Event management is the employment of project management to the establishment and development of corporate and personal events of different scales. These events include weddings, ceremonies, fundraisers, concerts, book launches, conventions and more. There are a couple of steps required for proper event management, and they are; studying a company’s brand, researching and recognizing the brand’s target audience.
The concept of an event has to be envisioned before it takes place, and its technical aspects must also be deliberated upon. All of these steps are best completed before the organization’s event actually holds. Events vary in size and purpose as they are made to fulfill different needs from sports to professional business needs.
Famous people, charities and more all host events to create and maintain communication bridges, develop professional relationships, and generate funds for the organizers. Event management is a broad term that encompasses event planning which in turn refers to the process and activities involved in the venue selection, cost forecast and budgeting, and acquisition of required permits for an event.
Events are fundamentally different so the processes and activities involved in setting them up are different as well. Creating and executing a plan for each event varies depending on the kind of event it is and the duration. The event manager is the individual tasked with the duty of planning and executing an event. This individual overlooks all the financial and technical details of an event including its brand building method, communication and PR strategy, logistics, customer service and more.
Event management can be quite stressful, especially if the event is a big one with a large audience expected in attendance.
Event Management as a Strategic Marketing Tool
Event management is an effective tool for strategic communication and marketing efforts of different organizations regardless of individual sizes. The power of events can be harnessed by companies to promote events and release information to potential customers and new customers alike. They are more effective than webinars because events provide opportunities for targeting niche audiences.
Traditional media channels like the Television and radio. Event managers still have to go through television and radio channels because they are the easiest to access yet they allow brands to reach populated audiences that sometimes reach thousands and millions of people all at once. Another approach is to create an event and invite potential customers, and new customers.
Event Management has its own brand of elements known as the 5 C’s of event management; concept, coordination, control, culmination, and closeout.
Maximizing ROI from Event Management
As stressful and time-consuming as creating a corporate event is, it can also be quite engaging and successful. Events can be designed in a way that generates a return on investment . In no particular order, the steps that help maximize ROI on event management are below:
● Creating a plan for the event as quickly as possible
● Things change so an event planner/manager must remain flexible
● There must be room for negotiation
● Assigning responsibilities and delegating some
● Create a backup plan in case things don’t go as planned