Eight Simple Steps to Planning a Successful Event
by Ellen Frisina
It's easy to plan an event that creates a buzz about your client or company. This Professor of Public Relations professor tells you how. Eight Simple Steps to Planning a Successful Event
by Ellen Tashie Frisina Assistant Professor, School of Communication Lead Professor, Public Relations curriculum Hofstra University
Special events are a terrific way to reach goals for your organization or client. When planned correctly, they generate excitement, create a buzz, and attract lots of media attention, pre- and post-event.
Planning a successful event takes nothing more than some creativity and strong attention to detail. It doesn't take a lot of money if you think through all the details. Here are eight basic points to ponder during the planning process:
1. What's your objective? Why are you holding an event? To increase membership? Launch a new idea or product? Thank your employees? It's extremely important to be clear on who you're interested in knowing about this event. This will help you decide where your event should held. Indoors or outdoors? A park or a catering hall? An ice-skating rink? Your company auditorium?
2. Set a theme Be creative. We live in a busy world, we're protective of our free time. Why should people want to come to your event? The theme (anything from a circus to a press conference) will help you "hook" your audience as it will be intriguing and be carried through the entire planning process. Planning a superior event doesn't take a million-dollar budget; what it does take is lots of thought and creativity.
3. Create an invitation list Who will benefit from coming to the event? How will your organization/client benefit from certain groups/people knowing that the event is being held? Remember, it's less important from a pr perspective how many people come...it's more important that many people know that you're creating this buzz.
4. Design an invitation to link with your theme Be creative! An invitation doesn't have to be a simple white panel card. It can be anything from a CD-rom or audio cd to a chocolate bar with details printed on the wrapping. Remember that you're creating a buzz -- be different and attract attention with your creativity. Remember, of course, the cost to mail and/or distribute your invitations. Some of the most clever I've seen have been hand-delivered to a very specific audience. For example, a Mexican restaurant that wanted to increase attendance at its Friday Night Happy Hour attached an invitation to a bag of taco chips and salsa and hand-delivered them to about 100 business executives in the immediate area.
5. Plan your menu Food is probably the most important key element in attracting people to your event. Think outside the box; miniature hot dogs and cheese and crackers may be too plain to get people talking about how wonderful your event was. If it's a circus theme, try popcorn, sno-cones and cotton candy, for example.
6. What's your agenda/entertainment? Why should people come? Music and dancing may work for some events, as will distinguished keynote speakers, but if you really want people to "talk you up" think about something different: contests, comedians, make-your-own video? Even something as boring and usual as a check presentation to your organization can be spiced up by some creative thinking. Get your audience involved in wanting to come!
7. What's the "take-away"? Everyone loves to get gifts. What give-away can you link to your theme that will promote your organization? How about asking your local paper to print a mock-up of a front page highlighting your event? A gift basket with fancy chocolates? Even a pad of drawing paper and some colored markers can get your guests' creative juices flowing...and make them talk about your event long after it's over.
8. Think publicity Of course you'll invite the media to cover your event, and the more unusual the event, the higher the probability of coverage. But be pro-active as well. Take lots of photos at the event, making sure to get the names (and correct spellings!) of people in the photos. Then mail those photos to local papers, as many as possible, covering the hometowns of the people in the photos. You'll be amazed at how many of those photos will be used, creating more free publicity for your organization/client.
About the Author
Ellen Tashie Frisina is Assistant Professor in the Journalism/Mass Media Studies Dept at Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY). She is the lead professor in the public relations track.
