They understand their audience’s passion for wellness and community, and they tap into it, creating memorable brand experiences. The earlier you plunge into the event planning, the wider the array of choices and the greater the flexibility. Early planning doesn’t just mitigate stress; it also maximizes the potential for innovation, partnerships, and promotional opportunities.
All your attendees will gather at a physical location, visit physical booths, and watch live presentations. So, the event planning and event management process is also different. Now, you can start creating your dream team for the next steps of event planning. The organizing committee can have a bunch of different members, technical staff, marketers, and even volunteers.
This is the most crucial time of the event planning process, and one misstep here can ruin everything you have worked so hard to achieve for months. Developing a step-by-step plan at the very beginning of your event planning journey can help you sort out everything from the get-go. An event checklist can help you focus on one step at a time so you don’t get lost trying to finish the extended tasks. If you’re just starting out on event management and event planning, the first thing you need to do is to develop an event plan. An event plan is where you hash out all the details before you begin working on the ground.
It is impossible to identify and plan for all aspects of the event. There can be several unexpected situations you can face before or even during the event itself. Things like bad traffic or weather are a few of the possible issues you might face. Hence, you and your team must have a contingency plan for all the identified tasks. Learn how to set manage project constraints and set up project goals. We need to know what they liked about the event, what they didn’t like, and what they think could be improved.
Depending on the size of your event, here are a few team members that can help you handle all the moving parts. You’ll also be working with venue representatives and your fair share of suppliers, but this is who you can consider your internal team. Start putting together a list of these venues without too much scrutiny other than making sure they have a space large (or small!) enough to fit your needs. The other elements we cover are going to help you narrow things down from here. Luckily, the internet has made the search a lot easier, especially with the rise of venue search engines. Planners can compare venues, filter results based on event specifics, and even submit eRFPs (electronic request for proposal). One of the most important pieces of working with stakeholders is to align on how you’ll determine the success of the event based on the purpose.
No software or tool is complete without additional AI-powered integrations. AI can help event organizers during most event planning steps and should be something you’re looking for. Event setup is one of the most crucial parts of your event planning journey.
As far as a college athletics department, your constantly planning for your next event. You generally set your schedules a few months in advance and then work on the details (i.e., event theme, promotions, spectator features, etc.) as the time counts down. However, I think your question is how much time do you need at minimum to plan an event and the factor that determines that is the scope of your event.
Yet, it’s important to at least have a detailed event framework as early as possible. Also, if your team is fairly small, then it’s okay to assign multiple roles to one person (although it’s best to limit one person to not more than two roles). Research your options carefully, and don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as possible when talking with venue representatives. Without clearly figuring out the objectives of your event, you won’t be able to figure out the right direction for your event. Ensure that every event detail, from the seating arrangements to the lighting, is carefully planned and executed.
You should be prepared for the worst and have a plan B and C in place too. You can’t expect everything to go smoothly but if you’re prepared for it you won’t get blindsided. Also, create a system in place to help you evaluate the event after it’s executed by measuring the actual performance with your objective(s). You can, for example, conduct surveys to gain an understanding of your attendees’ experience during the event. Evaluate the available marketing channels, and check which ones are more likely to help you reach your target audience.
