An event agency’s perspective on the top 10 things you should be doing to blow your boss’s mind on your next event
At Mowgli Events we work with a lot of talented in-house event managers who are total badasses.
But we also work with clients who get asked to deliver an event for their company on top of their day job having never done it before! Sound familiar?
And although you are no doubt masters of your own craft; Executive Assistants, Employee Engagement Managers or maybe even a Brain Surgeon… this is not your norm!
So we wanted to share our top 10 tips with you for planning an absolute banger of an event....
#1 – Objectives/Goal
So you have been asked to deliver an event… Where do you even start?
Well, the big 4 questions you should be asking here are:
What is the event about / what are the key messages?
Who do we want to attend?
Why are we delivering this event?
What outcomes do we need for the event to be a success?
From understanding the answer to the 4 questions above, you can ensure that you are working to a solid brief that will not only shape the content, design, production requirements and interactivity. But it will help guarantee that you deliver an awesome event and get exactly what you want out of it.
#2 – Budget
Let’s start with our process for budgets…
It is your event agency’s job to protect your budget, and in order for them to do that, it is important that you share the total event budget early on in the planning process -
This allows them to be able to source the most appropriate venues, catering, production etc to suit your budget.
At Mowgli Events, we review the budget, the number of delegates, size of space required to deliver the objectives and then review ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ to break the budget out into sub-categories.
We then negotiate on our client’s behalf in order to get the best possible proposals together and ensure that the investment is being distributed into the most important areas of the event, based on the brief.
If you’re working on your event without the support of an event agency, we recommend you list out all elements that you will need to deliver said event and then split the budget into sub-budgets to make sure that you don’t overspend in certain areas and have no budget left for the fun stuff.
For example, if you spend your entire budget on the venue and catering, you won’t have enough budget for any branded materials, AV etc.
You should always have a contingency pot to fall back on if needed and if you’re working on an international event, be sure to check out any additional service fees or taxes that you might not be expecting.
#3 – Location
The location of your event should be considered carefully.
If you’re delivering an event on a national scale, you should think about the demographic of the majority of the delegates or if they are evenly spread across the country?
What are the transport links to the venue? Will everyone have to drive or is there also the option for public transport?
And if your delegates have to travel over 2 hours to the venue, we would highly recommend they stay in a local hotel the night before. You want your delegates fresh, energised, and ready to soak in all of that content you have worked so hard on putting together.
(And if your delegates are going to need to stay in a hotel then don’t forget to add that to your budget!)
If the event is for multiple days, then consider picking a location that has some life and activity around it so that your delegates can go on adventures in the evening.
All these factors contribute to their overall experience and almost guarantee them having a better time at your event.
#4 – The Venue
Finding the right venue can be challenging and overwhelming, there are literally millions of great venues out there!
Once you have the brief and the demographic of your delegates this can really narrow down your search - phew!
Layout / Seating
If you have an entire day of content, ‘theatre style’ would be the most effective layout as this uses less space, so you may save money in venue rental
If you need your delegates to complete tasks, have group discussions or if you need to pass out lots of material and they need to take a lot of notes, then ‘cabaret style’ would be the most effective layout ......but you will need a larger space.
Breakouts
If you need to have additional streams throughout the day, be sure to forecast the number of delegates in each stream and what layout you might need for each of them. The venue will need to allocate additional space for these!
Delegate Flow
The last thing you want is to have your conference on one side of a building and then lunch be served on the opposite side. Always make sure you look at the venue floorplans to see how the delegates will move around the building
Competitors onsite
If you are sharing confidential information during your event or if you’re planning to heavily brand your event, then it’s always good to know which other events are taking place over your live days. The venue might not be able to tell you who will be there, but you can at least ask if there is anyone else booked in who is in the same industry as you
Costs
Make sure you really understand what is included in the contract and what additional costs you might incur post event. Always ask this question at the enquiry stage and although they might not be able to give you exact costs until you get into the nitty gritty detail, they will be able to give you a ballpark cost for your budgeting.
Look & feel
Does the venue match the vibe of your event or are you going to have to create the right look and feel with your branding and production? If so, make sure you factor this into your budget early on.
ALWAYS get at least 3 comparable quotes from similar venues and conduct a site visit BEFORE signing any contracts – website photos can be super old, cleverly angled or heavily edited!
#5 – Production / Audio Visual
Here we have SO many options! The world of AV and Production is just huge, and we love it.
If done well, your production will keep your audience engaged with music, lighting and ever changing visuals. There is a lot to consider though, and we highly recommend you work in collaboration with your event agency, or even directly with a production company if you’re considering having any kind of enhanced production.
Don’t forget, it’s not just the equipment that you will need to consider when it comes to budget. If you’re having a massive LED screen you will need to account for creative time for a showstopping deck of content to match!
If you plan to keep things simple on the other hand, then see what the venue has already included in their contract and make sure to get a quote from them for any basic equipment as this could help you with savings.
#6 - Catering
The most talked about part of any event… the food!
What can we say? We love food but sometimes making menu decisions for a lot of people can be a daunting task....
Here are our top tips when selecting your menus:
Conferences:
Within Day Delegate Rates (DDRs) or Catering Packages, you often get a number of tea, coffee and snack servings along with a separate lunch. Try to have energising but delicious snacks with multiple options where possible
When choosing your conference lunch there are usually three options: working lunch, finger buffet or fork buffet
First off, you need to consider how long you have for lunch in your agenda. If it’s under 1 hour then go for a working lunch....but make sure it’s elevated a little and not just lots of sandwiches
For finger and fork buffets, consider the location that lunch will be served and what furniture is in this space. If there isn’t anywhere for people to put their plates down for example, then we would recommend a finger buffet.
When possible, choose items that cater for the majority of tastes and dietary requirements, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, halal, nut free.
If you have multiple choices to select from, then try and aim to have something substantial but also some lighter bites
Awards/Gala Dinners: You will often be sent a menu from the venue to select your starter, main, dessert and any extras you may want.
When deciding, we strongly recommend you do a tasting (yum!).
Ask lots of questions, like which meats are halal? What dishes are naturally gluten free etc. It’s always good to make the menu as inclusive as possible and consider what the majority of people like, for example if you choose fish as your main, you might all of a sudden have a big increase in ‘vegetarians’ attending!
There is likely to be drinks packages available as well.
Honestly, we are big fans of drinks reception packages as they are always such a lovely welcome to any gala, so do always consider these and if your budget allows ......then go for it!
#7 – Partners & Suppliers
Finding the right partners and suppliers is key for delivering a successful event.
You are only ever as good as your suppliers...... and that goes for any event manager!
You really need a team that become an extension of your team - collaboration is the only way. You should all be in it together - whether exploring and developing ideas together or making sure you’re spending budget where it matters. Achieving your objectives and engaging the audience should be everybody’s goal!
#8 – Delegate Management
It’s really important that you don’t underestimate the delegate management side of an event. This is the delegate’s first touch point and will set the tone of the entire event!
The scope of the software required very much depends on the number of delegates you have, how they’re travelling, where they are staying, your agenda and any other data that you need to collect from them.
Once you know what information you will need, you can determine if you can use a free ticketing/registration tool such as EventBrite, Google Forms or MS Forms or if you need a customisable system such as Cvent or Rain Focus.
Make sure your system is set up to capture all information that you will require from the delegate before you send out that first invitation and especially before you open the registration site. This will ensure that you don’t have to send out any secondary forms/systems for the delegate to complete (Which can be annoying for both you and the delegates!).
*Top Tip – this is a time-consuming task, so make sure that you have time or seek external support for this! Delegates ask lots of questions!
#9 – Engagement
Heard of ‘Death by PowerPoint’?
It’s a real thing!
People don’t want to sit for a whole day staring at slide after slide after slide after slide after slide after slide..... 😴
There is of course a need for PowerPoint to get your messaging across, but you must think about how you can keep your delegates engaged.
Here are a couple of our thoughts:
Content should be visual heavy and not too wordy
Be clear, concise and succinct in your presentations
Schedule plenty of refreshment breaks
Add polls and Q&As - collect data for you and let them find out exactly what they need to know
Energiser activities
Breakout streams/workshops
Inspirational speakers
Team building challenges
Exhibition stands/tables
Evening activities
Incorporate some local history and nearby activities that are available at your chosen location
#10 – Support Team
You can’t be everywhere, you can only speak to one person at a time and you definitely only have one pair of hands! So make sure you have enough support when you are not only setting up the event, but when it is live and even more importantly, when organising the breakdown!
Consider the tasks that you have to complete and do not be afraid to delegate!
Invest time in briefing your team properly so that they get it right the first time.
For when the event is live, think about the delegate’s journey and where you need to place your event support team. Be sure to think about your teams personal strengths when allocating their roles. For example, when choosing someone to manage registration, use someone who is confident, friendly and helpful. If you have someone who is more shy, maybe they can be your supplier liaison?
So there you have it… Team Mowgli’s top 10 tips on planning a banger of an event which we really hope helps you to not only stay sane, but actually have a blast whilst planning your next event.
And if after reading this you’re now thinking that you will need some support… then give us a holla!
Comments