8 Cost-Saving
Strategies for Meetings
Pinching pennies
has never been fashionable (2008 is so out) but sometimes it’s
simply a necessity. Here’s tips from event professionals on how to
make your accountant happy and colour your boss impressed.
Be flexible.
“The market has turned to a seller’s market, which means hotels
can pick and choose their business,” says Marcy Rodner, national
account manager at Experient. Organisers can create budget options
by considering multiple locations and dates and alterations to the
event schedule can also save money. Maybe try starting a multiday
event after lunch to eliminate the need to provide an extra meal.
1. Be flexible.
“The market has turned to a seller’s market, which means hotels
can pick and choose their business,” says Marcy Rodner, national
account manager at Experient. Organisers can create budget options
by considering multiple locations and dates and alterations to the
event schedule can also save money. Maybe try starting a multiday
event after lunch to eliminate the need to provide an extra meal.
2. Plan ahead.
Rob O’Brien, sales and operations manager for PTE Productions
“Early planning provides suppliers with more options, which will
always save the client money. It allows us to ensure the equipment
and labor needed for the job is confirmed and available,” If the
supplier has to jump through hoops and disrupt his operations to get
the client what he wants, there’s a price for that.”
3. Maintain open lines of communication. “So many planners work with
each vendor directly and don’t encourage or allow
cross-communication,” says Ron Bracco, executive director of
Hargrove. One strategy: Gather everyone for a face-to-face meeting
when planning begins, and then host regular conference calls or
virtual meetings to touch base in the months leading up to the
event.
4. Reduce energy
consumption. Pasquale Semeraro, general manager of PTE Productions,
says modern equipment such as battery-powered lighting and
energy-optimized audio systems can potentially cut electricity
charges by thousands of pounds.
5. Think
long-term to get the most out of what you’re buying. Develop
graphics that can be reused from meeting to meeting, year after year.
Invest in a stage set that is adaptable, with elements that can be
moved around. “For example, lighting and imagery can be used in
different ways to make the same stage always feel fresh and
interesting,” says David Solsbery, executive director of design for
Hargrove.
How to Create
Content at Events
Showing content at events is sometimes difficult. You want to do
something different to your last event but certain ideas are just too
good. Here’s our top twenty ideas to turn your company’s event
into marketing devices.
1 Assemble
live tweets into presentation recaps.
2 Video
attendees at the event talking about why they decided to attend the
event.
3 Video
attendees on what they are learning and the value they are getting
from the event.
4 Video
attendees about why people not at the conference should attend next
year.
5 Get all
kinds of digital photos – presenters, content, party pics, etc.
6 Get
presenters to share additional details, insights, or thoughts about
their presentations.
7 Write
articles from the content that you have captured on video.
8 Create lists
of the best tweets from the event.
9 Invite
attendees to write blog posts or share other content they have
created.
10 Grab images
from videos you have shot.
11 Turn photos
and video snippets into a closing video for the event.
12 Turn audio
from video interviews into podcasts.
13 Create a
presentation highlights Slideshare with three high impact slides
from each presentation.
14 Recruit a
social media team to generate content from more perspectives within
the event.
15 Ask
open-ended questions on the pre- and post-conference surveys about
the issues, opportunities, and learning needs attendees see. Turn
the results into articles.
16 Ask
attendees what questions were not answered and answer these in
future blog posts.
17 Invite
presenters to submit blog posts or articles for the conference
website.
18 Solicit
attendees for guest blog posts they prepare after the conference and
give a prize to everyone who creates content.
19 While it is
tempting to upload 50 pictures to a Facebook album because it is
easy to do all at once, distribute the content over time so you do
not inundate your audience.
20 Video exhibitors on what their companies can do for attendees.
3 Best
Event Lighting Ideas You’ve Never Heard Of
(http://www.helloendless.com/3-best-event-lighting-ideas/?utm_campaign=Created%20Content&utm_content=9323998&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter)
1. Motorized
Lighting Structures
Something blow
your attendees minds, a motorized lighting structure is a lighting
engineer’s dream and can simulate movements and is guaranteed to
captivate the imaginations of everyone seeing them. It involves a
framework and controlled motors where an event lighting engineer can
program the movements. If you are having trouble picturing it watch
the video below (its pretty insane)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-tI7_BMR0I
2. LED
Beam/Spots
Beams and Spots
are moving lights that are the ones you’re probably most familiar
with as theyre often used outside of the event world at cinemas and
even nightclubs. They are programmed with cues, positions, colors,
and patterned movements to add an intuitive feel to event lighting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkbNiQZBj4
3. Lasers
If you are asking
yourself if you need lasers at your event for event lighting, there
are many reasons that the answer should always be “YES!” Lasers
have the ability to sync with your playlist, be programmed to draw
shapes and photos on surfaces, and span across your entire audience
whatever the size.
The Foundation
of an event
Step 1. Get
Clear on Your Event
You’ll have
three main questions for this stage,
What is your
event type?
What is the
“content” of your event?
What is your
event’s goal?
Also how will you
market your event? Got a sales team? Media coverage? Consumer
awareness?
Write down the
most important things you want to accomplish with your event. These
notes will make other crucial decisions down the line a bit simpler
and create a skeleton for you event
Step 2. Figure
Out Funding
Look into
sponsors and event partners. Who makes sense as a sponsor or partner?
Who might increase the event value and experience for your guests?
What can you offer them?
Also think about
the longevity of the potential relationship formed with these brands.
If you want
something in particular at your event be crafty and find someone who
can offer you it and show them a template with the details of your
event, your business history, your prediction for the event’s
numbers, what you would like, and what you can promise in return.
Does it suit your
audience?
Does it add value
to your event?
Is it within
your budget?
Also think about
the space, location and as boring as it seems car park facilities.
Step 4. Choose
a Date and Time
What does a
typical day/week look like for your potential guests? Are there any
times or dates you know they’re likely to be busy?
And for God’s
sake don’t forget to check your calendar for holidays!
Look into
sponsors and event partners. Who makes sense as a sponsor or partner?
Who might increase the event value and experience for your guests?
What can you offer them?
Also think about
the longevity of the potential relationship formed with these brands.
If you want
something in particular at your event be crafty and find someone who
can offer you it and show them a template with the details of your
event, your business history, your prediction for the event’s
numbers, what you would like, and what you can promise in return.
WEATHER CAN
AFFECT YOUR EVENT
In Britain
talking about the weather isn’t just small talk but a national
pastime, and in our experience these are the forgotten aspects of
rubbish weather that can affect your event.
QUEUE PRESSURE
A crowd outside
your doors waiting for them to open can very quickly turn sour should
the heavens open and rain down upon them.
Solution –
Keep at least three golf umbrellas on standby and an intern happy to
run to the nearest Primark.
SLIPPY FLOORS
Wet outside means
wet inside and slippy floors very soon afterwards.
Solution -
Management and control measures should have been identified in the
risk assessment and you can roll them out when you need to.
EXTRA PRESSURE
ON MEDICAL
Weather can
affect people badly, be it extreme cold or heat
Solution –
As much as they’re doing their jobs give them a helping hand even
if it’s just in the shape of a cup of tea.
AUDIENCE
ARRIVAL PROFILE
Rain can make
people look rubbish and arrive late.
Solution -
Make sure they don’t feel hurried and know where they can clean
themselves up on arrival.
STAGING
The sun can get
in your audience’s eyes and completely ruin a good third of the day
which is a major waste of money.
Solution - If
outside make sure the wind direction is in you favour and that your
stage doesn’t have the sun set behind it.
DROWNING
DANGER IN CAMPSITES
You can drown in
only a couple of inches of water and overnight tented events often
include alcohol.
Solution -
so keep staff aware of people should the heavens open up.
DRINKING WATER
People will
always drink more water than you expect. Always.
Solution –
Overstock. Worst comes to worst you can always stock up the office
for a while longer than expected. It will get used!
STAFF MORALE
When Staff morale
hits a low so can your event, and as frustrating as it may be as a
planner it is understandable.
Solution –
make sure to have regular meetings and a treat at some point for them
(no matter how small)
Event Pros Share
4 Things You Need to Know Now
Some of the most
creative minds in events shared their tips for success—and avoiding
disaster—during the Event Innovation Forum at BizBash Live: The
Expo New York, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The two sessions
of the forum covered a lot of ground, but here are some key
takeaways.
1. How does your
event look on Instagram?
In today's
social-media-obsessed world, every event attendee has the potential
to tell a brand's story. “As designers, it’s what’s on the
outside that counts. Every touch point and detail should speak to the
brand's identity,” said Nicky Balestrieri, managing creative
director of BMF Media. “The goal of all of this process is to make
our events not just memorable but also media-able.”
2. If you're not
measuring data, you're missing out.
Angela
Giacchetti, New York City metro marketing manager at Eventbrite, said
planners need to have statistics to show, for instance, which social
channels are the most effective at driving ticket sales. You might
think business events would be best marketed on Facebook, but Twitter
might actually be a stronger vehicle. “You want to make sure you
have a clear timeline for building buzz and driving page views,”
she said.
3. Use event
technology for social engineering.
The message
behind the C2 Montréal conference is connection, and organizers
don't leave that to chance. Before the event, the 600 attendees can
set up profile pages on a custom social network called the Hub where
they can not only list their business interests but also their
hobbies. They can schedule meetings, and the system will suggest
sessions to attend. This way you can know what your audience is doing
instead of guessing. Yes it’s a bit Big Brother but saves you
adding a bunch of people on Facebook who you don’t really want to.
4. People crave
events, even in a digital world.
“While people
spend much of their time online, it's offline communities formed at
events that they are seeking out more and more” said Ryan Begelman,
C.E.O. of Bisnow Media. “Successful events are becoming part of
people’s identities”, he said, pointing to Burning Man,
Comic-Con, and TED “We need to make our events shorter, pithier,
faster-paced. Let’s not fight A.D.D.; let’s make our events
snappier. We’re producing events like its 2001 and it’s 2014.”
When and How to
Host a Fully Virtual Event
When potential
business partners aren’t in the same city, or even country, a skype
call is often a great alternative to a meeting that’ll see you lose
valuable hours travelling. But what about when it comes to hosting an
entire event virtually?
Live-streaming
events has become popular as technology has improved, costs have come
down, and planners tap into the opportunity to reach a much bigger
audience. But when does it make sense to produce an event solely for
online participation? Kevin Larstone of Create If, an event
production company that predominantly works with corporate clients
throughout Canada states “There’s always value in doing a live
meeting, but the return on investment is something that can only be
measured by how deep a client’s pockets are. If you are plotting
your course based on what your audience needs, that will tell you
whether you should do a live presentation or a virtual presentation,“
he says. “With either one, the outcome you are looking for is some
level of engagement. Just passively providing a feed to an audience
without engaging them is a waste of money.”
Here are some of
his suggestions for when a virtual meeting may be the appropriate
strategy and tips on how to execute it effectively.
Consider a fully
virtual meeting when:
The in-person
audience would be small. If the number of people attending your event
in person would be much less than those tuning in online, consider
eliminating the face-to-face event.
Cost is an issue.
Hosting a physical event comes with a variety of potential costs, and
by eliminating the physical event, resources can focus on creating a
high-quality online experience.
There are
logistical issues. For example if you need to inform multiple offices
about a company update, rather than sending a team around the country
delivering a presentation the same team could contribute to
infographic or a video series.
To produce an
effective virtual event:
Model it on TV
programs, prep your speakers, try to engage with your online audience
and structure content in segments. Also keep it short! Less than 20
minutes ideally
4 Ways to
Capitalize on the Power of Video Engagement
Enticing an
audience to get them to attend an event will always have its go to’s.
Whilst a great website, an event app and competitions are still an
essential, video marketing can often fall to the back burners. Media
theorist John Berger said that “Seeing comes before words” and
video is the preferred communication style for a lot of today’s
tech-savvy event attendees. Seeing a visual update in a fun way, is
more appealing than a text-heavy email and video creates a strong
impact with connection for any viewer.
Here are the top
ways event planners can capitalize on the power of video engagement,
1 – Report
updates as the happen
Instagram and
Vine allow you to reach your audience on a far more personal level
than email has previously afforded whilst giving you the chance to
reach new clients, and 15 or 30 second shots can keep attendees
up-to-date and socially aware about what’s trending at an event.
Through video,
you’re allowing a visual representation of the event to be shown,
so make it count.
2 – Lights.
Camera. Personalize.
Make sure your
content is valuable and if you’re selling a product in your booth,
create fun, informative short-form videos that walk people through
your product and brand. These are meant to be shorter than a product
demo so be snappy and make sure to drive home what you’re selling.
3- Video is king
Video content
rules all when it comes to social media today. Why not use video to
promote contests and giveaways taking place at events? Seeing the
prizes given away at events and also the winners makes the use of
video so much more fun with lots of brands using video to promote
their company at events.
4- Tell a story!
Any video should
have two goals – engage with the viewer, and tell a story. Be
creative – use music, animation, anything that makes the story
compelling and thoughtful. Or create a Hyperlapse video of your day
at an event? There’s a story behind every brand!