I recently took some clients to the Sandbox VR experience at Cumulus in Culver City, which I featured a few weeks ago. 

The VR technology is bananas and absolutely worth checking out, especially if you have a client into video games. As if written as marketing copy for MeetWell, one person in our group actually described it as the type of thing she’d want to do but never pay for herself. 

I added some first-hand intel to the experience post linked above if you’re curious, but all in all, it was a win for doing something different and generated some good post-event joke fodder for the email thread. 

This week, we’re looking at some classic, active, and slightly nostalgic client outings. Let the good times roll.

— Robbie

Moonlight Rollerway is an old-timey roller skating rink in Glendale with a kitschy, American Graffiti feel to it.

This is a fun option for clients on the East side of town interested in a more active, booze-free outing. 

Here’s a video overview for a sense of the place with the best narration voice I could find. For the ad community folks out there, they also do some cool brand activations like this event with FX for The Shards.

They have a snack bar with a menu with all the hits your 13-year-old self would have loved (pizza, nuggets, nachos, hot dogs, etc.). Golden Road Brewery (Yelp) is also just down the street if you want to get a bite before skating.

Here are the three options for midweek entertaining:

Join a public skate: 

Reserve a party (rest of the rink still open to the public):

Fully private event (just you and the crew): 

Basics:

Added value: Moonlight Rollerway made the cut as I was looking for unique, affordable client entertaining options that don’t revolve around alcohol. I’ve been here a few times myself and am always impressed by the quality of the DJs, the unbelievable age range of the people there, and how quickly my self-consciousness about my ultra-wobbly roller skating ability comes roaring back.

Golf Day is an annual fall fundraiser event benefiting Ad Relief, the LA ad industry’s premier charity supporting those in the community experiencing life crisis.

It’s an all-day affair at Moorpark Country Club where you’ll meet up with your group in the morning, check in with a gifting line, and enjoy a coffee, smoothie, or morning cocktail before heading out on the course around 9:30a. 

Lunch is provided halfway, and you’ll enjoy an extremely good-vibes cocktail hour after everyone finishes playing. 

The day finishes with a seated clubhouse dinner, a few awards handed out to the golfers, and a brief speech from this year’s honoree, Elane Beyrodt, SVP, Media and Promotions at Sony Pictures Entertainment. 

Networking Ticket: If you can’t swing a full day of golf but don’t want to miss out on the action with ~300 of your closest friends in the ad world, consider a networking ticket to join for the cocktail hour and dinner. 

Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased here. Here are the options:

Added value: As some of you already know, I’m currently the President of Ad Relief and have been working on the Golf Day team for years. This is truly one of the most fun and unique days of the year in the LA ad world, and an amazing way to spend a day with your clients. 

In addition to being a great reason to skip work on a Wednesday, I can personally vouch that every dollar raised from this event goes to helping those in the LA ad industry experiencing extraordinary hardship get back on their feet.

For their final homestand of the regular season, the Dodgers will take on our friends at the other end of the 5 freeway, the Padres, on Tuesday 9/22, Wednesday 9/23, and Thursday 9/24. 

It’s always a love affair between these two teams, and it could be especially interesting as this series could also have important playoff implications depending on how the last month and a half of the regular season shapes up.

Tickets (solid seats in field levels can be found in the $250 to $400 range):

Added value: The Dodgers play so frequently that I always imagine that I’ll get to a game eventually, but then all of a sudden the season is almost over. That’s usually because I don’t look at the calendar far enough in advance to find a game that’s both midweek and interesting, and that’s why this series fits the bill.

Ever been hanging with a client and conversation just runs dry? Whether it’s recent and topical, or general and evergreen, the Oasis is about giving you one idea for helping in that moment.

Do your parents understand online jobs?

I’ve explained what I do for work to my Mom no fewer than 500 times. She does dutifully listen, but to this day she still asks me regularly to just take it right from the top and explain it one...more…time…

During one of those conversations, she did tell me that there are only four professions that matter: medicine (hers), teaching (my wife’s), social work, and the clergy. Inspiring stuff indeed, but curious that media sales never quite made the cut lol!

I imagine many in our industry can relate to a parent who can't quite explain what they do, so toss out your own version and see if it gets the whole group swapping stories.

Thanks for reading. Any feedback is appreciated - just hit reply to this email.