Organiser tips (test)
Getting the most out of your budget. There are many choices you will need to make in the design of your big event. Although anything is possible, as you’ll be working with a fixed budget you will need to make compromises. Be smart with your choices and you’ll be able to make many savings without compromising the quality of your guest experience.
Through over 13 years of experience, we’ve learnt many tips and tricks along the way. We’ve shared a few of them with you below, but please feel free
to give us a call if you want to hear some more!
- A private venue will reduce or eliminate the need for security.
- A venue with marked parking bays will reduce or eliminate the need for parking attendants.
- Event timings that only fall over one meal time (or none), will reduce your catering budget.
- Giving guests vouchers for food to a set value with the ability of them paying if they want more will help you keep control of your catering budget.
- Selecting activities that are visually interesting or have a fast participant throughput will cater for more people at any one time (so you can run your event with a smaller activity budget).
- Venues with accessible power on site will reduce or eliminate the need for expensive generators.
- Locations with good road or rail links will maximise attendance and minimise the need to lay on coaches or taxis.
- An automated check-in system on arrival will reduce the number of check in staff required.
- Choose a venue with enough loos onsite to avoid having to hire them in. A private or a smaller venue. You can effectively get exclusive use without having to pay for it.
- How close is it to public transport links?
- What facilities you will need are already on site?
- Do you need indoor space or accommodation?
- Smaller spaces are more intimate and avoid the potential for a disjointed atmosphere.
- Can you create the feeling of exclusivity, without having to pay for it?
- Will the grass be cut short AND the cuttings removed?
- Seek advice on the space you’ll need and how best to use it.
- Ask you’re agency to negotiate the cost of the venue on your behalf. You can still book the venue direct if you prefer.
Consider the needs of your audience when deciding the best timings for your event. Young families attending may wish to leave by 5pm to get home in time for dinner, bath time and bed. In stark contrast, young singles may prefer an evening party rather than an afternoon event. We’ll help you work out what you need and how much space to allocate.
Even for an internal event, if you want to maximise attendance, then you should pay plenty of attention to your communication with guests in advance of the day. Ask you agency to hep you with the following:
- Send out a save the date as early as you can.
- Start rumours! Get people talking at the coffee station, ‘have you heard that apparently this years event is going to be amazing…’
- Run a teaser campaign. Start your promotion with a number of fun graphics that entice people and raise their curiosity levels before you give them the full information.
- Use multiple channels. Advertise your event with posters, an email campaign, on Facebook and other social media, at team meetings, with a personal note from the CEO, create an event website with great graphics, themed desk drops, printed invitations, pre-event goody bags… get creative.
- Make the registration process quick and easy. A slick process to sign up will encourage more people to do so. Use an online sign up form, have stations at reception available to promote the event and where people can sign up, have people wandering the offices with a tablet to sign people up there and then.
This is the age old problem with large scale employee and guest events. If you have the budget then run two events, one for each demographic (and allow people to attend both). If you run one in the day time and one in the evening then all the infrastructure is in place already so it doesn’t cost as much as you might think.
An event theme can help provide continuity throughout your event. There are plenty of tried and tested themes and our Creatives are brimming with new ideas too. You may also like to consider company stories and messages such as your vision and values to make the event uniquely yours. Don’t miss the opportunity to enhance your corporate brand and company culture through this event experience. The benefits of getting it right will be reflected back in the workplace.
More things to consider…from goody bags, venue site visits, registration and monitoring of people coming and going through to health and safety, event insurance, risk assessments, waste disposal, power and more. There’s a lot to consider. But help is at hand. Whether you simply want to bounce a few ideas around and use us as a sounding board, or whether you would like us to support you with any of the elements mentioned above, just pick up the phone. We are here for you. |
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