Flying High With Drones

By Amanda N. Wegner

Meeting and event planners can now experience the Baird Center in a whole new way.

In mid-December, Visit Milwaukee unveiled a groundbreaking immersive drone tour of the recently expanded Baird Center at Expo! Expo! 2024, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

“With Baird Center’s recent completion of a state-of-the-art $456 million expansion, there was a need to market Milwaukee’s premier event venue to garner interest as a world-class destination for meetings and conventions,” says Josh Albrecht, chief marketing officer of Visit Milwaukee.

Considered the first video of its kind in the destination marketing industry, the drone tour was created to showcase Baird Center to meeting planners and industry professionals.

“We are really impressed with how the video captures the essence of Baird Center and doesn’t overwhelm the viewer,” adds Wisconsin Center District’s Vice President of Sales Megan Seppmann. “The video showcases Baird Center’s warmth and welcoming atmosphere, which can be hard to do with a 1.3-million-square-foot venue.”

Drawing on Experience

The drone tour was developed in partnership with Baird Center, which is owned and operated by Wisconsin Center District, and Madden Media, a full-service destination marketing agency that works with Visit Milwaukee.

“We’ve been working with them for a number of years, and as plans were progressing for the Baird Center expansion, we wanted to do something different that allowed people to see what the expansion looks like,” says Nick Cusick, destination strategist for Madden Media.

The idea draws on Madden Media’s experience doing drone fly- throughs of university campuses and athletic facilities to attract potential athletes and future students.

“They provide a nearly a first-person view of what a place can offer,” Cusick says. “And with Baird Center, it is a great tool to see how it has changed from what it was before.”

Completed in May 2024, the expansion doubled the Baird Center’s convention space, added advanced technological features, and included new amenities to help event planners create memorable experiences. The center was named a 2025 winner of EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Centers of Excellence awards.

A First-Person View

Shooting the immersive tour involved many moving parts, explains Cusick. Even before filming, the project team scripted and storyboarded the video to piece together what they wanted the end product to look like. The team also wanted the video to be full of life and showcase what’s possible, so they coordinated room setups and people to be active in the meeting spaces. Captured on a beautiful summer day, volunteers from Baird Center, Madden Media and Visit Milwaukee served as talent for the video.

In the editing process, Madden Media added critical enhancements such as textual and graphic overlays to help viewers understand the flow of the space and what they’re seeing and to visualize room setups.

“The different elements we included make it truly unique and with a first-person view,” Cusick says. “You can see tables magically popping up, helping planners see a space come to life before their eyes.”

The video captures Baird Center’s versatility, flexibility and unique artistic features.

Through the video, planners can see how the meeting rooms can be changed using air walls, that room setups are customizable and that all spaces, including the Baird Sky View Terrace, can be adjusted for one-of-a-kind experiences. It also highlights how the north and south buildings seamlessly integrate.

“We didn’t only expand Baird Center, but we completely modernized the original building as well,” says Seppmann. “The video shows planners how the two venues flow together to ensure attendees have the same spectacular aesthetic experience regardless of which building their event is hosted in.”

The video also brings to life the beauty of Baird Center, including comfortable common areas, ample natural light and the amazing We Energies Foundation Art Collection that highlights Milwaukee and its diverse communities.

A New Way to Engage

The video is especially helpful for planners who haven’t yet experienced the expanded and modernized Baird Center in person.

“The drone tour video is a fresh and exciting new way to engage event planners,” says Seppmann. “It lets them quickly tour the venue without having to be on-site, which can be a great introduction to the amenities and features of the venue before booking a site tour. Not only is the video cinematically spectacular, but it can also serve as a great first step in the planner’s selection process.”

While the drone tour is a great introduction to Baird Center, Albrecht adds that nothing compares to experiencing Milwaukee in person.

And based on initial interest, that’s a likely outcome of this immersive drone tour.

The teaser video debuted at Expo! Expo! 2024 was a resounding success, says Albrecht. Afterward, the tradeshow booth was filled with meeting planners wanting to learn more about Baird Center and Milwaukee. He adds that the incredibly positive response has resulted in continued bookings of Baird Center.

The full video was released in January.

“We believe that once someone experiences Baird Center the way they will with the drone video, they will simply have to have their next event here,” says Seppmann. “Releasing this video demonstrates our commitment to offering an unrivaled experience to event planners and their attendees.”

While no current plans exist to replicate this immersive drone experience with other area venues, Albrecht notes that Visit Milwaukee is always looking for fun and inventive ways to market the city.

“We have encouraged venues all around the city to partner with companies to creatively market our destination and their unique offerings.”

Visit the drone tour here: visitmilwaukee.org/meetings-and-conventions/meeting-and-event-venues/building-more/ 

Engage Attendees With Aerial Views

Drones allow planners to capture meetings and events in new and exciting ways, says Cody Retlich.

As owner and founder of Milwaukee Drones and Midwest Aerial Productions, Retlich, a drone pilot, has seen a rise in FPV, or First-Person View, tours. Using a smaller drone that can be safely flown indoors, FPVs “capture the space and the event in a whole new way that you might not have been able to in the past.”

In addition to showing a space’s meeting potential, Retlich recommends capturing FPV footage during meetings and events to show the space and attendance. This can then
be turned into event marketing content to promote future events. And this isn’t just to drive attendees; it can help attract new speakers and presenters.

Another way to leverage FPV is to sell and secure sponsorships and partnerships. By grabbing drone footage of where banners will hang or unique advertising spaces available and how attendees might experience or interact with them, planners can help potential sponsors and partners “see” themselves as part of the event.

Outdoors, planners can capture drone footage of the area to showcase a meeting or event’s location in relation to other landmarks. This can help attendees navigate a site or drive business in the local area.

“There are many different ways to incorporate drones into an event to get the most out of your investment,” says Retlich. “Everyone is watching video, and ultimately, seeing an event and how it takes place gives people comfort, something to connect with and a reason to attend.”