We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Greg Jenkins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Greg below.

Alright, Greg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Thom Neighbors, my business partner who passed away in 2023 and I co-founded and launched Bravo Productions in 1987. We were solely designing and producing floats for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. Thom’s background was in art, architecture and creative design, and mine was in marketing, event planning and public relations.

Before starting Bravo Productions, both Thom Neighbors and I worked for Festival Artists, a company that produced floats for the Rose Parade. Neighbors served as the art director and I was the public relations director. I supervised their clients’ Rose Parade publicity, promotions, special events and community relations activities..

When we launched our company we produced two floats — city of Beverly Hills and the now defunct bank, First Interstate Bank. The city of Beverly Hills won a trophy and the First Interstate Bank float was one of the longest floats in the Rose Parade and featured performers from the Joffrey Ballet, musicians from the LA Philharmonic Orchestra and LA Opera. Both floats were spectacular.

This led to producing three floats the following year, five thereafter and the rest was history.

Most of our clients represented some of the top names in corporate America. As our company grew, these clients sought us out to create their events, props for promotional displays, etc. In addition, throughout the years, we begin receiving more inquiries to create events, props and theatrical scenery for clients outside of the Rose Parade, commercial production companies and television studios. In 1994, we re-engineered our company based on market demand, and we begin solely planning and coordinating events for corporate clientele. It expanded into government agencies such as the United States Army, tourist attractions such as the grand opening events for the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and VIP gala for Vons, to name a few.

I knew as a kid events was the type of profession I wanted to pursue. I was always fascinated with parades, fireworks displays, spectacles and the behind-the-scenes of theater and special events.

After graduating from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s in advertising and a master’s degree in organizational communications, I did an extensive amount of volunteer work to get into the event profession. My big break came when I served as a gopher on Super Bowl XVI. I basically delivered promotional items for a ‘Pub Crawl.’ It was a dream come true to work on this event.

The hard work paid off. The Executive Director of the Super Bowl Host Committee, Carol Gies, took notice. She recommended me for a job at the Metropolitan Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau — and my career started. While not the highest paying job, it provided me with the opportunity to work on Grand Prix, International Freedom Festival, Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival and other grand-scale special events.

After four years at the Convention Bureau, I relocated to Southern California — did a stint at a PR From, then joined Festival Artists as PR director — and as I previously mentioned — Thom and I left Festival Artists and started Bravo Productions.

I took an active role in the events industry, serving on our industry association boards, doing some pro-bono work, serving as a speaker at industry conferences and writing articles on all aspects of the special events industry.

I had the unique opportunity to chair The Special Event (TSE) Opening Night Party for 1,500 event industry attendees. This showcasing event is held in conjunction with a major industry conference and trade show, which attracts more than 5,000 attendees worldwide. I raised approximately $500,000 in sponsorship for the Opening Night Party, which was an ‘over-the-top spectacle.’ It was quite a highlight in my career.

Greg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Bravo Productions is an award-winning, full-service event planning and production company specializing in designing and staging world-class corporate, association, government, military and non-profit functions nationwide. Bravo Productions has staged corporate and association networking receptions, grand opening and dedication ceremonies, product launches, ground-breaking events, conferences and meetings, outdoor public events, reunions, sales incentive events, company anniversaries, fundraising events, theme events, black-tie galas, company picnics, client and customer appreciation events, holiday parties, and VIP receptions.

Bravo Productions’ services include providing consultation, budget planning, creative design, audio visual, lighting and technical support, sets, props, scenery and decor, event management and production, floral, logistical support, entertainment, catering, equipment rentals and staging, speakers, site selection, vendor negotiations, show direction and assistance with accommodations.

In 2020 and 2021, I was named as one of the top 500 event professionals in the United States by BizBash Magazine, the #1 resource for ideas and news for event and meeting professionals.

Bravo Productions has received numerous industry awards, including two Gala Awards by Special Events Magazine in the categories of Best Theme Décor – Budget $20,000 to $50,000 and Best Event Produced for a Corporation or Association – Budget $100,000 to $249,000. Bravo Productions received a Silver Tier Award for Innovation by Corporate EVENT Magazine. We’ve also been honored with numerous Communicator’s Awards of Excellence, several PRism Award and Award of Excellence by the Public Relations Society of America for special event planning. Bravo Productions is the winner of four Esprit Awards and several WESTIE Awards by the International Special Events Society. Bravo Productions is also a two-time award nominee for Event Planner of the Year by Event Solutions Magazine.

A few of the things I am most proud of is the team we’ve put together over many decades. Our suppliers, sub-contractors, staff and volunteers have been reliable, professional, dedicated to helping us make the client shine, and share a common vision to conduct business with integrity and treat others with the upmost of respect. They bring many skills and talents, have also met and seen many challenges in their area of expertise, have worked with diverse clients and industries, and all bring to the table the ability to problem solve on the spot.

We could not do this without such an exceptional team and partners we work with on each project. This all contributes to Bravo Productions’ success and longevity in the events industry.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Neither Thom Neighbors or I had investors. We started our business with a solid dream, a great deal of combined and different experiences (Thom’s artistic and engineering talent and my marketing/communications/special events background), and what is commonly called as ‘bootstrapping.’ We each used our personal savings to fund our business. It was a scary endeavor and we both felt what’s the worst that can happen? The worst thing that could happen was we could find jobs, relocation to another state was an option for me, and perhaps eat beans and rice until something comes along.

Like anyone starting out, our finances were strictly used to market and promote our business. Social media and the internet was not yet around, so it was creating mailers, doing lots of networking, and creating collateral materials to sell our company to potential clients. Dining out, travel unless for pitching a client, and any ‘frivolous spending’ was avoided.

It all paid off when we got our first client, then a second one. While we had the two clients, we were still cautious in our spending and continued to put the money into building Bravo Productions. It wasn’t until the second and third year we felt some breathing room financially.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We have always had challenges and obstacles along the way.

There was the 911 attack on America and the events and meeting industry took a major hit. It was a tragedy for all Americans. As it pertained to our industry, meetings and conferences were cancelled due to a fear of flying, budgets were slashed and it took years to recover.

There was the economic crash in 2007/2008 which resulted in the events industry taking another major hit. Corporations, businesses and associations returned to basic ‘bread & butter’ essentials. Unless the event was ‘necessary,’ all others were either eliminated or faced major budget cuts. For wedding planners, they took a hit, but consumers continued to get married, while corporations pulled back on spending. The perception of lavish spending on events that others perceived as non-essential when companies were conducting employee layoffs is something we we were sensitive to, but nevertheless affected our bottom line.

Then there was COVID, where there was a complete shutdown of our industry for two years. We saw some of our suppliers go out of business, colleagues take on jobs in other industries such as the medical profession or delivery services. It took at least one year to bounce back from the shut down.

Thom Neighbors passing away presented challenges. Not only was he an integral part of Bravo Productions, but losing your best friend was hard and is still painful, but we continue to move along.

And more recently with the tariffs and uncertainty in the market, we are starting to see some clients pull back or at least pause their plans, not knowing if they will be laying off employees, if product and supply will be available to launch and promote at any given time, and if overseas travel to the United States might be interrupted due to a shift in immigration policy.

Bravo Productions has managed to survive throughout the years and we plan to continue staging events. We may need to shift and make changes to adapt to circumstances, but often times the challenges make us all stronger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bravoevents-online.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/BRAVO-PRODUCTIONS-100064810687685/
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/bravo-productions—usa
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bravo-productions-long-beach

Image Credits

Bravo Productions