How Jennifer Brisman is rewiring the future of real-time events
2026 will compress more mega-events into a single calendar than most teams have ever handled - the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup 2026, and awards season, all stacking pressure on operations.
That pressure is where Jennifer Brisman thrives. After producing 600+ live events over two decades - from high-end galas to NBC's Saturday Night Live, The Tony Awards, major corporate summits, and large-scale hospitality programs - she saw the same weak points on repeat: scattered spreadsheets, radio chatter, group texts, and disconnected tools that crack the moment plans shift.
So she built what the industry kept asking for: VOW - a real-time orchestration platform for live productions. "There's really nothing quite like the energy of human connection, the crowd's roar, the shared emotion and the serendipity of being together," Brisman said. "Our goal is to give live events a 'brain' and put real magic into everyone's hands."
What VOW solves for event and hospitality teams
- One live source of truth for schedules, assignments, contacts, and contingencies - updates ripple across teams instantly.
- A central comms hub that replaces scattered group texts and one-off radio threads.
- Run-of-show sync across vendors, crew, talent, security, transportation, and hospitality - with audit trails to reduce manual errors.
- Change propagation under pressure: last-minute timing shifts, room flips, credential updates, and guest movement plans reflected everywhere.
- Revenue opportunities surfaced in context - premium inventory, hospitality upgrades, sponsor activations, and staffing alignment to meet demand.
- 24/7 support, because live events give you one shot.
Why this matters now
- Fewer mistakes: less copy-paste, fewer version conflicts, faster recovery from surprises.
- Stronger guest experience: cleaner wayfinding, smoother check-ins, tighter hospitality handoffs.
- Sponsor and partner confidence: reliable execution backed by visible, real-time coordination.
- Happier crews: clear roles, clear timing, and fewer fire drills.
A playbook to get real-time ready before 2026
- Map your current stack (spreadsheets, radios, messaging apps). Identify double entry and dead ends.
- Choose a single "source of truth" for run-of-show and staffing. Everything else should reference it.
- Pilot on one venue, session block, or hospitality program. Prove the workflow, then scale.
- Codify contingencies: backups for timing, ingress/egress, transportation, talent, and weather.
- Set hard metrics: on-time starts, incident resolution time, guest wait time, SLA adherence, upsell conversion.
- Cross-train leads so decisions don't bottleneck. Assign an on-call owner per shift.
- Run a full simulation week-of: radios off, message chaos off - can your team operate from one live system?
From trenches to platform
Brisman didn't start in software. She started backstage and on-site - where one wrong text thread or missed update can spiral a show. That frontline experience shaped VOW around what crews, coordinators, and hospitality teams actually need under pressure.
Today, VOW is trusted in some of the most demanding environments across culture, sports, and entertainment. It reduces manual churn, protects revenue, and helps teams deliver the show people came for - without the panic.
The mindset shift
This isn't about adding another tool. It's about running your event from one living plan that everyone can see, update, and act on in real time. Less noise. More signal. Better shows.
If you're upskilling your team on practical AI for operations, see curated options by role at Complete AI Training.
Your membership also unlocks:
