EVENT

MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
CHAPTER FOUR EVENT
EVENT MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

• Planning: A cross-functional team is organized to address the

complexity in decision-making involved and the requirement for various
event activities.
• Gathering information on client profile, the brief for the event, the target
audience and number expected, venue requirement etc to be used for
event budget preparation.
• understanding the requirements of licenses, clearances, etc. and arranging
for the same as and when required is a fundamentally responsible task that
the event coordinator is burdened with.
EVENT FUNCTIONS…

• Organizing: These events typically have a team based work environment

and a project type of organization structure and that responsibility are
assigned to the relevant staff members in the team for the event.
• Coordination of the arrangements required is divided among the team
members
• The process also involve a clear delineation of authorities and delegation of
authority. Such an exercise helps in creating an intentional structure for clarity
of roles and positions.
FUNCTIONS ...

• Staffing: The importance of team structure, experience, background

and expertise of team members plays a crucial role in event
management.
• candidates with a past background in the hospitality industry, sales and
advertising would be ideally suited to tackle the stress and uncertain
situations
• A host of skilled and unskilled volunteers and labour staff need to be
guided effectively.
• The overall coordinator is the person in-charge of a particular event.
FUNCTIONS …

• Leading and Coordination: The sum and substance of events as a

whole revolves around interpersonal skills.
• The overall coordinators need to be managers with fantastic people skills.
• They are continually required to motivate the staff and other junior
coordinators to work real hard given the physical nature of the job, the time
constraints involved and the one-off nature of the event.
• Communication skill and patience without letting too many errors happen
as well as knowing how to use the carrot and the stick in a balanced
manner are the basic characteristics of the overall coordinator.
FUNCTIONS…

• Controlling: Evaluation and correction of deviations in the event plans to

ensure conformity with original plans is the gist of controlling.
• Evaluation is an activity that seeks to understand and measure the extent to
which an event has succeeded in achieving its purpose.
• There can be two approaches with which evaluation can be put in its proper
perspective.
• The concept of evaluation critical examination digging out what went wrong.
• A more constructive focus for evaluation is to make recommendations about how an
event might be improved to achieve its aims more effectively.
EVENT PLANNING

• Event Planning is a process of creating, communicating and

implementing a more operational roadmap to guide the actions,
policies and decision-making.
• It provides a roadmap to guide actions and is continually modified as
conditions change and new opportunities or threats emerge.
• It is the document which lays out the resulting directions, actions and
implementation schedule.
BENEFITS OF EVENT PLANNING

• To provide logic and justification for prioritizing different tasks and

decisions over others.
• To systematically define tasks, logic, roles and responsibilities, strategic
alignments (internally and externally), timetables, and budgets.
• To provide an opportunity for key players such as boards, staff,
stakeholders, and partners to be consulted when setting key objectives
and methods.
• To provide frameworks for developing strategies related to manpower
management, marketing, competitor analysis and stakeholders.
FORCES AFFECTING EVENT PLANNING
ENVIRONMENT …(PESTLE)

• (P)olitical: The extent to which a government may influence the

economy and thereby impact organizations within a certain industry.
This includes government policy, political stability, and trade and tax
policy.
• (E)conomic: How economic conditions shift supply and demand to
directly affect a company. This includes economic growth or decline,
and changes in interest and inflation rates.
• (S)ocial: Changes in the socio-cultural market environment that
illustrate customer needs and wants. This includes emerging trends,
population analytics, and demographics
ENVIRONMENT …(PESTLE)

• (T)echnological: How innovation and development evolve a market or

industry. This includes automation, technology awareness and adoption rates,
and new services or products.
• (E)nvironmental: The ecological and environmental aspects that affect a
company‘s operations or consumer demand. This includes access to renewable
resources, weather or climate changes, and corporate responsibility initiatives.
• (L)egal: The current legal allowances or requirements within countries or
territories in which an organization operates. This includes health and safety
requirements, labour laws, and consumer protection laws.
STEPS IN EVENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

1. The first thing to consider when starting the creation of a special event is the
people who will be involved.
• New team or already stablished group
• Event type - Will the event be cultural, leisure, personal, or organizational, and will
the organization be volunteer or professional, or both?
2. Secondly, they need to invent ideas for the event.
• The concept or theme of the event capturing the event purpose
3. Thirdly, a feasibility-screen of the ideas needs to be conducted.
• Who will organize, attend, watch, participate in, and pay for the event is considered.
• Understanding of marketing, operational and financial aspects
 EVENT LOGISTICS AND BUDGET

• Event planning requires to list down all possible logistics requirements

to forecast the necessary budget.
• Staff and attendees expenses ( allowances , wages etc)
• Marketing expenses (design fees, printing, postage, etc.)
• Transportation
• Venue
• Guest accommodations (if applicable)
• Food and beverage
LOGISTICS …

• Entertainment and recreation

• Audiovisual equipment and production cost
• Security (Police) etc.
• Special needs (interpreters, etc.)
• Taxes and gratuities, service charges, etc.
• Contingency fund for unanticipated, last minute expenses
 EVENT TEAM
• Event management involves forming various committees to take care of:
• Venue, logistics & catering management (selection, contracts, permits,
insurance, etc.)
• Guest management (invitations, RSVPs, greeters, registration, seating
• arrangements, etc.)
• Speakers/presenters (selecting, confirming, logistics, management, etc.)
• Activities/entertainment
• Publicity/promotion (Web presence, events calendars, printed programs,
media relations, signage, social media, etc.)
• Sponsor/partner management
EVENT VENUE

• When deciding the event venue the following should be considered:

• Availability on the event date
• Alignment with the event theme and story
• Anticipated size of the event and expected visitors
• Accessibility for participants and parking space
• Access to infrastructure - power, water, communications, safety , etc
• Activities suitability for Indoor versus outdoor required functions
 RISK MANAGEMENT

• Is the logical and systematic process of eliminating or minimizing the adverse

impact of activities which may give rise to dangerous or damaging situations.
Including :

• Physical risks involve injuries to people or the damage or destruction of property.

• Financial risks could include increased insurance premiums, cost overruns or costs
associated with injuries.
• Moral or ethical risks involve the loss of quality of participant experience and
confidence, adverse publicity and damage to an organization or event's image or
reputation.
• Legal risks are losses and costs arising from legal actions for breach of a law, standard
or guideline or breaches or statutory duty of care.
 EVENT PLANNING TIMELINE
• High-Level Planning: Six Months Ahead of Event

• Establish event objectives

• Recruit event committee, solicit Trustee representative,
select event manager or chair, and establish sub-
committee chairs
• Select date
• Identify venue and negotiate details
• Develop event master plan and set theme for the event •
Get cost estimates (e.g., room rental, food & beverage,
equipment, speaker fees, travel, etc.) and create a budget
SIX MONTHS AHEAD

• Create communications plan (ensure staff and/or

volunteers are identified to manage specific tasks – e.g.,
media relations, VIP coordination, printed material design
and printing coordination, online /social media, etc.)
• Identify and confirm speakers/presenters/entertainers
• Determine sponsorship levels/amounts
• Identify and contact potential sponsors/partners
 FOUR MONTHS AHEAD
• Determine VIPs and create RSVP tracking document
(e.g., spreadsheet)
• Speaker/Presenter Liaison:
• Finalize presentation/speech topics
• Request bio information, photo of presenters
• Make travel and accommodation arrangements
• Have Legal review contracts, obtain signatures as
appropriate, etc.
• Make or facilitate the hotel bookings of the participants
FOUR MONTHS AHEAD, VENUE AND
LOGISTICS
• Investigate need for any special permits, licenses, insurance, etc.
• Make bookings for venue and necessary travel and transportations
• Determine and arrange all details regarding menu, A/V equipment,
facilities, parking, signage, etc.
• Review security needs/plan for the event with venue manager
Communications Plan
• Request logos from corporate sponsors for online and printed
materials o Develop draft program
FOUR MONTHS AHEAD LOGISTICS …

• Create draft event script (e.g., MC, speaker introductions, thanks,

closing, etc.)
• Develop media list and prepare media alert/release, backgrounder,
and media kit materials (e.g., speaker info, photos, etc.)
• Create event page on Web site
• Create social media accounts/pages as needed o Consider developing
a promotional video for YouTube and Facebook page
• Register your event on a variety of online event calendars ex.
[Link]
 TWO WEEKS AHEAD
• Schedule a meeting for all committee chairs to confirm all details against
Master Plan – and ensure back-up plans are developed for any situation
• (e.g., plans for bad weather, back-up volunteers as VIP greeters, additional
volunteers for registration or set-up, etc.)
• Finalize event script •
• Brief any/all hosts, greeters, volunteers about their event duties and timelines
• Final seating plan, VIP place cards, etc.
• Ensure that all Trustees that will be in attendance are included in stage seating
or in front row reserved seating, as appropriate.
• Provide final RSVP numbers to caterer
• Make print and online copies of any speeches, videos, presentations, etc.
ONE DAY AHEAD

• Confirm media attending

• Ensure all signage is in place
• Ensure registration and media tables are prepared and
stocked with necessary items (e.g., blank name badges,
paper, pens, tape, stapler, etc.)
• Ensure all promotional items, gifts, plaques, trophies, etc.
are on-site.
EVENT DAY

• Appoint someone to arrive early to attend to important event details

• Ensure you have copies of all instructions, directions, phone numbers,
keys, extra parking permits for VIP guests, seating charts and guest
lists with you
• Check-in with each Committee Chair to ensure their team is on track
• Bring water for speakers • Bring an emergency kit (Kleenex, Band-Aids,
safety pins, etc.)
 POST EVENT

• Conduct a Post-Event Survey – to learn what people enjoyed about your event,
and where you have room to improve
• Conduct a post-event meeting and thorough evaluation of objectives vs.
outcomes
• Gather all receipts, documentation, final attendance data, donations, etc. and
update budget
• Implement post-publicity plan – thank attendees for participating and promote
your ongoing programs and how they can support you throughout the year by
joining, volunteering or making a sustaining donation.
• Send thank-you letters to: o Sponsors o Volunteers o Speakers/presenters o
Donors o Media In your thank-you notes, be sure to remind the recipients of
the event‘s success
CLOSE-DOWN, EVALUATION, AND
LEGACY
• Involves physical and administrative aspects.
• The physical close-down will involve the taking apart and removing of the
equipment
• The administrative side of the close-down will involve filing, completion of
accounts and paying bills, and collecting feedback.
• The administrative side of the close-down will involve picking up comments
and noting down verbal feedback, but also the settling of accounts and
bills, acquittal of contracts, along with an evaluation of how contractors and
suppliers have done their job.
• The outcome will show the successfulness, in financial terms especially.
 EVENT EVALUATION TECHNIQUES
• Conducting surveys or providing feedback forms during and after the event to gauge
attendee satisfaction.
• Evaluating your success against the aims and objectives you identified at the
beginning of the event planning process.
• Conduct SWOT Analysis Strengths of the event may include:
• Strong attendance numbers
• Wide range of food and beverages available
• Satisfaction with entertainers
• Ten new members recruited as a result of event

• Some examples of event weaknesses are:

• Too few volunteers
• Limited media coverage
• Expenditure exceeding income
SWOT…

• Opportunities for improvement could include:

• Increasing attendance at future events
• Obtaining more sponsorship assistance
• Continuing future events into the evening to attract a wider range of attendees

• Future threats might include:

• Event disruptions due to inclement weather
• Loss of key organizing personnel, leading to a lack of direction for future events
• Inability to cover event costs due to limited income