Organising your first large-scale event will undoubtedly feel overwhelming. There’s so much to think about, and if it goes wrong you could let your guests, or worse your clients down. Professional event planners will know that there is a certain order of operations that, if followed, will bring about success. There’s no point trying to hire your DJ and invite guests before you have even set the date!
For the sake of this article, we are discussing the organisation of an entertainment event, either for clients or for your own company. But equally this advice could apply to arranging a business conference, film festival or community event. It’s impossible to cover all aspects in detail, but this guide will get you started.
The First Steps
The first step is to establish your aims and goals for the event. Do you want to book a certain musician and sell out all the tickets? Do you want to boost your brand, or perhaps raise awareness for a certain cause? How big will this event be, and is it well established with an existing audience? You need to have a clear idea of your event in mind if you are to eventually execute it.
Now, pick your date and time for the event. You can’t do much organising before the date is set. Start with several potential dates if possible. This will give you more flexibility, and you might be able to negotiate lower prices on certain days of the week or at certain times of the year. This flexibility will also help if you want to hire very particular performers, as they will need to be free on the right date.
Choose the date in which everything seems to line up, when artists and guest speakers can be booked and when the venue is available and reasonably priced. You should also establish the time frame for the event. How long will it last? Is it overnight, with meals and accommodation, or is it a few hours in the day?
Who, Where and How?
You have the what and the when, now you need the who, where and how. Get a realistic approximation of attendance numbers. This should not be based on a rough guess, but on actual expected numbers according to invites sent or established popularity of the event. If the event is new, do plenty of market research and aim to gauge attendance figures with as much accuracy as possible.
The next step is to choose the appropriate venue for the theme and attendance figures of the event. You may already own the venue, but at this stage most managers will aim to find a venue which offers the perfect combination of atmosphere and price, according to their budgets.
When it comes to the “how” of event planning, finance is obviously a huge priority. Advanced ticket sales can boost funds, as can relationships with sponsors and partners, who can massively offset costs and increase promotion of the event. You can also use bank loans, private lenders or bad credit business loans as a way of funding the event.
Go Team!
No successful large-scale event was ever run by a single individual. It takes dedicated teams of people working in sync towards a common goal in order to really pull off a memorable occasion. You will need teams for venue management, catering, sound engineering, entertainment, marketing, finance and admin specialists.
Then you can put your master plan into action, take care of the practicalities, and begin your marketing and promotion campaigns to attract paying visitors and make a solid return on your event. It’s all in the planning, but the execution also counts for a lot. If it all goes to plan, your guests should have a great time and your event will be a success.
