Photo: Sweet Ice Cream
When we dragged our bodies and all the stuff into the van, mixed feelings flooded into my mind. Hardly could I describe our experience in the two-day carnival on the Shanghai Touch Mall.
Back at home, throwing myself into the couch in the coming hour, I finally took a breath and fixed my eyes on the latest episodes ofRunning Man.
The event somehow eclipsed.
Two days later, while I was drafting the marketing promotion materials in the official channel, an overwhelming urge pressed me and whispered upon my ears: "perfection is ephemeral while imperfection is permanent".
It struck me that smooth delivery and execution on a plan is even more crucial than our sheer percepetion.
Memories brought me back the very first embarrassing moment in that show.
Our preparation was beyond the roof when we arrived with a handful of ornaments to set up the booth.
Before our initiation, we had unanimously decided that this grandiose public show was all about brand awareness and promotion, therefore, our marketing strategy would accentuate our unique professionalism on Guzheng, which was the best bet to strike the audience on the spot.
At the same time, every participant could learn the rudimentary skill in 10 minutes and quickly play a piece of melody to show off in front of his or her friends in social media. The atmosphere should be serene and outstanding among all the players.
We decorated the place as expected.
Combined green plants and arrayed traditional instruments soon became quite breathtaking, which had attracted some audience and even the staff. They were enthusiastic about our cozy backdrop and would love to try something new, however, I came to realize that the most powerful weapons - introductory materials and placards - were left behind in our plan. Without the laconic and vivid publicity, we had to enunciate our activities and lead them to get the hang of the simple tune. Painstaking as it was, our guests seemed to be impervious to the din of the entire exhibition.
By 10 a.m., more newcomers streamed into our booth, rendering us vulnerable to their inquiries. While our hands were tied, Ivy proposed that we change our strategy and ask the staff for help. She promptly returned and scribbled the introductions in her borrowed whiteboard. Placing it right behind the official posters, we became somewhat relieved to entertain the long line.
The next unexpected episode was looming.
There would be our live performance around 2 p.m., and our Guzheng teacher was patiently waiting for his presence. He seemed confident and equanimous, his eyes closed and lost in his own universe.
When he finally ascended on the stage, all the flashlights had fixed on him. A super-large LED screen turned on and reflected all the details during his performance.
I watched from our booth, talking to myself that he was truly marvelous. At the same time, the melody was mesmerizing, which demonstrated the finishing line with perfect ending.
A wave of ovation and cheers soon burst from the audience. The host was impressed as well and demanded theHomebound Fishermen for the sake of the audience. I was quite nervous because an impromptu song requires flexibility and practice, hoping that he had everything under control. He elegantly responded to the request and started the tune. I could sense his anxiety and some tiny mistakes, but I was genuinely delighted to see his mastery of skills.
When he carried his instruments back to our booth, he cracked a smile to us and continued his soliloquy. To be honest, his playing silhouette still lingers on my mind.
Our stories with frenzied crowds continued to do the magic. Those who had tried to dance with the music fell in love with our traditional Chinese instruments.
Honestly, our preparation seemed to work. Explicitly stated in our plan were myriads of activities and comprehensive bullet points. At that time, I was inspired from the lecture on business operation by Mr. Huang and hurriedly formulated the program.
Nevertheless, dreams were in vain. Either the warm-up articles or the niche techniques could arouse some interest by our students, but our top three questions remained unresolved.
How could we lead all relevant parties to participate and enjoy this feast?
How could we maximize the value and user interaction?
How could we simplify the process of games and activities so that they are obliged to advertise for us?
While we were racking our brains, our ally provided an interesting path of collecting badges from all exhibiters. As a result, a multitude of visitors were swarming to get the lottery. However, their simple motive would jeopardize our pure performance.
After mutual consideration, we found our solutions as to discriminate our guests into two types. Those who were willing to embrace our professional teaching would enjoy the benefits of taking photos as well as customized gifts while those who sought to take the chance had to finish the requisite appointment.
In this way, like-minded souls would congregate and become more joyful in our booth.
After hits of melodies, the moon crawled its way to the sky. Suddenly, the chaos had ceased to reverberate in the Touch Mall.
The two-day carnival had concluded.
As I am introspecting fifteen days after the conclusion, it dawns on me that however meticulous and systematic the plan you perceive to be, there will always be some turnovers that will test our ability to improvise.
Perfection is all we desire.
However, in my mind, perfect imperfection is our constant state of mind that deserves more patience and calmness.
As an old saying goes, “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst”.
Hope we are all inspired.
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