Streamline’s Rundown Challenges Solved in Less Than 48 Hours

“Shoflo has become another tool in our toolbox that reflects our brand……Events are about managing the details, managing the logistics and driving the creative forward. The simpler you can make logistics, the more energy we can put towards the creative.” “Now that I have the option and solution to build a show minute-by-minute, it has given us the baseline and the resource to get creative and all of our vendors involved sooner. The collaboration into the end product is now something that’s bigger than just our office.”

Frustrated with a previous Excel-based system which he described as “borderline obnoxious,” it took Justin Zebell of Streamline Event Agency less than 48 hours to make the switch to Shoflo.

Streamline, based in Franklin, Tennessee, is a full-service agency which creates simple but effective events for corporate and non-profit clients, from design and planning stage to execution. Streamline manages everything from sales meetings and awards to gala evenings; all with the goal of motivating, connecting and inspiring attendees. With a background which spans audio engineering, music management, and live music production, Streamline’s President Justin Zebell also oversees the agency’s touring arm, which produces shows for artists such as Amy Grant and Michael W Smith.

Justin had been searching for a system which would solve the problem of continual rundown changes, with masses of scrubbed out text on reams and reams of paper-based versions. Attention to detail is one of Streamline’s core values and Justin wanted to implement a process which would reflect the professionalism, quality, and simplicity which has become the hallmark of the agency’s productions. He’d even considered building his own software system to solve the problem.

Justin explains: “When we started Streamline – and it’s in the name – number one is to be simple and efficient in how we do things. We have personally invested significant development dollars into our own database management software systems. We use a very robust project management software that companies like Apple and Johnson & Johnson and other really big Fortune 50 companies use. Even as a young company, I looked up and I realized ‘OK, I’ve got to build a foundation for things that are going to exist and grow with our company 10 years from now.’”

“At the time, when we were introduced to Shoflo, we were doing it like everyone else – we hadn’t found a great solution. In fact, it was on our development chart for our own software. We were going to build us something that was able to manage minute-by-minute [rundowns], because it’s borderline obnoxious to have to continue to use the Excel format.”

Having been introduced to Shoflo by a preferred vendor, Justin decided there was only one way to test Shoflo’s cloud-based software – a real-world scenario trial, switching mid-event.

The team has never looked back. “From a workflow standpoint, it really has cut down the amount of excess time, money, and resources that we would spend just trying to keep the schedule up-to-date,” says Justin.

Read on to find out how Shoflo helped Streamline Events Agency to:

• Address 95% of the agency’s scripting challenges, creating easy schedules and rundowns which can be updated by all invited team members and contractors
• Make the switch mid-event – with crew members up and running on the system in less than 48 hours
• Create easy minute-by-minute draft schedules during the pre-production phase which can be updated by the whole team and sent to clients for approval
• Quickly communicate changes in real-time, reducing the need for additional production meetings
• Implement a simple show tracking process, helping Streamline grow their team’s skillset and educate the next generation of showcallers

Shoflo address 95% of Streamline’s scripting challenges, easing the burden of managing a growing portfolio of events for multiple clients

As an agency, Streamline designs and creates around XXX events for its clients every year. Streamline previously used an Excel-based system for creating rundowns, but managing multiple clients, multiple events and multiple changes were proving costly in terms of Justin’s time. With a system which didn’t allow different teams to collaborate or input their own requirements, much of the burden was placed solely on Justin’s shoulders. Using Excel also resulted in reams of wasted paper.

Justin explains: “If I’m doing just one event a year… ok, Excel, maybe that works. But at the pace we were growing, it was multiple events a year and then on top of that, multiple changes, multiple prints. I would print copies that would go to crew members and my client would walk in and everything I had just printed, had just distributed to everybody would be out of date. So I’d do it again.”

Justin was introduced to Shoflo by one of his preferred vendors, Nashville-based Nic Dugger of TDNV.

Having been introduced to Shoflo, Justin found it was the workflow solution he had been looking for. He said: “I looked at Shoflo one time, and for me, it was a no-brainer. It addressed 95% of the challenges we had, which were ever-changing schedules and being able to update our crew. For workflow, it has immensely changed things because now when we do events, as a producer, I will open Shoflo just one hour before we start rehearsals.”

“Everyone else has been plugging information into it, Ellie’s [Crumbaugh, Director of Events] been working on it, she’s been communicating with our vendors, they’ve been dropping information in. It’s up-to-date with each change. Everybody’s got a laptop or an iPad so that was the only thing that we had to do. It took just two meetings to make sure that all of the crew brought a laptop or an extra iPad and we were prepared to furnish that – it was needed.”

Easy-to-use processes allow Streamline to make a mid-event switch to Shoflo – with migration completed in less than 48 hours

Director of Events Ellie Crumbaugh was the first to use the new system, prepping and building a session in Shoflo instead of Excel. “The transition for us was virtually immediate,” says Justin. “We were using Excel and Nic [Dugger] told us about Shoflo. I had Ellie take one of the sessions coming up and move everything to Shoflo on the second day – it was not a very heavy day. I said: ‘Just load it in there and let’s try it!’”

He adds: “Within 24-48 hours we had really put it to the test. It was a very quick move. It was late October, so it was one of the last big events of the year.”

Shoflo helps Streamline create easy minute-by-minute draft pre-production schedules – making it easy for the whole team to input details on their own production elements into the rundown

Adopting Shoflo means that the team is able to start creating a single, accessible version of the rundown from the outset. Because each production crew member is able to input their own information, rundowns are continually updated without placing a large burden on any single individual.

Justin explains: “We go in and get the framework built, that’s the foundation and anything that needs to happen down the line. If I’m on a call with a client and I need to jump in and answer a question, I can do that.”

With all teams inputting their notes and requirements directly into Shoflo, there’s no need to go backwards and forwards with Excel sheets. Having just one rundown version also saves time when it comes to approving the final draft.

“I will honestly dive into it, probably a week or ten days out because we will send the final version to the client,” says Justin. “I usually put my hands on the final, make sure nothing’s been overlooked or missed, ensuring it is clean and it matches our standard.”

Justin can export a PDF file to his clients or choose to share a Guest Pass link so they will always have access to the most recent version of the rundown.

Inform the whole team of real-time changes – without the need to call further production meetings

Justin explains: “If there’s something significant, we will address it in our briefing meeting. But people will track with me and they understand that it’s evolving and they’ve got really good at looking ahead. If it’s a major change, we’ll call it out. So if we’re deleting a person we’ll mention it – and that we’ve already removed them from Shoflo.”

Shoflo helps educate the next generation of showcallers

Shoflo’s simplicity has meant that Director of Events Ellie Crumbaugh has also been able grow her skill set – using Shoflo has given her the confidence to step up into the showcaller role.

“Ellie’s doing a lot of the event show stuff that she will now be calling,” says Justin. “That’s a new process for her. Shoflo makes it easy for her to learn more about that area, the simplicity of it provides an education.”

“The tracking methods makes it easy for you to tell someone how to do it. So Shoflo provides an education for young people or individuals who are new to the industry.”