Event planning is something that takes time and dedication to pull off. You need to have all of your ducks in a row to help you bring everything together for an event that is memorable for all the right reasons.
There are millions of events planned and executed all over the world each year, and chances are you’ve been to more than a few that have hit all the right notes and some that have left you wondering what on earth was going on. But event planning isn’t easy or for the faint-hearted.
If you want your event to be in the first camp and not the next Fyre Festival, these tips, while not exhaustive, can help you pull it off with just the right amount of pizazz!
Create A Plan
You need to have a plan in place before you even think of doing anything else. What is the aim of the event, and what do you want to achieve from it? It’s all good and well holding the best event ever, but if your objective is to drum up sales, and you don’t give people ample opportunities to make purchases, then it might as well not have happened.
So, set your goals and key objectives to help you define your other decisions. Then, you need to look at what you need your event to incorporate, how you plan to market it, who your audience is, what they will expect to see, and what other similar events have looked like.
Give yourself a timeline of when specific tasks need to be completed, and be as comprehensive as possible.
It might be a good idea to break your plan down into different parts to help you make sure things are overlooked and give yourself a guide to work in the coming months.
Set Your Budget
Your budget will determine the type of venue you need to book, the ticket prices if you are charging for attendance, and the number of vendors you can bring on board.
Your budget must cover every aspect of the event, from the venue to insurance, catering, entertainment, wages, decor marketing, software, A/V, and anything else you require. You should look at the figures carefully to see what you can afford, where you need to cut back, and what is essential. Avoid wasting your budget on showy aspects that aren’t necessary; you can do this if you have funds left over. However, being strict with your budget can ensure you have everything covered.
Don’t forget to keep a contingency fund should anything fall through or be overlooked. This will avoid a last-minute panic at something being missed or funds not being available.
Set The Date
Setting the date is essential; you don’t want to just pick any date for ease. You need to ensure your date works for your intended audience, does not clash with already organised events, and isn’t on significant holiday dates for celebration. For example, if you’re holding a children’s fun day for your local area aimed at school-aged children, booking for the middle of the week won’t work as children will be in school. So, aim for a weekend event; an evening when the nights are lighter or during school holidays which will work better. If you are booking an event for a work celebration party, then again, booking when most people need to be in the office or at work the next day isn’t going to work; you need a date that allows most people to come and not worry about being in work the next day.
Book In Early
Once you know precisely what you are going to need, you can then look at booking all of your vendors, your venue, and any employees you need to help you as early as possible. There will likely be a considerable amount of logistics and negotiating on this part to find the right vendors available on the same day to help you pull the event off.
Typically, you will need to consider some or all of the following;
- Employees or agency staff to cover certain aspects of the event.
- Security detail for entry, exits and maintaining order with crowds
- Catering
- Technical supplies
- Seating arrangements
- Barrier access
- Speakers or special guests
- Entertainment such as custom inflatables, musical artists, attractions, etc
- Equipment such as lighting, generators, furniture, A/V etc., if not supplied by the venue
- Parking or valet services
- Cleaning services
- Ushers/Cloakroom
The earlier you book, the more likely you will be able to secure the right vendors and services for your event and ensure everything is coordinated for you.
Marketing
Your marketing plan needs to be enacted as soon as the details are in place. You can gain support and interest via social media by creating dedicated pages or groups to advertise and get signups. You can bring influencers on board to help you have your event to their audience, or you can send out emails to your audience or clients and share them with interested parties within your industry.
Exactly how and where you market your event should be determined by the type of event you are holding and the intended audience. But you need to get the word out as soon as possible to garner interest and sell the tickets, even if it’s an in-house function.
Use special offers, signup codes, and release details at specific points in the run-up to the event; this is something Comic Con events worldwide do really well, and make sure you have a dedicated landing page for people to visit to get a feel for what they can expect.
Delegate
Planning an event of any size isn’t an easy feat, so make sure you have people around you that you can trust and rely on to delegate to. This will help you to ease the burden and ensure everything is carried out on time as you need it to be. Plus, the more eyes on the planning parts, the better, as this will allow you to get different viewpoints and ideas to make this easier, help you to find the right aspects and not overlook even the most minor details.
Planning an event isn’t easy, and there are a lot of parts involved with pulling everything off. The more you plan, the earlier you organise and book, the greater your chances of success.
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