Activate Your Audience!

Marissa Saenz - Strategies for Successful Event Operations

• Imperial Branding Agency • Season 1 • Episode 20

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Want to know the secret to running a successful event production agency? Join us, as we sit down with Marissa Saenz, the visionary founder of Rukaz Kultura, a marketing agency specializing in multicultural insights, strategic campaigns, and large-scale event productions. With over two decades of experience, Rukaz has left its mark on nationwide promotional campaigns for industry giants like Spotify, Red Bull, Pepsico, Neff and Fortnite, not to mention pivotal projects like The Tejano Tech Summit and The City of Houston initiatives.

In today's episode, we dive deep with Marissa, exploring the lessons, realizations, and 'aha' moments that have shaped her journey as an agency leader. Discover how she tackles constraints to ensure project success while maintaining sustainability and hear about the challenges faced when orchestrating massive events.

But it doesn't stop there. Marissa reveals her thoughts on leveraging the cultural and industry landscape to activate audiences by capturing attention and creating lasting value. You'll gain insight into the importance of team regroups, fostering personal connections, role duplication, and always prioritizing the guest experience.

Join us for an engaging conversation that uncovers the secrets of effective event production and brand activation. It's time to tap into Marissa's superpower in the world of marketing and event management. Don't miss this enlightening episode!

Want to produce brand activations you are proud of? Learn more about our I3BA package, a THREE IN ONE DYNAMIC Brand Activation SUPPORT service for experiential teams, agencies, and brands. 


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Luis Felipe:

Alright, welcome. Today we speak with Marissa Saenz. She is the founder of Rukaz Kultura. Rucas is a marketing agency that specializes in multicultural insights, strategic campaigns and large-scale event productions. With over 20 years of experience across various categories, Rucas has worked nationwide on promotional campaigns for Spotify, Red Bull, PepsiCo, Neff, Fortnite, the Tejano Tech Summit and the City of Houston, to name a few. She is a passionate leader driven to support the advancement of communities and help people and brands grow. Welcome to the Activate your Audience Podcast, Marissa.

Marissa Saenz:

Thank you.

Luis Felipe:

So we'll kick it right off Again. It's been a pleasure, you know, working alongside you. We're going to be doing a couple more projects together, so I'm excited for folks to hear about your insight and just your experience in general. I think human touch that, I think, is very valuable. So with that, why don't you start off maybe some of the recent insights or major discoveries, whether it's lessons, realizations, any aha moments that you as an agency leader have kind of come across lately?

Marissa Saenz:

Yeah, I feel like you know, we're a brand we're five years in, although our experience extends well beyond. But Rucas Kultura was born five years ago and I think the biggest aha's that we've had lately is foundation. You know, foundation is key, the way to have a way that we do business, a way that we can train new folks that are coming in, new producers, partners, our clients. Without our core, without our processes and our standard documents, you just get out there. Yes, we're capable of doing productions, but without that foundation you can really find yourself in a mess closer to that production timeframe. And so it's getting ahead of all of that and making sure that everyone on the team knows their roles. So we have a lot of duplication in our roles because, especially after COVID, you never know when some you're going to have a man down.

Marissa Saenz:

You know and so having the process is set, having our template set and places for people to turn to, so, no matter whose production it is, all of a sudden producers unavailable can't make it sick, whatever it might be we're able to jump in to their project board and take a look in and say, okay, here's where everything's at, because it's all structured, it's templated, and so we tried to, you know, keep up with that method. We took a lot of time to establish what that foundation is and I'm thankful for the amazing team I have. Our operations director, elsa Mendoza, has made it a point.

Marissa Saenz:

And sometimes it's hard because you're in the middle of a major project. It's hard to take the time out for yourself and when we say ourselves, for Rukas, right, and so what we've been able to do is establish a retreat every quarter, and that's when we take a look on the inside, under our hood what's working, what's not, what should we be changing? And so I feel like the aha moments are when we're we have, you know, three projects going on at once in major production mode and you realize, oh, we got this, because everything's where it should be at this moment. Don't freak out, you know, like breathe and let's, let's take a look at where we're at and, like I said, it's just. It's just been good to see all of the work that we've done in the past in use and really working for us.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, no with.

Luis Felipe:

Especially when you and I first connected, which was during the pandemic, right and quarantine led us to have this sort of mid-side line moment that we maybe wouldn't have chosen, but it really showed us the value of having these, whether it's a team offsite or a personal offsite or just these pause and review aspects of our work.

Luis Felipe:

That is important because intellectually we understand it as business owners.

Luis Felipe:

As you know, especially in the events world, with a lot of moving parts, you need to have, you know, a checklist, a procedure, a standard, and then, once you're running full on productions, a team and agency, like those standard operating procedures are necessary. But it's, as you say, like it's almost, almost in our head, a nice to have until we start to see like it needs to be so just thought out and systematized and written down. And that is the hardest part I think sometimes of working on versus in the business, wouldn't you say, of like you're in the middle of it. And, yes, you understand that here comes either some new data or some sort of challenge or a new way to improve the process, and having that sort of discipline is almost like necessary to still deliver on the job right and the value and complete what the task at hand, but at the same time making sure that those notes that that solution, that that sort of structure gets set. So do you have any sort of structure for how you would recommend teams work through an offset?

Marissa Saenz:

It's structured. There's an agenda and you know we're always populating the agenda as we're going. It's like you know we're in the middle of things and we're like, oh man, we need to add this clause into our contract labor because this instance happened, even though it doesn't immediately go into. It's like here's an agenda note and sure, we're looking at our clauses and contracts, you know. And so, yeah, we constantly are noting when we need to take care of ourselves and then we look at that agenda before we go in and really outline where our most bang for our buck is and try to use the time most effectively because, no matter what, you know, the client work will always creep into our. As much as we try to take three days out and ensure that our retreats are solely about us, client work will creep in, and so that's where we just try to respect the table and ensure that we, you know, have our agenda built around that.

Marissa Saenz:

So, yeah, I think, just make sure to take care of yourself and your team. Hear them out. You know we also make it a big part of us to ensure that we understand what we're going through personally. You know we don't need to get into the weeds in your personal life, but it definitely bleeds into your work, and so on Mondays, when we do our full agency status meeting, it's just here's a take a time.

Marissa Saenz:

What's going on in your life? What can we expect? You know, as I mentioned, you know had had a family funeral this past weekend. When I started last week's you know, status meeting was like hey guys, this is what's going on. Yeah, so Friday you can expect that I'm going to be gone half day over the weekend not looking at work, and so just making sure to get ahead of those things. Family is important to us, work-life balance is important to us, and so, again, just giving the team the opportunity to say hey guys, gonna need some extra help. Um, you know, from from our ends, we we have each other's back, but we can't just expect people to have your back without knowing what's going on in your accounts, right? So we want to get ahead of that.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, I mean with even, I think, a lot of us, specifically in the events, you know, brand activation world, we are sometimes the what is that saying? In an airplane, like put on your mask first, and as experienced providers, whether it's for the client or the guests, it's almost a kind of reverse approach. We always go to see, like, what is the perspective from the audience side, from the client management side. So we tend to sometimes prioritize the needs, I think that out of necessity for, you know, the site, your team, the other stakeholders, and so it's this weird like, um, kind of dialectical, like skill, like seems contrary to both be so forth facing or so caring about the others. That is necessary in order to have these experiences, these successful productions, but also bring it back to the need to, if you have your house in order, that's the only way that things can be, you know, successful. So that makes a lot of sense and with that, like what has been maybe some of the ways that you found around constant constraints, like any sort of specifically, as you mentioned, like growing as a smaller agency to a bigger agency and scaling, I think sometimes we have the luxury that we see where agencies haven't implemented something like what you mentioned of a good workplace culture.

Luis Felipe:

It's sometimes said, like, even in the multicultural world, like it's said from a PR point, it's said from a hiring, a, you know, perspective point of yes, bring your full self. Yes, we care about culture, but then when it comes to implementing it sometimes these larger agencies it's a big shift to turn right. So we almost have this luxury where we can implement that sort of culture in reality, not just, you know, as a, as a hot topic, or just because we want to seem as an, like an appealing organization, like we are actually having to live it, because we are so close in it that of course, people's personal lives are going to affect the work. That of course, you know, this sort of productivity hack is not as much of a hack as it is a necessity, but baked in at the beginning. That's where I think you see things scale and everything that we mentioned earlier, with operating procedures and just like standards of excellence that all bakes in.

Luis Felipe:

So, on the contrary of that, are there any constraints that you have found recently and maybe would have been some of your best practices to observe? You know, whether it's a client budget constraint, whether it's anything within a growing agency. How do you approach? You know these sort of limitations that any creative, any artist, any business has in order to get on the other side and work sustainably right. You mentioned work-life balance. Like sometimes that's also a give and take. How do you work through those sort of speed bumps, if you will?

Marissa Saenz:

Yeah, I mean constraint-wise. We've been through so many examples. You know, going past, when you get past, working on those local accounts and getting into the national accounts, you know there's, you know, pressure in terms of those net 90 terms with these big brands, or even way longer than net 90, and having to maintain payroll and come up with creative ways to keep the money going even though you know it's coming. I think those could cause a lot of anxiety and, as a leader, lots of anxiety. And so, again, just really understanding that you know taking it every day by day, step by step, and, like you said, you know put your mask on first, get ready for that. And so it's almost like we know we're going into battle when we have like three major productions coming in, you know in the at the end of the month, and it's just like preparing yourself. So for me personally, it's like last night, anxiety just came out of nowhere, right, and it hit and it's Sunday and there's nothing you can do on a Sunday night. That's going to change what you feel. But waking up this morning and it's like, okay, make your smoothie, get yourself ready, be prepared, let's get a head start. And so you know again, it's just that you know, one step in front of the other. Let's pay attention to what's in front of us. Do what we need to do now, it'll resolve itself, it'll pass.

Marissa Saenz:

You know, when it comes to production, there's productions, there's always something unexpected and I think that you know, when I mentioned duplicating yourself earlier, that is the key. And so when you're working on those client proposals, that duplication needs to be put in there because somebody's paying for those additional hours. But what it allows you is as a lead producer. You did not anticipate this security issue, that taking you away from all of the, you know, an hour worth of duties that you had in your run of show that were assigned to you. So it's about having that playbook. Oh, here's the list. So, and so take it over, because my head needs to be on this very important key security situation that's happening right now. So, again, it's clarity. You, when you're in the weeds, you don't see that clarity, and so, having the right team dynamic to get your back, you know, and just be prepared that there are going to be surprises, and be okay with it. It's okay, like every it's okay, and we're so blessed to have amazing clients who also understand that that you know to that the unexpected is always expected, right? So yeah, I think for us, you know, getting through those constraints is really be about being healthy mentally, being prepared mentally, but also preparing your team of what you're going through. You know. You know we're in production mode.

Marissa Saenz:

Sometimes you're not going to get the best side of me, you know. You don't know how many million things are going through someone's. You know a mind at that moment, when you ask them a simple question, you get a bark. You don't realize what's going on and, I think, being kind to each other, understanding what's on their plate, and sometimes you you may not why did they talk to me like this or why was this said in a certain way? Just understanding, oh, they're dealing with a lot and so how? I'm just going to stand to the side and tell the ready to answer my question. You know, even as the boss, sometimes I got to respect that person and stand to the side and, you know, just allow them to get through what's on their plate before they can address my concerns.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, there's the constraint, as you mentioned, of just the external stuff that happens, the things that are just part of the world, our world, just life, and setting up these systems is helpful. But that last bit of you know, I think like taking nothing personal is one of, like, the biggest rules to live by, especially, not even especially in this world, but just in anything. If you're doing things that require work again, if you're growing, if you're leading a business, if you're producing experiences, if you're creating art, there's always this Emotional like stew from all parties involved that you can't take anything personal. And the caveat is like, oftentimes you know we've had great clients, but we've also had our experience and at least I know I have of just some not so great clients from that emotional perspective and the best way to handle is, again, not take it personal. So it's, you know, this sort of like that can be an excuse for a client to be disrespectful, right, but it's also like a way of if you've done your part.

Luis Felipe:

We can't control the people's emotions, like you said, we don't know what people are going through. So it's more like for the success and the you know value of the project and the attendees. Like you want to keep the wheel moving with this sort of like approach of You're here to do a job, it's got nothing to do with Anybody if there's any, so friction, but that that part again is something that, with systems in place with, as you mentioned, kind of contingency on top of contingency, is not only just a great way to operate but it lets you Build these sort of like buffers for what it is to be human working with you, right so? And I don't think AI or robots will be taken over our job anytime soon.

Luis Felipe:

So I think, that'll probably be a timeless question. So, with that, when it comes to, again, operations and larger event, but what would you say, or maybe some of the things that either folks that are, say, brand partners or anybody that hasn't done as much live events or experiential that they don't expect to come into, are there any Almost just heads up of what is to be expected in terms of some of these constraints that clients coming in can expect to have? As you mentioned? You know, dates change, things change, life happens. What other sort of Predictable challenges would you communicate to a new client or somebody new in this sort of like Hospitality events world that comes into to hire Lucas?

Marissa Saenz:

Yeah, I mean there's, there's. Every event has its unique challenge, you know, in terms of what to expect, for for us it's going the long run. You know we're a Texas-based large-scale production company, so we'll have three days of load ins in 103 heat and two-day loadouts and and it's it's. It's a marathon and you have to prepare yourself and so a lot of times, with clients, with brands, with teams, it's just starting at, again, that first step and making sure that you know when you, when you get there, ice chest is there, water is there. Sometimes you don't even think about it and you start loading in and all of a sudden people are like hey, where's the water? And it's just like, oh man, you know, I mean, the simplest things is water, food, who's making those runs? Because, again, if you're producing, you're loading in a stage it's already 11 30, you have to get this crew to continue to work until 8 pm and who's taking that time to to feed them, to check on them, to make sure that Everyone's okay and taking care of themselves? I think that you know we've had scary moments. Working in heat is no joke and you have to see and look at your, your crew, and look at their faces and understand like you're. You're dehydrated, you got to get out of the Sun, go take a break, because there, you know, it's not saying they're worthless. When they're at that, note they, they will pass out, you will lose them, and you will lose them for days. You know if, if you don't take care of each other right. And so For us, some of the bigger challenges are just nature and and getting ahead of nature and making sure that you know how to come up against it. You can't hydrate day of. You have to hydrate three days before. You know even you're booking your talent, major talent. They come out to Texas, they fly and they have no idea how hot it is, you know. And so just making sure to have those safe spaces and those cold places for people to get out of the heat.

Marissa Saenz:

I mean, we've dealt with challenges when it comes to security. We've dealt with challenges when it comes to, for example, being a female producer. A lot of times you know you're your Security or male, and they don't know how to take orders from females, and so you deal with those dynamics which are completely Surprising. And it's a surprise, and so you know, and it's dangerous, because everyone within this event say it's a 15,000 person event is under their mind responsibility. And when you have People who are supposed to be keeping them safe not listening to you, and it's crazy because you're like, wait a minute, I am the producer, why are you not?

Marissa Saenz:

I hear words coming out of my mouth that you are not accepting, and so a lot of times you're like okay, what is this situation? What can I fix? Right now, you know number one I Always ensure that I book my own security and I have that direct relationship. And so in the particular case I'm talking about, there was another producer involved who had booked the security, yet I was overseeing the festival, I. And so those dynamics you really have to understand when some battles you just lose and you're like, okay, mr, who can only take direction from another Mr, let me put so and so to tell you what needs to happen. And it's sad and it can really make you angry sometimes, but at that moment those 15,000 people are still under me and I need this person to move the way I need them to move.

Marissa Saenz:

Security is sometimes an afterthought when it comes to a lot of productions and experiences, and especially when we're dealing with a class talent, especially when you're dealing with talent within the hip hop space, the profiling when it comes to your local law enforcement could be really frustrating to get past, and so I think that's what we know. If it was a country festival, would they still be treating us the way they're treating us with a hip hop festival? So it's understanding how to work with law enforcement, understanding your security plan fully, and so I think those have been some very interesting learning opportunities over the last couple of years when it comes to just leveling up and never vulnerable again, and so, yeah, it's been a fun process, but it's always a surprise.

Luis Felipe:

Always, always. Yeah, I mean there's a lot of nuance within what those challenges can be, and I agree specifically in where somebody's sort of perspective comes in and again, I think it goes back for me a lot of times of not taking things personal, but you mentioned it like the priority is not this person's ego or ignorance, even those frustrations it could be, is the security and safety, the success of the event, which is still challenging, right, especially, as you mentioned, when we have all these things in our mind. So if we have a team and if we can communicate that, you know, when we have clients like setting this, the expectations is what I'm hearing with other things like weather and things that are more like natural contingencies rather than human contingencies, that sort of communication can be, I think, massive, right.

Luis Felipe:

And then again back to the human aspects of just not taking it personal and do what you gotta do to make sure that the success of the event and the goal actually gets passed through. So what ways can brands and agencies, or any event teams, in your opinion, best leverage what is currently going on in the environment, in the landscape of events? We know, after COVID, for example, like the demand for people to connect and experiential and live events just had a lot of pent-up demand, but it was also just this thing that we realized and brands realized, the value of human-to-human interactions. With that being said, in terms of brands or agencies, how can they, again from your perspective, create vehicles for sort of these value creations? For, you know, bettering the experiences for approaching what is going on, or even, as we kind of mentioned in passing earlier, things like AI, anything cultural, anything that you see going on, how are you approaching and how would you recommend either a brand partner or a client? Look at the lay of the land.

Marissa Saenz:

I think there's a lot of opportunities in niche audiences and finding those subcultures and counterculture areas, because right now, yeah, events and experiences are big, but you can't entertain the masses. You really, you know, when it comes to engagement, it has to be authentic, and sometimes being authentic to 100,000 people is really hard. You know, because, especially in a place like Houston, which we're so diverse and so you know there's opportunities to you know, especially with so much content, you don't necessarily have to touch every 100,000 person that's there at a festival one-on-one to engage with your booth. You can hit them through the content that comes out of it. You can hit them through, you know, the authenticity of what you're presenting. So, for example, you know we just did, we consulted with an event here called Raise the Vote, targeting 18 to 24 year old Latinos, and so, again, you know it's, it's, it's. And when you talk about 18 to 24 Latinos, they're so different from each other. You know there's some that are more acculturated on, you know, I mean, and the music right now, regional Mexican, is coming back, like conjunto music is coming. You know corridos are coming and you're like whoa, what's going on? And then you also have your Latino hip hop heads. You have your Latino skaters, so how you can't make them all happy, right, and so it's really about how to connect with that niche group, but connect with them the right way. And then there's the content that comes out, that spreads your word. So, you know, I think that brands can have, when they're looking at some of these big picture opportunities, to then ask themselves am I able to still meet my objectives through the content that's being churned out through this, through the influencers that attended? You know, it's not all that one on one, it's not all that flyer that you put in somebody's hand. No, there's so many ways that you can expand on that and it comes to, like I just mentioned, just in one culture. There's so many different avenues, so I think, just all together, there's opportunity within the multicultural space.

Marissa Saenz:

So don't underestimate us, don't profile us without getting to know us right and so and then again, I'm not the profile Just remember that you're not the target. We hear it from our clients all the time oh my gosh, I love doing this so much. Let's do this. You're like, you are in your 50s and we're targeting 18 to 24 year olds. So I appreciate it, you know, and just making sure that you always remember that. You know, because, although we're in the multicultural space, we don't just target Latinos, we target across all different, diverse backgrounds, and so, again, when you're going somewhere, it's to truly represent that culture authentically.

Marissa Saenz:

How do you do that? Do you do that through partnerships, through community partnerships. You know, I don't pretend to know what these skater kids are listening to. So identify those promoters who are already doing it in the scene, the people who are already playing. Those are the ones that you get to program your show. You know. Partner with the pop up markets that are doing it within the specific community. You know, don't just come in and bring in your own thing and expect people to show. They want to be invited, they want to, they want to feel like it's for them.

Marissa Saenz:

So I think there's just so much when it comes to the multicultural space in terms of what's going on now. What's going on in AI. Use it, yeah, I mean use it as a tool, have fun with it, but really understand how to use it the right way, because it's not going to do your work for you. It doesn't. You know it. If I'm with, especially within the multicultural space, it's not going to do the work for us, right. So you got to bring that authenticity to the table. You got to vet what you're, you know what AI is recommending to you. You can't just jump with it. You have to actually read it, make sure it makes sense. Yes, it gets you halfway there, but it doesn't do all your work.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, that's so true. I mean, the saying I like is the riches are in the niches, as you mentioned. Like you can't target everybody. So, as you focus in and if you look at just festivals, with what I said at the beginning of, yeah, there's a demand for it, but there's still saturation, right? So not only do you have to build this tribe and this communal I guess avenue for the specific tribe you're speaking to, but also there can only be so many festivals that quote unquote the masses go to. So not only are you already competing within that, you know, limited like festivals per year that an attendee will go to, but then if you niche down, there's still almost that like same breakdown of within this community, everybody's an individual, and so I love that approach of finding partners, people who are actually in the community, which is also just very respectful. Right, like not thinking that because, as you mentioned, you like this as a client or this was a thing, or so-and-so brand, did this? No, you're going to go to where it is, the people, or meeting the people that you're trying to serve, where they're at and providing what will actually activate them.

Luis Felipe:

So I'm going to kind of run back through all of these points and give some highlights and then you fill in anything that I might have missed.

Luis Felipe:

Starting off with, I love that team offside approach, so kind of making sure that we have some times for both checking in with ourselves and checking in as a team to do the work in and off on the business. I think that's super important. The second point that I picked up was having a sort of standard, not in just operations, but in the way that we create personal connection to our work, so checking in in how you as the individual are going to fare, which is personal things going on. Next, I love the idea of duplication and implementing, so that you can anticipate more of the contingencies for duplication and then taking nothing personal. I feel like has been a common theme on this chat as a way to, both personally and as a organization, both grow and last. Again, the riches are in the niches focusing on a specific audience and making sure that you are actually speaking to them as unique individuals in order to leverage your communication. Is there anything that I missed or anything that you'd want to add onto that?

Marissa Saenz:

No, I think you covered it.

Luis Felipe:

Love it. Well, thank you so much. Where can people learn more about Rukas or what you got going on today?

Marissa Saenz:

Yeah, if you can check us out, our Instagram is the most up to date. We're definitely going into updating our website this quarter, but Instagram at Rukas Cultura, so that's cultura with a K and it's also Rukas with a Z, so it's R-U-K-A-Z cultura, k-u-l-t-u-r-a. So at Rukas Kultura, on Instagram, and you'll find most of our up to date updates.

Luis Felipe:

Beautiful. Well, thank you so much, Marissa. See you soon and we'll see you again.

Marissa Saenz:

Thanks, louise, we'll see you.