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CE eBook - 10 Steps to Start Planning a Successful Event

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Published by jessieheng, 2017-09-25 11:16:07

CE eBook - 10 Steps to Start Planning a Successful Event

CE eBook - 10 Steps to Start Planning a Successful Event

Keywords: Crystal Edge eBook

10 STEPS to start
planning a

SUCCESSFUL
Event

an eBook series by Crystal Edge
www.crystaledge.net

This ebook is dedicated to the marketing and event professionals, our existing clients
and potential clients that are about to go onboard with Crystal Edge.
Crystal Edge has been helping our clients achieved their events and marketing goals for
the past 23 years since 1994. We have grown from a small agency in Malaysia to a
premier event and marketing services company, with a regional office in Singapore,
servicing more clients around the Asia Pacific region as well.
With our vast experience in managing events and marketing programs, we hope to
share the knowledge and expertise with you in this ebook, enlightening and
empowering you to successfully organize an event of your own or collaborating with an
agency like Crystal Edge.
Happy Reading!

www.crystaledge.net

Content Page

1. Developing Your Event Objectives & Goals 2
2. Building Your Event Configuration 3
3. Establishing An Event Budget 4
4. Branding Your Event 5
5. Creating a Marketing & Publicity Plan 6
6. Identifying Potential Partnerships & Securing 7

Sponsorships 8
7. Determining Event Processes & Work Flow 9
8. Creating an Event Timeline 10
9. Outlining the Scope to outsource to Professional
11
Event Organizer or Agency
10. Establishing the Post Event Analysis

-1-

1. Developing Your Event Objectives & Goals

The very first step to organize an event is to establish some
objectives and measurable goals.
• why are you organizing this event

(purpose : create awareness, to reignite your audience…etc.)
• what do you hope to achieve

(generate new leads, increase new audience database…etc.)
• who are your target audience

(define their profile, designation, job roles…etc.)
• what are the market segments or industries that you want to

attract (verticals, horizontals…etc.)

-2-

2. Building Your Event Configuration

Event Configuration is an important part of an initial planning as
it will affect the venue sourcing, budgeting, logistics planning
and so on.
• Determine the number of attendees that you would like to target
• Determine the number of tracks: Keynotes, Plenary, breakouts

sessions…etc.
• Determine the seating styles: classroom, theatre, clusters…etc.
• Setting the event date: Ideally, you should have 6-9 months to

plan (depending on the nature of your event) and remember to
cross-check the local calendar for dates that you should avoid
(from festive holidays to school holidays)

-3-

3. Establishing The Event Budget

Typically, an event budget should encompass the following basic
elements:

• Venue cost (rental, permits, licenses)
• F&B cost (luncheon, networking cocktails, gala dinners)
• Speakers Expenses (fees, flights, accommodations, transfers)
• Décor, Design & Production cost (branding, backdrops, banners)
• Marketing cost (website, brochures, program booklet, door gifts)
• Audio, Visual & Lighting Systems
• On-site Resources (registration crew, ushers, room managers)

Ideally, it should also reflect the various payment schedule that
needed to be paid off for vendors and other expenses in a timely
manner or accordingly to the payment terms.

It should also include a contingency amount that ranges from 8-
10% for unforeseen circumstances or additional items that will
make a difference to the event experience. It is also important to
share your event budget with your designated event agency or
PCO in order to help you to manage your budget effectively.

*Crystal Edge Project Management services includes handling your budget for you
so that you can concentrate on your event content instead. Talk to us about how to
manage your budget in the most cost effective way.

-4-

4. Branding Your Event

If your event name is related to the trends of your trade, you will
need to research on the trending topics and formulate an event
name that will resonate well with your audience on current topics.
If your event name is not trend-related, you should develop a
dynamic theme that can attract your audience attention when you
are marketing the event. In both cases, having a short tagline that
compliments the event will also help to further reinforce the event
name.
After the event name & tagline are established, it will be great to
have a logo professionally design to visually represent the event.
The logo is to be executed consistently throughout your
marketing & promotion materials as an effective branding tool, to
reinforce the visibility of your event throughout the marketing
platform.

*Ask Crystal Edge for a non-obligation presentation of our portfolio to see how we
have helped other clients to brand their events successfully.

-5-

5. Creating a Marketing & Publicity Plan

One of the key factor of a successful event is to have a marketing
& publicity plan well integrated into your event timeline. It marks
the milestones of the attendees that you would like to reach out
across different platforms from:
• Save-The-Date eDM invite
• Launch of the event website
• Early bird registration
• Reminder emails
• Magazine Ads
• Press Relations …etc.
With these marketing initiatives built-in, it ensures a consistent
boost to the flow of registration rate.

-6-

6. Identifying Potential Partnerships
& Securing Sponsorships

Event partnership has always been built solely on the basis of
sponsorships amount and entitlements:

• Identify partners with common grounds, so that event marketing effort
can be in sync

• Identify similar target audience segment, so that both parties can leverage
on each other’s pool to increase attendees participation

• Explore different marketing elements in the event that can help Sponsors
to increase their brand visibility. In return, these elements from
sponsoring door gifts to exhibition booths, can channel more revenue to
the event.

However, in recent years, ‘Collaborative’ partnership is what event
organizers should be developing with their potential sponsors as a long
term strategy:

• Share the event marketing timeline with your Sponsors, so that they can
incorporate it into their own marketing schedule to amplify the
registration as well.

• It should also encompass the event’s social media posting, which event
organizer should encourage partners & sponsors to share in their own
social media platform as well.

• Explore Out-of-the Box co-marketing opportunities that maximizes brand
visibilities for both parties across all platform.

• Consider partnering with a Non-Profit Organization as a CSR element for
your event, which offers a CSR publicity angle & coverage for your event,
which may help to stand out from other similar events or press coverage.

*Crystal Edge is proud to choose ‘RISE AGAINST
HUNGER’ movement as our official charity
organization. Ask us how you may include this
exciting CSR element into your conference or
events.

-7-

7. Determining Event Processes & Work Flow

Established a workflow of how to best organize and keep track of
all of your event information:

• Registration rate,
• Guests rooms take up rates
• Breakout rooms’ selections
• Off-site activities selection rate …etc.

Build a processes of how each workflow manages information,
updates and collects data. It is crucial to map out the processes so
that each working party or committee have the same expectation
of how the scope of work is being executed and the outcome
being reported on a regular basis.

*Over the past 23 years, Crystal Edge
has helped hundreds of organizations
plan their events with our end-to-end
project management services. We make
it easy to create events with our
seamless processes, online registration
and payment gateway, database
management, lead generation….etc.
Have a chat with us now!

MY EVENT

MY REPORT
-8-

8. Creating an Event Timeline

Creating a timeline is like a Master Plan for all parties involved to
be aware of the deadlines and milestones to achieve. It’s an
effective tool for work-in-progress follow up and reporting. It
should encompass all aspects of the event, including:

• Venue sourcing

(recommendations, availability, configuration, contracts …etc.)

• Logistics

(transportation, permits, contracts, move-in & move-out schedule …etc.)

• Speakers Management

(identifying, confirm speaking slot, requirements, briefing, travel
arrangements, rehearsal coordination …etc.)

• Program Management

(Emcee, foyer activities, performances, entertainment, CSR …etc.)

• Marketing & PR Content Creation

(event microsite, ATL & BTL advertising, social media marketing post and
boost Ads, program booklet production, press releases …etc.)

• Registration Management

(different categories sign-up rate, tracking, payment collection …etc.)

• Sponsors & Exhibitors Management

(Agreement & entitlement, Sponsors Kit,
exhibitors Manual, briefing, on-site
coordination …etc.

Event timeline should be updated
periodically and shared during work-
in-progress meetings to synchronize
the team that is in-charged of
different area of works.

-9-

9. Outlining the Scope to outsource to Professional
Event Organizer or Agency

One of the most important part of a successful event is the
speakers’ lineup and its content. Many conference owners are
limited by their resources when organizing the event themselves –
from manpower, time & expertise. Try to identify an internal core
team to focus and manage content creation, program
development & decision making; whilst consider outsourcing to a
Professional Event Organizer to manage partial scope or end-to-
end scope such as:

• Venue Management
• Creative Development
• Speakers Management
• Audio, video & lighting Consultation
• Production Management
• Demand Generation, Marketing & Publicity
• Registration & Payment Management
• Sponsors & Exhibition Management
• Entertainment Program & On-site Activities
• Premiums Sourcing & Event Merchandise Production
• Resource Management
• End-to-End Project Management

*Ask Crystal Edge to share about the benefits of engaging us as the event agency
that many of our clients has been experiencing.

- 10 -

10. Establishing the Post Event Analysis

Whether your event is a one-time event or annual conference, it
is highly recommended to have a post event analysis in place to
measure the success of the event. There are different ways of
measuring it:
• Number of registrants vs. actual turn up attendees
• Number of attendees in certain profile or industries
• Evaluation of speakers quality & their content
• Pre-payment collection vs. on-site collection
• Database creation (new database vs. old database)
• Marketing & PR exposure (number of FB likes, articles published …etc.)
These are just some indicators that allows you to measure &
evaluate the event overall engagement as well as the reach and
awareness of the event to your target audience.
The type of analysis report varies accordingly to how you want
to measure the ROI of your event and how to measure up
against the objective and goals that you have initially set at the
beginning when you start planning your event.

- 11 -

With these 10 steps outlined, we sincerely hope you can leverage on
them and start your way in planning a successful event in the near
future.
We look forward to an opportunity to be part of your success or to
collaborate with you in any ways. If you have further questions, feel
free to contact us at : [email protected]

Published by:
CRYSTAL EDGE SDN BHD
D3-U6-10, Solaris Dutamas, No.1, Jalan Dutamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel : +603.6205.3389

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