Events are marketing and communication actions that pursue a specific corporate objective. Although these are strategies that have been used for many years, they bring great benefits to companies. You should also know that nowadays events can be of different sizes and formats depending on what you want to transmit and/or achieve.
Whether you are organising an event to launch a new product or line of business, or a corporate conference, you will have to go through the different phases to make sure that everything goes smoothly. These include pre-event organisation, logistics, event design, planning, coordination of the different parties involved and of course, it will also include the evaluation of the event once it has taken place.
Key tips to make sure your event goes off without a hitch
When we talk about organising an event, one thing we always recommend is to take into account even the smallest detail, this will be essential for everything to go smoothly.
If a company wants to build, strengthen and maintain long-lasting relationships with its customers, partners, associates and potential prospects, corporate events are the perfect format. However, there will be some key tips, which will help your event stand out and achieve better results. Among the most important of these are:
Establishes and understands the purpose of the event
As mentioned above, all events take place because they are meant to achieve something. That is why we always recommend defining in detail the objectives you want to achieve with the event.
Defining objectives in advance you will ensure that all decisions you make from now on will be focused on achieving them. Avoid carrying out tasks that are not intended to boost them.
This point also it will help you to identify whether or not your expectations of the event are realistic. If expectations are too high or too low, this can affect the final perception of the event.
Define your target group or the target audience of your event
Once you are clear about the objectives you are pursuing with that action It will be essential that you establish the target or objective audience you are going to address and which you want to arouse the interest of. Logically, depending on the objectives you have previously set, the audience you will try to reach will be different.
Information is power, so whatever you can define for your audience will help you later on. Try to include: professional profile, level of decision making, type and sector of company they work for, relationship between brands, etc.
Take this step, will help you to determine the best strategy to arouse their interest, as well as defining the different actions you want to carry out to reach it.
Start organising your corporate event as far in advance as possible
Whether it is a small event or a large corporate event, you will need to start organising them with as much time as possible.
This way you will ensure that you are taking into account even the smallest details that will make everything go perfectly.
You should also bear in mind that Most often there are different services that you will have to subcontract, this means that you will also have to rely on monitoring and validating that everything is going to happen exactly as you have planned.
Create an event organisation calendar
For an event to be successful, a multitude of tasks need to be planned and coordinated, and many of them will have to be done in parallel. For this reason, having a calendar for the organisation of your event, where you specify what and when has to be prepared and who is the supplier and responsible person in each case, will help you to keep better track.
On this calendar, we also recommend to include the different marketing and communication actions that you want to do to promote the event. This will ensure that everything goes according to plan.
Establish the creative concept of your event
The creative concept of an event is one of the fundamental axes of the same, and it will help you to transmit the the differential values that you want to promote, and will help you to make it memorable.
When thinking about the creative concept you are going to use for your event, it is imperative that you start thinking about other additional aspects such as:
Which event format best suits what I want to convey?
Is my creative concept designed to capture the attention of my target audience?
Can it be an added value to have a star speaker?
Do I want to add round tables or team activities?
In short, will be the moment that defines why your event will be remembered.
Choose a venue that fits the needs of your event
The first thing to know is that not all event venues are the same. Each will have its own characteristics and limitations. It is therefore essential that you stop to analyse the venues that best fit what you want to achieve.
In addition to the above, once you have chosen the venue for your event, it is essential that you make a technical visit with your trusted audiovisual partner. In this way, they will be able to advise you in a personalised way, offering you the best options taking into account both space and your needs.
Hire the suppliers who will make your event a reality
Once you have defined what you want your event to look like, it will be time to hire the different suppliers that will turn your event from an idea into a reality.
In this respect we always recommend:
- Check references from previous clients.
- Analyse whether that supplier has previous experience doing the type of event you are looking for.
This way, you can be sure that you are making the best decision.
Hire a professional audiovisual company
Believe it or not, there are still professionals who hire inexperienced companies, who do not have the right equipment.
The lighting, sound and decoration of the space, will be important aspects when it comes to generating the experience you are looking for in your attendees.
Set a budget that is appropriate to the objectives of the event
One of the usual things is to have a budget that does not match the expectations of what you are trying to achieve. For this reason, we always recommend that budgets should be set taking into account the different services you are going to need. This way they will fit better and you will get the final result you are looking for.
Create a good promotion strategy for your event
A good marketing and communication strategy will help you generate the interest you need, both in terms of potential attendees and sponsorships.
To do this, the best thing to do is to design a tailor-made promotion strategy depending on the objectives set and the audience that has been defined for the occasion.
Evaluate how the event went
One aspect that VA always recommends is to analyse how the event went once it has taken place.
The most common is to make a report where data such as: how many users came to the event/how many were invited, how many sponsors were obtained, interesting feedback given by attendees, event budget and budget consumed, repercussion in media, press and social networks can be reflected.
In addition to the above, it is also interesting to analyse what went well, but also where there is room for improvement. This will ensure that each event is better than the last one.
If you are already immersed in the organisation of your next event, do not hesitate to contact us.
