Event Planning

About the Author

Laurence Carter has spent almost thirteen years in the airline industry. He changed careers and commenced teaching, and has been doing so for the past six years. He has taught a wide variety of subjects. Some of the areas in which he has lectured include Tourism Development, Marketing, Business Management, and Event Planning. He has used his work experiences and management training obtained from the University of the West Indies, to develop his teaching career. He has concentrated on training in Event Management, and has done so successfully in several Caribbean Islands.

His research interests encompass, Event Management, Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Development, Marketing and Business Management. He has been an independent consultant for several years. He thinks it is important that individuals, with academic and practical knowledge, should make an effort to write and publish books on their area of expertise. He has always wanted to write, and this book should be the first in a series of academic and fictional books that he hopes to publish in the next few years.

EVENT PLANNING

BY

LAURENCE CARTER

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

© 2008 Laurence Carter. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 11/19/2008

ISBN: 978-1-4343-4133-4 (sc)

ISBN: 9781467859363 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007907590

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Foreword

Introduction to Event Planning

Planning the Event

Business Planning for Events

Team Building

Venue Selection

Preparing for the Event

Finance for Events and Budgeting

Sponsorship

Event Resources

Event Restraints

Risk Assessment

Event Evaluation

Promotion

Advertising

Public Relations

The Internet

Personal Selling

Event Booths

Presentation Skills

Conclusion

Appendix 1

Foreword

I have been teaching Event Planning as part of the Cambridge International Exams, Diploma program for several years. My students have asked me on many occasions for help in providing them with reading material to assist with their studies. In order to meet this request, I started to offer them support documents which I prepared, that contained all of the relevant information they would need to aid them with their theoretical and practical course work. This greatly assisted students in their ability to fulfil the requirements of the Event Planning, Diploma program.

As time has passed I have decided to evolve my notes into this text. As I have used the information to teach, I believe that it more closely addresses some of the major issues, related to Event Planning, about which students need to have information and guidance. My desire is that readers, will come away with a greater understanding of what is required to plan an event and that this text will also be a catalyst to encourage individuals to attempt to undertake the staging of events. I also hope this will stimulate you to study this subject even more, if you are interested in developing your skills in the area of Event Management.

I have taught this subject to different groups of students in several Caribbean islands and it has always been important to emphasize to individuals the importance of effective planning and implementation, as being the central to staging successful events. I found it necessary to communicate to individuals that they need to understand many of the challenges of Event Planning, and to see these as opportunities for personal development and growth and not as hurdles, or problems that are hindrances in their lives. Students also where encouraged to appreciate the rewards that come from being successful at staging an event, and to use that as motivation, to take on the challenge of managing various types of events.

I have tried to keep everything as simple as possible, so as to make this text accessible to all those who have an interest in Event Management. As you try your hand at different types of events, your experiences will start to make it easier for you to take on different and new challenges. In the long run, Event Planning has the potential to become a fulfilling and rewarding activity for those of you that are willing to take the time, to learn the profession.

Laurence Carter

Introduction to Event Planning

black.jpg     What is an Event?

black.jpg     What is Event Planning?

black.jpg     What are the key skills for success?

black.jpg     Is Event Planning for you?

Event Planning Basics

What is an Event?

An event is any gathering of people for a specific purpose. Events can be of various forms and can be undertaken for a variety of reasons. Because of this, there is a need for different levels of planning activity and preparation, by event organisers, dependent on what type of event is being contemplated. They are many types of events that are organised and these can be on a small or large scale; be one time events or repetitive activities that occur daily, weekly, monthly or once a year.

Some types of events:

black.jpg     Corporate meetings

black.jpg     Seminars and workshops

black.jpg     Luncheons, receptions, weddings

black.jpg     Award ceremonies

black.jpg     Product launches, trade exhibitions

black.jpg     Entertainment and sporting events

black.jpg     Special events – e.g. Olympic games

When you look at, the above list of events it should be evident that the goals and objectives of these activities will be different. A corporate meeting for example, will have as its main focus, the creation of an atmosphere where the business that has to be discussed and conducted can be done, in an efficient and cost effective manner. A wedding will of course be organised to give maximum satisfaction to the Bride and Groom, given the budget they have allocated for the event. An entertainment event such as a concert would have as its goal, entertaining patrons as well as making money for the organisers. Sporting events can be organised to make money, satisfy fans, and to promote the location where the event is taking place.

Therefore it is clear that they can be many types of events, and that the reasons for holding an event can vary. This helps us understand that different goals will be set by event organisers, for the staging of different types of activity. This is important as it directs the event planner as to how to focus on the best way to set objectives, to plan and manage an event.

For example, if it is an award dinner, the goal will be on creating a glamorous atmosphere in which guests and especially award winners will feel appropriately satisfied with the occasion that was created by the event organisers, to honour them for their achievements. With this in mind, the event planners would then set objectives that form the basis of plans, which would lead to the realization of this goal. In such a situation, where the event will have a budgeted cost, the objectives would be decided on, in terms of room design, ambiance, dinning facilities, menu, presenters etc…, to produce the required atmosphere, given the funds allocated to the activity. This would lead to development of plans that would make the desired goal of a glamorous award dinner a reality.

Contrast this to an entertainment event which will invariably have as one of its major goals, the making of a profit by the organisers, while entertaining patrons. The objectives and plans that are created to manage this event should reflect those goals – making a profit and entertaining event attendees. Therefore the focus of activities will be different as they has to be good cost management, and creative thinking to find ways to maximize revenue, from entrance fees, concessions, bar sales, food sales etc… Organisers must entertain the attendees, while at the same time keeping costs down so as to make an acceptable level of profit.

So for an event organiser, the objectives of the event, which reflect the goals that have been set, to ensure success for the event, are an important consideration in their planning for the activities.

Some other reasons to hold events include:

black.jpg     To increase awareness of a product, service or place. The focus here will be to enhance the public awareness of a product, service or place being promoted by the event. A boutique for example, may stage a public fashion show, to promote its product line and raise its public image. The goal would be to enhance its overall profitability by raising the level of public awareness of the store and its products. The fashion show in itself would not necessarily be a money making affair, but would achieve its goal by generating publicity for the company, which would then go a long way in improving the boutique’s overall profit expectations.

black.jpg     Need to increase the awareness of the services of an organisation – where the individual services that an organisation has to offer are highlighted by events designed to promote to the general public the availability of such services.

black.jpg     Presenting a favorable image of a:

1.    Product

2.    Place

3.    Service

4.    Organisation

Events can be used for image building purposes as well so as to reinforce the corporate image as perceived by the public of a product, place, service or organisation.

black.jpg     To increase the sales and profitability of a product or place as events can be used to generate extra revenue for organisations.

black.jpg     To provide benefits to other organisations and individuals, who can profit from the activities that surround staged events. For example, government may organise and stage a craft fair at its expense, so that individuals and groups can benefit from the activities surrounding the craft fair.

black.jpg     To provide benefits to communities, whether these benefits are social or financial, that would come from the staging of events. For example, Government councils may organise sporting activities in a community, so that residents can benefit financially, and gain from any social improvements that could take place in the community due to the staging of the event.

As indicated before, they are many legitimate reasons for holding events. The reasoning behind the holding of the event will then need to be reflected in the goals, objectives and plans, which are set for the event. Goals need to be decided on for the event so that planners will know the focus and direction that the event has to take so as to make it successful. Success will in large part be a reflection of what the objectives and plans where for the event, and how successfully they where implemented.

Effective implementation of event plans is important as it makes no sense having the best plans in the world and poor execution of them by event organisers. Part of the learning process for event planners is developing their ability to get things done, so as to ensure that the plans they would have put in place for an event, are carried out in an effective manner.

What is Event Planning?

Event planning is a process that must be undertaken to ensure that the event, which has been decided on, is adequately conceptualized and planned for, and takes you through all the areas and activities that have to be planned, managed and executed to ensure that this is achieved. It is a process that starts with the conceptualization of the event and continues on through the planning phases where the ideas are formalized into action plans. These plans then have to be executed to ensure the successful staging of the event. This process is integral to effective Event management.

There are several aspects to planning for an event such as:

black.jpg     Conceptualizing themes and ideas for the event – developing the ideas and themes that will guide the direction and planning for the event.

black.jpg     Setting goals and objectives for the event – outlining the goals and objectives that will give focus as to how the event