus a service fee of 20%-25%.

“No one goes into this business to get rich,” says Michaels, 56. “It’s an expensive industry, but more fun than anything.”

And hectic, too. In November, Michaels had business meetings with clients in St. Martin in the West Indies and Hawaii, spoke at a seminar in Marrakech, Morocco, and found time to speak at a meeting of the Antelope Valley Public Relations Professionals near the home in Acton she shares with her husband and 20 German shepherds.

She has “incredible stamina,” said Ruth Moyte, producer and account executive at Extraordinary Events. “I can work the 21-hour days, but then I need three days to recover.”

Her boss on the other hand, seems to find tight deadlines and crossing datelines a pleasure.

“I enjoy the rush,” Michaels said.

Things weren’t always so hectic. When Michaels started the business 10 years ago, the phone hardly rang for weeks. She had left a partnership in another entertainment venture and the parting hadn’t been sweet.

To be on firm legal ground, she relied in the beginning on purchased mailing lists and word of mouth, and lots of small hospitality events. Eventually former clients found her and she began to oversee bigger productions.

The company now has a staff of 12 and produces more than 100 events annually.

Michaels got into the business almost by chance. After graduating from college with a degree in psychology, she went to work counseling young offenders incarcerated at the California Youth Authority.

“I wanted to change the world,” she said. “I didn’t.”

Then one day a call came from a former employer. In college, he had paid Michaels $2 an hour to book bands for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Now he was offering a partnership in an entertainment booking business.

Michaels jumped at the chance, and honed her experience over the next 15 years. Then 10 years ago the partnership dissolved, and Michaels was looking for her next opportunity.

Driving down Ventura Boulevard, Michaels saw a pink-and-gray building with space for lease. “My colors,” she explained. She signed on the dotted line, installed phones and Extraordinary Events was born.

Being a woman in the events business has never really been an advantage, Michaels said.

“For instance, we deal with a lot of automobile clients--traditional good ol’ boy networks,” she noted. “Its hard to break in.”

And while men could do business over drinks or dinner or golf, she couldn’t without risking misunderstandings, she said.

Still, Michaels says today business is booming and big productions are her specialty.

In a promotion for the Hong Kong Tourist Assn., for example, she turned part of Universal CityWalk into the streets of Hong Kong. The eight-day festival of food, crafts and entertainment attracted 100,000 people.

Michaels was also hired by Mercedes-Benz last spring to promote its 1999 S-Class. The company invited potential buyers to parties in 10 cities around the country, featuring catered food, entertainment by Ray Charles, a fashion show and, of course, the new cars.

The tab: close to $10 million.

“We’re not cheap,” Michaels said, “but less than the price of a magazine ad.”

The high fee covers the cost of meticulous planning, she said: “In my business, you only have one take.” But sometimes, trouble is unavoidable.

That point was brought home at an SAP America party Sept. 15 in Philadelphia. Last year’s event, which featured Rod Stewart, had been a big success. But this year’s party--held on the grounds of a museum--got drenched by the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, forcing Michaels to round up 10,000 ponchos.

“It was like Woodstock,” she said, “all we could do was encourage people to have a good time.”

In the near future, Michaels’ next step is to gain a foothold in Las Vegas, where the convention business is huge. Her long-range goals are more ambitious.

“I want to see the whole meetings and events industry grow and flourish and be respected,” she said. “I’d like to work more and more internationally. I’d like to bring the caliber of events in the United States to the rest of the world.”