Guide to Running a Corporate Event

Events come in different sizes and cover a broad scope of activities. When I was a new Marketing Manager one of my task is to plan and manage events. These include events like seminars, workshops, roadshows, sports activities, parties, conference and trade show participations.

This guide will help you to control the logistics and not be panic-stricken. When running a corporate event it is important to plan carefully thus the following guide should be known:

6 Months	Identify your goal	Depending on the type and size of the event, ideally the event should be planned 6 months before the event. In this part you should identify the goals and purpose of your event (i.e. Increase Brand Awareness, Generate Sales, and others). This will assist you in focusing on your marketing strategy and this will help you also to tailor the content and format of your event.
	Budget	Get a budget approval! Consider all the costs involve in planning your event. Request for quotation with your suppliers, venue and make a cost estimate.
	Write an Event Plan	This event plan will give you a clear perspective of your activity.
4 to 6 months	Staffing your Event	Decided whether you will need an extra hand to coordinate the logistics of your event. Usually additional staff or an event agency is needed for large events for coordination and telemarketing/ attendance generation.
	Set Date and Book the Venue	There are more function rooms availabilities and options if you book earlier.
	Brief your team on the Event	Send the event plan to those who are involved and those that you will need help for (i.e.) customer details, content and others.
4 Months	Gather your database	Know the profile and industries you will be inviting. Based on your program and objective, determine who are the audience that will benefit to your event and help you achieve your goals. You can use your own database or may need to rent or purchase a database. You can also hire a telemarketer to call on your target audience and send invitations. Your Target Audience Profile may include: 1. IT/ IS Managers 2. Operation Managers 3. Marketing Managers 4. CxOs Your Target Audience Industry may include: 1. Banking and Finance 2. Government 3. Hospitality
3 to 4 Months	Agree and Meet on Suppliers	Agree requirements in writing. Set meetings with your suppliers, do an ocular of the venue, order your giveaways
	Send out Sponsorships Invitation	The main benefit of having sponsors is to get the support of your Business Partners or Alliances thus making your event complete and more significant to your audience. Another important advantage is to lower the event cost. Sponsorship is usually monetary but at this time when all companies are cutting marketing budget it can be in a barter format. You can exchange their sponsorship in exchange of their support to the program or logistics of your event.
5 to 6 Weeks	Send your Invites	This could be via e-mail, fax or formal invitations.
4 Weeks	Follow up on Invites	Call for follow up, confirmations if your invitee will attend. You may gather more names if required. Normally on free events (i.e. product launch), 60 percent of the confirmed participants will not attend thus it is important to have a higher target for confirmations
3 weeks	Confirm final arrangement with suppliers	(i.e.) Staging, AV system, F&B and others
2 weeks	Provide script or program brief to the Hosts
	Prepare collaterals, kits
1 week	Produce Delegate IDs	Prepare also blank IDs for walk-in guests
1 day	Finalize Registration list
The Event Day	Enjoy your event!!!

Will go through more details in future post.

(This piece is contributed by Jhermie C. Ortega, former marketing manager of Avaya Philippines.)