Event Planning 101 - Part 1
May 10, 2010

Contrary to popular belief, good event planning is no simple task. It requires attention to detail, keen anticipation and self-discipline. Without proper planning, and – let’s face it – even sometimes with it, special events can take a turn for the worse and become counterproductive for your company and its goals. So we’ve put together a quick guide to special event planning to keep you on track:

Prior proper planning.Start with a detailed checklist of everything. From there you can delegate responsibilities and make reasonable deadlines for each task. Think specific. What are your goals from this event? When do you need to research pricing for venues, photographers, decorations, food, music and invitations? Are you going to give guests a take-away gift? Do you need signage? Are you going to have a band? Do you need nametags? Every detail should be addressed.

This checklist will be the backbone to the event and will keep you from procrastinating as long as you stick to it. It will also serve you well if unexpected events impact your situation. Be sure to allow several weeks before the event (typically 7-8 weeks) to prepare for it and one week after it to follow-up with guests and evaluate what worked and what didn’t.

Budgeting. After drafting a checklist, you should be able to establish a reasonable budget and develop a theme that fits the goal you’ve set. The budget often limits some of your checklist items, so make decisions on what to cut and what to keep based on whether or not the cut will significantly effect achieving the event goals you established. If so, find somewhere else to cut.

Newsworthiness. If applicable, ensure media relations is part of your checklist. The timing of your news release pitch is key. Too far in advance, and the media will lose track of it. Too close to the event, and they won’t have time to prepare. Anticipate sending your news release to your media list 4-5 business days before the event with follow-up phone calls the day before. Again, not all events will require a news release, but it’s something to consider if you think there’s a newsworthy element of the gathering.  

Check back in about 10 days for part II of this series: putting your plan in motion. Of course, if you have questions before then, contact us at (904) 388-7447 or results@SJKPR.com.