event planning academy july 2012
DESCRIPTION
magazine dedicated to event industry training, education and resourcesTRANSCRIPT
TECH MAG
Why It’s A Great Time To Become An Event Planner
ERE
TITLE HERE
HOW LONDON 2012 WILL
CHANGE THE EVENT INDUSTRY
What The Future’ s Got In Store
ISO 20121 – Why You’d Better Embrace It
news, education and resources for the event planning industry
JULY 2012 1.1 MAGAZINE
Tap & Hold the screen to show the top bar
HOME Tap to return to the app home page
How to
use this
app? Swipe
Horizontally
to go to the
next page
Tap & Hold the screen to show the top bar
Swipe Horizontally to quickly navigate pages
Tap selected page to View
Table Of Contents
By
Nigel Evans CSEP
Cover Story How London 2012 Is
Set to Redefine the
Event Industry
Can The Brits Deliver
Olympic Gold?
ERE
Why There's Never Been A Better Time To
Become An Event Planner The stars are aligning like never before….
Why We're Seeing Fundamental Change In
The World Of Event Planning
…and why this will present new and exciting opportunities
Latest News
What’s hot off the presses
Table Of Contents
SUBSCRIBE HERE
The Future Looks Brite For This
Emerging Star
Yet more online tools for the event marketer
Academy Education – part 1
Learn about goals and objectives and the importance of budgets
Academy Education – part 2
Learn how to deal with PR and Media and address the issue of
transportation
Say Hello To ISO 20121
Why Sustainability Must Be The New Normal For
The Event Planner
15 Sources for Event Management
Intelligence
Master Face to Face Marketing with guest columnist
Elish Bull
Welcome
By Nigel Evans, CSEP, Founder of the Event Planning Academy
”The event planning industry is estimated to be worth somewhere in the region of $500
billion per year. It's a growing, thriving, dynamic, whirlwind of an industry where creativity,
ingenuity and imagination come together in equal measure. It's an industry where people
invariably start off with a clean sheet of paper and come up with some of the most
amazing and inspiring events, designed for individuals, clubs, groups, organizations or
corporations.
As human beings we inherently love the concept of an event. We love to get together
and celebrate with each other for so many different reasons and as this is something that
is within our very being, we are never likely to see a downturn in the growth and
progression of the event planning industry.
Yet as it is such a dynamic and ever changing business there is always something new
to learn. For those who are just starting out and who may feel inspired by the thought of
becoming an event planner there's a lot to learn. For those who are already in the
industry it's important to keep up with innovations and developments. For those who may
be thinking about starting their own business as an event planner it's important to go
about this the right way. These are the reasons why the Event Planning Academy was
created by industry veterans, who are committed to giving back to an industry that they
love so much.
The Event Planning Academy Magazine will be a regular feature on the iPad newsstand
and we look forward to bringing you all that's new and good about this business, while
also providing you with links and resources to educational and informative material,
designed to help you understand and engage in this fantastic industry.”
Lead Story
- The Olympics
London Prepares
An Olympic Games
is an Event
Planning Mega-
Challenge
How London 2012 Is Set to
Redefine the Event Industry
Can The Brits Deliver Olympic Gold?
BY Nigel Evans, CSEP
In the event industry few events come close in terms of scale, interest and
media participation in comparison to the Olympic Games. As London 2012
unfolds before us we are likely to see the most-watched event in history,
especially bearing in mind where we are today in terms of cable coverage
and online connectivity.
Roger Mosey, director of coverage for the BBC in London estimates that
"the London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to be the biggest sporting
event in the UK in our lifetimes." In addition to wall-to-wall coverage on
the terrestrial channels provided by the BBC – One, Two, Three, HD and
One HD, there will be up to 24 live HD streams online and more than
2,500 hours of coverage by the BBC for your Web-enabled device or
computer.
Yet as impressive as this may sound it may even be usurped by
plans to cover the Olympics on the other side of the pond. NBC, the
US station that has the rights to broadcast the spectacular, is
planning more than 5,000 hours of coverage, on television and
online. On TV expect to see 270 hours spread throughout the day
with a focus on primetime coverage. In a nod to the increasing
importance of online coverage, the station will for the first time be
hosting live coverage on the Internet, with a range of follow-up
programs on terrestrial TV during the primetime hours.
There is no doubt that we are seeing a change in the way that people
consume their information and education. While at one time we would
all rely on radio and subsequently television for such information and
entertainment, we are increasingly demanding quick and ready
access on our own terms and at times of our choosing.
“Biggest Sporting
Event…In Our
Lifetimes”
As streaming online entertainment is now
perfectly acceptable in terms of quality and
commonplace, those who are in charge of
conventional television stations
understandably have to adjust to the times, or
start to suffer considerably in the ratings.
The 2012 Olympic Games is likely to be one of the most "watched"
events in history, both from the point of view of the actual sporting
events themselves and in terms of how the industry itself is
acclimatizing to "new media." Event organizers will be able to take a
lot of value away from the way that the marquee media outlets are
handling coverage of this event. Due to the marked difference in
cost in relation to generating coverage for online consumption
versus terrestrial cable television, there will be increasing potential
and capability for dedicated, even live coverage of some of our
other events going forward.
Of course when it comes to the Olympics we are talking about a
massive commitment, one that is only feasible in economic and
logistical terms if it is backed by the government of the host country.
Remember that the committee responsible for the London 2012
Games had to be hard at work from the time that the bid was initially
won in 2005, just to complete the construction of the various sites
on time by 2011. Here we're seeing the case of a massive special
event with considerable potential to rejuvenate areas that were
once seen as in need of regeneration. A sizable area of East
London has been completely transformed, but once the event is
finished the infrastructure will remain and will be of benefit to the
people who live in that area for decades to come.
According to the London 2012 site, "throughout the construction
program and planning for the games themselves we've been thinking
about tomorrow: our aim is for the games to leave an amazing legacy
– for the games to be remembered not only as a summer of fantastic
sport, but as the catalyst for regeneration of the most underdeveloped
areas of the UK." Organizers go on to say that they feel that they
have "raised the bar" for the construction industry and for the future of
large-scale events. They have also been particularly focused on
sustainability and environmental concerns.
The scale of preparation needed to put together the series of events
that compromise an Olympic Games is mind blowing. For example
more than 200,000 seats needed to be installed in and around venues
such as the Olympic Park, enough toilets to service the population of
Malta and enough marquees and tents to cover the whole of Hong
Kong. All of the overlay, equipment and material needed to be hired in
as part of a logistical exercise that the majority of event organizers
would undoubtedly find to be extremely challenging. Due to the fact
that many of the games are scheduled to take place in venues that
are by themselves popular and highly visited tourist locations an
additional element of availability was added to the equation. For
example, organizers would only have five weeks to erect a huge
arena at Horse Guards Parade, due to the fact that there were two
other major events at either end of that time window.
Of course the question on many people's lips is exactly how London
2012 will live up to the considerable standard in terms of presentation
and unquantifiable “wow factor" laid down by Beijing in 2008. The
opening ceremony dreamed up and presented by the Chinese at the
Beijing Games was truly one of the most spectacular ever and there is
undoubtedly a lot to live up to here. The opening ceremony in London
will focus on the heritage of the nation, including bucolic scenes of
rolling farmland, cows and sheep. In all honesty it doesn't sound
particularly inspiring on the face of it, but a lot can be lost in the
translation.
The British have got a flair for event organization. Indeed, many would
say that events such as the recent Royal Wedding and the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee are indications of the way that the British can put on
an event with a degree of pomp and ceremony that nobody else can
match. It's little wonder therefore that this year's Olympics is one of
the most anticipated major sporting events of all time.
In the event industry few activities have as much potential for
showcasing exactly what the industry can deliver as an Olympic
Games. As such the event represents a cauldron for innovation and
we will undoubtedly witness a wealth of new technology and ideas in
action. As we previously mentioned media exposure is likely to be
broader and more inclusive than ever before and the overall
audience will undoubtedly be the largest for any event of all time.
Whether you are a sporting aficionado or simply someone who is a
fan of spectacular events of any kind, the London 2012 Olympic
Games will undoubtedly be something that you will remember for the
rest of your life.
BY Nigel Evans, CSEP
Nigel has lived and worked in London and appreciates
the challenge faced by the Olympic hosts…
Why There's Never Been A
Better Time To Become An
Event Planner
BY Charles Avery
There's little doubt that we are entering a brand-new era in terms of
the way that knowledge and expertise is communicated. The old
model just doesn't seem to be quite as relevant anymore. It seems
that more and more people are coming to terms with the reality that
the knowledge that they amassed in school and onward into higher
education is not always of true value to them in the real world.
Certainly, through our earlier phases of learning up to and including
high school or secondary school much of the information taught to
us can be considered to be marginally beneficial, at best. We are not
really taught "life skills," how to deal with monetary issues, how to
develop an entrepreneurial mindset, how to fend for yourself in the
world of business. There is still no real focus on trying to find out
exactly what the individual is likely to be best suited at in terms of
skill set or aspiration, looking far into the future. Yet within each one
of us is an expert in one or more subjects just waiting to get out into
the world and to provide value to others.
In their work Generations -mentioned elsewhere in this publication - and
The Fourth Turning, Strauss and Howe maintain that society goes through
a series of 40 year phases, a phenomenon that they have studied going
back to the 16th century. Essentially, we are either focused on the
individual or focused on others, in terms of the way that we engage.
During an era where focus is generally on the individual, life seems to be
about "me, me, me," building individual fortunes and worshiping the
almighty dollar. During an era where focus is more civic oriented, we are
much more interested in how we can contribute to society and help others
push themselves and better their overall life styles. In 2003 the latest era
– focused on civic contribution - commenced and we are now moving into
the "meat" of that era. If we follow this philosophy this means that any
effort that we make as entrepreneurs should be more focused on
teaching, educating and helping others and this is certainly the direction
that any "expert in waiting" must take as they seek to move forward.
“… How up-to-date or how
relevant is the information that
is being taught in colleges and
universities today? … ”
People can search and find information relevant to their wants and needs
readily, but there is an increasing desire to find information that is
specifically tailored to help with a specific situation, rather than having to
dig through the plethora of individual web pages available on the Internet.
How up-to-date or how relevant is the information that is being taught in
colleges and universities today? Due to the way that these institutions are
configured and run it takes a lot of time to develop a specific curriculum, to
engage teachers and other staff members and put together a course that
is likely to be of "best value" to those who are scheduled to enroll during
the next semester.
It's simply not feasible for these institutions to change course and to
update the information that they are teaching at very short notice, even
though this is certainly what they should be trying to do. Take whatever
subject you want and consider how quickly the relevant subject matter can
become out of date due to advances, breakthroughs, opinions, work in
progress. It is highly likely that the information being taught in the
classroom six months from now, based as it is on research gathered today,
will be out of date to a large degree.
Our ability to communicate is unrivaled. It's
infinitely possible to create a purposeful
website, to engage in all forms of social media
activity, to use the power of video marketing
and to spread an individual message to a
growing tribe of interested individuals.
Another sizable problem inherent in our educational system is the sheer
cost involved in trying to pay for a four year degree. Thousands of
people are getting into debt each year as they take on this burden and
many people are unable to shake off the negative aftereffects for
decades thereafter. Are they really confident that what they get at the
end of their adventure is going to be valid, valuable and bankable in the
real world?
The "great recession" taught us that there was no such thing as the job
of a lifetime anymore. Job security and stability are two essential
elements for the working man or woman, but can anyone really rely on
them anymore in this bold new world? It's little wonder that people are
deciding to change course mid life and turning to the world of the
entrepreneur. They are thinking long and hard about some of the skills
that they may have picked up during their life so far and how they may
be able to turn this to their advantage by providing a product or service
to an eager market.
If we take all this into consideration collectively we can see why there's
never been a better time for people to consider how they could position
themselves as an expert in their own particular area of interest. They
could become the trusted authority in their niche and help others, in
turn, to better their own situations. Yet many people simply do not know
how to go about this. Where do they start?
The first thing to do is to look back all the way to childhood and
consider just what you were good at in school. Were you put in charge
of a particular project or committee due to the fact that you were "good
at that?"
Societal change
and the meteoric
growth of the web
reshapes our world
Did you find that you enjoyed a particular activity and would always look
forward to participating? It's important to look through life chronologically
from those early days up until the recent past. Almost every one of us has
a flair for something, or has amassed a lot of experience and knowledge
that could be turned to advantage now. In this case you might feel as if
you were good at organizing things. You may have been nominated to
organize the local school play, or were put in charge of organizing some
sporting activities in college. You may be the one who all your friends turn
to whenever it's time to plan a getaway or a vacation/holiday. You simply
have a knack for that and this is why you ought to consider becoming an
event organizer, professionally, especially in the current environment.
To become an event planner you do not need any college degree or formal
qualification. What you do need is a clear understanding of what it's going
to take to succeed - first-class organizational ability, stamina and a proven
ability to work well with people. You need to be motivational, don't mind
working long hours or weekends and have a tremendous amount of
tenacity. You can start your own business as an event planner, or gather
together the relevant knowledge and education to enable you to work for
an established organization in the field. If you can show that you have the
personal attributes and the right work ethic, it's possible to get a very solid
education online in your spare time, in not only the intricacies of the event
management world, but also the skills of setting up and operating your
own business as an entrepreneur.
Make no mistake, the way that business is conducted is changing – and
changing significantly. It is likely that we will become far more focused in
terms of how we gather information, knowledge and education that is
going to be of value to us. Just because you may be passed the traditional
"learning" phase in your life as dictated by convention, it does not mean
that you cannot completely refocus your objective, as many hundreds of
thousands of other people are learning to their advantage today. We are in
an era where to be successful we need to be seen to be giving back to
others and to be contributing to society. By becoming an expert event
planner and positioning yourself strategically and carefully you can provide
a stable future for yourself by focusing on something that you have a
knack for doing. You can give back to the community by focusing on your
expert ability, while providing a valuable service.
For further information about specific education and resources for aspiring
event planners and those who would seek to become experts in the world
of event management, get in touch with The Event Planning Academy.
When Your
Event Needs To
Be The Winner,
As Well
worldwide event promotion www.eventdesignscompany.com
Why We're Seeing
Fundamental Change In The
World Of Event Planning
Change
Be prepared for a
completely new
way of thinking
The Future
Why Generational Theory and Social Relevance
May Be Involved BY Corey J Morgan
Have you ever heard someone refer to a brand-new solution, service,
product or situation by proudly or defiantly stating that "this isn't your
grandfather's (insert variable)?" When I was doing some research for
this article I did a quick scan through Google and sure enough there
were literally dozens of hyperlinks pointing to headlines, linking that
declaration to subjects as diverse as a closet, a shotgun, an Epic 4G
Touch, motor oil, the national debt, the constitution, a helicopter, even an
interferometer – whatever that is. Why do I bring this up? Well in relation
to the event planning industry things have changed so much that we can
forget all about grandpa and say that this isn't even your father's event
planning industry any more.
Anyone actively involved in event planning who has the level of passion
and interest necessary to succeed in the future knows that it's time to
embrace widespread and comprehensive change. While there has been a
steady progression toward evolution in the industry over the last decade
the pace of change has accelerated significantly in recent times due to a
variety of converging, if not always, complementary reasons.
William Strauss and Neil Howe wrote the book Generations. The book
seeks to recall the history of the United States dating back to 1584 and
maintains that we go through a series of generational cycles, including
four distinct types of cultural and societal awareness that essentially wax
and wane, like clockwork, through the years. Essentially they posit that
there are 40 year cycles where we, as a nation of people, transition from
being entirely focused on idealism to the polar opposite, being entirely
focused on a civic society, the need to care about others, to give back to
community. Since 2003 according to this philosophy we are transitioning
back into a civic society from an era that was most definitely focused on
being self-centered and mostly concerned with individualism and self
expression.
“The "great recession"
marked a turning point
for all of us…”
The "great recession" marked a turning point for all of us in ways that were
far more deeply rooted than simply an economic wake-up call. Many
segments of the population turned away from the concept that bigger is
always better and that any solution or business strategy is okay so long as
you turn a profit at the end of the day. We're seeing a far more community
minded populace, with a focus on how we can help others and collectively
build a far more socially oriented future, without many of the excesses that
contributed to the financial cataclysm.
So, how does this affect the event planning industry and the future of the
special event going forward? These fundamental changes in the way that
we view commerce and business in relation to its effect on culture and
society have occurred at a time when we have all learned to become far
more connected with each other anyway. The social media revolution
developed at the same time as we all rebooted our computers in the world
of business and finance. Maybe it's simply a coincidence that Facebook
launched during the winter of 2003, at the same time as the Strauss –
Howe generational theory ushered in a brand-new, civic oriented phase.
The work of Strauss and Howe has been
seen as eye-opening and revealing by many,
as controversial by others. Nevertheless it's
an interesting read and we can certainly see
some correlations when we look at the way
that society has changed and is undoubtedly
changing before our very eyes.
We've become very civic minded and have taken an interest in the lives
of so many people with whom we had previously completely lost touch.
While Facebook has been largely responsible for this massive shift in
social understanding, social media in general has grown to become an
essential part of our daily lives. Advances in technology mean that it is
now rather easy for each one of us to have a voice in the world, to
create a website or blog of some kind. This sense of freedom is
empowering and should not be underestimated in the world of business
and commerce generally and in the event planning industry specifically.
Within less than five years it is estimated that more people will be using
mobile devices to keep in touch and to access the Internet than will be
using desktop devices. By that time millions of people around the world
will have become connected to the Internet for the very first time,
opening up an amazing array of possibilities and opportunities and
unleashing the power and potential of so many more fascinating and
contributory individuals.
Remember that the event industry is entirely based around one very
important and fundamental human requirement – the need to gather
together and experience. This fundamental need has been evident
since the dawn of civilization and in the event planning industry we
have provided many new and innovative solutions over the generations
to help facilitate this. Yet while the industry has grown and developed
and evolved as times have changed and people's needs have become
better defined and more advanced, many of our events are still based
on providing one solution for a multitude of attendees. In many
respects these events have been based on a one size doesn't fit all
scenario, where the very specific needs of an individual attendee have
not necessarily been front and center.
Dawn of a
New Era
Just consider how informed, well-educated and connected we are today
and how this trend is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. Some people
like to say that social media is simply a fad, but now that we have all
become so much more empowered by this level of connectivity we are
hardly likely to let go of the reins. Certainly, Facebook may well be
replaced by some other solution but we are still going to strive to connect
both socially and professionally with a significantly wider array of
individuals and organizations than we ever did before, during our
grandfather’s day or even our father's day.
It's easy for us all to render our opinion – whether good or bad – about any
aspect of our life, instantaneously. We can tweet or post and wash any
organization's dirty linen in public within a matter of seconds. This is a
situation that every commercial organization must face and indeed
embrace and certainly a situation that the event planning industry has to
adopt as well.
Look at this from a positive perspective. As event planners we have the
ability to crowd source like never before, to gather information and
feedback. We can learn very quickly whether a certain event was
successful or not and get feedback from the horse’s mouth to tell us what
we need to do to improve. As an industry we collectively need to embrace
the need to consider individualism as we design and organize our events.
For example a conference or convention is likely to be an arena where
two-way interaction is fundamental. No longer should an event be focused
on the delivery of information or education in one direction, but rather a far
more democratic and engaged event where everybody learns from
everybody else. People will take away a lot more from this type of dynamic
event environment, will be able to interact with a far greater number of
attendees, make more contacts and widen their individual sphere of
influence. When attendees feel that they have personally contributed to
the success of an event this creates a powerful additional need to attend
such events in the future and creates an amazing level of opportunity for
the entire event planning industry.
The future is bright, so long as people within the industry embrace the fact
that the world has indeed changed.
BY Corey J Morgan
Corey has always been something of a visionary in the
events biz. How do you see the future panning out?
NEWS
Future of Mobile
Apps
Focusing on Mobile Apps In The Events Market
Supplier of leading online event marketing and management solutions
Cvent seems to be on the acquisition trail. The organization recently
acquired a company called Crowd Compass, which specializes in
making apps for events that allow attendees to make the most
productive use of their time.
This buy-up follows closely on the heels of a separate acquisition, once
again a multimillion dollar deal, where Cvent acquired Seed Labs,
another company specializing in mobile applications within the event
world.
So many people are coming to rely more and more on their handheld
device for communication and productivity and there's little doubt that
the mobile revolution is having a profound effect on the structure and
format of events of all type. Attendees can now become far more
engaged with the theme and purpose of the event by interacting through
their mobile device. As such we're starting to see some very powerful
apps appear on the marketplace, focusing on sheer productivity and
giving attendees extra tools to enable them to get the most out of their
valuable time and resources spent.
One of the goals underlying these strategic acquisitions is evidently a
concerted focus by the company to provide event planners and event
delegates with the latest and most useful technological advances on the
market.
New Wordpress Events Theme
WordPress is undoubtedly one of the best platforms available not only for
creating blogs, but also for creating websites for your business. The
platform is essentially a crowd sourced creation and is constantly under
review and development, but it has been lauded across the industry for its
intuitive features and flexibility. There are hundreds of designers engaged
in producing themes for your WordPress site and WooThemes, one of the
better-known, has recently come up with a theme dedicated to the word
of event management.
Diarise is one of their premium themes, designed for "event organizer
companies, sports clubs, schools, churches, etc." There are a variety of
different color schemes and custom widgets available and the homepage
can be configured in a variety of different ways using various modules to
customize the look and feel. Features of the event are handled by a
custom settings panel and you can also incorporate a booking form.
The event calendar can be linked to sync to your Outlook or Google
calendar. There is a featured post scroll up, where you can highlight
features of past events that you’ve been responsible for. WooThemes has
a good reputation in the industry for providing straightforward and simple
ways to configure your site and ways to make changes without having to
resort to code editing. The theme is cross browser compatible and retails
for a reasonable $70.
For more information visit Woo Themes
http://www.woothemes.com/2010/04/diarise
Tampa Bay Rolls Out the Red Carpet
Messaging architect Corporate Magic has been hired by the committee
responsible for welcoming the organizers and delegates to the 2012
Republican National Convention in Tampa. The Dallas-based company
will be responsible for organizing an event at the Tropicana Field in St.
Petersburg for some 20,000 people to kick off the convention. The Host
Committee sees this party as an opportunity to "rebrand Tampa Bay to
the people who are in town for the convention," according to Matt Becker,
the CEO of the committee.
Tropicana Field is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays who play in the
Major-League Baseball conference and this presents a challenge by itself
to the organizing team. There will be a baseball game at the facility only
24 hours before the first delegates are due to arrive the following day,
significantly cutting down on preparation time.
This will undoubtedly require the organizer to engage their preparation
military style and evidently they intend to bring in a team of some 200
people for the load-in and set up. Not only does the configuration of the
event present a challenge but also there is the issue of national security,
due to the profile of the event itself. This will require each person
attending the event to go through airport style security machines before
being allowed access.
A lot of creative ingenuity is being put into the design and presentation of
the event from the moment that guests arrive on a fleet of charter buses.
The plan is for the centerfield to adequately reflect the various attractions
and culture associated with the three host cities – Clearwater, St.
Petersburg and Tampa.
Clearly the Tri-City area is going all out to impress delegates and
attendees at the Republican National Convention, with of course the
ultimate goal to foster substantial new business opportunities for the area,
heavily reliant on the tourist trade.
ISO-20121
Rules
New standards
bode well for the
events industry
Why Sustainability Must Be The New Normal For
The Event Planner
BY Nigel Evans CSEP
As an event planner, do you know who your stakeholders are? I'm not
just talking about the identification of your clients as the ones who pay
the bills and to whom you must ultimately answer, or your guests or
attendees, to whom you present the product, or the media, who will pass
judgment on your efforts.
I'm looking at this from the broader perspective. Whenever you organize
a special event it has an impact on its surroundings, communities and
the environment in general. In short, as no event operates in a vacuum it
is very important to consider just how much of an impact your event has
in its entirety.
This is why the introduction of ISO 20121, also known as Event
Sustainability Management Systems, is such a milestone for the industry.
The International Standards Organization has created this new standard
to help organizers of events large and small to integrate sustainability into
their activities. It doesn't matter what type of event we are talking about,
whether the event is simply a local celebration or an event of epic
proportions such as the Olympic Games, efforts should now be engaged
to conform to the standards in order to leave behind a suitable legacy.
Conformation to the standard will not only ensure that the event meets its
obligations from a sustainability perspective, but it will help the event to
be more successful financially as well. But there is the image as well.
Remember that a considerable portion of the population is actively
engaged in environmental support and will be very keen to assess the
carbon footprint of your particular event.
“every one of us in the
business should be looking at
how we can implement ISO
20121 before our next event”
Maybe we should take a moment to look inwardly here. It goes without
saying that we've all been through a very difficult period of time, during
which many people have suffered both socially and economically as a
result of the global downturn. During the height of that downturn it simply
became unacceptable to be seen to be "excessive" in any way. To put it
differently "conspicuous consumption" became a dirty phrase and this
certainly had a detrimental effect on the event industry as a whole.
Suddenly organizations were cutting back because they felt that it was
not in their best interest to be promoting an event that was not
necessarily "essential."
Now while we have moved on to a certain extent from the worst results of
that downturn a new mindset is pervasive. Across all levels of society it is
still important to justify the staging of an event and people do tend to look
at special events with a far more critical eye. This has put even more
emphasis on the need to be seen to be a good corporate citizen as an
event planner and this is why each and every one of us in the business
should be looking at how we can implement ISO 20121 before our next
event.
Consequently, no event planner should
underestimate the positive public relations
impact associated with staging an event
where the processes used meet or exceed
recognized, international standards. This is
increasingly relevant.
The standard is not just meant for event managers either. Venues that
host events can also apply for certification, as can those involved in
supporting the operation of events such as caterers, designers,
audiovisual technicians, and so on. We can see the development of a
trend in the future, whereby forward thinking event planners will only seek
to work with outsourced teams that also embrace and adopt sustainable
standards and vice versa.
Those who may be a little skeptical or unsure of what is involved should
understand that there is no requirement to reinvent the wheel. We all
have operational processes and procedures and should always be
looking to improve efficiency, reduce costs and move forward proactively.
Adoption of these international standards will help us to do so, while also
helping us with our public relations and outward facing exposure to the
world at large.
Certification will require an independent audit to confirm that the system
we have put in place to manage the event meets the requirements of ISO
20121. The first thing that you need to do is to determine where you may
already conform versus where you need to focus in order to move toward
certification.
As you may expect the text of the Standard is rather long-winded, a bit
technical and can be somewhat difficult to understand. We can expect to
see the emergence of organizations dedicated to cutting through all the
red tape and explaining the small print. Due to the publicity associated
with the launch of the certification process and for the reasons we have
outlined here, we can also expect there to be fairly widespread adoption
during the early days across the event industry. For those who work with
local governments and other public facing organizations expect ISO
20121 to be written into a requirement for future contracts. We can also
expect clients large and small to understand the importance of the
Standard and why they should be seen to be working with event planners
who fully embrace the concept as well.
Elsewhere in this magazine is an article about the impact that the London
2012 Olympic Games is likely to have on the event industry as a whole.
Here we see another example of that, as the organizers of the Games
were very instrumental in providing input and assistance during the
development of the Standard.
Finally it's important to note that ISO 20121 is a Standard that focuses on
systems and processes or the way that an organization handles its event
related activities and solutions. Consequently it's not possible for an event
to claim that it is "certified," rather something that is applicable to those
involved in delivering the event.
.
15 Sources for Event
Management Intelligence
Elish Bull Guest author
BY Elish Bul-Godley
Master Face-To-Face Marketing 15 Sources Of Event Management Intelligence
You may be organizing an in-house event, trade fair or seminar as part
of your current Marketing Plan. Some of you may be participating in a
trade show or convention as an exhibitor, sponsor or partner in the
months to come. If so, tap into some great advice on how
to maximize your presence and effectiveness in these face-to-face
marketing opportunities. Read on to pick up on some key event tools
out there.
WHY: Include Events in your Marketing Mix?
They deliver something no online experience can quite match up to: real
in-the-flesh face-to-face meetings and marketing opportunities.
Events are multi dimensional, tactile and real-time forms of Experiential
Marketing: the best way to let people sample your products and
experience what you do in person. Events give you space for inspiration
and chance collaborations. When online, you are deliberately looking
and researching. In Real-world events, inspiration will hit you in the face
even when you are not looking for it or don’t know what you’re looking
for.
Not convinced? Here’s: 5 Reasons You Need To Meet In Person
WHY: Include Events in your Marketing Mix?
They deliver something no online experience can quite match up to: real in-the-flesh face-to-
face meetings and marketing opportunities. Events are multi dimensional, tactile and real-
time forms of Experiential Marketing: the best way to let people sample your products and
experience what you do in person. Events give you space for inspiration and chance
collaborations. When online, you are deliberately looking and researching. In Real-world
events, inspiration will hit you in the face even when you are not looking for it or don’t know
what you’re looking for.
HOW: To Get Started?
Most regions and countries have homegrown resources to help them. My favorites include:
Facetime: a non-for-profit outfit from the UK providing free down-loadable PDF guides,
DVDs and e learning CDs that guide you through event management decisions.
Starting with: The Journey of a Virgin Exhibitor
TSNN.com a prominent events directory and industry news portal from the US offering tools
and resources to business people working on trade events with the latest industry tips. Here
is a taster: How to become a Tradeshow G.E.N.I.U.S.
MeetinIreland.com in Ireland is the kind of site you should find locally in most countries,
providing easy to find resources for international & local event planners, incentive travel,
DMCs and conference organizers. A handy resource for locating venues and local
information. I especially like the resources page and conference checklist: Step-by-step
planning schedule to keep you on top of your conference management.
WHAT: Event Intelligence You Can Tap Into
The growing cross pollination between offline and online event marketing / on-site activity is
a separate bible in itself. There are experts in the field that can help you get navigate
through the cutting edge event planning technologies, applications or social media practices
in the events sector. Event Manager Blog‘s Julius Solaris is my personal fave, here is a
taster: Using Social Media at Trade Shows [Infographic] Events Guru UK provides
events technology advice such as Heidi Williams’: Using Google Events as Part of Your
Event Strategy? Small Business Marketing Blog, Ready2Spark does good cross over posts
for marketers and event planners alike. For Example: QR Codes for Events – Do they
Deserve the Hype. Write on Track gives some insight on the relevance of Twitter to events
& conferences via several posts including: How to Tweet at Conferences
WHO: Do you talk to?
People who need People…
Presentations and people skills are essential to maximizing your presence at events. There
are some coaching experts online with key insights on getting your message across.
Smart Solutions does a great blog on how to work the room in : Top Networking Skill –
Rapport . The Reluctant Speakers Club is a great go-to blog, a veritable font of information
on how to develop your speaking and presentation skills. Maximize your impact in that next
speaking engagement with this helpful post: Don’t Waste My Time
Check the Suppliers
Companies in the business of providing display solutions or key suppliers to events
Organisers also do blogs advising you on the techniques and key things to remember when
participating in trade events. Look at your local suppliers for advice too.
The Trade Show Marketing Network a US based Supplier provides display marketing tips
and advice like : Trade Show Display Budgets – What You should be Spending
Skyline also from the US, dish out practical and down to earth white papers and blogs on
topics like trade show displays and marketing techniques for example: Trade show
Planning Flowchart: Your Prescription for Pain Free Exhibiting.
.
Off The Beaten Track
Thinking of doing something cutting edge, unique or targeting the Millennial market?
The Alt Terrain Guerrilla Marketing Agency details different types of Guerrilla event
marketing ideas with pics whilst promoting their services. For example: Engaging Mural
Graffiti and Street Art Performance at Indoor and outdoor events.
CG online Marketing has a recent post of future digital trends that definitely impact on the
event sector: What’s Our Digital Future.
Get event marketing insight from the world of concert promoters and entertainment from
Dottedmusic.com : Online Tools Every Concert Promoter Should Use
WHEN: Trying not to Clash & Publishing your Event.
When holding an event especially if targeting an international audience in a B2B setting, be
cognizant of current events globally and make sure you get seen in international directories
and event calendars. A plethora of online directories exist. Some of the more
comprehensive portals include: Biztradeshows.com: The largest directory of trade fairs,
business exhibitions & trade shows, featuring 19000+ live trade events and 8100+
Organizers worldwide. They post post-show reviews and press releases so you can
research events to invest in. A sample from their Best Practice list of blogs: Meetings and
Conferences at Trade fairs. Expopromoter.org is an affiliate network for the business event
industry; an event industry resource offering online services for two target segments:
business event organizers and B2B websites.
WHERE: Finding the Right Venue?
Meetingsbooker.com offers 58,965 conference rooms in over 100 countries around the
world. Event bookers can use the website for free and receive direct online quotes or send
an enquiry to a number of venues for conferences. Their blog does give latest news on new
venues ideas/trends and even tools by industry guest bloggers. For example: Starbucks go
after meetings market.
Key Marketing Takeaway: Events are real world experiential face-to-face marketing
activities and by their very virtue, require more focus on the following:
Your local environment vis a vis venues and travel arrangements
The events calendar in your sector
The people and presentation skills within your team
Thee new technologies and trends that make people sit up and notice your activity in a
noisy
Elish has worked in the following fields: Retail management, Visual Merchandising & Retail
buying, Estates & Facilities & Project management, Hospitality Sales, Meetings & Events
management, whilst obtaining a Marketing Institute Degree by night. Currently Promoting,
Managing & Selling events for global events company Montgomery Exhibitions in their Irish
operations. She is a 3rd Generation descendant of the Irish Diaspora born in Singapore,
now in Dublin having graduated from Trinity College. Someone who has negotiated the
Cultural changes when migrating from Singapore to Ireland, with a strong sense of her Far
Eastern origins and Irish Roots. In her spare time: a Bellydance teacher, Sci-fi geek, Cool
hunter, Contributing Blogger and Content writer for following publications; LeCool Dublin,
tweakyourbiz.com, Furniture News Magazine, & Meetingsbooker.com.
Tweet @elishbulgodley
.
Eventbrite
How Eventbrite is
well placed
The Future Looks Brite For This Emerging Star
For small to medium-size events there is considerable interest in the
platform provided by rapidly emerging star Eventbrite. The events
management platform was only put into place in 2006 but has recently
announced a significant milestone, the fact that they have reached the
$1 billion threshold in gross ticket sales. After a relatively slow start
Evenbrite has got its foot firmly on the gas pedal, recording $250 million
of gross sales in 2011 alone. Much of this expansion has been due to
the San Francisco-based company's focus on social media and having
reached the milestone $1 billion mark it appears that the business could
generate almost half of that amount again during calendar year 2012.
Eventbrite has always had a close focus on search engine traffic and
you would often see reference to this site and the functions and concerts
that they were involved with in your typical Google search results page.
Yet as we continue to see a trend away from search engine result pages
and toward social media sites, we can expect to see an even greater
focus by Eventbrite on strategies like Facebook and Twitter integration
There is no doubt that event ticketing is an area that is "social" in every
respect. People want to tell others about the events they are planning to
attend and they want to know where you are going as well. Such is the
value of sharing information about event attendance on social media
networks that - according to Forbes magazine - every time somebody
shares an Eventbrite event on LinkedIn it results in an average of $.90 in
terms of event ticket purchases, while a Twitter share yields $.43 and a
Facebook share yields $2.52.
Eventbrite handles tickets for a wide range of events in as many as 13
categories ranging from the smallest get together up to and including the
largest concerts. Recently, for example, the company handled tickets for a
keynote Black Eyed Peas concert, held in June in New York City's Central
Park.
What can Eventbrite do for the typical event planner? The solution does
allow for the customization and hosting of a branded event page online,
with a personalized URL. Once set up you will be able to sell tickets or
collect registrations directly from such a site or from your own standalone
event website, by incorporating a ticket widget supplied by the
organization. You'll be able to easily keep up to date with online
registrations through this portal.
Perhaps it is in the promotion of your event that such a link-up could be of
value? They offer "one click integration" with Twitter, Facebook and a
number of other social media platforms and you can use tracking links
and analytical data to work out what promotional campaigns are working
for you and what aren't.
With a list of attendees for an event you can generate name badges and
checking lists automatically and following the event you can generate
useful information for forward planning purposes. For example you can
determine where the majority of your ticket buyers came from and
analyze sales by tickets type.
If the event in question does not want to worry about a standalone
process for credit cards, or does not have access to a merchant account
of some type then it's possible to use the solution provided by the
company. As you might expect there are also a number of different tier
levels for ticket sales based on early adoption, special offer or last-minute
deals.
Find out more about Eventbrite.
.
EVENT
INDUSTRY
TRAINING
EDUCATION
RESOURCES
Will Your Attendees Lift A Glass To Toast Your Event Planning Skills?
www.eventplanningacademy.com
ACADEMY
EDUCATION
What’s the point?
Do you know?
Goals & Objectives
Why It's Important To Prioritize Goals And
Objectives When Calculating The Purpose Of
An Event
BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY
Any time that people come together with a common purpose, a special
event is the result. To gather and mingle is part of our very being. We
have within our very nature a crowd mentality and want to socialize with
our fellow human beings wherever and whenever possible.
This presents a tremendous opportunity for event organizers, as there
are a myriad of opportunities and so many reasons for the staging of a
special event within our complex society.
From the point of view of the event planner it is important to be very clear
about the purpose and objective right from the beginning, however. Often,
there are a number of reasons associated with the staging of an event
and where this is the case, these reasons have to be prioritized. A
number of different groups may have a vested interest in the outcome
and this is especially true in the corporate world. Success or failure will
be determined according to the planner’s ability to prioritize the
various elements of the event carefully and methodically.
Much of the work associated with running even the most complex of
special events is conducted during the planning and development phase.
It's important to conduct a brainstorming session with all the key players
in order to determine what the relevant goals and objectives truly are.
This is where experience can often help, as the planner knows when to
ask the right questions at the right time. Sometimes it's necessary to dig
beneath the surface in order to reveal what might otherwise have been a
hidden agenda.
.
Many special events within our philanthropic society seek to raise money
for charitable organizations. While a special event may not be necessarily
regarded as the most "efficient" way of raising such funds, there can be a
number of ancillary benefits associated. Therefore, in these particular
cases while a central core may be to raise funds for the nominated
charity, a number of other objectives may be included in the preliminary
planning. These could include a plan to build relationships with certain
elements of the community, an aim to help ensure that donors feel that
they have a connection with the cause, or a means to introduce new and
potentially lucrative future donors to the charity through participation in
the event itself.
“Sometimes it's
necessary to dig
beneath the surface..” ”
.
Of course a well-planned event can also generate a considerable
amount of publicity. As such it may be easier to reach and engage local
media due to the charitable aspect and this presents a good opportunity
to get the word out not just about the event itself, but about the
associated charity and any larger goal.
In the case of a large corporate event, the promoters of the project may
have several different goals. For example, they may be seeking to give
clients and potential prospects access to their products in a favorable
environment. As such, an automobile manufacturer may promote a car
rally and invite existing vehicle owners to bring their current cars, while
providing fleet vehicles for potential prospects to drive. The ultimate goal
here is of course to engage in brand building and brand camaraderie.
The peripheral goal, however, may be to publicize the event to the
media, so that the general public can see how dynamic and exciting the
brand may be. So as we can see there are a number of different goals
and objectives here and the event planner must be able to prioritize and
understand how important each element is right at the start.
Always remember that you need to be SMART when looking at the
feasibility of an event. You have to be specific about what you actually
want to achieve. You have to be able to measure whether specific
elements of the event "delivered" based on the objective. Any objective
set has to be achievable and never unrealistic. Remember also
relevancy and don't focus on what you may think were priorities but in
fact were not important in terms of the principal or tertiary objectives.
Finally, you have to be able to quantify and this means setting a clear
definition for the start and completion times for each objective.
.
Budget
Holding on to those
purse strings – the
real meaning
How To Put Together An Initial Event Budget
BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY
Let's be truthful. Many of us have an aversion to math, perhaps dating
back to our years in school or college. We may, as a consequence, not
be very good at keeping track of expenses and often tend to "wing it"
when it comes to personal expenditure and household budgeting. As
event planners tend to be the creative type, anything to do with
"mundane" administrative and accounting tasks can seem to be dour at
the best of times.
Yet, as painful as it may be to come to the stark realization, a person
who does not have absolute control over an event budget is effectively
not in control of the event at all. As we know that control is of the very
essence when staging an effective event, it's time to be very clear about
just how important budgeting for your special event is going to be.
.
This is not to say that this process has to be inordinately difficult or
complex and it's best to be as straightforward and simple as possible
when structuring the budgetary projection. Above all else you have to be
realistic and you also have to remember that this event is going to
operate in the real world. As a consequence, you have to build in
contingencies.
As you become more used to organizing special events you will become
more adept at visualizing a budget at the very earliest stages of
conception. This will enable you to cultivate what will amount to a "sixth
sense," to help you determine whether the concept is viable or not. There
is no getting away from it – occasionally the event planner becomes so
enthusiastic about a particular idea that there is a tendency to
overestimate or add a certain amount of ticket sales potential, or
probability of sponsorship. You must learn to guard against this as you
keep both feet firmly planted on the ground.
When working with clients the first thing that you need to do is to convince
yourself of the absolute viability of the event. You must always be very
clear and able to back up your budget projection with solid reasoning. You
must always have a formal budget at your fingertips and ultimately this
will help you to work to formulate your annual accounts, as well.
Remember that from time to time such accounts may be in line for an
audit, from taxation authorities or from those who you might approach to
invest in your operations.
Practically, the budget is a projection of what income and expenditure is
related to the event itself. Some elements here are quite easy to calculate
or project, while other elements could be variable according to the number
of participants. Also, you might have to project certain costs that are
apportioned. You should maintain a budget that is regularly accessible via
your computer. This may be contained within a proprietary software
package such as Excel, or you could access it through some cloud service
provider, meaning that you are constantly in touch with all the details so
long as you have Internet access somewhere.
Break the budget down into categories. Essentially, in terms of expenditure
these are administration, operations and marketing. Within each category
display subcategories such as these:
Administration
•general office costs
•salaries and wages
•management fees
•travel costs .
Operations
•survey costs
•venue costs
•hotel costs
•catering costs
•hospitality costs
•insurance costs
•entertainment
•cost of merchandising
•sanction fees
•direct production costs
•travel and accommodation costs
•communication costs
•other expenditure
Marketing
•advertising
•print and design
•distribution costs
•Internet marketing
•website costs
•media and public relations
As you gather together the relevant cost projections here remember
that it is equally important to construct a working cash flow projection,
as well. Cash flow can represent the life or death of any business or
special event and it is crucial that you populate this document carefully
and correctly. Once again, do not overestimate the receipt date for
certain categories of income. Be very careful to ensure that you are
aware of potential danger points associated with the due date for large
down payments, in advance, to venues and so on. Always err on the
side of caution and keep on top of your cash flow regularly.
It's a good idea to create a template within your software program
enabling you to compare weekly cash flow on a "budget versus actual"
basis. Update these fields on a weekly basis so that you can see if
there is a danger that you will fall behind the projection. The more you
keep on top of this kind of comparison the more likely you are to be
able to make adjustments or amendments as necessary before things
start to get critical.
The actual complexity of your budget will of course depend on the type
of event you're putting together. There are some first-class software
packages available today, to enable you to develop individual
worksheets for specific areas of the budget, all linked together and
updated automatically. It pays to develop a great template to start off
with and to ensure that you stick to protocol whenever allocating costs
within. Once again, don't make it too complicated for the sake of it, but
do ensure that you update with clarity, with purpose – and often.
If you maintain a separate bank account for the specific event you will
also want to reconcile the books against your bank balance on a
regular basis. If you do not, then you can simply use category totals
and carry forward that information over to your overall business budget
sheets and reconcile from there. If you are the person in charge of
ensuring that this event runs smoothly and is a success then it's
recommended that you are ultimately the one responsible for managing
the overall budget. If not, be very clear when you delegate this how
important this task is. We are talking about the lifeblood of your
business here. Budgets that are left to their own devices as it were can
and will deliver shocks to not only you and your staff, but also to the
future viability of your business.
Public Relations and
Media Exposure
Smile please!
Making sure your
light shines
Public Relations and Media Exposure – How
To Handle This Critical Element
BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY
You know that they say that if you don't publicize and promote your
event, a terrible thing will happen – nothing. Assuming that you realize
the importance of promoting the event, don't underestimate the amount
of work required, nor how far in advance you should start the ball rolling.
While we do tend to live in an electronic age, especially when it comes
to communication, remember that traditional forms of media have
significant exposure and reach and should never be ignored. You should
also bear in mind that a lot of online communication is based on the here
and now. How long will that particular tweet remain in the public
consciousness, after all?
When faced with the organization of a brand-new event it is important to
develop and build a media database on day one. Look carefully at the
event from all angles and determine who it will appeal to. From here,
make sure that you research all available specialist media outlets and
come up with a detailed list including the names of the individuals within.
These names should not just include the specific journalist assigned to
cover the subject associated with your event, but also the editor, the
copy editor and the person responsible for receiving media. If you have
a media database from previous years now is the time to ensure that all
those contacts are up to date. You don't want to blindly send important
information to a specific person only to find later on that they have long
since flown the coop.
As you are building your media database get to
know any specific foibles or any unusual
requests relevant to format and presentation. It
is the job of your media relations person to
ensure that the representative of the media at
the other end is always happy and content.
Remember that they are often very busy individuals, especially when it
comes to deadline time and they may not take too kindly to the receipt of
information from you if it's badly formatted or otherwise misses the mark.
It is of crucial importance to adhere to deadlines and to remember that
some periodicals have deadline submission dates that are months ahead
of specific publication. Even though this may rule out using these specific
publications for regular and informative media releases, you can
nevertheless use them for general or lifestyle pieces. All publicity is good!
“Look carefully at the
event from all
angles… ”
Take time to think of as many different angles as you possibly can. Put
yourself in the shoes of the editor at each of the publications or media
outlets you are considering and put yourself in the shoes of the reader
or viewer of the material they are presenting. How can you write a
feasible piece from that specific angle – one that is sure to be of
sufficient merit to guarantee inclusion? Don't go overboard here and
create some kind of link that is tenuous at best. Try not to strain any
good relationship that you have built up with these appropriate
journalists by trying to "pull a fast one."
You should always remember that there is no such thing as a
guaranteed result when it comes to trying to get media exposure for
your event. The best thing that you can do is to try and build a good
relationship with the journalists concerned by giving them exactly what
they're looking for, ahead of deadline and in the correct format.
Journalists and editors being human, after all, they are far more likely to
want to deal with work that has been provided in this way by people
they know and trust, especially when the pressure is on.
In order to get as much information out there as you possibly can before
the event, it will be necessary to generate media photo opportunities.
Sometimes this is known as a "press day." This is an event in itself and
must be carefully orchestrated. Invitations must be sent out in sufficient
time with clear indication of the purpose, who is going to be there, what
they're going to be able to see and document.
Provide specific details of parking, the location of the post event reception,
if any and so on. Do not underestimate the amount of effort that will be
required to make sure that this is a success and especially do not
underestimate the number of people you will need to help "manage" the
media in attendance. You simply cannot prioritize how you deal with
individual requests by various members of the media as, invariably; they
will all feel as if their request is most important and should be dealt with
right now! If you have a row of happy, smiling faces at the end of this,
objective achieved.
If you're running a sporting event it is traditional for pre-and post event
conferences to be staged and for there to be a formal awards ceremony or
prize presentation. These can be emotive occasions and often fall
perilously close to media deadline time for daily newspapers or evening
news bulletins. Consequently, additional effort should be made to ensure
that there are no technical glitches, such as microphones that fail to work
or the absence of individual celebrities or award winners who are dawdling
a bit on the way to the ceremony itself…
Finally, it's important to remember that a consistent branding message
must be maintained from start to finish. The appropriate brand logos must
be in place on all communications and in clear view during all related
media events. Engage a clipping agency to track down and make a record
of all the exposure you get in print publications and ask key media outlets
to provide you with audio and video copy of any exposure you get there.
Transportation
Why this is always
a core element and
never an
afterthought
Making The Wheels Go Round – Dealing
With Event Transportation
BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY
One way or the other you're going to have to pay a lot of attention to
transportation issues when you organize a special event. You may feel
as if your event is all "self-contained" as it were, held within one venue
and may be just open to members of the paying public.
In this case you may not feel as if you're responsible for transporting
guests or attendees, but you nevertheless have to give due
consideration to transportation elements external to your core operation.
Ultimately, you are responsible for the entire experience whenever you
organize a special event. You will often be judged on how an attendee
enjoyed the total experience and this experience will often reflect how he
or she managed to access and exit the venue without too much hassle.
Consequently, you need to focus on parking availability at the very least
and take into consideration the location of the venue in relation to public
transportation options or accessibility to major road arteries. It is simply
going to reflect badly on you if, for example, there is already limited
public parking space in the vicinity and another major event is taking
place at another facility nearby – an event that happens to commence
earlier than yours. What happens if most of the accessible parking areas
are already full when the bulk of your attendees start to arrive?
Understand where most of your guests will be
coming from and envision the transportation
methods that they will be using to estimate the
number of cars and the arrival and departure
windows. Determine where the closest parking
area may be and determine what kind of facility
it is. Is there an attendant? How much does it
cost to park and is the facility in good condition
and well kept? Is it secure or does it have a
reputation for vandalism?
When you look at parking you must also consider how this issue is going
to affect your own staff, vendors, entertainers and so on. You need to be
able to know that nearby parking is available if, for example, you have to
come in really early in the morning to set everything up.
During your planning and preparatory phase you should have looked into
the major event schedule for that particular locality. This is something that
you can find at the Convention and Visitors Bureau or by visiting your local
authority, or by getting in touch with the owners of the major event
facilities. This will help you to determine whether there is going to be
pressure on parking.
“Understand where
most of your guests
will be coming from ”
If you are responsible for parking as part of the structure of the event
you need to go several steps further off course. Now you need to
determine if you can block off space for attending guests in advance. In
this case you may well have to prepay it. If you're dealing with a hotel
parking lot this is not too much of an issue, but remember that in city
locations parking often represents a revenue stream for hotels so you
may have to negotiate a little bit. When you have arranged this prepaid
parking, ensure that it is well sign posted and that hotel valet staff are
aware of the arrangement. If it is self parking (as may well be the case
with an exotic car event, for example) then do ensure that you have a
member of staff on hand and/or have directional signs from the parking
area to the event location. Bear in mind that hotel parking areas are
often only accessed by valet parking staff members who will bring the
car around to the front entrance for the guests.
Sometimes it is simply not possible to find suitable parking close to your
event venue. For example, a major golf tournament venue would be
simply overwhelmed by the number of cars attempting to access the
traditional golf club parking lot. On the PGA Tour, for example,
arrangements are often made with a major sporting venue or
entertainment venue that may be quite distant. In the example of the
Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, the organizers use the massive
parking lot of the Universal Studios, which is about 3 miles distant. In
these instances you will have to arrange for shuttle coaches to circulate
on a continuous basis.
Whenever you use shuttle transportation you need to have personnel at
the remote parking lot to help direct guests from their cars to the pickup
area. When you use this type of transportation ensure that the quality of
vehicle is appropriate to the expectation of the attendees. They should
always be very clean and in good condition. As an advantage for
marketing purposes, you can use the in vehicle entertainment system to
show a short video explaining to the guests what the event is all about
and what they can expect when they arrive.
Don't forget that you must always have a backup plan in case of a
vehicle breakdown. Murphy's Law may well dictate that this will happen
at the busiest time, i.e. when everybody is getting ready to leave and be
transported back to the parking lot. Have a standby vehicle or two close
to hand.
Maybe you're responsible for guests or attendees from the moment they
arrive at the nearest airport facility. In this case how are you going to
transport them to your venue? If large numbers of people are arriving at
the same time you can have motor coach transportation. Here you will
have to ensure that you have a representative on hand who will be able
to handle the manifest in coordination with the bus driver, to ensure that
everyone who is scheduled to be transported is accounted for. If people
are going to be arriving in smaller groups or at a variety of different
times it may be more sensible to arrange for a shuttle van or a
limousine. Once again, arrange with the transportation company to have
somebody to meet arriving guests at the greeting point within the airport.
Ensure that you are happy with the quality and presentation, that
vehicles are clean and well presented and that the staff members are
nicely attired, polite and professional.
Sometimes you may be responsible for the arrival and departure of a
number of VIPs. Perhaps you're responsible for a red carpet awards
ceremony? In this case you may have to deal with the issue of limousine
arrivals and parking. Remember that in the case of stretch and super
stretch limos they each take up a number of individual parking spaces
and may not be able to maneuver into and out of a typically restricted or
conventional parking garage. Arrange for specific parking, together with
an attendant and have clear directions to and from this parking area for
the limousine drivers.
MAGAZINE
Whether you are an experienced event planner, interested in
starting a career in the field or starting your own event planning
business, there is always something to learn. This is a very
dynamic industry and on the verge of significant and powerful
change. Event Planning Academy Magazine will keep you up to
date with everything that’s new and exciting on a monthly basis.
For more in-depth information, resources, news and
education make sure you subscribe to receive regular
updates from The Event Planning Academy.
www.eventplanningacademy.com/magsubscribe