Event Planning: learn how to plan a great event

Market research is extremely important when you plan your event. The key elements you need to research before you start organizing your event or festival are:

1. Your event ideas (your vision)

2. Choosing your venue (location)

3. Timing (dates)

4. Market (competition)

5. Audience (profiling)

Research your event and festival. Is there a market for your event? Is your potential audience waiting for your event or festival?

You have an event idea, but who would you like to come to your event? Researching your audience is important from a marketing point of view but also from a licensing point of view.

The elements that will be discussed in this session are:

1. Figuring out who your audience is (get your head around who they are)

2. How they consume media on a daily basis

3. Reaching out to your potential audience

There are many events out there, so how do you stand out? 

To determine your Unique Selling Point (USP): 

1. describe your event in less than 1 minute to a stranger 

2. write down what you stand for, what your beliefs are, what the core purpose of your event is 

Is your USP recognized and understood by your potential audience?

Dede Flemming is part of a team that organizes Lightning in a Bottle festival. Where do they start when organizing a festival? How do they channel their ideas into a vision.

Stefanie Jones has years of experience in organizing events and conferences. She was the event producer of the Club Health Conference. What are the first steps towards a great event or conference?

Before marketing your event or festival you need to create a brand. A story speaks to your potential audience and to your potential sponsors and media partners. This goes back to the vision you have for your event. Can you create an emotional connection with your audience? 

Throughout this section the focus will be on: 

1. Promotion 

2. Advertising 

3. Press release 

4. Social media 

Do your research when creating your marketing plan! Check out other events and festivals; what do they do to market their event? Don't just copy them, be innovative, be new, be unique!

Marketing is important but how do you create a good marketing plan?

The 6 components that make a marketing plan are:

1. Your event story

2. Budget

3. A timeline of when you will promote your event

4. An overview of where you will promote (tools + geographic)

5. An overview of your sponsors and media partners

6. Overview of your advertising tools

Look at your marketing plan as a guide to 'how', 'when', and 'where' you want to promote your event or festival.

In a press release you 'sell' your event or festival to journalists. You provide them with key information about your event. The key elements of writing a successful press release: 

1. Write your headline 

2. Write a sub-headline (if you need one) 

3. What is your event 

4. Who will enjoy your event 

5. Sell your event 

6. Contact information

You have presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Youtube, but rather than just consuming your content your audience wants to: 

1. interact with it 

2. participate in it 

3. create content 

4. add value to it 

Your audience wants authenticity and trust. Can you give that to them? 

You need to have a plan in place to make sure you optimize your presence on social media.

Britz Robins is in charge of social media for Shambhala Music Festival in British Columbia, Canada. She explains how the festival is using social media and how they interact with their audience throughout the year.

When creating a budget make sure you look at your:

1. research

2. planning

3. event objectives

Cash flow = a statement which shows the amount of cash generated and used by an organization in a given period.

"Sponsorship spending on music tours, venues, and festivals is expected to total $1.7 billion in 2016" (Sponsorship.com, 2016). 

What do you want from your sponsors: 

money, services, goods, know-how, experience, promotion, publicity, ticket sales, image, branding. 

Make sure your sponsor adds value to your event! What that added value is depends on your vision for your event and your event objectives. 

A sponsor wants to have access to your audience. What can you give your sponsor? 

1. consumer / audience reach 

2. cross promotion 

3. media buys 

Make sure you know your audience!

Steven Haines, Executive Director at Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, USA, explains what his organization does to reach their objectives. He discusses the challenges and opportunities of an admission free festival. Subjects such as fundraising and writing grant proposals will be discussed.

Dede Flemming, festival organizer of Lightning in a Bottle, explains the process of applying for permits for his festival.

Steven Haines, executive director of Stern Grove Festival, explains that the process of applying for some of the permits already starts 1,5 year in advance! The importance of planning and communication throughout your entire event production cycle becomes clear.

Who you buy from is incredibly important. Based on your research you will find out which suppliers, contractors and agencies you want to work with. And which ones you do not want to work with.

The key elements of a contract are:

1. The parties that enter the agreement

2. What is expected to be delivered

3. Payment details

4. Acceptance of parties

Make sure you seek legal advice if you are not sure about the contract you are about to sign!

From liability insurance to special event insurance. Are you covered?

Make sure:

1. Your insurance is current

2. Your contractors have insurance (and that their's is current)

3. You define who is liable

Remember: you, the event organizer, are responsible!

The key elements of event production are: 

1. pre-production 

2. production 

3. post-production 

Planning is essential so allow yourself enough time. Be aware that even after you have done all the research and planning things can, and will, change. Leave room to pivot, be flexible, and be prepared for anything!

Look carefully at your timeline. When is your event? Work your way back from that date and plan what needs to be done in the run-up to your event. 

Dede explains that production for next year's Lightning in a Bottle festival already starts whilst this year's festival is still happening. You will learn that planning and producing a music festival is a year-long job.

Steven explains when they start planning for next year's festival.

When organizing a event or festival there are many different roles to think of. Roles change per event and per festival. Here is a list that will give you some ideas of what to think of.

Dede tells about the team that creates Lightning in a Bottle and how the team grows from 20 to 1,000 people!

Steven explains that trust is key when working in a team. When you organize your own event or festival make sure you have people around you that are up for the job.

When you choose your location you need to keep you audience in mind. Who is your audience and what do they expect from your event? When picking the right venue for your event you should think of the following with regards to your audience:

1. audience profile

2. audience behavior

3. audience personality

Is there a fit between the profile/behavior/personality of your audience and that of your event location?

A list of all the different items you should consider before you sign a contract with your venue. From the reputation of the venue to safety aspects that will affect your festival, we will discuss them all.

Overall you should:

1. Choose your location carefully

2. Research your location

3. Speak to your local license or permit officer

This is a case study. A beautiful location doesn't necessarily make for a great location. How logistics can make your event a nightmare. Remember:

1. Plan transportation to and from your festival

2. Research the different forms of transportation

3. Communicate with your audience and with your local authorities

We will discuss the importance of a site survey for your event.

A site survey is an assessment of all the aspects of an event that are likely to impact on the crowd safety management plan.

Why is it important?

Who should carry it out?

When should it be carried out?

Make sure to speak to your safety coordinator and your location manager when conducting a site survey.

A site survey happens at different times throughout your production phase. Make sure you visit your location several times. In this session we will discuss the different items you need to consider when conduction a site survey. Make sure you keep the following in mind when doing a site survey:

1. Site design

2. Capacity

3. Staffing levels

4. Safety of everyone on site

An exercise. So you've chosen the venue for your event but how many tickets can you actually sell? A first look at the capacity of your location.

Reading material.The Event Safety Guide will be used as reading material for this workshop. You can access the Event Safety Guide free online. Be aware that this guide was published in 1999, therefore some items/regulations might have been updated and changed. It's always best to check with your local authorities on the current guidelines. There is also an American version of the Event Safety Guide. More than anything this guide will remind you of what you need to think of when organizing an event or festival.

Reading material. You can download this guide for free online. The Guide was produced in 2008 so be aware that there might have been changes and updates to some parts, and regulations, of the Guide. Nevertheless, it is a great guideline for getting your head around ingress and egress calculations. It is best to always check with your local authorities what the safe maximum capacity at your event or festival is. Speak to your local permit or license officer!

Calculating your final capacity is important for any event or festival.

According to the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds the 5 factors you should consider when calculating you final capacity are:

1. The entry capacity

2. The holding capacity

3. The exit capacity

4. The emergency evacuation

5. The final capacity

We will look at the physical and safety factors, the sightlines, and the crowd flow at your event that determines the layout of your site.

What should you do when the circumstances unexpectatly change?

Go online a look for case studies of events or festivals that have dealt with an unexpected changes in weather. How did they deal with this? What were the consequences?

Remember lecture 36 "what is site design"? There are 5 factors you need to consider when calculating your final capacity. In this session we will discuss factor 3 and 4, the exit capacity and emergency evacuation.

You will calculate the amount of exits, and/or exit width, needed at your event.

You will understand the difference between egress and evacuation time.

According to the Guide for Safety at Sports Grounds you have considered 4 factors. The 5th factor, your final capacity, is a combination of them all. 

If there are too many people at your event or festival, it can potentially lead to unsafe situations. You, the event organizer, are responsible. Make sure the safety of your audience is a top priority at your event. 

You can find case studies online. Case studies such as: 

1. Love Parade 2010, Duisburg, Germany. 21 people died 

2. Pan-African Music Festival (Fespam) 2011, Congo. 7 people died

Unfortunately there are many more examples. Attached is an analysis of the events that occurred during The Love Parade in Duisberg (Germany) on the 24th of July 2010. It is quite a hefty report but it will make your realise that you need to carefully at your event capacity. 

Michelle Geddes explains what RFID technology is and how can it help with you getting your audience on your event site. What are the issues with RFID technology and what are the benefits?

A risk assessment is a document in which you describe the process to identify potential hazards and analyze what could happen if a hazard occurs. 

A hazard = anything which has the potential to cause harm to people 

A risk = the likelihood that the harm from a hazard is realized 

Make sure you remember the 5 elements of a risk assessment.

In 2009 the Department of Health of the Government of Western Australia published their Guidelines for Concerts, Events And Organised Gatherings. More than anything this Guide will give you ideas of what you need to think of when organizing an event or festival. Keep in mind that rules and regulations are different per region and country. Always speak your local authorities when creating a risk assessment.

This is an example of a risk assessment. Make sure you use a risk assessment format that is understood and recognized by you, your staff, your local permit or license officer, and any other local authorities.