Pulled out!

Musings from Dennis #70: I never feel comfortable when things seem to go well whenever we do projects especially on-the-ground ones. 1999 and it was our first Mickey and friends event at the mall below the world’s tallest towers (at that time), Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur (KL) Malaysia. We were so excited until just two weeks before the event start date. The call came on a Friday afternoon from the mall’s marketing department and I was told that the main credit card sponsor pulled out of a six-digit cash sponsorship despite having signed a contract with the mall (this was a global brand nonetheless!). There was no turning back, press releases were out, vendor contracts signed, set production in progress and the talents booked to arrive – so we could not cancel. After a quick chat with my boss to figure out how best to solve the problem, I flew out on the first flight to KL from Singapore the very next day for a day trip, skipped breakfast and met the organisers and hammered away possible solutions the entire late morning and afternoon, skipping lunch. That Saturday I remembered having my first meal of the day at the airport at 6pm before I flew back. But we solved the issue and I was back a fortnight later for the launch - Phew!