Hope is a great motivator. When we deliver a mindful experience and positively benefit others, we have a win for participants and organizations. Designing events that foster exchanges is critical to moving society forward, and always has been. Event professionals are developing rich corporate social responsibility programs that make a difference in the lives of those living in the local cultures we touch with our events. These moments are often the pieces with the emotional power to take your programs…
Event Operations
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Building the right team can make – or break – your event
You’ve gone through the request for proposal process, won it (congratulations), and inherited the conference management team. It’s probably made up of the conference chair and organizing committee from the organization – or organizations — that hired you. You’re stuck with this team for better or worse, but the event day team is yours to build from the ground up. You get to recruit and train the event novices and conference pros that will make the big day a success…
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Ramadan is coming – Are you prepared?
Experienced meeting professionals know to check the calendar very carefully when choosing event dates. Statutory and religious holidays are simple – we need to just avoid them altogether! Examples of some dates that are completely off limits: Christmas, Easter, Yom Kippur and Passover. One of the religious holidays that causes some confusion among event planners is Ramadan. Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide, it falls in May/June and it lasts for about a month. The timing is different every year.…
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Venue contract wisdom is often woefully insufficient
By Heather Reid A side-by-side examination of 12 signed and negotiated contracts for booking events into unconventional venues unveiled disturbing discrepancies to me. The “unconventional venue” contracts included the following Canadian locations: cultural centre, city-owned sport facility, entertainment complex, music hall, high-risk recreational facility, heritage facility, aquarium, brewery, two recreational/amusement facilities and museums in three different cities. A wide variety of unconventional venues for sure! Here are a few of the disturbing findings of my side-by-side review: Indemnification Clause: 6…
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Six marketing tips to promote your next event
By Brent Taylor Let’s talk marketing. It seems today that there is a plethora of marketing materials, opinions and experts advising us on how to best market any product or service we have to offer. Why is that? Why is there so much attention being given to marketing? I recently read Seth Godin’s books, All Marketers are Liars and Purple Cow. I recommend both these books along with Simon Sinek’s Start with Why. I was intrigued by what Godin identifies as…
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Unexpected added costs when planning an event
At one point in every event planner’s career, there has been the situation of receiving a final invoice from a venue with added costs that were never included in the budget. This refers to power costs, internet costs, extra catering labour costs, and so on. This is especially problematic when a third party such as a DMC has given an inclusive price to the client and must absorb the extra costs or an in-house planner must go back to their…
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What you need to know about shipping event materials
By John Santini Like most people shipping to a trade show or conference, once your shipment leaves your premises you likely give little thought to its journey to your booth space in Canada. We’re just happy to see it there when we arrive! It is important, however, to understand what happens between points A and B to ensure your material makes it there, on time and during the move-in hours. Move-in day and labelling You would be surprised how many…
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Prevent becoming a commercial casualty by avoiding current events debates
On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed and 17 more wounded. It seemed yet another tragic shooting of numerous innocent victims that provokes intense political and media interest for a few days and then is eclipsed by other events. In this case, the Parkland shooting has gained a momentum that has grown in news coverage, causing a number a special interest groups to wade into the…
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The insider’s guide to internal meeting spaces
There are times when corporate planners are tasked with planning events in an internal meeting space. Usually, this means planning meetings in office buildings while managing client expectations – and what they expect is the same standard as if the meeting was held in a purpose-built venue. Perceived convenience and cost savings become the deciding factors for internal meetings, however there can be hidden costs and inconveniences that should be considered. Moving meetings into the office are rarely as simple…
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Wish list of items for a perfect event space
By Jessica Symons and Sarah Stockton Before determining what the perfect event space is, you first need to understand your client’s needs, their demographic, and their expectations: Do they prefer downtown locations versus the suburbs? Do they need to be close to transit or the airport? Do they need to have off-site social locations close by? Where is the majority of their membership coming from? How many people are expected to attend this event? Are they mostly women, mostly men,…
