Tag Archive for: event planning

How to make every event unique

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For event planners, it’s important to make each of your events unique in order to encourage re-attendance, make your events memorable and promote your event messaging. Here are a few ways you can make every event unique.

Use lighting strategically

Lighting can be used to set your colour scheme, create a certain mood, revitalise guests, bring your theme to life and draw attention to areas within your event space. When used strategically, lighting can breathe life into your event agenda and can impress your guests. To make your event unique through strategic lighting, it’s important to use state-of-the-art technology and work with a team of lighting experts.

Theme your event

Theming your events is one of the most obvious ways to create a unique experience for guests. A theme is an idea or concept behind your event which can be brought to life through your visual elements, invitations, agenda, marketing, dress code, food and entertainment. By promoting your theme through all aspects of your event, you can make each event experience feel unique for guests.

Prioritise your styling

Styling creates the look and feel of your event. Event styling incorporates furniture, decor, table layouts, props, audiovisual and digital elements. It is one of the most effective ways to set the atmosphere of your event. How would you like your guests to feel at your event? Your styling will help you facilitate a certain event experience to make the day unique.

Hire entertainment

Impressive entertainment can really set your event apart from the rest. By choosing entertainment based on your theme, you can make each event unique. Entertainment doesn’t need to be limited to a musical act. You might consider hiring comedians, puppeteers, magicians, dancers, trapeze artists, balloon artists or DJs.

Incorporate augmented or virtual reality

Augmented reality involves computer-generated interactive elements appearing in the real world, usually viewed through a smartphone, tablet or headset. Virtual reality is a computer-generated experience, most commonly created through the use of a headset, that makes the user feel like they are in a different world. Using technology to create an augmented or virtual reality experience can provide an opportunity to promote your event messaging and branding and can create an exciting and unique experience for your guests.

Work with AVPartners

Through unique styling and exceptional lighting, the AVPartners team can help you put on an event that will wow your guests. Unlike most audiovisual teams who work with different event spaces for each of their events, AVPartners are AV experts in their own venues. The team is able to utilise every aspect and capability of the event space and technology to bring your event to life.

If you would like help making your next event unique through styling and audiovisual production, contact AVPartners today.

To theme or not to theme? That is the event planning question!

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Planning an event? You might be considering whether or not to have a theme.

A theme is the idea or concept behind your event that can give the event structure. Having a theme can benefit an event in many ways, but it does come with a few drawbacks. So should your event be themed or themeless?

Benefits of having a theme

It can make your event memorable. A theme can make your event distinctive and memorable for guests. By selecting a theme that is unique and fully committing to it, you can wow your attendees and drive your event message home.

It can help steer your event planning. Having a theme in place can help dictate your event planning decisions. A theme can provide a rough guideline for your event so that you can streamline your planning process.

It can engage your guests. A theme creates a point of difference that will be compelling for your guests. Themed audiovisual elements or a themed dress code will help your guests be fully committed to your event and immersed in the event experience.

It can reinforce your event message. If chosen well, a theme can elevate your event message, help with your branding and make an impact on your guests. In order to enhance your event message, your theme should be chosen with your event objective in mind and at the forefront of your planning process.

The drawbacks of having a theme

It’s not always practical. Events like roundtables and seminars aren’t as well-suited to having a theme as Christmas parties and gala dinners. Information-focused events like these will have focus topics already, so having a theme could distract from the discussion topic at hand.

It can limit your choices. After selecting a theme, your event decisions will be driven by it. While this isn’t alway a problem (it can give you focus and clarity in the planning process), having a theme can make your event decisions more limited.

It might distract from your messaging. If executed well, a theme can help reinforce your event message and key takeaways, but if your theme doesn’t meld with your event objective, it can do the complete opposite. You’ll want your guests to remember your event for its message, not just the theme. So if you think a theme might distract from your message and branding, it’s better to go without.

If you choose to have a themeless event, you can still make an impact through unique styling and a branded colour scheme. Creative lighting and decorations can help deliver your branding and boost your event message.

If you choose to have a theme, you can promote it through your audiovisual elements, dress code, invitations, programs, marketing, decor, entertainment, food and music.  

Stuck for ideas? Here are a few themes that we have coordinated in the past: wild west, roaring 20s, the 80s, the 90s, pop star, masquerade, acrobatic and circus theme, chocolate fantasy, black and gold, global cuisine, the Olympics, and a jungle theme. While a theme should have a strong presence and be consistent across your event, it can be as flexible as you’d like it to be! If you would like help with your next event, contact us today.

What to do after your event to ensure its ongoing success

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The success of an event doesn’t need to be dictated by what happens on the day alone. Yes, everything should run smoothly on the day, your guests should be engaged and you’ll want to make sure you meet your event objectives. However, an event’s success can extend well beyond the actual day.

Even a successful day can be tainted by a lack of post-event follow up and evaluation. So here’s what you can do to ensure the success of your event after the event itself.

Follow up

Following up with your guests after your event is an important way to let them know that you care about them. A follow up can be as simple as thanking them for attending on your event’s Facebook page or sending an eDM that reinforces your event objectives and says thank you.

Post-event evaluation

Undergoing a post-event evaluation is the best way to analyse what went well and what you can improve on next time. It can help you identify areas where you might be able to tighten up your budget and things you missed that you might like to include in your event next time around.

Feedback surveys

What a post-event evaluation might miss, feedback surveys can make up for. Who better to analyse your event than the event guests themselves? Asking your guests to answer questions about the different aspects of your event can help you to view your event from the perspective of your guests. This type of analysis can really help with improving the event experience at your next event.

Showcasing your event on social media

Social media is one of the best ways to communicate information effectively and efficiently to a wide audience. It is also a great way to show-off your event, boost brand awareness and build anticipation for any upcoming events. Showcasing your event on social media might include sharing footage from the event, developing and sharing an event video that showcases the event’s highlights, or creating and sharing a photo album from the day.

Provide a next-step

Whether it’s on social media or via email marketing, providing a next step for your guests is a great way to keep them engaged with your brand and event. It can also increase the likelihood of guests attending your future events. Provide one simple call-to-action in your communications with guests, for example “Visit our events page to find out what’s coming up” or “Sign up to our mailing list to stay in the loop”.

If you would like to maximise the experience at your next event, contact AVPartners today.

Using colour to help deliver and enhance your event message

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Professionals in neuroscience, interior design and advertising know very well the impact colours can have on our mood and how we experience things. Colours can excite, provoke action and can even encourage concentration. So how can event planners make the most of colour at their events?

While there isn’t one magic colour to use in events that will evoke a positive response from event attendees and make your event memorable, studies have shown that different colours can ignite different emotions in people. So depending on your event objectives, you might want to consider using certain colours to drive home your messaging.

Using colour in your event decor and lighting can influence the way your guests engage with your event and can create a memorable experience. Here’s how colour can make an impact on your event delegates:

Cool colours

Cool colours including blue, green and violet generally have a calming effect on people. Blue is a cool colour that is often used at corporate events. This is no coincidence. The colour blue relaxes people and studies have shown that it can help with focus and concentration. It can stimulate clear thought and put people at ease. Consider using the colour blue in your event decorations to create a calm atmosphere. You can also use blue lighting during event activities to improve guests’ attention spans and encourage concentration. The colour green can have a similar effect on our emotions. It is reminiscent of nature, and can therefore have a soothing effect on people.

Warm colours

Warm colours like red, orange and yellow create feelings of warmth and positivity. These colours remind us of warm weather and carry an energetic feeling with them. Red in particular has been proven to stimulate the mind and enhance our heart rates. It is a colour that can influence us to act. Consider using the colour red to communicate your event messaging throughout your event. It can be used in your event banners, in your decorations or on your screens.

Incorporating colour

Colour can be incorporated into your decorations, stage set and lighting. While the colours used in your design and decorations will be fixed throughout the duration of your event, you can use different coloured lighting throughout your event to enhance and complement any event styling. This helps to create different moods and experiences for your guests. Utilising different colours throughout your event can keep your guests engaged and entertained.

If you would like advice on incorporating colours into your next event, contact AVPartners today.

The easiest ways for your event to reach all corners of the country…or globe!

Want to reach more people at your next event?

Your event doesn’t need to be confined to the walls of your event space. Using the right tools and technology, you can grow your next event so that it reaches people all across the country… and even the world!

The trick is to get people involved and engaged online. Here’s how to do it.

Choose the right webcast technology

Running a webcast of your event is the perfect way to encourage people who are unable to attend your event in person to get involved. Webcast technology can be incorporated into your event plan from the very beginning of your planning process. To make sure your online guests feel involved on the day, prioritise your webcast just as you would prioritise choosing your event space, organising your seating plan and planning your guest list. To really embrace your online guests on they day, consider having your MC and speakers address them directly.

A great AV team like AVPartners will use state-of-the-art technology to put the guest experience first. AVPartners will also step you through the planning process and ensure that your webcast is set up in a way that allows people from anywhere in the world to attend.

Use live polling

Live polling is a great way to engage with your online audience on the day of your event. It can be used during your Q&A session or anytime throughout the event to keep your guests from around the country and globe interested and involved.

Use an event app

Using an event app can strengthen the involvement and engagement of your online event guests. Apps like Whova and Grupio can keep your attendees up-to-date with your event agenda and special event announcements. Some apps even offer surveys and contests to engage online attendees as well as networking capabilities to help your online guests socialise with each other.

Create an event hashtag

Using a hashtag is a simple way to encourage online conversation about your event. A hashtag that is exclusive to your event can help you to build brand awareness with the people that matter by igniting discussion about your event across social media.

Make an event video

Using the right video technology can really bring your event to life online. By choosing a team of experts to create your event video, you can build a buzz around your brand and build anticipation for the next time your event is held. Sharing an event video online is also a great way to display the experience of your event with people in other cities and countries.

Share your event on social media

Social media is the perfect tool to create a buzz before, after and during your event. Social media is global in nature so using it gives you the ability to reach people far and wide. Leading up to the event, social media can be used to share content that builds anticipation for the event to attract online attendees. Posting live video snippets and images during the event is a great way to include people online. Sharing some highlights after the event is a great way to build buzz for the next time you run your event.

Contact us today to set up video and webcast technology at your next event.

How long does it take to plan a gala dinner?

The perfect gala dinner requires a lot of planning and preparation to ensure that each element comes together seamlessly on the night. From building your guest list and setting your budget to choosing the right sponsors and fundraising activities, you’ll want everything to align to make sure the night goes to plan and that it’s everything you had visualised at the beginning of the planning process.

It can take several months and even upwards of a year to plan a gala dinner. The best way to keep the planning process on track is to put in place an event plan and timeline. Each gala dinner is different, but here is a general timeline of tasks that can help to keep the event planning process on track.

8-12 months before the event

Establish the what and why of your gala dinner and complete the groundwork.

  • Define the event’s purpose
  • Set your budget
  • Identify your fundraising methods e.g. ticketing, silent auction, raffle
  • Select a date and choose a venue
  • Look for sponsors or partners for the night
  • Plan activities, select speakers and book entertainment
  • Choose a theme

3-6 months before the event

Get the wheels in motion and spread the word.

  • Arrange your audiovisual plan and equipment for the night
  • Promote the event, for example via social media, radio or newspapers
  • Confirm speaker arrangements and finalise your entertainment
  • Check for any special venue provisions e.g. wheelchair access, parking arrangements and transport information
  • Start building an attendee list
  • Organise fundraising activities for the night
  • Book catering
  • Send invitations

2-3 months before the event

Establish on-the-night requirements, ramp up event promotion.

  • Organise decorations and table settings
  • Select food
  • Continue to promote the event, for example release special announcements to the press for media coverage
  • Arrange seat planning

1 week before the event

Finalise everything.

  • Finalise guest list and send an event reminder
  • Brief the team for duties on the night
  • Finalise seating plan and create place cards
  • Finalise guest numbers and send to caterers and partners.

1 day before the event

Get ready.

  • Conduct an audiovisual test
  • Make sure auction items, prizes or gifts are on site
  • Make sure everything is prepared for the night
  • Finalise run sheet

The day of the event

Manage the night and enjoy your hard work!

  • Decorate event space and tables
  • Hand out seating charts, the guest list and run sheet to your team
  • Make sure guests arrive
  • Keep the event running to time and deal with any issues as/if they arise
  • Enjoy the night!

After the event

Thank your guests and share the night with the world.

  • Send thank you cards to your guests
  • Finalise fundraiser and make sure participants received gifts or prizes
  • Share event photos
  • Develop an event evaluation outlining your successes and what you can improve on next time

Need to get your AV or staging prepared for your next gala event? We can help. Contact us today.

What are multisensory events and are they a good idea for your business?

Have you ever thought about how engaging the senses – for example through a certain scent or tactile experience – might enhance your events?

A multisensory event is an event that actively stimulates multiple senses. The five senses – sight, sound, taste, smell and touch – are each components of the human experience. Our senses stimulate our brain to make us more aware of our surroundings.

By creating stimulation for all five senses at your next event, you can encourage your guests to be more mentally present, alert and engaged. A multisensory experience can also make your event more memorable for attendees.

While sight and sound are common components used at events, taste, smell and touch are largely unexplored by event professionals. According to a study conducted by London & Partners, just 27 per cent of event professionals think that all five sense are used effectively by the industry, while 78 per cent think that multisensory events are more memorable for event attendees.

So how can you make your next event multisensory?

Provide memorable food

Choose your food selection not only according to how it tastes, but also by how it looks and smells, to maximise its impact on your guests. Create a positive sensory experience with your catering by including food that looks impressive and unique, and tastes and smells delicious.

Employ audiovisual creatively

Whether it be the use of a colorful and vibrant light show, the inclusion of a mesmerising sound and light installation or the incorporation of a virtual reality station, AV can help make your event impressive and memorable. As long as it’s executed creatively and professionally, AV can really give your event the wow factor that will leave your guests charmed and entertained.

Use scents strategically

Smells trigger memories. It’s not largely understood why, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that scents, more so than other senses like sight and sound, activate our brains in a way that help us remember certain memories. In addition to making your event more memorable, scents can also help to make event attendees more alert and aware. Scents like lemon, rosemary, cinnamon and peppermint can help with concentration and focus. Consider using air fresheners or oil diffusers to activate your guests’ smell receptors.

Incorporate life size games

Games like life size chess and jenga can help activate the tactile experience for your guests. Touch is a sense that isn’t widely used by event professionals, but it can help to improve the engagement of your event attendees and make your event more memorable.

Talk to us today to learn how you can activate all five senses at your next event.

Holding an AGM soon? Use these tips to help you plan.

An Annual General Meeting, or AGM, is an event held once a year by an organisation looking to give stakeholders, the general public and members a transparent overview of the organisation’s direction and financial outlook. Members and guests can expect to hear reports from the organisation’s committee regarding the achievements from the past year. It’s also the time that a vote is held and a new committee is elected for the year ahead.

AGMs are important events that need to be planned and executed properly to ensure members and guests walk away with a positive attitude about the organisation and its goals.

To help plan your upcoming AGM, consider the following:

The venue

Have a look at what venues you think might be suitable, then arrange site visits so you can determine if a venue meets all of your requirements. Will you need a board room, a large meeting room or a function room? Will you be offering refreshments during or after the meeting? Will there be a time for mingling or networking before or after the AGM, and if so, will that take place in the same room as the meeting itself?

You should also consider the accessibility of the venue in terms of public transport access and parking, through to wheelchair access and other amenities. Once you’ve chosen a venue, set a date and time, and book the meeting or function room, ensuring it’s big enough to accommodate a minimum number of people.

The notice of meeting

With as much notice as is possible and appropriate, produce a notice of AGM for members which provides details about the meeting, including the date, time, venue and information about the election.

The financial reports

Your organisation’s financial reports will need to be produced prior to the AGM. In some cases these reports need to be examined by an independent person or by your own treasurer.

The agenda

Ensure your AGM agenda is sufficiently prepared, and pre-determine whether you want to just go over the essentials, or make it a more compelling event with extra activities so you attract more members and guests on the day.

The election

It’s best to determine your voting system ahead of time so that the process can be seamless at the AGM.

You could simply have a ‘show of hands’, offer private ballots, or even arrange for a neutral third party to count the votes.

The audiovisual technology

Ensure that the venue you hire can handle your audiovisual requirements. They may even have an in-house AV provider, such as AVPartners! There are so many options when it comes to audiovisual technology at your AGM. You may require projectors to display graphs, charts and statistics for all to see, or you may look at webcasting or video streaming the event so that people can still be involved even if they aren’t physically there.

Our AVPartners teams are experts at supporting AGMs of all varieties. From staging to lighting and audiovisual support, we’ve got you covered for your next AGM. Contact us to start your AGM planning.

How to decide on the theme of your event

When planning an event, one of the first things you need to decide on is the event theme. A theme is the overarching idea or concept behind your event, that not only gives the event structure, but can inspire guests and reinforce your event message and key takeaways.

Stuck for theme ideas? Some event themes we have coordinated include: a wild west theme, roaring 20s, the 80s, the 90s, pop star, masquerade, acrobatic and circus theme, Spanish, French, chocolate fantasy, black and gold, global cuisine, the Olympics, and a jungle theme.

Whatever event theme you choose – make sure you fully commit! This means being consistent with the theme throughout all event touch points, such as the invitations, programs, marketing, decor, dress code, food, entertainment, and music.

While you don’t have to have a theme at your event, we find it aids in creating a seamless event experience for both planners and guests. Also, once it’s decided on, it helps to steer all of your planning decisions. But never fear, an event theme can be as detailed or bare as you like; sometimes simply utilising a lighting colour combination to evoke the right emotion is enough to make your mark on guests.

Here are our tips when it comes to deciding on your event theme:

Know your event objective

Make sure you’re clear on why you’re holding this event, and why people will attend. What message do you want to impart on your guests? What will be the key ‘takeaway’ from your event, will they learn something, support something, be rewarded for something or simply have a great time?

A clear event outcome and intention is crucial for an effective theme to be developed.

Know the nature of your event

A gala dinner aimed at fundraising will require a different theme to a Christmas party. The nature of your event and how it fits in with your business or brand will help determine the direction to go in with your theme. That’s not to say you can’t have fun with your theme if it’s a formal event! Just that you need to be aware of it and tweak ideas where necessary.

Know your audience

It sounds obvious, but just like determining the nature of your event, you need to figure out who will be in attendance and what they might want or expect from this event, and plan accordingly. If it’s an event where children will be in attendance then you can steer clear of the more risqué themes, or if the event is attempting to showcase your professionalism to potential clients you can cancel the clowns. It’s all about what is appropriate to your audience, while still being on point for your event message.

Know your venue

If you can align your theme with your venue, your event will have that extra special aspect of being seamless. You can do this by either having a theme in mind and choosing a venue which can accommodate it, or you can choose your venue and then your theme to suit it.

Know your audiovisual provider

Many venues, such as the ones AVPartners is partnered with, can offer you the expertise of in-house audiovisual (AV) technicians to bring your theme to life. Hiring an in-house AV team can be a great benefit, as in-house teams know their venues well, can offer you a wealth of knowledge and experience, and tailor audio, lighting and vision options to suit your event and theme.

Know your event colours

Whether you incorporate colour into your overall theme or the colour IS your theme, you’ll want to ensure that you’re choosing the right colours for your event objective, feel and message. To find out more about colours, read our post on how colours can create atmosphere at your event.

Contact us today to discuss your event theme ideas further!

What to do when things don’t go as planned at your event

Planning an event can be really fun and exciting, but it’s not without its challenges.

Giving guests an experience to remember, something that will leave a positive and lasting impression, is a great outcome to aim for. However, you need to plan accordingly in case things don’t quite go as you had envisioned on the day.

The best way to do this is to prepare your contingency plan well ahead of time. A general rule of event planning is that it’s a good idea to checklist everything and double check items at different intervals leading up to your event. Give agendas and timelines out to everyone that could benefit from it. On the day of the event, arrive early. This will give you extra time should something happen and need immediate attention. Remember, there’s no such thing as being over prepared when it comes to event planning!

Even with all your forward planning, things might still pop up that you weren’t expecting, or that you can’t really control. Here are some of the common mishaps we see at events and how to address them:

Schedule overlap

Giving your event’s schedule some wiggle room will do wonders for the little overlaps that tend to occur. Leaving a little room before and after scheduled items will mean that if something needs to push a little, it won’t make the entire event run late.

Weather issues

It is important to have a contingency plan for the weather as it can be really unpredictable. Depending on your event type, this could be as simple as organising umbrellas for some light rain, or it could mean moving your entire event indoors, away from bad weather.

Vendor issues

You may have a vendor cancel unexpectedly, or they may have resourcing issues. While this is a bit out of your control, what you can do is make sure you are in direct contact with them regularly in the lead up to, and during, the event. Arrive early on the day and ensure they have everything they need for their work to run smoothly. Also, have a list of backup vendors ready in case the unexpected happens.

Technical problems

Technical problems can happen at the most inconvenient times, such as when someone is about to speak on stage. Always make sure you are using a professional and reputable AV provider. This will minimise the chance of technical problems and ensure you can address any issues that do arise. Make sure your AV technicians offer onsite support throughout your event, and that they have their own contingency plans in place too. This way, you will always feel secure knowing the show can go on.

Medical emergencies

Medical emergencies require fast reaction times and leadership. At a minimum you need to be aware of where the emergency exits, medical emergency kits, and fire extinguishers are located in your chosen venue ahead of your event. It’s also not uncommon to have or request that a venue representative conduct a safety and housekeeping speech at the start of the presentation, informing guests of what the fire alarm alerts sound like and where the muster points locations are located.

When (or hopefully, if) unexpected things happen at your event, try to remain calm but react as quickly and effectively as possible. Guests will remember how well the issue was handled, or may not even realise there was a problem in the first place.

We’re always prepared for the unexpected here at AVPartners. Contact us today to work together on your next event.