Knowing where to start when you begin planning an event can be overwhelming, but all event planning can be broken down into key areas.
1. It’s Never Too Early to Start Event Planning
Planning your event as early as you can, creates a stress-free process. As there is a lot to consider when coordinating an event, it is important to start early by breaking down your event into smaller sections. Start by writing a master task list with your colleagues and delegate specific roles with sole responsibility to relevant team members. Larger key areas, such as locating an ideal event venue, need to be done first to ensure you can go ahead with your desired dates.
6-12+ Months Ahead of the Event
- Establish the aim of your event and make sure everyone involved is aware. Is it to make money, bring communities together, celebrate an occasion, for brand awareness, or to sell or inform about products? Put it in writing and circulate it.
- Determine an overall budget and split it into sections such as venue, amenities, staffing, entertainment, accommodation, marketing, and hospitality. Be sure to try and source sponsors and/or partners to help with your budget and marketing.
- Map out deadlines for all key decisions and bookings on an event planner or calendar.
- Find a venue with the location, capacity, accessibility, and amenities (or options for amenities) that you require.
- Book amenities such as electricity generators, toilets, and, depending on your event, marquees or gazebos for entertainment, information points, first aid, security, and lost persons.
- Book any staff required at the event such as security, first aiders, cleaners, hospitality, accessibility assistants, and parking assistants.
- Book main entertainment such as musicians or guest speakers.
- Create an information page on your website and/or social channel.
- If the event is ticketed, create an event page to book tickets, ensuring you consider what seating or package options you will be offering.
- Finalise what vendor packages will be available and how many vendors you require such as food vans.
- Create a marketing plan to lead you from 6-12+ months before the event right through until a month after the event.
- Research viable accommodation options for you, your team, guests, entertainers, and vendors. Share the options and book your preferred choice, if needed.
- Think about seating ideas, such as deck chairs for an outdoor festival party or dining chairs and tables for an indoor corporate event.
- Source stages, lighting, sound, tables for stalls, and key decorations as soon as you can.
1-6+ Months Ahead of the Event
- Book the lesser-important vendors and entertainers.
- Design and print (or create) any signage required at your event.
- Create a timetable for the day to include entertainment, speeches, ceremonies, when food is served, etc. Post it online and/or send it to the printers.
- Create a site map to share online and/or get printed.
- Share details of how to get to the event and how to plan activities whilst at the event, inviting them to book sessions, if required.
- Keep in touch with guests, speakers, vendors, and entertainers who are confirmed via email marketing and social.
- Launch information about a competition that can generate excitement on social media.
- Post regularly about your event online, on social platforms, and/or via traditional methods such as posted fliers and adverts locally to remind guests what you are offering and why the event shouldn’t be missed.
Images: Deckchairs Lined Up at the Winter Gardens by Decked Out, Event management diagram sourced from Protech, and a Festival Themed Party as seen on Canvas Events.
3. Regular Checking-in
Make sure to hold fortnightly meetings as a chance for the team to get together to update on progress. It is a great opportunity to chase outstanding tasks and to check nothing is being missed. Check all tasks against your original event plan and use it as a chance to keep the aim of your event in mind, as it is easy to get carried away and go off-point.
4. Advertise and Market Before the Event
An event is only successful if people attend. So be sure to talk about it often. Consider creating a dedicated social account and/or hashtag, share regular updates, and encourage those involved such as vendors and entertainers to share some news of the event to their audiences. There will be lots to say about your event from up-to-date announcements on who will be speaking or performing to answering FAQs. You can also share documents such as site maps and running orders for the day or set up and run competitions for free tickets, free merchandise and/or meet and greets. And, don’t forget to use your channels to inform people of any rules, especially around food, drink, and banned items, so that your event will run smoother.
You should also take the time to think about how attendees might share updates during the event. User-generated content is important, so consider ways you can get everyone involved, whether that might be questions posted online to be answered by a panel of experts or photos posted on social channels using a photo booth, large deckchair or meet and greet station.
5. Have a Backup Plan for Key Event Areas
For anything that could derail your event, plan a backup. This could be an indoor ceremony room in case it decides to rain on an outdoor rustic wedding, or it could be a list of ‘in reserve’ performers and speakers in case any of them are unable to turn up on the day.
Images: All three images above are sourced from Decked Out.
6. Prepare the Venue
Whether you’re organising a festival garden party, outdoor cinema event, or food festival, it’s important to make sure you have adequate signage set up at your event. Use your event site map to map out where to put posters, branding, functional signage, decorations, lighting, and key areas. Be sure to rope in as many volunteers as you can to set up, giving them a designated area on the map.
7. Marketing During the Event
Remember to take photographs at the event. And share them on social channels during the event with your specific event hashtag. If your budget allows, consider hiring a designated event photographer who could carry printed numbered cards inviting attendees to view your website’s photos later. Remember creating content at this event doesn’t just help promote this event, but it can be invaluable marketing material to promote your next similar event.
8. Keep an Eye on Time During the Event
Designate someone organised and assertive to coordinate times of mini-events such as performances, speakers, event competitions, and food service times, so that your event doesn’t run late, or worse, run out of time for the main attractions.
9. Encourage Vendor and Guest Participation
Use a hashtag, put up posters, and have a social competition to encourage guests to create marketing content for you. Encourage vendors to join in by sharing photos of their food, crafts, products, team, or of their socialising with other vendors. If you decided to create an area for attendee photos or questions, make sure they are well-signposted and easy to locate.
Images: All three images above are sourced from Decked Out.
10. Don’t Forget to Follow Up with Guests, Vendors, and Entertainment
This is something that too many event organisers forget. When the event is over, the work is not yet done! Follow up the event with invitations to roundups of the event, discounts, useful content, photos of highlights and competition winners, and invitations to view event photos online. Encourage further discussion on social channels about highlights and experiences and ask all attendees (guests, vendors, services, and entertainment) for feedback. It’s also a great opportunity to invite them to your next event, maybe even with an early-bird discount.
So, there you have it, top tips for event planning brought to you by Decked Out. If you’re planning an event and need to know anything about deck chair hire for your event, get in touch today.
