Brand Activation Events

The appeal of a brand activation is building trust in your brand message, especially when your brand is making a fundamental pivot. For example, when Porsche launched the second generation of its Cayenne in 2010, it sought to bridge the rational and emotional sides of the buyers. It was revealed at a brand activation during the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, followed by an online reveal. 50% of the car’s purchases were from buyers who were new buyers to the Porsche brand - a huge success.   

A brand activation requires a lot of communication and clear goals. Make sure and spend plenty of time with your client so there is clear communication and clear expectations. A successful brand activation can take 3-6 months to complete so make sure to schedule an adequate amount of planning and meeting time. 

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Outdoor Event Planning Checklist

With so many factors left to Mother Nature, an outdoor event can go wrong fast. Take these outdoor event planning tips to heart. We've learned some of them the hard way.

Prepare Your Guests

Prepare your guest for event conditions with an email. A week before the event contact guests and let know what type of weather to expect and how they should prepare for it. You don’t want a guest to leave early if they are too hot or too cold. Detail what they should bring in terms of jackets, coats or hats and let them know other special considerations like if the event is on grass, high heeled shoes may not be the best option.

Rain or Shine

When planning an event outdoors, consider the possibility of rain or snow. Check often for weather updates and have another plan in place if a storm arrives. Pick an alternate site or consider tenting your party. If you do decide to a tent, trouble shoot for the wind and make sure that everything is adequately weighted and staked down.

Alternately, the sun can be difficult especially in severe heat and humidity. If this is the case have plenty of cold water and umbrellas or parasols for attendees to use. Having a small air-conditioned room or even a vehicle can also be helpful for attendees to take brief breaks from the heat.

Lead Time

Give yourself plenty of planning time to get your check list in place. Work with an event planner to help manage the work load and help you stay on top of things. Coordinating with an event planner also frees up some of your time so you can to work on the fun special details.

Outdoor Event Planning Check List

•  Have an alternate plan in place in case of weather
• Hit the event area and parking area with a leaf blower before and after event
•  Make sure the sprinklers are turned off!!!
•  Oder all tent rentals well in advance, make sure they are large enough to accommodate a crowd during rain
• Make sure WIFI works and is reliable if it is needed for your event.
• You may need to bring in a hotspot or a more powerful and reliable internet connection.
• Test your walkie-talkies to determine if they work for throughout your event parameters. If not you might consider a repeater.
•  If you are relying on cell service to communicate with your team, test coverage with the different carriers to determine if cell service is available and strong.
•  Check your power sources and determine if there is enough to support all of the elements of your event or if you need to bring in a generator. If a generator is needed confirm requirements before arriving on site with your generator. 
• Fees and Permits can be handled through your event planner
•   Tent and stage flooring, staging, and draping
•   Heaters and/or air conditioning
• Portable Restrooms, the more VIP the better. For a quick formula calculate 2 toilets per 100 people
• Securing outdoor areas can be an important job so make sure attention is paid to this and your plan accordingly,
• Fencing and Crowd Control can be very helpful for guests as fencing won’t let kiddos wander away. Stanchions can be used for lines at the bar, photo booth, etc.
•     Parking and traffic control, do you need a valet service and can the same team direct traffic?
•  Make sure event staff have all necessary phone numbers and can communicate clearly with each other
•    First Aid make sure and have a well-stocked kit at least and keep plenty of sun screen and drinking water handy
•  Detail who takes care of trash during and after the event. Make efforts to recycle or reuse.

We know this is a long outdoor event planning checklist! Being well prepared is the most important step. Recruit some help. For worry-free planning hire an event planner!

Let Strategic Event Design plan your next outdoor event -there isn’t anything that we can’t handle.

Corporate Event Activity Ideas for Groups of 100+

All events are not created equal. Medium to large sized events have many "moving parts", so to speak, and so require extra attention to detail.

1. Luxury Box

Even the most reluctant sports fan can enjoy the amenities of an arena’s luxury suite. Depending on the stadium you can usually fit about 20-50 people into each suite, with multiple suites to accommodate your larger groups. Suites these days’ feature martini lounges, brick pizza ovens, fireplaces and celebrity chefs. If a sport isn’t your corporate event activity idea of choice, book a fun concert. Large arena shows are fun for everyone. It is a good idea to plan out your transportation well in advance. You don’t want your attendees stuck in a stadium-sized traffic jam.

2. VR

Give your attendees their first Virtual Reality experience using the latest technology. Utilize stock photos and company footage to assert your brand and customize your experience. Transport your users to a 360 video with a voice over, “Welcome to the (Your Company Name) VR Experience!” Each user experiences a 30-90 second experience. To ensure flawless execution you might have to do a little homework. Check to make sure your venue, or vendor, has adequate space, power and internet capabilities. In the case that the venue doesn’t, some vendors will come with their own power and other capabilities.

3. Small Screen Star Power

A fun corporate event activity is to hire a reality TV star to interact with guests. An affable Bachelor or Bachelorette would be a hit with a large crowd; how would you like to share a glass of bubble with The Bachelor? Plus, reality stars tend to work for far less money than bigger Hollywood celebrities. For a dance party, you could book a DJ and a contestant or group from a televised talent show. Guests will have a ball dancing the night away with a pro. A clever touch is to compliment your celebrity guest with a creative sponsorship opportunity like a dating app, or a florist-for red roses, of course.

4. Drones

If you are looking to shake things up, consider using drones at your next event. Some like to use drone technology as a visual aid to show clients a 360-degree view of off-site locations. This could be useful for promoting a development project, a new resort or a re-vamped venue. Another use of drones for large corporate events is meal delivery. Food and beverages can be delivered via drone but here is where the details can get messy! You should probably stick to sturdier foods like pizza, burritos and tacos. Check in advance with your venue to make sure there is adequate flight space, and no turbulence.

5. Think Local

Whether your event is attracting out-of-towners or folks within your region, it's the perfect excuse for the group to experience the local flair. Those who haven't been to town will enjoy seeing what's unique to your area, while those who are from there will enjoy playing tourist for a day. If your event is in the mountains in the winter, think skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoe tours. In Cincinnati in the summer? Try a riverboat tour. Whether this is part of your itinerary or a scheduled break from the main event, guests will be sure to remember it.

 With an eye on small details, large corporate events can be a blast, not a bust.

Create a More Interactive Event (with a Little Help from an Event Planner)

Do your events feel flat and boring? Get away from the same old event with the help of an experienced event planner who can make your affair more interactive.

If you are looking for more interaction and connectivity, there are a few things that you can do to incorporate these actions into your next event. You may have noticed that there has been a trend in events and conferences to get away from the speaker/podium. This one-way of information flow to passive attendees is shifting towards a more interactive exchange of ideas and increased engagement.

So, if you want to make your next interactive event hum with interactivity and collaboration here are a few steps on how to do it.

Frame the Story

A more interactive event begins during the conceptual phase of event planning. Think about your audience and begin with a more inclusive “we” mentality. Consider your stakeholder’s main goals and go from there and feel free to solicit advice and opinions. Send out polls and questionnaires to determine content, venue and what your attendees want to see. Feedback will not only set the stage for successful interactive events it will make your audience feel valued and important.

Structure and Flexibility

Communication is important during any event especially an interactive event. There are many apps than can help with this or even signage but a clear message from your speaker or emcee is a good way to communicate expectations and opportunities. Let attendees know that their participation and feedback is important and explain how this will be done whether it is through open discussion, polling/surveys or break-out sessions. Make sure and monitor your sessions with an event app and social media to see attendee comments on what you are doing well and what needs to be tweaked.

Increase Participation

Encourage attendee interaction with incentives. You could require attendance at each session and track attendees, or have attendees complete a number of tasks through your event app. Rewards like sponsor swag or gift cards could be given to people who complete the most tasks first. Interaction isn’t simply an ingredient to a great party; as an event planner, you have a responsibility to your clients to ensure attendee participation. Making participation fun should result in a high rate of participation.

Design an Experience

Design an experience at your event that your attendees will remember. A great way to do this is to collaborate with a sponsor on a sponsorship activation that will engage all five senses. Make sure your brand is aligned with your sponsor and build a wow-factor into your event for your attendees.

Continue the Conversation

Don’t let interaction end with your event. Continue the conversation through social media platforms, informal meet-ups and live hangouts. Have your speakers engage with these venues of interaction to reiterate important messages, and even promote the next event.

Follow these tips and see your next event flourish through interaction. Have questions or need a few other tips? Please give Strategic Event Design a call.

Walking the Fine Line of Technology for Events

Walking the Fine Line of Technology for Events

When it comes to incorporating technology for events, planners walk a fine line. Failing to use any technology can make your event feel antiquated and boring. But too much technology can complicate things, make attendees feel overwhelmed, and reduce your interaction rate altogether. Here are 10 strategies for keeping your technology for events in check.

When to Incorporate Technology at Events

1. Technology can assist with easy pricing and sign up options. You need a strong event website that is well designed and an event registration page that people can find easily. No one will attend your event if they can’t register for it! There are many online event management platforms that can help with registration, among other management tools. Bizaboo, Eventbrite and EventZilla are popular registration programs.

2. Use technology for event promotion. Consider which social media channels your attendees use most often. Then, use those channels to promote your event through maintaining activity on popular channels to create buzz. If social media advertising isn’t getting you the results you want, you can try paid Facebook Ads or Google Adwords. Set a budget and find your target audience.

3. Another way of using technology to promote events is video. The internet is growing increasingly more visual and video is a great way to communicate the excitement and energy of a live event. Get backstage footage of your event speaker preparing for a presentation. Then post to all of your website and other social media channels.

4. Technology helps with attendee interaction. Walking into a large trade show may make the age-old task of networking a little bit overwhelming. Luckily, technology has responded to the wary networker by with a number of location-based services. A helpful networking app is Grip (formerly known as Network). A Tinder swipe style interface connects with LinkedIn information so attendees can focus their time on high-value interactions who are in proximity.

5. Technology clarifies tasks for internal staff. Do you have one team working on food, another on agenda, one on sponsors and yet another on activities outside of the event? Have them all work with one event program so that complicated ideas can be concentrated in one simple output. An event planner tool like Event Ready can help with every task from the front end to the back end. Vetting speakers, handling vendors, to food and beverage and designing floorplans; this software can get your whole team on the same page very quickly.

6. Use technology for fun. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Urban Airship tech firm partnered with the Intergalactic digital agency to create the app RoséTime. When attendees entered the VIP area they were sent a notification, “Rosétime?” If they clicked yes, a chilled glass of wine was delivered to their location. Beacon technology was used to connect with attendees who had already downloaded the app.

7. Share your message with technology. Is a breakout session filled up? Did you change rooms for happy hour? Alert all attendees immediately with a mass message sent through your event.

8. Track attendees better with technology. Beacon technology can effectively track attendees as they experience your event. Find out which booth or session they spent the most time in and add it to their profile. They can use this when connecting with other attendees.

9. Use technology to capture information. Drones are popular at large events to capture aerial shots. These images can then be provided to attendees, sponsors or for use in your highlight reel.

10. Technology can provide valuable real-time feedback. The mobile app use of polls; session surveys and event surveys have taken the sting out of the cumbersome paper handouts. Apps like EventMobi can be helpful at crafting effective poll questions and surveys and collecting information quickly. 

When to Avoid Technology for Events

1. Is this technology too much to take on? As the event planner are you understaffed and over-tasked? Think hard about whether this technology is going to be a help or a hindrance. Is this a commitment that will add to your event and make your job easier, or is it simply the latest craze and not worth the time and the effort?

2. When you haven't vetted the usability of the solution. If you are considering the use of an event management software, it is a good idea to get three or four recommendations. There is the potential that this software could affect every step of your event so you want to know what to expect and be able to trouble shoot in advance. Connect with your software representative and have yourself or staff shadow another event they are involved in.

3. The cost doesn't outweigh the benefits. Technology is rarely free. Make sure that the event revenue is substantial enough to cover costs. If you are having a relatively small event, maybe it is wise to hold off on producing a costly promotional video or bring in a sponsor to cover certain costs.

4. Technology needs to be adequately supported. If you are going to incorporate technology into an event there needs to be ample power sources and charging stations to enable mobile device use. For many programs, there needs to be robust Wi-Fi and other backend support. Speak directly with your venue staff and software program representatives to ensure that all systems are well powered.

5. Do not use a technology that your team doesn’t understand. As the event planner, there needs to be adequate time and resources in training staff. If you are using a cutting-edge program there could be a lot of questions and you are the go-to for the answers. Consider that many attendees will be using this technology for the first time. Many software programs will come with a facilitator team. Find out if one is available to you.

6. Attendees are comfortable using technology that they normally use in everyday life. Consider your average event attendee and gauge how comfortable they are in engaging in different media platforms. Does your group regularly use Twitter to the point that they would they feel comfortable tweeting in front of their colleagues?

7. Technology shouldn’t distract from an event. Make sure you fully understand your client’s events goals and incorporate technology to that end. An additional app should enhance attendee experience and not take away from networking and social interactions.

8. The use of technology shouldn’t decrease attendance. Consider whether a person would pay to attend the event or would they rather live stream the event, straight into their living room.

9. You must ensure that attendees have positive experiences with all event channels. In other words, you want attendees to have easy and positive interaction anytime they connect with your event. That could mean with an online ticketing system, an app on a smart phone, watch or tablet or simply with a phone call.

10. It is inadvisable to use technology that is too new. There is a lot of hype and attention on wearable’s in events, things like fit bits and wristbands. However, depending on the desired function it may not be worth all of the excitement. People generally use wearable’s to tell time and get alerts and may not be comfortable with functions beyond that like entering credit card information and tracking their every move.

You may consider technology a game changer or a distraction but either way some form of technology will be a part of your event. There are many factors to consider when making these decisions and if you have further questions please call Strategic Event Design. We take all of the technology guess-work out of events.

Effective Event Wrap-Ups

As an event comes to a close, you may feel like taking a well-deserved rest. But hold that thought, an event wrap-up is a key part of any flawless execution. It not only helps you in the long term, it provides closure to attendees, your team and yourself. With a little planning and organisation, the wrap-up can be done quickly and efficiently. Only then can you can take a deep breath and head out to a relaxing day at the spa.

Make a Checklist/Timeline

 As you are planning your event, start to think about wrap-up details; a checklist format works well. Use the checklist to assign tasks to your team. As the event moves forward make sure and make notes and update your checklist as needed. Schedule all wrap-up tasks to be completed within a three-week timeframe after your event.

 Once the event is over, your wrap-up checklist should be finalised. The checklist should include tasks, who is responsible and a due date. Distribute checklists to everyone on your team so that all team members are aware of what tasks to complete and when.

 Share Successes

 Immediately share your event’s success with a press release. Note number of attendees, if the event was sold-out, fundraising goals that were met or exceeded and a quick recap of the keynote speaker or entertainment. Include photos or live footage and cross post to your website and social media channels.

Communicate to the Event Community

 Share any event related press from outside sources on your social media channels or any special groups created. Make sure and share channels for attendees to stay in touch and remain engaged with one another. Sponsors may request attendee engagement through social media so pay special attention to ensure that the sponsorship message is shared.

Gather Feedback

 There are many ways to survey attendees post event. Some like to use an app during the event to gather feedback, others like to email a questionnaire. Some of your most valuable feedback will come directly from your attendees. It is a great practice to call sponsors and high level donors to thank them for their support and to solicite their opinion on how they experienced the event. In addition, schedule a team meeting so that those involved have an opportunity to provide productive feedback.

Consult the Budget

 This is the step that may take the most work and attention to detail! Account for all income and expenses two to three weeks after the event. Process all outstanding invoices or reimbursements and verify that checks have cleared. Track event related expenses and press for any outstanding payments. Make an itemized report and update any numbers to reflect actual costs and revenue. Make a note of any discrepancies.

 Show Appreciation

 Appropriately thank all speakers, VIP guests or any key vendors or venue staff that made a significant impact on your event. Staff should be thanked as well. Send a nice handwritten thank-you note or small gift to show your appreciation.

Write a Report

 Record event specifics while they are still fresh in your mind by writing up a report. All details should be included such as date, venue and number of attendees. Include your budget. Include all notes in an easy-to-read format. You may have one section on timeline, another on menu, sponsor feedback, and more.

Applaud a Job Well Done

 Set aside a time to celebrate a job well done. Gather your team and others who have helped in your success and host a brunch or lunch to show your appreciation.

 After the last song has played, the last dance done, the party doesn’t end for the event planner. Event wrap-ups can be powerful tools for future planning and improving your skills. Follow these steps and you will have an effective event wrap-up.