Introduction:
This course aims to help those people who are organizing and planning an event. The impact of a successful event on a company can be profound. The impact of a poorly organized event is so negative that it pulls resources away from real work to deal with the aftermath. This course provides a synthesis of all planning, execution, and post-event analysis. Such an event may be a benefit, arts, and design industry event, entertainment event, trade show, or an event in the fields of hospitality, marketing, and advertising, or sports.
Targeted Groups:
- Middle and Senior Managers tasked with the direct delivery of events or oversight of specialist sub-contractors
- Senior Operational Managers with responsibility for managing teams whose role includes event management
- Senior Managers up to Board Level with responsibility for the strategic use of events as part of the organization’s PR and marketing strategy and their effective deployment
- PR Professionals
- Marketing Professionals
- Individuals who want to get a new experience to improve their profile
Course Objectives:
At the end of this conference the participants will be able to:
- Schedule and plan an event
- Be familiar with a range of events they are likely to engage in and the requirements for their successful delivery
- Identify the most appropriate venues and activities for their events
- Manage the media at their events with confidence.
Course Content:
Unit 1: The Role of Events in a Public Relations or Marketing Strategy:
- An overview of Public Relations and how events fit in
- Events and the PR Transfer Process
- Strengths and weaknesses of events as a form of communication
- The Six Point PR Plan and its application to event management
- Assessing your needs
- The importance of clarity of purpose
- The importance of the audience
- Choosing the event to fit the objective
- Budget - staff, time, materials money
- Evaluating the event success
Unit 2: Event Planning, the Theory, and Practice:
- Scheduling - the long-term plan
- Event running order - timing of an event
- Budget control
- Managing suppliers
- Venue considerations
- Suitability for event - support for the message
- Size - capacity
- Type
- Access
- Accommodation
- Layout for different events - Seating etc
Unit 3: Stage Management, Dining, and Entertainment. Health and Safety:
- “Stage management” of the event
- Ensuring the event is on message and on-brand
- Welcome desk - set up and management
- Sets and staging
- Corporate identity on display
- Food can be part of the message
- Different types of dining for different events and practical implications
- Dining protocol - formal dinner, informal eating
- Choosing catering suppliers - in-house with venue or external
- Entertainment and music at your event
- Staying safe - Risk assessment and events
- Addressing risk areas at events
Unit 4: Managing the Media at your Events:
- Keeping your objectives in mind
- Is it a media event - what’s in it for them?
- Generating news through an event
- Inviting the media - invitations and press releases
- The press office - Staffing, setting up and running it
- The press pack and gifts
- Conducting interviews and briefing interviewees
- Photography at your event
- Involving your in-house media
Unit 5: Invitations, VIPs & bringing it All Together:
- Getting your audience there
- Invitation process for different types of events
- Invitation protocols
- Working with VIPs
- Invitations
- Meet and greet
- Follow up
- Building an event management team
- Event planning exercise involving all elements discussed through the week
