Successful corporate events require meticulous planning and thoughtful execution.
Whether you’re planning a conference, gala dinner, product launch or corporate exhibition, there’s so much to be considered while planning.
To get you off on the right track, we’ve compiled four best practices to ensure optimal outcomes for organisers, staff, sponsors and guests.
1. Confirm your event goals
The first step in any planning process is to determine your main reasons for organising the event.
Check in with key stakeholders to understand whether the event will have an internal (staff) or external (clients or broader community) focus.
Common goals that correlate with types of events are:
- Raise awareness of product or brand – product launches, trade shows and corporate exhibitions
- Celebrate successes – award nights, parties and team building events
- Establish company leadership – conferences and gala dinners
2. Develop a strong event and communication strategy
Once you’ve established your goals for the event, you can start generating excitement amongst attendees.
This is perhaps the most important part of your communication strategy. Whether you’re solving a problem, providing knowledge or giving access to notable speakers, guests need a solid reason to give up their precious time.
It’s also important to think about what communication avenues are best suited to reach your audience. This could include marketing emails, a social media campaign, direct mail or even posters. Use a combination of whatever you think will generate the most interest.
To really engage with your community, it’s worthwhile creating a post-event communication strategy as well. This is where you can grab invaluable insights and feedback to leverage for your next event.
3. Have a venue checklist
Event spaces can mean make or break. Even if you have a particular venue in mind, if it doesn’t meet the needs of your guests or your event purpose, then it will likely detract from attendee experiences.
When writing your checklist, consider things like accessibility, parking, wi-fi connection, catering options and audio-visual capabilities. You’ll also want to think about security options, emergency procedures, insurance and time or noise restrictions.
If a venue isn’t going to cut it on all of these points, then it’s best to keep on looking.
4. Develop a strong roll-out strategy
Your roll-out strategy is the thing that will allow every detail of your event to run seamlessly.
This includes onboarding contractors, developing a run-sheet and allocating a team member to take charge of things like delegate registration, speaker organisation, venue management, exhibitor liaison etc.
To ensure smooth sailing, create a dedicated folder comprising everything you’ll need in a detailed and organised manner.
Depending on the size and type of event you’re throwing, you may need more than one person to be in control of your roll-out strategy. If this is the case, you’ll want to have multiple versions of your roll-out information to allow all organisers access to the important stuff.
It also pays to ensure that all your staff are aware of proceedings, or at very least, know where to find information in order to meet the needs of your guests. This is where your regular team meetings become really useful.
If everyone understands their roles and responsibilities for the day, as well as how to access information when necessary, you’re setting yourself up in the best way possible.
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Event Management Specialists
With so many types of corporate events, and so many aspects to consider, it’s not always feasible to plan and execute an event on your own.
As a dedicated audio-visual solutions and event management company, con-sol can plan, optimise, execute and pack down your entire event with the support of our in-house specialists and event planners.
Some of the corporate events we regularly manage include:
- Industry conferences
- Keynote speakers
- Awards night
- Gala dinners
- Corporate exhibitions
- Trade shows
- Product launches
- Corporate team building activities
- Outdoor events
Get in touch or give us a call on 07 5571 2852 to learn more about our complete event management solutions.
