Creating a successful event requires many moving parts, with a solid plan necessary for a successful event.
After working on hundreds of successful events, we’ve seen a few common event planning mistakes.
Put our years of experience to good use and avoid the following event management mistakes to ensure your event runs smoothly.
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Event venue issues
Choosing the right venue is critical to a great event.
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Issues to look out for when choosing your event include:
- Enough time to set up and break down (adequate bump in and bump out time). You don’t want to be rushing to set up on the day of the event. Short bump in times can also add additional risk in your event team by requiring two different teams.
- Taking your audio-visual needs into consideration. Double-check if your venue will allow outside AV suppliers and if there will be any additional rigging charges. Think about if the current rigging infrastructure will suit your AV needs.
- Is your venue easy to get to? Remote or regional locations will increase travel and transport costs.
Tip: Consult your AV or event management specialists for their guidance on venue to ensure the event runs smoothly from start to finish. The earlier in the event planning process you talk to your AV team, the best your result.
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Event catering
Catering is another area where proper planning can help avoid some common mistakes.
When determining your catering requirements, you need to have a good idea of the number of attendees as well as demographics (age and gender). Knowing these factors can help you book the most appropriate food and drink packages.
If you have history from past events, you’ll have a better understanding of what beverage package will best suit your needs and budget.
It’s also important to keep the catering staff in the loop. Let them know when you’ll be breaking and if you’re running on early or late. This can help prevent the restrooms being closed for cleaning during morning tea or the coffee going cold when the speaker runs overtime.
Blowing the event budget
It can be hard to avoid going over budget, but there are ways to get creative with your event budget and make it all work.
One of the most important factors in sticking within your budget is finding the right AV partner. A good AV company will help you find compromises and solutions, while still honouring your event vision.
Check out our guide to maximising your AV budget.
Contingency plans
Live events are inherently unpredictable. As an event planner, you need to be prepared for all sorts of contingencies. It might mean a bit more work in the event planning stages, you’ll be thankful you have a backup plan if something does go wrong.
Consider creating contingency plans for events like power failure, forced program changes and inclement weather.
Keep the bigger picture in mind
We often see multiple teams, from in-house to AV specialists and event management companies working on the same event, without working together on it.
Having a unified team with a full-service event management provider can save you time, money and headaches, since everyone on the team will be fully briefed on what needs to get done.
Work with con-sol for your audio-visual solutions
Feeling a little overwhelmed? You’re definitely not alone. Businesses with all kinds of event experience come to us with the same fears about planning and executing their events.
At con-sol, we’ve been designing, planning and executing events for many years and have a deep understanding of what it takes to make an event successful.
If you’re looking to take your event to the next level, we’d love to chat!
