Good weather, a digital event at the Design Offices Humboldthafen in Berlin and a likeable interlocutor in Ralph Mauel from Studio-toGo.de are the right ingredients for the first interview this year that I was able to conduct Face 2 Face.
Ralph it’s great that you take time for me and the COMMUNITY during the production of an event.
You recently joined the MEET GERMANY COMMUNITY, why don’t you introduce yourself to the network and tell us how you got into the event industry in the first place?
Exactly, my name is Ralph Mauel, I’m a bit over 50 (laughs) and originally come from the restaurant business. Before I switched to the event industry, I came from an affiliated industry, gastronomy. I’m a trained chef and it was through that job that I first came into contact with the event industry. I catered for Michael Jackson in Stockholm in 1992 during his tour. That fascinated me so much that I couldn’t get away from the event industry.
But from that job I kept one characteristic that still shapes me today. As a chef, you have exactly one chance to make the guest happy, and that credo runs through my entire event life.
We’re sitting in the Design Offices right now and you can feel the sense of optimism everywhere. How does that feel for you?
Fortunately, things are looking up again. But I think it will start in the private and gastronomic sector and we as an industry will have to wait a little longer until live events start again. Probably it will start with personal and events in small circles, but that’s ok, because we should still use the time when it really starts again with high quality events. Because an event needs planning time and also a good dramaturgy, good direction, good technology and above all good content, in short a good script, whether digital, live or hybrid and that needs (lead) time.
Now the question keeps popping up, can we handle all the upcoming events at all, because in many areas, especially among the freelancers in the technical and hospitality area, many have reoriented themselves, what is the status quo here with you?
We have been a little lucky so far, we have been able to keep all our employees, because of the short-time work but mainly because we have done some permanent installations and because we could quickly switch to online. We have been working intensively on the topic of online & interaction since before 2020.
The job is fun, the job is cool, but if I don’t have to work nights as often for the same money and don’t have to put myself personally in danger as much as riggers and roadies do, for example, then you think twice about coming back. I’m afraid that some freelancers and temps will be gone for the time being and these will have to be compensated. We also have to get young people (back) into the job, but entertainment has always attracted people, so I think the enthusiasm for this industry will return.
You are here today as Studio-toGo, what is the story behind it and what is special about it?
The „toGo“ at the back (laughs again). We, as erlebnisevent.de® are basically a classic event agency, where you get the classic services. The special thing about studio-toGo is that we have our own fixed studios, where we can rehearse, record, or produce live, but the complete technology is mainly mobile and temporarily available.
But since not everything can be shot in our studios, because it is not, or only very badly transportable, we can pack our studio quasi and bring it uncomplicatedly there, where it is needed. This often doesn’t even require elaborate backdrops, because most of the time they are already there, you just have to stage them. The candle on the cake for the customer is the associated feel-good factor, because in the „familiar“ environment the presenter/broadcaster feels much more comfortable, which is directly transferred to the viewer, it seems much more authentic.
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Ralph thank you very much for your time, it was nice that we could sit down here in person and do this interview. But I have one last question for you, what would you like to pass on to COMMUNITY?
That what I always exemplify: do! Change only happens when you do something. You always have to walk through the world with open eyes, even if this world is only Bonn, for example, that is also the world, but everything you see you should take in and incorporate. That way you always get into the making and can look ahead, because what we did yesterday is no longer state of the art tomorrow.
Editorial Staff
Patrick Bergmann | MEET GERMANY
