TECH MAG JULY 2012 1.1
MAGAZINE
HOW LONDON 2012 WILL CHANGE THE EVENT INDUSTRY
Why It’s A Great Time To Become An Event Planner What The Future’ s Got In Store TITLE HERE ISO 20121 – Why You’d
Better Embrace It
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news, education and resources for the event planning industry
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Table Of Contents Cover Story How London 2012 Is Set to Redefine the Event Industry Can The Brits Deliver Olympic Gold? By Nigel Evans CSEP
Why There's Never Been A Better Time To Become An Event Planner The stars are aligning like never before….
Why We're Seeing Fundamental Change In The World Of Event Planning …and why this will present new and exciting opportunities
Latest News What’s hot off the presses
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Table Of Contents Say Hello To ISO 20121 Why Sustainability Must Be The New Normal For The Event Planner
15 Sources for Event Management Intelligence Master Face to Face Marketing with guest columnist Elish Bull
The Future Looks Brite For This Emerging Star Yet more online tools for the event marketer
Academy Education – part 1 Learn about goals and objectives and the importance of budgets
Academy Education – part 2 Learn how to deal with PR and Media and address the issue of transportation
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Welcome
By Nigel Evans, CSEP, Founder of the Event Planning Academy �The event planning industry is estimated to be worth somewhere in the region of $500 billion per year. It's a growing, thriving, dynamic, whirlwind of an industry where creativity, ingenuity and imagination come together in equal measure. It's an industry where people invariably start off with a clean sheet of paper and come up with some of the most amazing and inspiring events, designed for individuals, clubs, groups, organizations or corporations. As human beings we inherently love the concept of an event. We love to get together and celebrate with each other for so many different reasons and as this is something that is within our very being, we are never likely to see a downturn in the growth and progression of the event planning industry. Yet as it is such a dynamic and ever changing business there is always something new to learn. For those who are just starting out and who may feel inspired by the thought of becoming an event planner there's a lot to learn. For those who are already in the industry it's important to keep up with innovations and developments. For those who may be thinking about starting their own business as an event planner it's important to go about this the right way. These are the reasons why the Event Planning Academy was created by industry veterans, who are committed to giving back to an industry that they love so much. The Event Planning Academy Magazine will be a regular feature on the iPad newsstand and we look forward to bringing you all that's new and good about this business, while also providing you with links and resources to educational and informative material, designed to help you understand and engage in this fantastic industry.�
Lead Story - The Olympics
London Prepares An Olympic Games is an Event Planning MegaChallenge
How London 2012 Is Set to Redefine the Event Industry Can The Brits Deliver Olympic Gold? BY Nigel Evans, CSEP In the event industry few events come close in terms of scale, interest and media participation in comparison to the Olympic Games. As London 2012 unfolds before us we are likely to see the most-watched event in history, especially bearing in mind where we are today in terms of cable coverage and online connectivity. Roger Mosey, director of coverage for the BBC in London estimates that "the London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to be the biggest sporting event in the UK in our lifetimes." In addition to wall-to-wall coverage on the terrestrial channels provided by the BBC – One, Two, Three, HD and One HD, there will be up to 24 live HD streams online and more than 2,500 hours of coverage by the BBC for your Web-enabled device or computer.
Yet as impressive as this may sound it may even be usurped by plans to cover the Olympics on the other side of the pond. NBC, the US station that has the rights to broadcast the spectacular, is planning more than 5,000 hours of coverage, on television and online. On TV expect to see 270 hours spread throughout the day with a focus on primetime coverage. In a nod to the increasing importance of online coverage, the station will for the first time be hosting live coverage on the Internet, with a range of follow-up programs on terrestrial TV during the primetime hours. There is no doubt that we are seeing a change in the way that people consume their information and education. While at one time we would all rely on radio and subsequently television for such information and entertainment, we are increasingly demanding quick and ready access on our own terms and at times of our choosing.
“Biggest Sporting Event…In Our Lifetimes”
As streaming online entertainment is now perfectly acceptable in terms of quality and commonplace, those who are in charge of conventional television stations understandably have to adjust to the times, or start to suffer considerably in the ratings.
The 2012 Olympic Games is likely to be one of the most "watched" events in history, both from the point of view of the actual sporting events themselves and in terms of how the industry itself is acclimatizing to "new media." Event organizers will be able to take a lot of value away from the way that the marquee media outlets are handling coverage of this event. Due to the marked difference in cost in relation to generating coverage for online consumption versus terrestrial cable television, there will be increasing potential and capability for dedicated, even live coverage of some of our other events going forward. Of course when it comes to the Olympics we are talking about a massive commitment, one that is only feasible in economic and logistical terms if it is backed by the government of the host country. Remember that the committee responsible for the London 2012 Games had to be hard at work from the time that the bid was initially won in 2005, just to complete the construction of the various sites on time by 2011. Here we're seeing the case of a massive special event with considerable potential to rejuvenate areas that were once seen as in need of regeneration. A sizable area of East London has been completely transformed, but once the event is finished the infrastructure will remain and will be of benefit to the people who live in that area for decades to come.
According to the London 2012 site, "throughout the construction program and planning for the games themselves we've been thinking about tomorrow: our aim is for the games to leave an amazing legacy – for the games to be remembered not only as a summer of fantastic sport, but as the catalyst for regeneration of the most underdeveloped areas of the UK." Organizers go on to say that they feel that they have "raised the bar" for the construction industry and for the future of large-scale events. They have also been particularly focused on sustainability and environmental concerns. The scale of preparation needed to put together the series of events that compromise an Olympic Games is mind blowing. For example more than 200,000 seats needed to be installed in and around venues such as the Olympic Park, enough toilets to service the population of Malta and enough marquees and tents to cover the whole of Hong Kong. All of the overlay, equipment and material needed to be hired in as part of a logistical exercise that the majority of event organizers would undoubtedly find to be extremely challenging. Due to the fact that many of the games are scheduled to take place in venues that are by themselves popular and highly visited tourist locations an additional element of availability was added to the equation. For example, organizers would only have five weeks to erect a huge arena at Horse Guards Parade, due to the fact that there were two other major events at either end of that time window. Of course the question on many people's lips is exactly how London 2012 will live up to the considerable standard in terms of presentation and unquantifiable “wow factor" laid down by Beijing in 2008. The opening ceremony dreamed up and presented by the Chinese at the Beijing Games was truly one of the most spectacular ever and there is undoubtedly a lot to live up to here. The opening ceremony in London will focus on the heritage of the nation, including bucolic scenes of rolling farmland, cows and sheep. In all honesty it doesn't sound particularly inspiring on the face of it, but a lot can be lost in the translation. The British have got a flair for event organization. Indeed, many would say that events such as the recent Royal Wedding and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee are indications of the way that the British can put on an event with a degree of pomp and ceremony that nobody else can match. It's little wonder therefore that this year's Olympics is one of the most anticipated major sporting events of all time.
In the event industry few activities have as much potential for showcasing exactly what the industry can deliver as an Olympic Games. As such the event represents a cauldron for innovation and we will undoubtedly witness a wealth of new technology and ideas in action. As we previously mentioned media exposure is likely to be broader and more inclusive than ever before and the overall audience will undoubtedly be the largest for any event of all time. Whether you are a sporting aficionado or simply someone who is a fan of spectacular events of any kind, the London 2012 Olympic Games will undoubtedly be something that you will remember for the rest of your life.
BY Nigel Evans, CSEP Nigel has lived and worked in London and appreciates the challenge faced by the Olympic hosts‌
Why There's Never Been A Better Time To Become An Event Planner
BY Charles Avery
There's little doubt that we are entering a brand-new era in terms of the way that knowledge and expertise is communicated. The old model just doesn't seem to be quite as relevant anymore. It seems that more and more people are coming to terms with the reality that the knowledge that they amassed in school and onward into higher education is not always of true value to them in the real world. Certainly, through our earlier phases of learning up to and including high school or secondary school much of the information taught to us can be considered to be marginally beneficial, at best. We are not really taught "life skills," how to deal with monetary issues, how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, how to fend for yourself in the world of business. There is still no real focus on trying to find out exactly what the individual is likely to be best suited at in terms of skill set or aspiration, looking far into the future. Yet within each one of us is an expert in one or more subjects just waiting to get out into the world and to provide value to others.
In their work Generations -mentioned elsewhere in this publication - and The Fourth Turning, Strauss and Howe maintain that society goes through a series of 40 year phases, a phenomenon that they have studied going back to the 16th century. Essentially, we are either focused on the individual or focused on others, in terms of the way that we engage. During an era where focus is generally on the individual, life seems to be about "me, me, me," building individual fortunes and worshiping the almighty dollar. During an era where focus is more civic oriented, we are much more interested in how we can contribute to society and help others push themselves and better their overall life styles. In 2003 the latest era – focused on civic contribution - commenced and we are now moving into the "meat" of that era. If we follow this philosophy this means that any effort that we make as entrepreneurs should be more focused on teaching, educating and helping others and this is certainly the direction that any "expert in waiting" must take as they seek to move forward.
“… How up-to-date or how relevant is the information that is being taught in colleges and universities today? … ”
Our ability to communicate is unrivaled. It's infinitely possible to create a purposeful website, to engage in all forms of social media activity, to use the power of video marketing and to spread an individual message to a growing tribe of interested individuals.
People can search and find information relevant to their wants and needs readily, but there is an increasing desire to find information that is specifically tailored to help with a specific situation, rather than having to dig through the plethora of individual web pages available on the Internet. How up-to-date or how relevant is the information that is being taught in colleges and universities today? Due to the way that these institutions are configured and run it takes a lot of time to develop a specific curriculum, to engage teachers and other staff members and put together a course that is likely to be of "best value" to those who are scheduled to enroll during the next semester. It's simply not feasible for these institutions to change course and to update the information that they are teaching at very short notice, even though this is certainly what they should be trying to do. Take whatever subject you want and consider how quickly the relevant subject matter can become out of date due to advances, breakthroughs, opinions, work in progress. It is highly likely that the information being taught in the classroom six months from now, based as it is on research gathered today, will be out of date to a large degree.
Societal change and the meteoric growth of the web reshapes our world
Another sizable problem inherent in our educational system is the sheer cost involved in trying to pay for a four year degree. Thousands of people are getting into debt each year as they take on this burden and many people are unable to shake off the negative aftereffects for decades thereafter. Are they really confident that what they get at the end of their adventure is going to be valid, valuable and bankable in the real world? The "great recession" taught us that there was no such thing as the job of a lifetime anymore. Job security and stability are two essential elements for the working man or woman, but can anyone really rely on them anymore in this bold new world? It's little wonder that people are deciding to change course mid life and turning to the world of the entrepreneur. They are thinking long and hard about some of the skills that they may have picked up during their life so far and how they may be able to turn this to their advantage by providing a product or service to an eager market. If we take all this into consideration collectively we can see why there's never been a better time for people to consider how they could position themselves as an expert in their own particular area of interest. They could become the trusted authority in their niche and help others, in turn, to better their own situations. Yet many people simply do not know how to go about this. Where do they start? The first thing to do is to look back all the way to childhood and consider just what you were good at in school. Were you put in charge of a particular project or committee due to the fact that you were "good at that?"
Did you find that you enjoyed a particular activity and would always look forward to participating? It's important to look through life chronologically from those early days up until the recent past. Almost every one of us has a flair for something, or has amassed a lot of experience and knowledge that could be turned to advantage now. In this case you might feel as if you were good at organizing things. You may have been nominated to organize the local school play, or were put in charge of organizing some sporting activities in college. You may be the one who all your friends turn to whenever it's time to plan a getaway or a vacation/holiday. You simply have a knack for that and this is why you ought to consider becoming an event organizer, professionally, especially in the current environment. To become an event planner you do not need any college degree or formal qualification. What you do need is a clear understanding of what it's going to take to succeed - first-class organizational ability, stamina and a proven ability to work well with people. You need to be motivational, don't mind working long hours or weekends and have a tremendous amount of tenacity. You can start your own business as an event planner, or gather together the relevant knowledge and education to enable you to work for an established organization in the field. If you can show that you have the personal attributes and the right work ethic, it's possible to get a very solid education online in your spare time, in not only the intricacies of the event management world, but also the skills of setting up and operating your own business as an entrepreneur. Make no mistake, the way that business is conducted is changing – and changing significantly. It is likely that we will become far more focused in terms of how we gather information, knowledge and education that is going to be of value to us. Just because you may be passed the traditional "learning" phase in your life as dictated by convention, it does not mean that you cannot completely refocus your objective, as many hundreds of thousands of other people are learning to their advantage today. We are in an era where to be successful we need to be seen to be giving back to others and to be contributing to society. By becoming an expert event planner and positioning yourself strategically and carefully you can provide a stable future for yourself by focusing on something that you have a knack for doing. You can give back to the community by focusing on your expert ability, while providing a valuable service. For further information about specific education and resources for aspiring event planners and those who would seek to become experts in the world of event management, get in touch with The Event Planning Academy.
When Your Event Needs To Be The Winner, As Well
worldwide event promotion www.eventdesignscompany.com
Why We're Seeing Fundamental Change In The World Of Event Planning
Change Be prepared for a completely new way of thinking
The Future Why Generational Theory and Social Relevance May Be Involved BY Corey J Morgan Have you ever heard someone refer to a brand-new solution, service, product or situation by proudly or defiantly stating that "this isn't your grandfather's (insert variable)?" When I was doing some research for this article I did a quick scan through Google and sure enough there were literally dozens of hyperlinks pointing to headlines, linking that declaration to subjects as diverse as a closet, a shotgun, an Epic 4G Touch, motor oil, the national debt, the constitution, a helicopter, even an interferometer – whatever that is. Why do I bring this up? Well in relation to the event planning industry things have changed so much that we can forget all about grandpa and say that this isn't even your father's event planning industry any more.
Anyone actively involved in event planning who has the level of passion and interest necessary to succeed in the future knows that it's time to embrace widespread and comprehensive change. While there has been a steady progression toward evolution in the industry over the last decade the pace of change has accelerated significantly in recent times due to a variety of converging, if not always, complementary reasons. William Strauss and Neil Howe wrote the book Generations. The book seeks to recall the history of the United States dating back to 1584 and maintains that we go through a series of generational cycles, including four distinct types of cultural and societal awareness that essentially wax and wane, like clockwork, through the years. Essentially they posit that there are 40 year cycles where we, as a nation of people, transition from being entirely focused on idealism to the polar opposite, being entirely focused on a civic society, the need to care about others, to give back to community. Since 2003 according to this philosophy we are transitioning back into a civic society from an era that was most definitely focused on being self-centered and mostly concerned with individualism and self expression.
“The "great recession" marked a turning point for all of us…”
The work of Strauss and Howe has been seen as eye-opening and revealing by many, as controversial by others. Nevertheless it's an interesting read and we can certainly see some correlations when we look at the way that society has changed and is undoubtedly changing before our very eyes.
The "great recession" marked a turning point for all of us in ways that were far more deeply rooted than simply an economic wake-up call. Many segments of the population turned away from the concept that bigger is always better and that any solution or business strategy is okay so long as you turn a profit at the end of the day. We're seeing a far more community minded populace, with a focus on how we can help others and collectively build a far more socially oriented future, without many of the excesses that contributed to the financial cataclysm. So, how does this affect the event planning industry and the future of the special event going forward? These fundamental changes in the way that we view commerce and business in relation to its effect on culture and society have occurred at a time when we have all learned to become far more connected with each other anyway. The social media revolution developed at the same time as we all rebooted our computers in the world of business and finance. Maybe it's simply a coincidence that Facebook launched during the winter of 2003, at the same time as the Strauss – Howe generational theory ushered in a brand-new, civic oriented phase.
Dawn of a New Era We've become very civic minded and have taken an interest in the lives of so many people with whom we had previously completely lost touch. While Facebook has been largely responsible for this massive shift in social understanding, social media in general has grown to become an essential part of our daily lives. Advances in technology mean that it is now rather easy for each one of us to have a voice in the world, to create a website or blog of some kind. This sense of freedom is empowering and should not be underestimated in the world of business and commerce generally and in the event planning industry specifically. Within less than five years it is estimated that more people will be using mobile devices to keep in touch and to access the Internet than will be using desktop devices. By that time millions of people around the world will have become connected to the Internet for the very first time, opening up an amazing array of possibilities and opportunities and unleashing the power and potential of so many more fascinating and contributory individuals. Remember that the event industry is entirely based around one very important and fundamental human requirement – the need to gather together and experience. This fundamental need has been evident since the dawn of civilization and in the event planning industry we have provided many new and innovative solutions over the generations to help facilitate this. Yet while the industry has grown and developed and evolved as times have changed and people's needs have become better defined and more advanced, many of our events are still based on providing one solution for a multitude of attendees. In many respects these events have been based on a one size doesn't fit all scenario, where the very specific needs of an individual attendee have not necessarily been front and center.
Just consider how informed, well-educated and connected we are today and how this trend is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. Some people like to say that social media is simply a fad, but now that we have all become so much more empowered by this level of connectivity we are hardly likely to let go of the reins. Certainly, Facebook may well be replaced by some other solution but we are still going to strive to connect both socially and professionally with a significantly wider array of individuals and organizations than we ever did before, during our grandfather’s day or even our father's day. It's easy for us all to render our opinion – whether good or bad – about any aspect of our life, instantaneously. We can tweet or post and wash any organization's dirty linen in public within a matter of seconds. This is a situation that every commercial organization must face and indeed embrace and certainly a situation that the event planning industry has to adopt as well. Look at this from a positive perspective. As event planners we have the ability to crowd source like never before, to gather information and feedback. We can learn very quickly whether a certain event was successful or not and get feedback from the horse’s mouth to tell us what we need to do to improve. As an industry we collectively need to embrace the need to consider individualism as we design and organize our events. For example a conference or convention is likely to be an arena where two-way interaction is fundamental. No longer should an event be focused on the delivery of information or education in one direction, but rather a far more democratic and engaged event where everybody learns from everybody else. People will take away a lot more from this type of dynamic event environment, will be able to interact with a far greater number of attendees, make more contacts and widen their individual sphere of influence. When attendees feel that they have personally contributed to the success of an event this creates a powerful additional need to attend such events in the future and creates an amazing level of opportunity for the entire event planning industry.
The future is bright, so long as people within the industry embrace the fact that the world has indeed changed.
BY Corey J Morgan Corey has always been something of a visionary in the events biz. How do you see the future panning out?
NEWS
Future of Mobile Apps
Focusing on Mobile Apps In The Events Market Supplier of leading online event marketing and management solutions Cvent seems to be on the acquisition trail. The organization recently acquired a company called Crowd Compass, which specializes in making apps for events that allow attendees to make the most productive use of their time. This buy-up follows closely on the heels of a separate acquisition, once again a multimillion dollar deal, where Cvent acquired Seed Labs, another company specializing in mobile applications within the event world. So many people are coming to rely more and more on their handheld device for communication and productivity and there's little doubt that the mobile revolution is having a profound effect on the structure and format of events of all type. Attendees can now become far more engaged with the theme and purpose of the event by interacting through their mobile device. As such we're starting to see some very powerful apps appear on the marketplace, focusing on sheer productivity and giving attendees extra tools to enable them to get the most out of their valuable time and resources spent.
One of the goals underlying these strategic acquisitions is evidently a concerted focus by the company to provide event planners and event delegates with the latest and most useful technological advances on the market.
New Wordpress Events Theme WordPress is undoubtedly one of the best platforms available not only for creating blogs, but also for creating websites for your business. The platform is essentially a crowd sourced creation and is constantly under review and development, but it has been lauded across the industry for its intuitive features and flexibility. There are hundreds of designers engaged in producing themes for your WordPress site and WooThemes, one of the better-known, has recently come up with a theme dedicated to the word of event management. Diarise is one of their premium themes, designed for "event organizer companies, sports clubs, schools, churches, etc." There are a variety of different color schemes and custom widgets available and the homepage can be configured in a variety of different ways using various modules to customize the look and feel. Features of the event are handled by a custom settings panel and you can also incorporate a booking form. The event calendar can be linked to sync to your Outlook or Google calendar. There is a featured post scroll up, where you can highlight features of past events that you’ve been responsible for. WooThemes has a good reputation in the industry for providing straightforward and simple ways to configure your site and ways to make changes without having to resort to code editing. The theme is cross browser compatible and retails for a reasonable $70. For more information visit Woo Themes http://www.woothemes.com/2010/04/diarise
Tampa Bay Rolls Out the Red Carpet Messaging architect Corporate Magic has been hired by the committee responsible for welcoming the organizers and delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. The Dallas-based company will be responsible for organizing an event at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for some 20,000 people to kick off the convention. The Host Committee sees this party as an opportunity to "rebrand Tampa Bay to the people who are in town for the convention," according to Matt Becker, the CEO of the committee. Tropicana Field is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays who play in the Major-League Baseball conference and this presents a challenge by itself to the organizing team. There will be a baseball game at the facility only 24 hours before the first delegates are due to arrive the following day, significantly cutting down on preparation time. This will undoubtedly require the organizer to engage their preparation military style and evidently they intend to bring in a team of some 200 people for the load-in and set up. Not only does the configuration of the event present a challenge but also there is the issue of national security, due to the profile of the event itself. This will require each person attending the event to go through airport style security machines before being allowed access.
A lot of creative ingenuity is being put into the design and presentation of the event from the moment that guests arrive on a fleet of charter buses. The plan is for the centerfield to adequately reflect the various attractions and culture associated with the three host cities – Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa. Clearly the Tri-City area is going all out to impress delegates and attendees at the Republican National Convention, with of course the ultimate goal to foster substantial new business opportunities for the area, heavily reliant on the tourist trade.
ISO-20121
Rules New standards bode well for the events industry
Why Sustainability Must Be The New Normal For The Event Planner BY Nigel Evans CSEP As an event planner, do you know who your stakeholders are? I'm not just talking about the identification of your clients as the ones who pay the bills and to whom you must ultimately answer, or your guests or attendees, to whom you present the product, or the media, who will pass judgment on your efforts. I'm looking at this from the broader perspective. Whenever you organize a special event it has an impact on its surroundings, communities and the environment in general. In short, as no event operates in a vacuum it is very important to consider just how much of an impact your event has in its entirety.
This is why the introduction of ISO 20121, also known as Event Sustainability Management Systems, is such a milestone for the industry. The International Standards Organization has created this new standard to help organizers of events large and small to integrate sustainability into their activities. It doesn't matter what type of event we are talking about, whether the event is simply a local celebration or an event of epic proportions such as the Olympic Games, efforts should now be engaged to conform to the standards in order to leave behind a suitable legacy. Conformation to the standard will not only ensure that the event meets its obligations from a sustainability perspective, but it will help the event to be more successful financially as well. But there is the image as well. Remember that a considerable portion of the population is actively engaged in environmental support and will be very keen to assess the carbon footprint of your particular event.
“every one of us in the business should be looking at how we can implement ISO 20121 before our next event�
Consequently, no event planner should underestimate the positive public relations impact associated with staging an event where the processes used meet or exceed recognized, international standards. This is increasingly relevant.
Maybe we should take a moment to look inwardly here. It goes without saying that we've all been through a very difficult period of time, during which many people have suffered both socially and economically as a result of the global downturn. During the height of that downturn it simply became unacceptable to be seen to be "excessive" in any way. To put it differently "conspicuous consumption" became a dirty phrase and this certainly had a detrimental effect on the event industry as a whole. Suddenly organizations were cutting back because they felt that it was not in their best interest to be promoting an event that was not necessarily "essential." Now while we have moved on to a certain extent from the worst results of that downturn a new mindset is pervasive. Across all levels of society it is still important to justify the staging of an event and people do tend to look at special events with a far more critical eye. This has put even more emphasis on the need to be seen to be a good corporate citizen as an event planner and this is why each and every one of us in the business should be looking at how we can implement ISO 20121 before our next event.
The standard is not just meant for event managers either. Venues that host events can also apply for certification, as can those involved in supporting the operation of events such as caterers, designers, audiovisual technicians, and so on. We can see the development of a trend in the future, whereby forward thinking event planners will only seek to work with outsourced teams that also embrace and adopt sustainable standards and vice versa. Those who may be a little skeptical or unsure of what is involved should understand that there is no requirement to reinvent the wheel. We all have operational processes and procedures and should always be looking to improve efficiency, reduce costs and move forward proactively. Adoption of these international standards will help us to do so, while also helping us with our public relations and outward facing exposure to the world at large. Certification will require an independent audit to confirm that the system we have put in place to manage the event meets the requirements of ISO 20121. The first thing that you need to do is to determine where you may already conform versus where you need to focus in order to move toward certification. As you may expect the text of the Standard is rather long-winded, a bit technical and can be somewhat difficult to understand. We can expect to see the emergence of organizations dedicated to cutting through all the red tape and explaining the small print. Due to the publicity associated with the launch of the certification process and for the reasons we have outlined here, we can also expect there to be fairly widespread adoption during the early days across the event industry. For those who work with local governments and other public facing organizations expect ISO 20121 to be written into a requirement for future contracts. We can also expect clients large and small to understand the importance of the Standard and why they should be seen to be working with event planners who fully embrace the concept as well. Elsewhere in this magazine is an article about the impact that the London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to have on the event industry as a whole. Here we see another example of that, as the organizers of the Games were very instrumental in providing input and assistance during the development of the Standard. Finally it's important to note that ISO 20121 is a Standard that focuses on systems and processes or the way that an organization handles its event related activities and solutions. Consequently it's not possible for an event to claim that it is "certified," rather something that is applicable to those involved in delivering the event. .
15 Sources for Event Management Intelligence
Elish Bull Guest author
Master Face-To-Face Marketing 15 Sources Of Event Management Intelligence BY Elish Bul-Godley You may be organizing an in-house event, trade fair or seminar as part of your current Marketing Plan. Some of you may be participating in a trade show or convention as an exhibitor, sponsor or partner in the months to come. If so, tap into some great advice on how to maximize your presence and effectiveness in these face-to-face marketing opportunities. Read on to pick up on some key event tools out there. WHY: Include Events in your Marketing Mix? They deliver something no online experience can quite match up to: real in-the-flesh face-to-face meetings and marketing opportunities. Events are multi dimensional, tactile and real-time forms of Experiential Marketing: the best way to let people sample your products and experience what you do in person. Events give you space for inspiration and chance collaborations. When online, you are deliberately looking and researching. In Real-world events, inspiration will hit you in the face even when you are not looking for it or don’t know what you’re looking for.
Not convinced? Here’s: 5 Reasons You Need To Meet In Person WHY: Include Events in your Marketing Mix? They deliver something no online experience can quite match up to: real in-the-flesh face-toface meetings and marketing opportunities. Events are multi dimensional, tactile and realtime forms of Experiential Marketing: the best way to let people sample your products and experience what you do in person. Events give you space for inspiration and chance collaborations. When online, you are deliberately looking and researching. In Real-world events, inspiration will hit you in the face even when you are not looking for it or don’t know what you’re looking for. HOW: To Get Started? Most regions and countries have homegrown resources to help them. My favorites include: Facetime: a non-for-profit outfit from the UK providing free down-loadable PDF guides, DVDs and e learning CDs that guide you through event management decisions. Starting with: The Journey of a Virgin Exhibitor TSNN.com a prominent events directory and industry news portal from the US offering tools and resources to business people working on trade events with the latest industry tips. Here is a taster: How to become a Tradeshow G.E.N.I.U.S. MeetinIreland.com in Ireland is the kind of site you should find locally in most countries, providing easy to find resources for international & local event planners, incentive travel, DMCs and conference organizers. A handy resource for locating venues and local information. I especially like the resources page and conference checklist: Step-by-step planning schedule to keep you on top of your conference management. WHAT: Event Intelligence You Can Tap Into The growing cross pollination between offline and online event marketing / on-site activity is a separate bible in itself. There are experts in the field that can help you get navigate through the cutting edge event planning technologies, applications or social media practices in the events sector. Event Manager Blog‘s Julius Solaris is my personal fave, here is a taster: Using Social Media at Trade Shows [Infographic] Events Guru UK provides events technology advice such as Heidi Williams’: Using Google Events as Part of Your Event Strategy? Small Business Marketing Blog, Ready2Spark does good cross over posts for marketers and event planners alike. For Example: QR Codes for Events – Do they Deserve the Hype. Write on Track gives some insight on the relevance of Twitter to events & conferences via several posts including: How to Tweet at Conferences WHO: Do you talk to? People who need People… Presentations and people skills are essential to maximizing your presence at events. There are some coaching experts online with key insights on getting your message across. Smart Solutions does a great blog on how to work the room in : Top Networking Skill – Rapport . The Reluctant Speakers Club is a great go-to blog, a veritable font of information on how to develop your speaking and presentation skills. Maximize your impact in that next speaking engagement with this helpful post: Don’t Waste My Time Check the Suppliers Companies in the business of providing display solutions or key suppliers to events Organisers also do blogs advising you on the techniques and key things to remember when participating in trade events. Look at your local suppliers for advice too. The Trade Show Marketing Network a US based Supplier provides display marketing tips and advice like : Trade Show Display Budgets – What You should be Spending Skyline also from the US, dish out practical and down to earth white papers and blogs on topics like trade show displays and marketing techniques for example: Trade show Planning Flowchart: Your Prescription for Pain Free Exhibiting.
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Off The Beaten Track Thinking of doing something cutting edge, unique or targeting the Millennial market? The Alt Terrain Guerrilla Marketing Agency details different types of Guerrilla event marketing ideas with pics whilst promoting their services. For example: Engaging Mural Graffiti and Street Art Performance at Indoor and outdoor events. CG online Marketing has a recent post of future digital trends that definitely impact on the event sector: What’s Our Digital Future. Get event marketing insight from the world of concert promoters and entertainment from Dottedmusic.com : Online Tools Every Concert Promoter Should Use WHEN: Trying not to Clash & Publishing your Event. When holding an event especially if targeting an international audience in a B2B setting, be cognizant of current events globally and make sure you get seen in international directories and event calendars. A plethora of online directories exist. Some of the more comprehensive portals include: Biztradeshows.com: The largest directory of trade fairs, business exhibitions & trade shows, featuring 19000+ live trade events and 8100+ Organizers worldwide. They post post-show reviews and press releases so you can research events to invest in. A sample from their Best Practice list of blogs: Meetings and Conferences at Trade fairs. Expopromoter.org is an affiliate network for the business event industry; an event industry resource offering online services for two target segments: business event organizers and B2B websites. WHERE: Finding the Right Venue? Meetingsbooker.com offers 58,965 conference rooms in over 100 countries around the world. Event bookers can use the website for free and receive direct online quotes or send an enquiry to a number of venues for conferences. Their blog does give latest news on new venues ideas/trends and even tools by industry guest bloggers. For example: Starbucks go after meetings market. Key Marketing Takeaway: Events are real world experiential face-to-face marketing activities and by their very virtue, require more focus on the following: Your local environment vis a vis venues and travel arrangements The events calendar in your sector The people and presentation skills within your team Thee new technologies and trends that make people sit up and notice your activity in a noisy Elish has worked in the following fields: Retail management, Visual Merchandising & Retail buying, Estates & Facilities & Project management, Hospitality Sales, Meetings & Events management, whilst obtaining a Marketing Institute Degree by night. Currently Promoting, Managing & Selling events for global events company Montgomery Exhibitions in their Irish operations. She is a 3rd Generation descendant of the Irish Diaspora born in Singapore, now in Dublin having graduated from Trinity College. Someone who has negotiated the Cultural changes when migrating from Singapore to Ireland, with a strong sense of her Far Eastern origins and Irish Roots. In her spare time: a Bellydance teacher, Sci-fi geek, Cool hunter, Contributing Blogger and Content writer for following publications; LeCool Dublin, tweakyourbiz.com, Furniture News Magazine, & Meetingsbooker.com. Tweet @elishbulgodley
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Eventbrite
How Eventbrite is well placed
The Future Looks Brite For This Emerging Star For small to medium-size events there is considerable interest in the platform provided by rapidly emerging star Eventbrite. The events management platform was only put into place in 2006 but has recently announced a significant milestone, the fact that they have reached the $1 billion threshold in gross ticket sales. After a relatively slow start Evenbrite has got its foot firmly on the gas pedal, recording $250 million of gross sales in 2011 alone. Much of this expansion has been due to the San Francisco-based company's focus on social media and having reached the milestone $1 billion mark it appears that the business could generate almost half of that amount again during calendar year 2012. Eventbrite has always had a close focus on search engine traffic and you would often see reference to this site and the functions and concerts that they were involved with in your typical Google search results page. Yet as we continue to see a trend away from search engine result pages and toward social media sites, we can expect to see an even greater focus by Eventbrite on strategies like Facebook and Twitter integration
There is no doubt that event ticketing is an area that is "social" in every respect. People want to tell others about the events they are planning to attend and they want to know where you are going as well. Such is the value of sharing information about event attendance on social media networks that - according to Forbes magazine - every time somebody shares an Eventbrite event on LinkedIn it results in an average of $.90 in terms of event ticket purchases, while a Twitter share yields $.43 and a Facebook share yields $2.52. Eventbrite handles tickets for a wide range of events in as many as 13 categories ranging from the smallest get together up to and including the largest concerts. Recently, for example, the company handled tickets for a keynote Black Eyed Peas concert, held in June in New York City's Central Park. What can Eventbrite do for the typical event planner? The solution does allow for the customization and hosting of a branded event page online, with a personalized URL. Once set up you will be able to sell tickets or collect registrations directly from such a site or from your own standalone event website, by incorporating a ticket widget supplied by the organization. You'll be able to easily keep up to date with online registrations through this portal. Perhaps it is in the promotion of your event that such a link-up could be of value? They offer "one click integration" with Twitter, Facebook and a number of other social media platforms and you can use tracking links and analytical data to work out what promotional campaigns are working for you and what aren't. With a list of attendees for an event you can generate name badges and checking lists automatically and following the event you can generate useful information for forward planning purposes. For example you can determine where the majority of your ticket buyers came from and analyze sales by tickets type. If the event in question does not want to worry about a standalone process for credit cards, or does not have access to a merchant account of some type then it's possible to use the solution provided by the company. As you might expect there are also a number of different tier levels for ticket sales based on early adoption, special offer or last-minute deals.
Find out more about Eventbrite.
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Will Your Attendees Lift A Glass To Toast Your Event Planning Skills?
EVENT INDUSTRY TRAINING EDUCATION RESOURCES
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ACADEMY EDUCATION
Goals & Objectives
What’s the point? Do you know?
Why It's Important To Prioritize Goals And Objectives When Calculating The Purpose Of An Event BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY Any time that people come together with a common purpose, a special event is the result. To gather and mingle is part of our very being. We have within our very nature a crowd mentality and want to socialize with our fellow human beings wherever and whenever possible. This presents a tremendous opportunity for event organizers, as there are a myriad of opportunities and so many reasons for the staging of a special event within our complex society.
From the point of view of the event planner it is important to be very clear about the purpose and objective right from the beginning, however. Often, there are a number of reasons associated with the staging of an event and where this is the case, these reasons have to be prioritized. A number of different groups may have a vested interest in the outcome and this is especially true in the corporate world. Success or failure will be determined according to the planner’s ability to prioritize the various elements of the event carefully and methodically. Much of the work associated with running even the most complex of special events is conducted during the planning and development phase. It's important to conduct a brainstorming session with all the key players in order to determine what the relevant goals and objectives truly are. This is where experience can often help, as the planner knows when to ask the right questions at the right time. Sometimes it's necessary to dig beneath the surface in order to reveal what might otherwise have been a hidden agenda.
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“Sometimes it's necessary to dig beneath the surface..” ” Many special events within our philanthropic society seek to raise money for charitable organizations. While a special event may not be necessarily regarded as the most "efficient" way of raising such funds, there can be a number of ancillary benefits associated. Therefore, in these particular cases while a central core may be to raise funds for the nominated charity, a number of other objectives may be included in the preliminary planning. These could include a plan to build relationships with certain elements of the community, an aim to help ensure that donors feel that they have a connection with the cause, or a means to introduce new and potentially lucrative future donors to the charity through participation in the event itself.
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Of course a well-planned event can also generate a considerable amount of publicity. As such it may be easier to reach and engage local media due to the charitable aspect and this presents a good opportunity to get the word out not just about the event itself, but about the associated charity and any larger goal. In the case of a large corporate event, the promoters of the project may have several different goals. For example, they may be seeking to give clients and potential prospects access to their products in a favorable environment. As such, an automobile manufacturer may promote a car rally and invite existing vehicle owners to bring their current cars, while providing fleet vehicles for potential prospects to drive. The ultimate goal here is of course to engage in brand building and brand camaraderie. The peripheral goal, however, may be to publicize the event to the media, so that the general public can see how dynamic and exciting the brand may be. So as we can see there are a number of different goals and objectives here and the event planner must be able to prioritize and understand how important each element is right at the start. Always remember that you need to be SMART when looking at the feasibility of an event. You have to be specific about what you actually want to achieve. You have to be able to measure whether specific elements of the event "delivered" based on the objective. Any objective set has to be achievable and never unrealistic. Remember also relevancy and don't focus on what you may think were priorities but in fact were not important in terms of the principal or tertiary objectives. Finally, you have to be able to quantify and this means setting a clear definition for the start and completion times for each objective.
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Budget
Holding on to those purse strings – the real meaning
How To Put Together An Initial Event Budget BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY Let's be truthful. Many of us have an aversion to math, perhaps dating back to our years in school or college. We may, as a consequence, not be very good at keeping track of expenses and often tend to "wing it" when it comes to personal expenditure and household budgeting. As event planners tend to be the creative type, anything to do with "mundane" administrative and accounting tasks can seem to be dour at the best of times. Yet, as painful as it may be to come to the stark realization, a person who does not have absolute control over an event budget is effectively not in control of the event at all. As we know that control is of the very essence when staging an effective event, it's time to be very clear about just how important budgeting for your special event is going to be. .
This is not to say that this process has to be inordinately difficult or complex and it's best to be as straightforward and simple as possible when structuring the budgetary projection. Above all else you have to be realistic and you also have to remember that this event is going to operate in the real world. As a consequence, you have to build in contingencies. As you become more used to organizing special events you will become more adept at visualizing a budget at the very earliest stages of conception. This will enable you to cultivate what will amount to a "sixth sense," to help you determine whether the concept is viable or not. There is no getting away from it – occasionally the event planner becomes so enthusiastic about a particular idea that there is a tendency to overestimate or add a certain amount of ticket sales potential, or probability of sponsorship. You must learn to guard against this as you keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. When working with clients the first thing that you need to do is to convince yourself of the absolute viability of the event. You must always be very clear and able to back up your budget projection with solid reasoning. You must always have a formal budget at your fingertips and ultimately this will help you to work to formulate your annual accounts, as well. Remember that from time to time such accounts may be in line for an audit, from taxation authorities or from those who you might approach to invest in your operations. Practically, the budget is a projection of what income and expenditure is related to the event itself. Some elements here are quite easy to calculate or project, while other elements could be variable according to the number of participants. Also, you might have to project certain costs that are apportioned. You should maintain a budget that is regularly accessible via your computer. This may be contained within a proprietary software package such as Excel, or you could access it through some cloud service provider, meaning that you are constantly in touch with all the details so long as you have Internet access somewhere. Break the budget down into categories. Essentially, in terms of expenditure these are administration, operations and marketing. Within each category display subcategories such as these: Administration •general office costs •salaries and wages •management fees •travel costs .
Operations •survey costs •venue costs •hotel costs •catering costs •hospitality costs •insurance costs •entertainment •cost of merchandising •sanction fees •direct production costs •travel and accommodation costs •communication costs •other expenditure Marketing •advertising •print and design •distribution costs •Internet marketing •website costs •media and public relations As you gather together the relevant cost projections here remember that it is equally important to construct a working cash flow projection, as well. Cash flow can represent the life or death of any business or special event and it is crucial that you populate this document carefully and correctly. Once again, do not overestimate the receipt date for certain categories of income. Be very careful to ensure that you are aware of potential danger points associated with the due date for large down payments, in advance, to venues and so on. Always err on the side of caution and keep on top of your cash flow regularly.
It's a good idea to create a template within your software program enabling you to compare weekly cash flow on a "budget versus actual" basis. Update these fields on a weekly basis so that you can see if there is a danger that you will fall behind the projection. The more you keep on top of this kind of comparison the more likely you are to be able to make adjustments or amendments as necessary before things start to get critical. The actual complexity of your budget will of course depend on the type of event you're putting together. There are some first-class software packages available today, to enable you to develop individual worksheets for specific areas of the budget, all linked together and updated automatically. It pays to develop a great template to start off with and to ensure that you stick to protocol whenever allocating costs within. Once again, don't make it too complicated for the sake of it, but do ensure that you update with clarity, with purpose – and often. If you maintain a separate bank account for the specific event you will also want to reconcile the books against your bank balance on a regular basis. If you do not, then you can simply use category totals and carry forward that information over to your overall business budget sheets and reconcile from there. If you are the person in charge of ensuring that this event runs smoothly and is a success then it's recommended that you are ultimately the one responsible for managing the overall budget. If not, be very clear when you delegate this how important this task is. We are talking about the lifeblood of your business here. Budgets that are left to their own devices as it were can and will deliver shocks to not only you and your staff, but also to the future viability of your business.
Public Relations and Media Exposure
Smile please! Making sure your light shines
Public Relations and Media Exposure – How To Handle This Critical Element BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY You know that they say that if you don't publicize and promote your event, a terrible thing will happen – nothing. Assuming that you realize the importance of promoting the event, don't underestimate the amount of work required, nor how far in advance you should start the ball rolling. While we do tend to live in an electronic age, especially when it comes to communication, remember that traditional forms of media have significant exposure and reach and should never be ignored. You should also bear in mind that a lot of online communication is based on the here and now. How long will that particular tweet remain in the public consciousness, after all?
When faced with the organization of a brand-new event it is important to develop and build a media database on day one. Look carefully at the event from all angles and determine who it will appeal to. From here, make sure that you research all available specialist media outlets and come up with a detailed list including the names of the individuals within. These names should not just include the specific journalist assigned to cover the subject associated with your event, but also the editor, the copy editor and the person responsible for receiving media. If you have a media database from previous years now is the time to ensure that all those contacts are up to date. You don't want to blindly send important information to a specific person only to find later on that they have long since flown the coop.
“Look carefully at the event from all angles‌ â€?
As you are building your media database get to know any specific foibles or any unusual requests relevant to format and presentation. It is the job of your media relations person to ensure that the representative of the media at the other end is always happy and content.
Remember that they are often very busy individuals, especially when it comes to deadline time and they may not take too kindly to the receipt of information from you if it's badly formatted or otherwise misses the mark. It is of crucial importance to adhere to deadlines and to remember that some periodicals have deadline submission dates that are months ahead of specific publication. Even though this may rule out using these specific publications for regular and informative media releases, you can nevertheless use them for general or lifestyle pieces. All publicity is good!
Take time to think of as many different angles as you possibly can. Put yourself in the shoes of the editor at each of the publications or media outlets you are considering and put yourself in the shoes of the reader or viewer of the material they are presenting. How can you write a feasible piece from that specific angle – one that is sure to be of sufficient merit to guarantee inclusion? Don't go overboard here and create some kind of link that is tenuous at best. Try not to strain any good relationship that you have built up with these appropriate journalists by trying to "pull a fast one." You should always remember that there is no such thing as a guaranteed result when it comes to trying to get media exposure for your event. The best thing that you can do is to try and build a good relationship with the journalists concerned by giving them exactly what they're looking for, ahead of deadline and in the correct format. Journalists and editors being human, after all, they are far more likely to want to deal with work that has been provided in this way by people they know and trust, especially when the pressure is on.
In order to get as much information out there as you possibly can before the event, it will be necessary to generate media photo opportunities. Sometimes this is known as a "press day." This is an event in itself and must be carefully orchestrated. Invitations must be sent out in sufficient time with clear indication of the purpose, who is going to be there, what they're going to be able to see and document. Provide specific details of parking, the location of the post event reception, if any and so on. Do not underestimate the amount of effort that will be required to make sure that this is a success and especially do not underestimate the number of people you will need to help "manage" the media in attendance. You simply cannot prioritize how you deal with individual requests by various members of the media as, invariably; they will all feel as if their request is most important and should be dealt with right now! If you have a row of happy, smiling faces at the end of this, objective achieved. If you're running a sporting event it is traditional for pre-and post event conferences to be staged and for there to be a formal awards ceremony or prize presentation. These can be emotive occasions and often fall perilously close to media deadline time for daily newspapers or evening news bulletins. Consequently, additional effort should be made to ensure that there are no technical glitches, such as microphones that fail to work or the absence of individual celebrities or award winners who are dawdling a bit on the way to the ceremony itself‌ Finally, it's important to remember that a consistent branding message must be maintained from start to finish. The appropriate brand logos must be in place on all communications and in clear view during all related media events. Engage a clipping agency to track down and make a record of all the exposure you get in print publications and ask key media outlets to provide you with audio and video copy of any exposure you get there.
Transportation
Why this is always a core element and never an afterthought
Making The Wheels Go Round – Dealing With Event Transportation BY THE EVENT PLANNING ACADEMY One way or the other you're going to have to pay a lot of attention to transportation issues when you organize a special event. You may feel as if your event is all "self-contained" as it were, held within one venue and may be just open to members of the paying public. In this case you may not feel as if you're responsible for transporting guests or attendees, but you nevertheless have to give due consideration to transportation elements external to your core operation.
Ultimately, you are responsible for the entire experience whenever you organize a special event. You will often be judged on how an attendee enjoyed the total experience and this experience will often reflect how he or she managed to access and exit the venue without too much hassle. Consequently, you need to focus on parking availability at the very least and take into consideration the location of the venue in relation to public transportation options or accessibility to major road arteries. It is simply going to reflect badly on you if, for example, there is already limited public parking space in the vicinity and another major event is taking place at another facility nearby – an event that happens to commence earlier than yours. What happens if most of the accessible parking areas are already full when the bulk of your attendees start to arrive?
“Understand where most of your guests will be coming from �
Understand where most of your guests will be coming from and envision the transportation methods that they will be using to estimate the number of cars and the arrival and departure windows. Determine where the closest parking area may be and determine what kind of facility it is. Is there an attendant? How much does it cost to park and is the facility in good condition and well kept? Is it secure or does it have a reputation for vandalism?
When you look at parking you must also consider how this issue is going to affect your own staff, vendors, entertainers and so on. You need to be able to know that nearby parking is available if, for example, you have to come in really early in the morning to set everything up. During your planning and preparatory phase you should have looked into the major event schedule for that particular locality. This is something that you can find at the Convention and Visitors Bureau or by visiting your local authority, or by getting in touch with the owners of the major event facilities. This will help you to determine whether there is going to be pressure on parking.
If you are responsible for parking as part of the structure of the event you need to go several steps further off course. Now you need to determine if you can block off space for attending guests in advance. In this case you may well have to prepay it. If you're dealing with a hotel parking lot this is not too much of an issue, but remember that in city locations parking often represents a revenue stream for hotels so you may have to negotiate a little bit. When you have arranged this prepaid parking, ensure that it is well sign posted and that hotel valet staff are aware of the arrangement. If it is self parking (as may well be the case with an exotic car event, for example) then do ensure that you have a member of staff on hand and/or have directional signs from the parking area to the event location. Bear in mind that hotel parking areas are often only accessed by valet parking staff members who will bring the car around to the front entrance for the guests. Sometimes it is simply not possible to find suitable parking close to your event venue. For example, a major golf tournament venue would be simply overwhelmed by the number of cars attempting to access the traditional golf club parking lot. On the PGA Tour, for example, arrangements are often made with a major sporting venue or entertainment venue that may be quite distant. In the example of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, the organizers use the massive parking lot of the Universal Studios, which is about 3 miles distant. In these instances you will have to arrange for shuttle coaches to circulate on a continuous basis.
Whenever you use shuttle transportation you need to have personnel at the remote parking lot to help direct guests from their cars to the pickup area. When you use this type of transportation ensure that the quality of vehicle is appropriate to the expectation of the attendees. They should always be very clean and in good condition. As an advantage for marketing purposes, you can use the in vehicle entertainment system to show a short video explaining to the guests what the event is all about and what they can expect when they arrive. Don't forget that you must always have a backup plan in case of a vehicle breakdown. Murphy's Law may well dictate that this will happen at the busiest time, i.e. when everybody is getting ready to leave and be transported back to the parking lot. Have a standby vehicle or two close to hand. Maybe you're responsible for guests or attendees from the moment they arrive at the nearest airport facility. In this case how are you going to transport them to your venue? If large numbers of people are arriving at the same time you can have motor coach transportation. Here you will have to ensure that you have a representative on hand who will be able to handle the manifest in coordination with the bus driver, to ensure that everyone who is scheduled to be transported is accounted for. If people are going to be arriving in smaller groups or at a variety of different times it may be more sensible to arrange for a shuttle van or a limousine. Once again, arrange with the transportation company to have somebody to meet arriving guests at the greeting point within the airport. Ensure that you are happy with the quality and presentation, that vehicles are clean and well presented and that the staff members are nicely attired, polite and professional. Sometimes you may be responsible for the arrival and departure of a number of VIPs. Perhaps you're responsible for a red carpet awards ceremony? In this case you may have to deal with the issue of limousine arrivals and parking. Remember that in the case of stretch and super stretch limos they each take up a number of individual parking spaces and may not be able to maneuver into and out of a typically restricted or conventional parking garage. Arrange for specific parking, together with an attendant and have clear directions to and from this parking area for the limousine drivers.
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