Event Planners: To Outsource or Not to Outsoure?

A famous English Poet once said something like this, but today we give this a twist to the event world.

As an organization you might have noticed the importance of hosting an event. The question is whether to organize the event individually or do you hire an event planner? What are you going to do? We have listed the pros and cons of outsourcing an event planner.

PROS

• Event agencies have extensive experience and are aware of the latest trends in the industry. There is a great possibility that the certain knowledge you need to host a high quality event is not fully present within your company.
  
  
• An event planner has an objective view of the company. Therefore it’s much easier for them to put their finger on the stronger and weaker points of the organization so they can easily customize the event to your company’s style.
  
  
• Event planners have an extensive network in the events industry. They know the right people and know where to get the needed supplies and often for better prices.
  
  
• When you decide to host an event individually, keep in mind that it will take up a lot of time and you will have multiple responsibilities. The daily tasks may have to be put on hold, due to the extent of time it takes to organize an event.
  
  

CONS

• A good briefing is necessary to meet up with the required wishes. This may take more time if the event planner is not familiar with your organization. They aren’t accustomed to the company’s style so therefore it’s going to take them longer to sense your desires.
  
  
• You should take into account the expense of outsourcing the event. Despite the effective work of an event planner, the cost can be very high. Perhaps hedge the costs in advance?

An event can be as large or delicate as you want to realize it. Make notes of the required expertise, creativity, budget and risks. Whether you organize it individually or you outsource the event, make sure that it meets up with your desires and that you will achieve the best results.

Do you have any Pros and/or Cons of yourself? Share them with us.

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Have a great weekend.

Written by Rainny Mutter & Reinoud Tjallema

Planspot.com is an all-in-one event marketing dashboard to run campaigns across social media, press, mailings and media partners combined with powerful statistics. Want to try it? Don’t hesitate and give us a call  0031 (0)10-7370623 or mail us at reinoud@planspot.com

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Event Checklist: How to Evaluate an Event Location

In your search for a suitable event location, you need to take several things into account. Keep in mind that your location determines the atmosphere and the look of your event. So it’s probably safe to say that your location defines to a large extent, the success of your event. The following  useful checklist can help you decide whether you have found the ideal location or not. 

CHECKLIST

Atmosphere and appearance

• Does the location project the right atmosphere for your event?
• Can you implement decent adjustments to achieve the preferred look?

Accessibility and parking

• Is the location easy accessible for your attendees?
• Is the average travel time to the location acceptable for your guests?
• Is there plenty parking space at the location or in the neighborhood of the location?
• How far is the distance between the location and parking?

Capacity

• Are there several area’s available?
• Take into account the minimum and maximum number of guests, is the location not too small or too big?

Facility

• Is the location accessible with a wheelchair?
• Are there any obstacles, such as stairs?
• Is there a lift?
• Is there a checkroom?
• Are there facilities for catering, is there a kitchen?
• Is there a stage or room to install a stage
• Do you have to rent tables and chairs or can you use the existing ones?
• Are there changing rooms for staff and artists?
• Is there adequate heating and / or air conditioning?

 Water and electricity

• Is there running water available?
• Are there different and sufficient power groups?
• Are there enough electrical outlets?

Audio

• Does the location have their own audio-visual equipment and sound engineering
• Is there a maximum allowable volume
• Does the location have good acoustics?
• Is there disturbing noise in the vicinity of the location?

Safety

• Does the location meet up with the safety regulations?
• Are there enough emergency exits?
• Are emergency exits properly marked?
• Are there fire extinguishers?

No matter what kind of event you’re hosting, always choose a suitable, inspiring location. Make sure that the location fits your target and theme.

Good luck with your search and we hope that this checklist will help you on your way!

Written by Rainny Mutter 

Planspot.com

Planspot.com is an all-in-one event marketing dashboard to run campaigns across social media, press, mailings and media partners combined with powerful statistics. Want to try it? Don’t hesitate and give us a call  0031 (0)10-7370623 or mail us at reinoud@planspot.com

Events: How to deal with Generation X and Y?

There can be many reasons for hosting events and exhibitions, but they all have the following basis in common: Bringing people together with a common interest, to the make the most out of it for both the attendees as the organizers/companies.

However, attendees do differ from each other and today we are going to tackle the Generation X and Y attendees, while they are ó so different!

This raises the question: How can you adjust your event or exhibition to the preferences of these generations?

A research performed by Amsterdam RAI, in collaboration with TrendsActive and Ruigrok Netpanel, topped of with some Planspot event expertise, will give you the effective insights you need to cope with these totally different generations.

Who? -  Generation X

• 35 - 50 years old
• Cynicism
• Pragmatism
• Family-focussed
  

What should I do? - Be transparent and personal
This generation prefers to be approached in an honest and personal way. Therefore, communicating with Generation X should be transparent and should include a personal touch. They want to know who is behind the brand, product, event and/or stand. They will also appreciate it when you explain your USP’s.

What do they expect? - What they expect is what they get
The last thing you want is disappointed attendees. A good way to prevent this is to show your attendees in advance what they can expect. For example you can show a pre-event movie or clips of past events so they have picture of what to expect. Live up to their expectations.

What floats their boat? - Family focus
Keep in mind that the X Generation has a family. Let them know that you understand their personal needs and hectic parental lifestyle. They love spending time with the whole family in the weekends. An ideal situation is to also offer services for the rest of the family at your event. For instance, you can offer childcare or nice giveaways for the kids.

Who? - Generation Y

• Key characteristics
• 20-35 years old
• Me-Centric
• Conscious & Smart
• Visual Culture

What should I do? - Custom tours & Communication
How do you engage the Y Generation at your event? Due to their minimum familiarity to the exhibition world, the best way is to organize an online and/or offline guided tour that takes them to the exhibition floor. Apps are also a great tool for this.

When you’re communicating with the Y-generation, you should focus on knowledge and skills. They love to learn more and be well informed, before, during and after the event.

What do they expect? - Responsiveness & Active participation
To assure that this group is getting what they expect, you should know what their wishes are in advance. Give them the opportunity to ask questions about the event. This can easily be done online through social media and polls.

This generation wants to do things for themselves. Keep in mind that they aren’t just passive listeners, but they like to participate in different activities, such as a workshop.

What floats their boat? - Visual culture & Personalization
This group upholds a very large interest in a visual culture (see Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram etc). A good way to respond to their desire is to have a recognizable corporate visual identity, that can be easily spotted at the event, but also online.

Create a smaller and more personal atmosphere by making a greater use of visual communication. Work out a complete concept and use the best technology to create a full visual experience. Once you discover more about the Y Generation needs, you can offer them a custom product which they do appreciate.

As you can tell, different generations have different needs and this shouldn’t be a problem for event organizers as long as you keep in mind with whom you are dealing.

Therefore it is good to figure out who your target audience is beforehand. Ever heard of the SWOT for events?

This is it for now.

Have a great weekend.

Written by Rainny Mutter & Reinoud Tjallema

Planspot.com