All in on artist appreciation: Premier Center creates memorable experiences for biggest names in show biz

The patch that said “Sioux Falls (hearts) Blake Shelton” just wasn’t enough.

The gift for the country artist when he visited Sioux Falls last year “needed something else … a larger, staple item,” said Doria Drost, director of marketing for the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

That took the form of a denim jacket — Shelton is known for performing in them — but it needed an extra touch too.

“There’s a committee of us that get together and spitball ideas, and we knew it was his last season on The Voice and he’s married to Gwen Stefani and they have the most fun relationship and are very open about it on social media,” Drost said.

They took the inspiration — and went with it.

At first, “we joked about doing a Mr. Stefani neon sign” but they ultimately opted for the apparel, which is how Drost found herself transferred a sequined Mr. Stefani patch onto the jacket days before the performance. As she and her team learned afterward, it was a hit.

“The week before the show I’m in my office bedazzling this denim jacket, and then I see it on Gwen Stefani’s Instagram,” Drost said.

“I would not trade this job for the world. It’s so fun being able to see stuff like that.”

This week, the Denny Sanford Premier Center will be part of the Academy of Country Music Awards, which named the Sioux Falls arena of six nominated for Arena of the Year.

Behind the scenes, Drost offered a glimpse at the extraordinary lengths the Premier Center goes to in creating memorable experiences for not just the headline artists, but the teams behind them.

“We want them to remember Sioux Falls and the Denny Sanford Premier Center and have all the positive memories and thoughts,” she said. “Every beyond artist gifts, just leading up to show day and during show day everybody at the venue works really, really hard to make sure everybody has a positive experience, from the tour members working sound check all the way up to the artist.”

While it’s common for arenas to give gifts to the headlining artist, the Premier Center shows appreciation at all levels, with custom artwork, backstage activations and even gift kits for the truckers supporting the tour.

“Truckers are often overlooked,” Drost said. “But they’re putting in long hours. They’re not jumping on a plane from spot to spot.”

Trucks leave with goody bags of snacks and personal care items, energy drinks and bottled water.

Backstage, “we have this really large welcome wall,” Drost said.

They’re customized with graphics for the Premier Center and artists are invited to sign the wall.

There’s generally a backstage treat bar — “our in-house caterer will do a lot of research into the artist’s favorite foods and drinks” — and it’s designed to include the crew supporting the show.

For Kane Brown’s tour, for instance, “he loves pepperoni pizza, so they did a mini pizza charcuterie board to decorate your own personal pepperoni pizza,” Drost said. Often letters will spell out performers’ names made out of candy or snacks.

For Brown’s gift, the Premier Center team played off he and his wife’s focus on family, with custom hats designed for them and their daughters — plus a pheasant dog toy and custom bandana for their dog.

“For every show that comes through, we make a custom poster for the tour and we try to tailor it to the theme of the artist gift or we pay homage to Sioux Falls and South Dakota,” Drost said.

She often leverage her own creative talent with the gifts, including sewing custom patches onto leader bomber jackets for Iron Maiden. The lead singer received a custom leather aviation hat.

“He has his own pilot’s license and they have their own private jet,” Drost said.

“I’m just giving it to this production manager and she goes, ‘This is probably the most thoughtful gift they’ve received, ever.’ So it was even better.”

The singer then wore the hat on stage at a future show.

“We do check social media to see if they post about Sioux Falls, because that’s stuff we like to track,” Drost said. “Word kind of trickles throughout the tour, so it gets back to us some way, some how.”

The team plans their tour experiences months in advance. For this week’s Kenny Chesney show, the tour arrives in Sioux Falls a day early so planning involves setting up opportunities “for them to have a good time in town,” she said. “We start researching the artist as soon as the show gets confirmed.”

Much of the custom artwork is done in house through the marketing team. The goal is to leave the tour both with a memorable experience and a meaningful gift, Drost said.

“It really easy to throw money at something and make it cool, but being a smaller venue and wanted to really stand out from the crowd, we try to keep it low cost … and get them something meaningful and thoughtful. When the artist is happy, that trickles down to the promoter of the show, and if the promoter is happy they’re more likely to bring us other shows, which helps us in the long run too.”

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