An online resource for Hiring a magician for your entertainment needs across the United States.  

Main Page - Corporate Entertainment Tips - Festival Entertainment Tips - Entertainment Mistakes to Avoid

Advice For Hiring a Magician for Corporate Events, Conventions, and Trade Shows In Florida, California, Las Vegas and Across the United States!

 CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT

     Entertainment is an important part of the success of any convention. A professional  magician can help make your convention memorable.  Magic performances are perfect for convention kick-off or wrap-up parties, after-dinner entertainment, or to help add some excitement and fun to convention keynote speakers.  Different corporate entertainers have shows that are appropriate for different convention entertainment needs.  Some magicians can incorporate themes and special elements into the magic show to make a customized performance for your convention.

    Tips for planning convention entertainment:

• Always ask to see a demo video.  A good performer's demo video will give you a feel for what their performance is all about.  The video should be recorded in front of a live audience, so you can see how an audience reacts to the show.
   

• Conventions are for education, networking...and good times!   Consider a convention magician who has a fun and energetic show with lots of audience interaction to get your convention attendees laughing and involved.  If this type of show sounds perfect for your convention, you will want to check out America's Magical Funnyman (tm) , Chris Linn.
   

• If you have a magician scheduled for your after-dinner entertainment, consider having them make a quick appearance during one of your afternoon sessions to give a quick show.  The brief magic performance will create excitement for the evening activities, and give your attendees a entertaining break in their day.
   

• From "Magic of Sales" to "It's Been a Magical Year", the theme of magic can easily be extended to an entire banquet or convention party.  Magic centerpieces and decorations are inexpensive and eye catching.
   

• Always ask the magician about their set-up requirements and performance needs before you book them.  Some magic acts have special (and expensive!) sound and staging requirements that can cost your organization thousands of extra dollars in rental costs for the convention.  Avoid unexpected surprises and find out the technical requirements ahead of time.
   

• Find out in advance if the magician's travel expenses are included in the fee that they quote.
   

• Most entertainment agencies mark-up an entertainer's fee by 15-25%.  By booking direct, you can save money, and have the comfort in being able to talk with the magician or his staff DIRECTLY about your convention entertainment needs.  By booking direct there are no "middleman" headaches and hassles.

 TRADE SHOW MAGICIAN

     Live entertainment is a very effective way to attract crowds to your trade show booth.  Trade show magicians are frequently praised in leading trade show publications.   Trade show  magicians perform visual and interactive routines that strop traffic and increase your prospect leads!  A trade show magician can customize their routines to incorporate your product or sales message.  The customization can range from basic product mentions to complete effects that use your product or logo as the key prop.

     Trade show magic can go beyond just card tricks and flashy boxes.  Some trade show magicians take trade show magic to new levels by using the latest in interactive entertainment technology.  Imagine a drawing on a sketch pad coming to "life" to talk about your product and interact with the crowd in your booth.  How about your company logo magically appearing in a Polaroid photo taken at your booth.  Multi-media trade show magic can even allow the magician to interact with a TV or video screen - reaching into the TV to pull out your product.  Anything is possible with the imagination and skill of a good trade show magician.

    Tips for working with a trade show magician / entertainer:

• Be sure to contact a trade show magician as early as possible.  The best trade show magicians and entertainers book up early for the most popular shows.  The more lead time a performer has, the more time they can spend customizing their presentation for your trade show.
   

• A trade show magician can customize their presentation in many ways.  The easiest way is for the magician to work your product message into their routine patter.  Customization can also be taken to the next level and one of a kind tricks can be created using your company logo and products....or even involving one of your sales reps!   A magician's fee for a trade show presentation is partially determined by the amount of customization and pre-show planning that is involved.
   

• If you are hosting a banquet or dinner during the trade show, consider having your trade show magician provide some after-dinner entertainment.  Since the entertainer will already be at the trade show, the cost to add an after-dinner performance will be minimal.
   

• Trade show magic can range from sleight-of-hand tricks performed for small groups of attendees, to large scale illusions performed on a stage in your booth.  It is important to know what kind of space you will have available for the show, so the magician can recommend the best possible performance.
   

• Promote the entertainment at your booth.  Invite people to stop by, and have a sign at your booth indicating when the entertainer will be working.
   

• Trade show magician's charge a daily fee for their services, plus travel expenses.  A day usually consists of 5-8 hours at your trade show booth, with several 8-12 minute performances every hour.  The per day fee decreases significantly when 3 or more days are booked.
   

• Standard travel expenses for a tradeshow performer usually include:  airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, and a per diem for meals.
   

• Be sure to convey your expectations for the trade show to the magician.  Why is your company at the trade show?  Do you want more leads?  Do you just want some name exposure?  Do you want a chance to talk with current customers face-to-face?  Is the magic presentation supposed to generate new customers, or just create goodwill with trade show attendees?  If a magician knows your goals for the trade show, they can make sure that their presentation helps you meet your goals.
   

• If the magician is customizing a script for the trade show presentation, then make sure you can provide the MOST IMPORTANT talking points you want included.  A refined list of the most important talking points is a lot more effective than giving the magician a stack of product brochures and company literature and having them try to figure out what is important.
   

• The most popular trade show locations are Los Angeles, California, Orlando, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, Atlanta, GA, London, England, Tokyo, Japan,  Berlin, Germany, and New York City. Most trade show magicians will travel internationally to wherever your trade show is located.  Some trade show magicians specialize in specific regions.   If you need a trade show magician in Michigan, be sure to check out this website.   If you want to hire a California trade show comedian/ magician / entertainer, then be sure to take a moment to visit this website.   

  CORPORATE PARTY ENTERTAINMENT

    Corporate magicians can add a touch of magic and fun to company holiday parties, awards banquets and sales meetings and client appreciation events.  The entertainment you plan for your corporate event can be just as important at the venue you choose or the food that is served.  A good corporate entertainer can bring your guests together and set the festive mood for your event.  Corporate magic shows can range from dramatic and serious illusion shows to hilarious comedy magic entertainment that is a mix of magic, comedy and audience participation.  (if you want the latter, be sure to check out this corporate comedian / magician).      

   Tips for hiring a corporate magician or corporate entertainer for your corporate party:

• Not all corporate magicians are the same.  Professional corporate magicians have unique shows that provide one of kind entertainment for your audience.
   

• There are many different styles of corporate magicians and corporate magic shows.  Some magicians offer strolling magic (going table to table at your event), some perform large illusion show with special effects and a cast of dancers, others specialize in comedy magic that gets your audience laughing in involved.  Whatever styles of corporate entertainment you are looking for, be sure to find a magician who specializes in only that style.  There are magicians you will tell you that they do everything - illusions, comedy, strolling, hypnotism, but that is because they are not proficient at any specific style, so all their shows are usually only mediocre.  For the best possible show, hire a professional corporate entertainer who specializes in one style of entertainment.  These performs will be the best in their field in illusion, comedy, or sleight-of-hand because that is all they do. 
   

• Longer show does NOT equal better show.  90 minutes of entertainment may sound like a great idea when you are planning your corporate event, but most audiences do not want to sit through a 90 minute show.  Even the TOP comedians and entertainers in the WORLD (Jerry Seinfeld, Penn and Teller, David Copperfield) only perform 75 minute shows.  Professional entertainers and corporate event planners agree that a good length for most corporate live entertainment is 35-50 minutes.  It is always better to leave your audience excited and wanting more...rather than having them get tired and start looking at the watch.
   

• Set a realistic budget for your corporate party entertainment.  You are not going to be able to get a GOOD quality corporate entertainer to do a show for $400.  Fees for a TOP QUALITY, professional corporate magician will range from $1500 - $10,000 + depending on the size of the show and the performer's experience and reputation. 
   

• A good corporate magician will be able to incorporate special requests in their show and make their performance special for your group.  Do you want to see your CEO on stage during the show?  Do you want to tie in your event theme into the show?  If you have a special request or entertainment requirement, be sure to discuss this with the magician before he arrives to your event.
   

• There are travel expenses associated with hiring national magic acts and entertainers for your corporate party.  Many magicians include the travel expenses into their fee.  This way you know up front what your TOTAL cost for entertainment will be. 
   

• Most corporate party magicians who are traveling from out of town will require you to provide hotel accommodations for the night of the show.  Unless the entertainer expresses otherwise, it is always best to book a hotel room that is as close as possible to the show venue.  Most corporate entertainers spend most of the year traveling and living out of hotel rooms.  Therefore, a clean, business-class or better hotel room is required by most corporate entertainers.
   

• Discuss the magicians' set-up requirements with your corporate party venue PRIOR to the day of your event.  A magician will usually provide a list of their requirements with their performance agreement.  Typically a corporate magician will need a minimum performance area (a raised stage is ALWAYS recommended for any type of show), some type of sound system, and enough lighting for the audience to see the show.  Most magicians cannot work with an audience seated behind them, so be sure to keep this in mind when planning out the room arrangements.  It is also always best to have the audience seated AS CLOSE to the stage as possible.  Having a dance floor or other large space between the audience and the entertainer will lessen the effect of the show

• If you book your corporate entertainment directly through the entertainer, you will save money on entertainment.  Most corporate entertainment agencies add an additional 15-35% to an entertainer's fee.
   

• By booking a corporate magician direct, you also have the convenience of being able to talk with the entertainer (or their office staff) about any questions or concerns.  Most corporate entertainment agencies will not let you talk with the entertainer until the day of the show.   By booking direct, you can be guaranteed that there are no miscommunications about the performance.
   

• CALL EARLY TO GET THE BEST CORPORATE MAGICIANS.  The most popular dates for corporate events book up very quickly.  Avoid disappointment and start looking for entertainment as soon as you know the date of your corporate event. 
   

• Having no entertainment is better than having bad entertainment.  If you are unable to find a corporate magician who is available and fits your entertainment needs, do not settle for just "some magician out of the phone book".  Just as good entertainment can enhance your corporate event, bad entertainment can bring a good corporate party to a halt.
   

• Plan for next year.  If the corporate magician you really wanted is unavailable for this year's party, be sure to make a note to contact them EARLIER for next year.  This is an especially good idea for company holiday parties.  Many companies book the corporate entertainment for their holiday party over a year in advance.
   

• The best corporate magicians in America are professional entertainers with the experience of providing entertainment at hundreds of corporate parties and events across the United States EVERY YEAR.  The corporate magician should be able to put you at ease so you don't have to worry about the entertainment. 
   

• MOST IMPORTANTLY - ALWAYS ASK TO SEE A DEMO VIDEO.  A demo video is the only way you can truly judge whether a corporate magician will be right for your company party.  The demo video should be short segments of the magician's show.  The video should be filmed in front of a live audience so you can see how a real audience reacts to the show.  If a magician's video is nothing but split-second clips and flashy graphics set to music, then they are probably trying to cover for an inadequate performance - or worse, it could mean that they have NEVER even performed in front of a real audience.  For more advice on demo videos, see our "mistakes to avoid" page.
   

Click above to make your corporate entertainment worries...disappear!

 

   Do you need more information about trade shows and trade show exhibiting, then check out http://www.exhibitoronline.com.  Be sure to bookmark our website first, so you can find us when you need us!

    The most popular locations for corporate holiday parties, conventions, and trade shows in America are Los Angeles, California, Chicago, Illinois, Orlando, Florida, San Diego, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Detroit, Michigan, Phoenix, Arizona and San Francisco, California.   Magicians-For-Hire.com helps corporate event planners hire a corporate magician for events across the United States and around the world.

    Visit our entertainment resources page for information on companies who can help you with your trade show.