Loopaa

The tipping point of event management

Event management… out of all the marketing experiences that I’ve had to deal with, it is still one of the most demanding challenges as missed deadlines are not an option. You just can’t back away when a horde of visitors is waiting at your door.

So far, it’s been a year full of events for Loopaa, whether we’ve organized and managed an event (as the Expo Inter Cars 2015) or helped our partners to have a memorable presence at their industry’s events. (such as Denso and Pergamon) And it’s not over as we are preparing for events in Bucharest, Netherlands and Denmark.

Big or small… managing an event has the same major issue: things seem to fall apart in the last days prior to the event. You have a plan, an agreed budget, everyone is loaded with tasks and enthusiasm is high. But everything’s just about those few days when you get into the real action.

You might have experienced this situation already… but what to do in order to make your life easier before but also during the event?

 

1. Make sure to have a checklist of what needs to get done. The overall plan of the event just might not be helpful enough. Focus your efforts on following a detailed checklist. If you’re in a team, each member should also be encouraged to create their own checklists, on their specific part of the event.

2. Build up a scenario for the event: what happens, when, how and who’s responsible. A detailed schedule of the event will prevent missing deadlines and a lack of coordination during the event. It includes building contingency plans to react properly to the “unexpected”.

3. Gather your team before the event (preferably a day before) and go through the responsibilities of each member. Everyone should have a really good defined role and everyone should know what they and others are responsible for.

4. Collaboration by communication is the key… However, in the heat of the battle and especially when you’re the Event Manager, things can get out of hands. So find alternative ways of communication. You can use walkie-talkies, SMS, Whatsapp or just set up brief periodical meetings for updates. Anyhow, I assure you that your phone will eventually give up. 🙂

5. Last, but not least: every event is a hell of an opportunity to learn how to improve. And make no mistake: there’s always room for improvement. Whether you collect feedback from participants, have a debriefing meeting with your team or analyze media’s appreciation…  gather all the data as soon as possible and make a list of strengths, weaknesses and possible improvements for future events.

 

And as I’ve mentioned above the necessity of a checklist, I give you a sample of what you should consider while preparing your participation as an exhibitor to a fair. If you need our help, you know that we’ll be there for you. 🙂

(click on the Download button)

ONE-PAGE Checklist   [button icon=”none” display_style=”1″ url=”http://loopaa.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Exhibitors-checklist-Loopaa.pdf” blank=”true” size=”btn-xs” colour=”btn-themecolor”]Download[/button]

 

 

Yours dedicated,

Victor Gavronschi