MDs, CEOs, directors, chairmen, financial controllers, marketing executives and indeed all senior movers and shakers are continually bombarded by invitations to attend events. The threat of a breakfast meeting with greasy full English thrown in, or another numbingly dull black tie awards ceremony or the prospect of a client’s latest product launch complete with vacuous gimmick is always looming large on their desk. And as the invites stack up, the desire to attend any of them rapidly decreases.

So what can you do to entice these people into giving up some of their precious time to come along to your event?

Getting that golden “YES” on the RSVP card is no easy task, but there are certainly a number of ways to up your chances …

Doing something because “that’s the way it’s always done” (the traditional tried and tested format) often marks the beginning of the end.

Creativity is the key. That doesn’t (necessarily) mean expensive; it just means that you need to come up with something that excites, inspires and arouses curiosity … which is something that can be achieved in a variety of ways.

An invitation has to contain the right information. In making their decision, guests will want to know the following:

• Where is it?
• Who’s going to be there?
• What’s going to happen?
• What am I going to get to eat and drink?

And so the areas to focus on are venue, hosts and guests, entertainment and catering.

 

VENUE

Why not chose a venue that guests are unlikely to have been to before and that they may not even have known was in fact a venue. These days, so many places that one wouldn’t automatically associate with events are opening their doors and can be hired on an exclusive basis. The Bank of England, for example, or a disused London Underground Station… these are kinds of venues that might just elicit a “now that might be interesting” response.

HOSTS AND GUESTS

You need to ensure (or at least give the impression) that the right people will be there. Depending on the nature of the industry and indeed the nature of the event, you may want to draw attention to the fact that your guests will have fantastic networking opportunities with precisely the kind of people that they would want to meet, or alternatively to the fact that all their principal competitors will be there (and that their absence would create some kind of void). It may be that a specific guest speaker could clinch it as the pull to see or hear them ‘live, in the flesh’ is just too much to turn down. Either way, get some reference to this onto the invite.

ENTERTAINMENT

There are no guarantees with entertainment as it always boils down to a matter of taste. One man’s nirvana can be another’s hell (think Karaoke). But if you consider the profile of your target audience, you can pretty much guess what kinds of thing are likely to go down well and what aren’t. Should it be uber-cool and sophisticated, should it be loud, crass and drunken or should it be lowest common denominator what-we-all-enjoy kind of stuff?  And remember to get it on the invite.

CATERING

A way to a person’s heart is definitely through their stomach. Which is all well and good and of course you can impress them all on the night with a great spread. But with a little forethought, you can get those gastric juices going the moment they open up the invite. Pictures of canapes, the name of the chef who’ll be preparing their dinner, the food and drink theme that you may have chosen … these can all whet the appetite and ultimately draw people in. Mention the sushi or the liquid nitrogen canapes or the Borough Market produce that will be on offer on the night …

 

And of course don’t forget basic rules:

• Pick a sensible time and day (for example one should generally discount Mondays and Fridays)
• Ensure the venue is easily accessible by car and by public transport
• If you can, work up an additional incentive for people to show such as an on-the-spot giveaway

Of course it’s hard getting the right people and getting there in numbers, but it can be done. Stick to the rules above and see attendance rise before your eyes!