Your planning approach
An event plan is generally a single document. In some cases, it comprises a section for overall planning and a series of sections, each of which covers various kinds of activity or various sites. In a few cases, it can be covering document that integrates the requirements of the various aspects of project management.
EVAN will give you lots of guidance on the different kinds of issues and requirements that you might need to research for your event. The list below is a bird's eye view of most of the planning process. As you work through EVAN, you'll develop a full event plan that includes:
- A delegation and accountabiity structure
- Statement of the project objectives and outcomes
- A concept of what the event is and how it will work
- Activities, with timelines and schedules
- Indicators, milestones, or measures of progress
- A budget
- A list of resource requirements and a strategy for allocating resources
- A communication strategies
- A promotional strategy
- Merchandising (if applicable)
- A system to evaluate and monitor progress
- systems for recording and maintaining records, and
- Risk analysis and management
When it is written, you will need to communicate it in various forms:
- in technical form for specialist personnel
- in training form for services personnel
- in public relations form for non-experts
Hint
You will develop the plan and other documents in various drafts, so you always need to know that you are using the most up-to-date version. This is called "version-control." A simple system is good; write the date and time on each version.
Integrating the whole event
Define the big picture of your operating context. If you can see the whole, you will be better able to anticipate anything not covered in EVAN. That way you can fit the purpose, people, planning, implementation, and closure into a harmonious whole.
Even so, it is quite likely that some things will need to be done that you will not anticipate. Unless you have someone to whom you can delegate them, they are your job now matter how menial they are.
You will need to integrate and balance the overall event management functions of scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk and procurement. You will also need to track progress toward objectives.
Plan your planning
You should have checked the event's feasibility, written a basic event plan and budget before you agreed to take on the event. Have a reminder (Link opens new window.)
- What planning needs to be done:
- six months in advance?
- three months in advance?
- one month in advance?
- Will you meet with a planning team?
- If so, how often?
- Check people have done delegated tasks
- Handle problems
- Handle things that could fall between the cracks
- What kinds of team-building will you do?
- Who will check your plans?
- Do you need to analyze the impacts of your event, either as part of your preparation or as part of your review afterwards? Impacts may be:
- economic and tourism
- sociocultural
- environmental
- health (especially sports)
- public relations
Your stakeholders
For a complex event, you might soon lose track of all the different kinds of people and organizations with whom you are dealing. In that kind of situation, you need to deliberately identify your stakeholder groups:
Organizations:
- host organizations
- sponsors and prospective sponsors
- clients and prospective clients
- contractors/suppliers
- emergency services
- funding organizations
- regulatory authorities and government agencies
- media.
Staff and team members:
- artistic directors
- ushers
- greeters
- waitstaff
- food vendors
- registration desk staff
- contractors
- guides
- performers/athletes
- backstage staff
- roadies
- sound technicians
- lighting technicians
- sporting officials
- marshals
- drivers
- volunteers
- promoters
- agents
- interpreters
- paid employees
- interested parties
- organization members
- conference speakers
Participants:
- VIPs
- audience/spectators
- clients
- prospective clients
- sponsors
- prospective sponsors
Your stakeholders' contact details
The more complex the event, the more necessary it is to organize everybody's contact details. For most people you will need to have:
- Their full names
- Their official job titles
- Phone numbers: work, after hours, fax, mobile.
- Addresses: email, street, postal.
- Emergency contact details
For organizations, you will normally also need:
- official addresses
- names and contact details of official contact personnel
- details of communication protocols (e.g. if you need to be paid, will you need an authorized job number for each payment?)
- business registration numbers for tax purposes. (In Australia, it can be unadvisable to work with an organization with no ABN if there is a risk of incurring their GST tax.)
Establish the event's concept, theme, and format
You need to define the tone or theme of the event, and having some good, creative ideas is essential to most professional events.
Purpose
Start by looking at your brief and the purpose of the event. You need your message to be right on target. It might take some effort to help the client articulate the purpose; they don’t always know themselves. You don’t want to send a different message or offend some of those in attendance.
Does the client need advice?
The client might expect you to have good ideas to make the event successful. All trends have subtle changes, and you might be able to give advice on what is currently fashionable and what is not.
On the other hand, some clients have rigid ideas of exactly what they want, and some kinds of recurring events have a set format with little scope for creativity.
But at least you can make a good impression by getting the details and finishing touches right. It’s like a restaurant with excellent service; you don’t expect the waiter to do those extra little things for you, but you still appreciate them.
The WOW! factor
What kind of WOW! factor will they need? If they want a professional event, they probably want something that gives a strong, favorable impression.
Brainstorm
Work together to make a list of as many ideas as you can. Don't criticize them, just get more and more. Write them down.
Then let them settle for a while before you go back to them. Looked at in a fresh light, some won't be so good, but some will stimulate you to have even better ideas.
When you have a longer list, weed out the ideas that aren't so good and shortlist those that you will present to the client.
Consider the budget when you select ideas. Some really, really good ideas don’t cost much, but some will exceed your budget.
- Your client might be willing to spend more if your over-budget idea is worth the extra. You might have to prove in hard-nosed numbers that it's worth it.
- However, it might be unwise to suggest something too expensive to a very cost-sensitive client, who might just get someone else to manage the event instead of you.
Talk them through with the client
When have a list of good ideas, present them to the clients and talk them through. Most clients need some time to "get their head around" the more creative ideas that they couldn’t have foreseen, even if they are very good ideas. If they need to visualize what you plan to do, show pictures or sketches, or do a walkaround in the venue.
However, don’t be surprised if the client doesn’t choose the best idea on the list. In essence, it’s what the client wants that counts. Just put all the unused ideas into a folder for some other time.
Here's a checklist:
- What is the purpose of the event? What kind of effect do you want to have on people? What message will they take away? (It might be subconscious.)
- Develop an overall event concept, theme and format that reflects key objectives and meets the needs of the potential audience.
- How will the audience engage in the event?
- Consider both active and passive involvement.
- Passive: they feel involved even though they only see and listen.
- Active: They physically do something, not just see and hear. Give clear, simple, attractive instructions that invite them to do something.
- Consider all five senses.
- Consider especially the visuals.
- Use graphics and branding systematically.
- Use colour systematically.
- People sub-consciously notice red before other colours, so put a dash of red on the things you need people to notice first.
- People have a field of vision that is 180°, so consider the whole field of vision.
- Give it a sense of narrative in some way, such as progressing on a theme or telling a story.
- Incorporate creative elements into the event concept and theme.
- What will you name the event?
- Verify the operational practicality and cohesiveness of the concept, theme and format through analysing how it will work and consulting people.
- Develop a summary of key logistical requirements based on the overall concept, theme and format.
- Provide accurate and complete information on the concept, theme and format.
- Get approval from relevant stakeholders.
Develop systems and procedures
What procedures and systems will you will need for the event? As you go though EVAN, you'll identify the systems and procedures that you need for the event. If you don't already have them, you'll have to get them written down. They need to do an effective, efficient job of managing and administering each facet of the event.
The kinds of procedures and systems often include the following:
- Registrations and admission,
- Organizing committee,
- Health and safety,
- Risk assessment and contingencies,
- Stage management,
- General record keeping and reporting,
- Special needs of particular events,
- Communications with staff (e.g. walkie-talkie options, meetings etc.),
- Communicating with participants,
- Site management,
- Contractor communication protocols, e.g. main liaison person within a venue
- Crowd control,
- Dealing with suppliers,
- Newsletters,
- Cash management,
- Recording and processing results,
- Loss prevention,
- Food services.
When your team members have drafted them, discuss them with your colleagues and clients to check them, and check that you have allocated adequate resources to set up and monitor them. You might also need to get your supervisor's approval for them.
Hints
Sometimes the form is the procedure.
They need to be practical and useful for the size of the event. In many cases they will read like instructions of how to do something. People will ignore them if they get too long, complicated, or difficult to use.
They should be clear enough for someone else to take over easily in case key people fall sick.