Professional Event Production

WebCasting and Some Technical Considerations

 

Here’s something else to think about when you decide to extend the reach of your meeting and that concerns your webcasting partner.

You may have watched some events that were streamed live or possibly streamed on demand and they cut out intermittently, or the video seemed to jump. Possibly the voice was out of sync.

It happens, but can it be prevented? Can it, be minimized?

 

Planning A Webcast and Hybrid Event

The Webcast must be produced and staged professionally taking into account those attending face to face as well as those attending virtually.

 

Measure Twice, Cut Once

You know that old saying, don't you! I do, too and should always pay attention to it. Even better, measure three times and have another person measure, too. Then cut!

I had to remove my posted video yesterday as we saw a couple of things that were not quite right.  The video about "Planning Your WebCast will be re-posted as soon as it is ready for prime time.

 

Why Webcasting?

The world of meetings & special events has certainly changed since 2008. What to do then? Extend the reach of those meetings in a strategic and cost effective manner.

 

Happy Holidays

Wishes for a very Happy Holiday.

Your support of this blog is appreciated.

In preparation, is a first for this blog.

A video blog. Watch for it next week.

Pat Ahaesy, CMP, CSEP

P&V Enterprises

 

Event Planning Part III

We've received proposals from a few venues, now they need to be sorted out. Which venue enables you to meet the objectives that you had in mind? which has the space for flexibility? If you will have staging needs and the event or conference has complex elements then discuss with your technical producer. This could save a lot of mis steps in the end.

To regress a bit, part of the ultimate selection, along with the technical producer's input is going back to the books.

Recently I queried the online listserv members in the MECO Group giving them a scenario of 300 people schoolroom style. what would be the space requirements. The answers varied widely. There were also suggestions as to where to find the right answer.

This is a critical event planning step.

There are several online space calculators to use, as well as resources from PCMA, The Convention Industry Council and MPI.

I recommend using one  of those to guide you. MPI's meeting Calculator is a little device that can be purchased at the MPI Bookstore. it's something that can be kept in your desk, purse or briefcase so you always have it. PCMA's "Professional. Meeting Management" book, has an entire chapter mon room setups and guidelines for space. The Convention Industry Council's Manual has an easy to read chart of "Function Room Setup Requirements."

It would not be easy to recommend one over the other, as they each have their merits. the books can be purchased at the PCMA or CIC Websites.

You could also Google "meeting room space specifications" and several sites will be suggested. One that seems quite good is

http://www.hotelplanner.com/Common/Popups/SpaceCalculator.cfm, suggested by  Gerald Howard, a MeCo member. it looks like a winner, too.

Honestly, there are so many other things to consider to be sure that. You've selected the right venue for your event, but I'd need to write a book, not a blog.

Let's assume that now you've selected a venue,  and therefore a date, let's consider two things. one is a timeline from now to the day of the event and two is the content and flow.

The timeline can begin with weekly benchmarks and as you ae closer to the event, possibly daily.

The Event Timeline should begin with the first vendor to arrive, continue to the beginning of the event, then the event minute by minute, the end and finally vendor load out.

Let's assume this is lunch event for 300 and there is a keynote speaker and 3 awards to be given, at least this is what we're told.

Why not query some of your colleagues, create a committee to get input. As so many use social media, create or have someone create a Facebook page just for your event. Create buzz through this. Ask your fans for feedback.You could discover some very creative ideas for those awards, help you narrow down keynote and speaker. In addition, you'll be building interest in the event and therefore attendance

There's much more, but that's for the next blog, where we'll talk about finding speakers and entertainment.

You'll note that I haven't discussed venue contracts. This is a huge topic and if you're new to this, get a professional who specializes in contracts and/or a lawyer that specializes in the hospitality industry.

So many people think that event planning is a glamorous industry and that anyone can plan or produce a meeting or an event because the really good professionals do such a good job that it looks easy. As you can see there's a lot more than calling a restaurant and making a dinner reservation!

 

Planning An Event - Part II

 After reading the previous blog post, you now know why you need to plan this event. You understand its purpose. You have dates in mind. (Flexibility is important). You have the reason for and type of event, basic content of your meeting or event and have estimated attendance.  Remember, if you don’t know how many will attend and what will happen within the confines of your event, you won’t know what type or size of venue to search?

Searching and selecting a venue is a critical component to the event planning process. Where to begin that search? You could bring on a site selection consultant to do this for you, or you can do it yourself.

What is the best type of venue for your purpose? Would it be a hotel, a restaurant, a conference center, a landmark or historic venue, a warehouse, a yacht, the huge conference room in your company’s office?  Now you need to drill down to one of two of these types.  Check your local CVB website, or a website like BizBash. Ask for suggestions from meeting planners, colleagues, etc.   Google Event Venue+the name of the City. You’ll be absolutely amazed how many choices there will be, to the point of possibly being overwhelmed

Next step, look at the website of some of those venues. Then call three to five venues that seem like the right fit to you and request a site visit. They’ll ask you some questions prior to the visit, but you should have those answers as a result of finishing the previous steps.

On your site visit, besides the pretty rooms, suites, etc., that they show you, ask to see where guests would arrive, where your vendors would load in, check service elevators proximity to where your event will be and the size. This could be critical, depending upon what is being brought in to your event from vendors. Where will your vendor truck and vans park?  Where will guests park?  What is the public transportation situation?

Check how the flow of your event will work in that venue? If it seems at all awkward, that’s not the venue for you. Find out what other events are scheduled to be held the same day as yours. Will those other events conflict with yours as far as traffic flow, guest arrivals, noise level or possibly a competitor to your company or client?

You also need to ask about fees. What’s included, What’s not included? 

If you like what you see, either go back to your office and submit a request for proposal (RFP) or hand the hotel representative your RFP and they’ll send you a proposal. Give them a specific date to send the proposal so they have a guideline. This prevents their being unsure about a deadline and prevents stress on your part.

If you know that your event will include staging and audio visual, discuss the needs of your production company regarding load in, ceiling heights and sight lines, to name just a few. The production folks will know whether your vision and theirs works in a particular venue. Using a production company to help you with an event with staging, video, lighting, sound, projection will be extremely important and can make a huge difference to you. Your production company will handle all the vendor details for you as well as make sure the your event flows perfectly. The end product should be outstanding and free you up to concentrate on all the other many details of planning.

In every step of the way, good clear concise communication is extremely important from the very beginning through the post conference meeting.

Basic Steps to Plan an Event, Part I

If you have been asked for the first time by your association, department head, CEO, or Garden Club to plan the annual event or the first annual event, let’s consider some important things first.

Plan your event as far in advance as possible. This, too, can help you with favorable rates. You might also be able to obtain a venue or other supplier that might be out of reach closer in to the date

Why is this event or meeting being held? What is it’s purpose? Is it a retirement party, a product launch, a holiday party, the annual shareholder’s meeting? This is important to know and think about as each has somewhat different approaches.

Who is your audience? Is it an in house company meeting, a B2B, an association meeting?

What dates are being considered?  Have you thought of other events locally or in your industry that could conflict with your dates, legal holidays, and religious holidays? Is there flexibility with the dates? This can help to get favorable rates or discounts.

Once you have the above in place it’s time roll up your sleeves.

Plan the basic content of your meeting, i.e., what will happen. Are there sessions, an opening session, an awards lunch, etc. This of course depends upon the answer to the very first question. This can be somewhat general as this is the first look at your event, but needs to be polished as soon as possible to avoid glitches.

The next step is to estimate attendance. Along with knowing what type of event that you're planning this will help you when we get to venue selection. If this is a repeat event, you have a history, but if it’s a new one, you would be wise to research recent attendance for similar events. 

There is much more to do. The next blog will discuss the next steps in event planning.

 

 

 

 

 

Accountability and The Event Planner

How often, do you, the event planner  have a client or vendor who promises to return your call, get you a quote, give you their most recent change, etc. and you don’t hear from them when they said that they would call.

How often does a venue, or other potential vendor tell you, the event planner, that they’ll get you a proposal in 5 days, and you receive nothing.Then you call them back to receive nothing but "oh, we've been swamped".

How often do you find others in your meeting planning team will just make do, rather than responding with the best solution possible.

Or, better yet, your vendor or colleague, promises ABC, and only provides AB with a shrug of shoulders?

This is more than good or bad business practice. It’s something more personal than that.

 It’s accountability.

What does accountability mean to you? To whom are you accountable? Whether it's to your family, co-workers, your boss, your clients, your vendors, your volunteer stint, your quitting smoking, losing 5 pounds, writing those thank yous. being honest about what you can do and will do.

Recently, I I asked this question of the members of the MECO list (MEetings COmmunity) and following are some of the answers. You’ll find a common thread runs through these. I hope that you like what you read and will comment on accountability as this is so important in our every day life, both personal and in business and in the larger global picture.

From Susan Blaine:

At work:

Managers

Client

Colleagues

At home:

Husband

Animals

(no babies yet!)

From Sue Walton:

•   myself

•  my family

•  my clients-the people who sign the venue contracts

•               my participants

From Dianne Davis:

 1.      God

2.      Myself

3.      Husband

4.      Family

5.      Friends

6.      Clients

7.      Society

8.      Country

9.      Less fortunate

I believe they are the same whether work or home life.  We are one person.  And negotiating the list just doesn’t work for me. 

From Adrian Segar:

There is more than one way of thinking about accountability.

The most common definition is that accountability is doing what you

say you will do. From that point of view, my aim is to be accountable

to everyone. But that requires perfection (in the sense that we need

to be able to perfectly predict what may happen in the future, which

none of us can do), and that leads to a second definition that is

different but more realistic.

The second definition of accountability concentrates on being able to

learn and acquire knowledge. Accountability is the willingness to

account for the events, experience, results, beliefs, attitudes, and

assumptions in life for the power of learning. This creates organizing

power in your life.

From Patti Shock:

You have to have both accountability and responsibility.  To have one without the other is a recipe for trouble.

Just think about having responsibility without being accountable for your actions. 

Or being accountable, without being the one that has the responsibility for making the decisions.

From Beth Cooper-Zobott:

I think that for me, accountability means that as I relate to myself, myfamily, my friends, my company, my clients and my co-worker, I have an obligation to all of the above to do my best and strive for personal and professional excellence (not perfection).   This is the way I show up every day:  ready to work, ready to be a positive factor in others' lives, ready to share, wait my turn, be polite, be thoughtful and not think that I exist in a vacuum and that my actions have no impact.  

From Pat: These folks have really good ideas of accountability, don't you think? 

So what does this have to do with the title of my blog: Professional Event Production?

Everything, becuase if you're not held accountable or don't think about being accountable, none of your talent, capability or creativity means a thing. Essentially, your accountability to yourself is the bottom line.

 

Suspend Your Fears When Planning Your Meeting

Have you ever had one of those moments of complete mental clarity, where you know that what you’re doing is the right thing and that it is also safe?

My lastest blog posts have been about thinking differently in your corporate or association meeting and event planning. You know, not doing the same meeting or event year after year as though you had “phoned it in”.

Recently we were on vacation in Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont, one of the most beautiful places. Imagine, tree-laden mountains, views for miles, and the nicest people.

A few weeks prior to our trip, I was checking the Internet for things to see and do. There were some fascinating things to see, such as Ben & Jerry’s factory, Cabot Cheese Creamery, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. All of these were very interesting and each stressed its environmentally friendly mission.

Another thing that I saw while busily browsing the Internet was a Zip Line Tour**. Imagine zipping through the trees at 30 – 40 miles an hour! Boy, that sounded like fun. But wait! I’m no daredevil. I don’t like roller coasters, or fast cars. My kids tease me about that all the time.

I’m the kind of person that must be in control of what I’m doing, not let whatever it is take over.

Why would this even intrigue me?

It certainly sounded wonderful, though.

But wait a minute: I’ve piloted a glider,

I’ve skied Vail, I’ve been river rafting in Colorado, been on a helicopter ride over Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii so why would I be afraid of zipping through the trees!

Good question. I thought about it and then thought differently. I began to imagine the exhilarating experience of flying through the trees. What a joyful image that was. It was time to suspend my fears, and add this to my list of adventures.

Well, we did all those touristy things that I read about. We saw the ice cream factory, the cheese factory and the teddy bear factory and found them all to be very interesting, and a lot of fun. Of course, we also did a bit of antiquing.

The day prior to our zip line tour, we did a site inspection to see their offices, layout and chat with personnel and were quite satisfied. I know: even on vacation, I’m an event planner.

The day came for our zip line tour. I made sure that I was dressed in long pants and sleeves like they suggested. We arrived for the pre-tour instructions before we went on a small test zip line that was very close to the ground. We each tried our hand at zipping, if that’s what you would call it! We all passed the basics, then piled into a van and were off to the real zip line tour.

There were a total of 8 different zip lines and 2 repels. The first platform was 30’ off the ground. Some of the zip lines were short, maybe 100 feet or so, but one was about 900 feet long. Four were 700 feet long! The total distance we went was about 4700 feet! I had the best time trying something new and different. I had confidence in the equipment and guides that enabled me to get past any nerves.

The repels? They were quite easy, once I decided that standing at the edge of the platform and leaning backwards into nothing - 40’ high - was safe, I literally suspended my fears and was ready to go.

The best thing about all of this is that after the first couple of ziplines, I wasn’t thinking about anything else except  simply enjoying the experience.

In your everyday life, and in your job, as a meeting or event planner, so that you don’t get caught in the doldrums of doing the same event over and over in the exact same way---

Suspend your fears so that you can Think differently