‘Inside Live Events’ Offers a Roadmap for New Generations in a Shifting Industry

A decade-long process of documenting Freeman’s internal practices has resulted in "Inside Live Events." The book also safeguards the company—and the industry—during a rapid generational shift.

“Freeman has been articulating and documenting our methodology for over 10 years, and it’s been institutionalized internally. But there was no go-to reference for new employees, new partners, or clients. The industry needed this book,” said co-author Bob Priest-Heck, past CEO of Freeman and current board member. “If you are new to the industry and you read the book cover to cover, you get a good sense of how everything must come together to orchestrate a memorable event. And it reveals the incredible spectrum of skill sets and career opportunities our industry needs.”

The book’s other co-author is Carrie Freeman Parsons, Freeman's chair of the board, and granddaughter of Freeman’s founder, Donald (Buck) Freeman, who started an event-decorating business in 1927, which has become one of the largest event companies in the world. 

Succession planning was also top of mind for the authors. “We are facing a retirement cliff, which means a lot of the knowledge about how we do things will someday walk out of the building. To address this, we needed to document our institutional wisdom in the form of a reference book we can all use as industry professionals. And in the process, we hope to attract new people and new energy to a spectacular career in the event industry,” said Priest-Heck. 

A Framework for Live Events 

The book organizes event production in four essential phases. Getting started, designing the plan, building the plan, and reviewing and improving. This makes the process more accessible to newcomers.

Although it explores how to design live experiences, it also explains that event planning is a multifaceted art beyond mere aesthetics. It’s about creating immersive journeys that resonate with the audience, provoke change, and have a lasting impact.

At its core, the book presents eight principles for designing live experiences. They are:

1. Listen, learn, and empathize
2. Remember, time is of the essence
3. Design for the senses
4. Explore, experiment, and invent
5. Design for the bandwidth of reality
6. Inspire, provoke, and connect
7. Design the memories you want to create
8. Build a compelling narrative arc

“We wanted to create a relatively simple playbook that would help make every gathering that connects people more meaningful,” said Freeman Parsons.

In addition, the book emphasizes the power of focusing on the “top threes." They help streamline the planning process and simplify complex decisions. This includes narrowing down the top three event objectives. Identifying three ways to track and measure success, defining the three primary audience groups, and writing three short, insightful statements about the event’s goals and challenges.