Event
Planning
Now that you know a little about the stages that an
event planner goes through, let's go a little deeper into each one. In
this article, we will talk about the initial phase that begins with event planning, where operational
and conceptual aspects of the big day will be defined. The operational aspects
are those that will shape the event. But as this is not the focus of our
article, I will talk briefly about the main ones.
The first important definitions you need to know are budget
and schedule, but you need to go beyond that. Check out:
Budget: 1st step to make a good event planning
When planning events, the first important activity you must
do is create a survey of the costs involved and closely monitor the execution
of each one. Even the most experienced organizers leave room for unforeseen
events - which always happen. If you are not aware of your spending, you may be
in for a pleasant surprise when comparing you’re budgeted vs. realized costs
report.
Plan how much you will spend on physical structure (location,
lighting, signage, audio-visual equipment, and furniture), personnel (security,
cleaning, accreditation, reception, photographers, attractions, and speakers),
logistics (transport, accommodation, assembly, and disassembly), merchandising,
media, and technological resources. The list is long, but I think you can
already see how important this stage is, right? Think of everything you need to
ensure comfort, safety, and a good experience for everyone involved. And, of
course, hire specialized and experienced suppliers, who will provide you with
the necessary support along this path.
Schedule
The project schedule is essential for event planning. You
cannot postpone the date of the event simply because the printing company did
not deliver the printed material on time, for example, or even because you
forgot to hire the buffet.
The more time you have to run the extensive activity checklist,
the less chance of error. For most of our customers, when an edition of an
event ends, it's time to think about next year's. These operational aspects are
fundamental to the execution of any event, but they are not the ones that will
guarantee your success. After all, no one goes to an event just because the
venue is air-conditioned or because they know that all participants will have a
place to sit in the plenary, although these are points of frustration and
criticism when poorly sized.
But, it is the conceptual aspects that will differentiate
your event and make it attractive to the public. Here we have goal setting,
audience, and branding.
Define your
goal
Anyone who organizes or has ever organized a corporate
event knows that this is not a cheap or easy strategy to
execute. Both for companies that promote big events and for
those that participate in one, as exhibitors, these are projects that demand a lot of time and energy from the team, in addition to all the financial
investment involved.
But, when well executed, they bring excellent
returns. So, if you chose to organize an event, the first thing that needs to be clear is
your purpose. Why are you organizing an event? What results do
you intend to achieve with it?
An event can have the most varied objectives, such as:
- Brand
and market positioning;
- Generation
of new businesses;
- Disclosure
of industry trends;
- Dissemination
of scientific content;
- Networking
generation ;
- Promote
education or professional training;
- Discuss
ideas about a theme;
- Promote
new products;
- Motivate
and engage employees.
Anyway, there are
countless motivations for organizing an event and you need to be
clear about yours so that all other actions around it can be the best possible.
In addition, it is not enough to have a well-defined
objective: you need to have follow-up metrics to prove that the
objective was achieved in the post-event, whether for the participant, the
exhibitor, or the sponsor. But, this is a conversation for our last article
in the series. Once the objective is defined, you will have a guide to choose
the best type of event and which attractions will arouse the greatest
interest of your audience, fulfilling a special role in event planning.
Understand
your audience
As important as knowing what you're doing an event for, is
knowing who. It seems obvious, doesn't it? But, it is very common to have a
misperception about the different public profiles. An example of this in
practice is to think that you do not need to invest in technology because your
audience is older and can be a little outdated. Of course, the age group must
be considered, but it must be crossed with other aspects, such as lifestyle,
socioeconomic profile, behavioral profile, predominant gender. If at first, you
are not completely clear about your audience's interests, ask! Event planning
Your interaction with the public should not be restricted to
the days of the event. Take advantage of the previous months to strengthen your
relationship with him and understand what your expectations are. Conduct polls,
disseminate content related to the theme or market of your event, provoke
debates, and understand what arouses greater engagement. And don't forget to
collect reviews of your schedule. They will help you to understand what most
pleased the participants and you will be able to surprise them with each new
edition. Nowadays, with the event apps, these actions become so simple that
there is no reason not to.
Environment
Where is the best place to organize your event? Choose a city
and location that will attract participants and provide sensations in line with
the objectives of your event. If it is an international congress, for example,
a tourist and the easily accessible city has great chances of bringing in a larger
audience. A sales convention, which usually has a mandatory presence and brings
dense content, can be more motivating if held at a hotel or resort. That's why
with a well-defined product and audience, you are halfway to a good choice of the environment in this event planning process. In addition to the location, the
structure itself should reflect the event's values. The decoration, lighting, and even the type of food offered make up this environment.
Communication
The key point for people to know and want to go to your event is
to have good communication. The public needs to know what your event is and why
it is worth attending. This starts with the correct choice of visual
identity: colors, fonts, textures, symbols, and images must reflect the values
of the event and the brand (s) involved. And this identity must be cohesive
in all materials and points of contact with the public: website, invitations,
promotional materials, uniforms, social networks, e-mails, and applications.
As important as the visual identity, the definition of persona
will help you to establish a language, a tone of voice, the best terms, content, and channels to communicate with your audience.
Strategy
With clear objectives, public understanding and respected branding, it's time to move on to strategy, which is in practice your action plan.
And here, consistency is the watchword. Your choices must be
aligned with everything that has been identified and defined previously. How do
you intend to generate value for your audience, staying aligned with your identity
and directed to your goals? On your website, or in any promotional material,
highlight the main attractions for your audience. Is the objective to
disseminate scientific content? Disseminate the abstracts of the works. Is the
goal to generate business? Promote your exhibitors. Is it motivational? Give participants
a voice and let them share their moments at the event.
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