There’s an event planner in all of us, and it’s not uncommon for people who are not necessarily professional event organisers to take on significant event projects. Typically these can be anything from private celebrations and charity fundraisers to street parties or sports days.
While we at KP always feel we would have something extra to contribute, there are times when for whatever reason, people don’t want to bring in a professional.
And so, for those occasions, please find, courtesy of KP, your own mini-guide to the wonderful world of event planning.
GETTING STARTED
Before anything happens there are a number of issues that need to be addressed. These relate to the fundamental who/what/why/where/when questions. As long you can find satisfactory answers to these, you are in a position to move ahead.
1) Why are we having this event? Is the envisaged event ‘fit for purpose’ and will it ‘do what it says on the tin’? Think about the goals of your event and ask yourself whether the event is likely to achieve them. Got your plan? Move on to…
2) Who is going to pay for the event and is there a budget within which to work? Putting on events cost money; there’s no getting around that! With sponsorship, subsidy and a team of enthusiastic volunteers, one can of course limit overheads, but even with all the will in the world, there will be a cost involved. So right from the outset, you will need to know who’s going to foot the bill and how large that bill can be! Money sorted? Move on to…
3) What kind of event are we going to create? Think about the Why and Who items above. The event has to ‘fit’ and there has to be some tangible link between the activity and the goals of the project. It also has to be viable within the budget available. Still on course? Move on to…
4) Where are you thinking of having it? You need a site or venue that can accommodate the type of event that you intend to create and one that won’t blow the budget. It also needs to be easily accessible to your potential participants / audience. Perfect site confirmed? Move on to…
5) When to do it? Obviously with certain events, such as anniversary celebrations, timing will largely be a given. There may however be some flexibility and you will need to think about going for weekday or weekend, and daytime or evening. Once you have a preferred date and time, it’s always good to check out what else is going on at that time in order to avoid clashes that may affect the success of your event. And of course check out that the site or venue you have pencilled is available at that time! It is? Well then you’re ready to start planning your event.
DO IT RIGHT
Needless to say, there are many things that one has to take into consideration when planning an event, but the overriding priority is to ensure that whatever you do is both safe and legal.
In our ever increasingly litigious society, it is imperative that we do things according to the book and for this reason too, the emphasis on legitimacy and H&S cannot be underplayed.
Licensing
Depending on the nature of your event, you may require a license – or indeed more than one. It may be that your chosen venue already holds these and nothing further is required. Equally, you may have to source these for yourself. Do not be put off by this issue as the application process is usually straightforward and inexpensive. Your local council website will generally be your starting point as you go about obtaining the necessary documentation.
It is worth pointing out that council expectancies do differ, so it is always imperative to check with your local council’s events team.
As a rule, any event that involves ‘regulated entertainment’ or the sale of alcohol will be subject to an entertainment license – provided by the local authority.
This may come in the form of a Premises License (which many venues will have as a matter of course) or, if not, a Temporary Event Notice, which is an event specific license, valid but restricted to events involving no more than 499 people.
Additionally, an event involving the amplification of music (be that live or playback) will require a PRS license, which is available through the PRS organisation and an event involving the building of a structure above a certain height / capacity will require a license for a temporary structure.
Permits
In addition to licenses, it is also necessary to secure the necessary permissions to hold an event on any given site. This is generally granted by the land-owner … which again, in the case of any public space, will be your local council.
Should the event take place on the highway, road closures will be necessary. Closing roads that do not have a major impact on the locality ought to be a simple thing involving a request to the local council, copied to the emergency services. With increasing pressure on councils to facilitate street closures for worthy events, it is likely that permits for simple closures should be able to be secured at negligible cost. It’s worth noting however that the implementation of that permit (letters to residents / signage / vehicle stewarding) remains the responsibility of the event organiser.
Closures that involve more substantial chunks of highway will naturally be more difficult to secure and will require the involvement of the Highways Agency as well as the local council. Any activity that potentially disturbs public transport networks (e.g. bus routes) will naturally make things considerably more complex, and should therefore, if at all possible, be avoided.
H&S
Any chosen venue needs to be fit for purpose, and able to safely host the planned activity. For example, numbers that a venue can hold will always be determined by its fire exit capacities.
For any public event, the organiser will be required to create a comprehensive risk assessment of the event. Although there is no standard format for this, it does need to demonstrate that potential risks have been identified, categorised into levels of likelihood and levels of severity, and that precautions have then been put in place to mitigate those risks.
With large-scale higher risk events, a professional H&S advisor will generally be brought in by the organiser to help with this task.
Any contractors involved in specific aspects of the event should also provide their own risk assessments and/or method statements, which clarify how they intend to fulfil their role both safely and legally.
Insurance
Not always essential, as you may be covered by a pre-existing policy – be that the venue’s, the council’s or other. However, it is essential that you ensure some kind of insurance is in place to cover your activities. There are a number of event insurance specialists that will be able to offer one-off policies to cover specific events, should they be required.
EVENT CONTENT
‘Panem et Circenses’ (Bread and Circus)
There are certain things that remain constant over the years – and the Roman poet Juvenal pretty much nailed this one almost 2000 years ago! Certainly within the context of events, it still holds true – people want to eat, drink and be entertained!
Your event’s catering and entertainment offer will be crucial to its success – so it is important to imagine what kind of ‘customer experience’ you are providing to your participants or attendees.
Catering
Irrespective of the nature of the event you are holding, you will need to ensure that people have the opportunity to eat and drink. You may be providing a certain amount and level of catering free of charge, or simply offering it as something that can be purchased. There’s also the possibility that your event catering is predicated on people bringing their own food and drink (in the case of a ‘picnic in the park’ style event), in which case you will still have certain obligations in terms of providing the appropriate facilities for them to enjoy their own provisions.
Remember – people will need clarity on what they need to bring with them to the event, what is available at the event and how much it all costs. Thereafter they’ll want easy access to it, the provision of cutlery and crockery should it be required, somewhere perhaps to sit and eat out of the rain, etc. Envisaging the customer experience is by far the best way of anticipating what might be required.
There are of course H&S procedures relating specifically to food and hygiene that will need to be adhered to, and your local authority website will certainly provide advice on these issues.
Entertainment
Like catering, entertainment comes in all shapes and sizes. It may be a provision – as in the case of a music stage or fairground rides, or it may be something that is effectively created by the participants – as in the case of a fun-run or street party. Either way, good entertainment makes for a good event. And once again, envisaging the customer experience provides a great way of working out what’s necessary:
- will people be able to hear the music and announcements;
- will they be able to see the artists / performers;
- will they have access to a handy schedule;
- will they know what’s happening where;
- do they need to register for anything in advance;
- is there any activity that closes early and might result in disappointment;
… these are the kinds of questions to keep in mind.
MAKING IT WORK – THE NITTY GRITTY
It is amazing how even the smallest, seemingly insignificant event can often turn out to be an organisational headache, with so many different agencies, stakeholders and individuals involved. That’s simply the nature of the beast – but as long as one is prepared, it doesn’t have to be like that.
Apart from those involved in catering and entertainment, there will usually be several other people and organisations also involved. The key to successful event planning is clear communication with all of them – be they contractors, those representing the various authorities involved, stakeholders such as sponsors, your core team of staff and volunteers, on-site first-aiders and stewards, etc.
Although by no means comprehensive, the following section identifies the principal people and organisations with which you’ll be dealing with ‘on the day’, in order to ensure that the event runs as it should.
Infrastructure Contractors
Depending on the nature of your event, infrastructure might include:
- Staging
- PA
- Screens
- Lighting
- Marquees
- Gazebos
- Furniture
- Barriers & Fencing
- Branding
- Signage
- Generators
- Toilets
- Rubbish Bins
- Fire Extinguishers
Never leave things to the last minute. Any contractor involved will need to know well in advance what they are providing, where it needs to be, when it needs to be there and how they are going to get it there.
Plans and diagrams are crucial in order to eliminate or at least minimise misunderstanding and the consequential risk of having the wrong equipment turn up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Event Team
An event is never a single-handed affair. It needs a body of people to make it happen, and at the centre of that is a core team. This comprises the people who, between them, have a complete and overall understanding of the event. Commonly referred to as the Event Liaison Team or the Operations Team, it is essential that this is a functional unit of people who have the determination and desire to make a success of the event.
Each person needs clarity on their respective responsibilities, and as overall organiser, it’s your job to ensure they all do.
The same applies to volunteers, who invariably provide a much better service when they know exactly what’s required of them. When dealing with volunteers, make sure their remit is realistic and enjoyable. They’re not slave-labour; they’re a fantastic asset for your event provided you create a two-way relationship, in which they also gain.
Safety & Security Team
We’ve already mentioned the importance of health and safety / security issues. Again, depending on the nature of your event, you may well require the on-site support of a First Aid Team, and a Security & Stewarding Team. Once you have an event plan along with an idea of anticipated numbers of participants / attendees, your local council’s events department will be able to advise on what is necessary in this regard.
Sustainability
Working in a sustainable manner has become a standard within the events industry, and there is an expectancy to do as much as possible to comply with environmental policies. Recycling paper, glass, metal and other standard materials, using bio fuels for generators and non-polluting transportation for production equipment are obvious examples.
PRE EVENT & POST EVENT
The success of any event depends on much more than what you actually offer ‘on the day’. You could have fantastic entertainment combined with top notch catering in a stunning venue or on a spectacular site … but if no-one came, how good would it be?
There are a host of ancillary elements that make or break an event – and many of these have to be addressed well in advance of the day itself.
Marketing & Advertising
Unless you are able to get the message out, you will be severely limiting the potential success of your event. While advertising tends to be an expensive option, there are many marketing avenues to pursue that are simple and cost-effective.
Traditionally, flyers and posters have proven effective – particularly in the immediate vicinity of the event. Nowadays however, the advent of social media has opened up huge far-reaching channels of opportunity, which have to be utilised. Not only are many of these channels free, but there are many people (not just professional marketers) who have an excellent understanding of digital marketing and who will be able to help you with this.
Obvious digital platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Google + and LinkedIn, but there are many others too.
Targeting your audience is vital – and there are two immediate groups to focus on:
- Those living close to the event site
- Those with some kind of ‘stakeholder’ interest
PR
A local street party is unlikely to make the front page of The Times. It might however make the local paper, and it might, depending on the nature of its theme, make it into another relevant publication.
So have a think about who might be interested in your story and get it out there.
Sponsorship
Events attract sponsors for all kinds of reasons. It might be purely commercial, in that they can see a tangible ROI. It might be for other reasons such as wanting to engage with the local community, be seen to be doing something charitable or because there is a fit between the event’s aims and the sponsor’s own ’raison d’etre’.
Just because your event isn’t a high profile star-studded bash or hasn’t got a huge charitable fundraising angle, don’t be put off – you may still be able to secure some sponsorship. As with PR, target organisations that have some kind of stakeholder-type affiliation with your event and always remember to go for sponsorship in kind when cash isn’t forthcoming. It all counts!
Evaluation
It’s always good to find ways of evaluating your event and seeing if your initial goals have been achieved. It’s also vital to have something positive to deliver back to your sponsors and other stakeholders that demonstrate the value of their input. There are various ways in which this can be done:
- Photographic and video records
- Personal testimonies from participants
- Qualitative and quantitative appraisals of the event’s reach and success in raising awareness
- Collation of any PR gleaned
PROFESSIONAL HELP
The scale of your event will determine precisely what’s needed in terms of production and event management. While a garden party or venue-based indoor event may be perfectly manageable with a good volunteer event team, a more ambitious event may well require some professional event management support.
Precisely what and how much help is needed will depend on various factors, such as the complexity of any production requirements, the level of risk that the event involves and the necessity of raising significant funds through sponsorship. There are of course several other factors but these highlight instances where specific expertise may prove very useful indeed.
And should you find yourself in need of that, or indeed any other event-related expertise, you know where we are …
+44 (0) 20 8883 7411