When you’re planning an event, how can you think beyond just numbers, metrics, and logistics? How do you dream big without overspending your budget? How do you stand out from the crowd? If you’re planning a corporate event, these questions may be on your mind—but we want to assure you that there is a solution!
At akire productions, we strive to make corporate events something more, something that lasts. Our goal is for events to leave a lasting impression on people’s minds for years to come. To achieve this, we have a people-first approach that has led to event success for many of our partners. Discover how this approach can revolutionize your next corporate event!
The Biggest Pitfall of Planning a Corporate Event
During the hustle and bustle of planning and executing an event, it can be easy to forget that an event is more than just the logistics that make it possible. It’s not just about getting chairs and equipment into a room. Having people sit down in a room to listen to a speaker is no different in practice than just hopping on a Zoom call—and your event is so much more than that.
But how can you stand out? How do you avoid the trap of thinking only about logistics?
The first step, you have to stop thinking of your attendees as ticket sales. The biggest mistake you can make while planning an event is taking the human element out of it. Events are for people, so when we focus on everything else but the people, we’re not setting ourselves up for success.
What You Need for Success
In order to plan a successful corporate event, there are three key elements you should consider:
- The attendee’s full journey.
- The hard facts.
- Your ROI metric.
1. Consider the Attendee’s Full Journey
When your attendee comes to your event, their journey doesn’t begin when they check in—it began long before they even arrived! Your attendee’s journey began at the first point of contact, and it will end at your final follow-up. In order to set up your event for success, you need to think through each step of this process and how you can personalize it to your attendees. They’ll want to feel like the entire event was designed with them in mind. After all, the goal of events should be human connection.
There are a few ways you can accomplish this:
- Think through the process as if you’re not in the industry. If someone had no knowledge of your industry and attended your event, would they be able to follow along? Or would they feel alienated and confused?
- Take care of all your attendees’ needs, wants, and cares. Do they have food allergies or preferences? Do their accommodations match their preferences? Small things like these can add a personal touch when you cater to what they need or expect.
- Utilize learning styles throughout your event. We all learn differently, so why create an event where only one sense is used? The more senses you incorporate (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, reading/writing), the more likely each attendee will walk away with something to remember.
- Consider and evaluate the goals of your event. How will you ensure everyone, including your keynotes, is heard and represented accurately to your audience? How can you make your goals felt and known throughout the event?
- After the event has ended, don’t treat those who attended as just numbers. Remember, they are people first and foremost, and you should follow up with them about their experience accordingly. Final impressions can go just as far as first impressions—or harm you just as much.
2. Honor the Hard Facts
Success requires knowing what can’t be changed. You don’t want to plan something that’s outside of what you’re able to do, so by considering and honoring the hard facts, you can create guardrails that you can plan and dream in.
Some elements that act as the hard facts of an event include: budget, expectations, management needs, venue, number of people, and more. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what cannot change and what needs to be honored throughout the process.
3. Determine Your ROI Metric
Success cannot be determined without some metric to measure it. Just like the facts need to be honored, you need to have a pre-determined measure of success that you use throughout your event. Which ROI metric you use is up to you and your company’s goals, but some common KPI measures are sales numbers, registrations for next year, number of attendees, or profitability of the event.
At akire productions, we also use a metric called ROE, or return on emotion or experience. ROE is a long-term strategy and may not yield results until months later—but the results will be much longer lasting and feed into your goals in future years. The idea behind ROE is the emotional impact your event had. Will your event be talked about for years to come? Will it be something people will look upon as a fond memory? If so, you’ve achieved ROE. There are several ways to see if your event is yielding ROE.
For example, how big is the social media or online engagement for the event? If you have a satisfaction survey, how many attendees are filling it and how many responses are positive? On a deeper level, has your event itself become somewhat of a leader or trendsetter within your space? These are powerful metrics, especially in a digital age where emotional impact could drive the virality of your event. The more your event becomes the standard in your industry, the more you set yourself apart as a thought leader.
Our Plan of Execution
With all this information, you may feel overwhelmed about how to put these steps into practice. That’s why we at akire productions partner with people just like you to plan and execute amazing events that will resonate with your audience. We’ll help you handle the details, so you can feel free to enjoy your event and interact with your guests! Our team has a three-step plan that allows us to create a beautiful, memorable event within your budget. Our process includes:
- Create the Box: This step is often overlooked by our competitors, yet it’s arguably the most important. Remember when we mentioned that success requires that you honor the facts? When you work with us, we’ll do the same. We’ll make sure we know all the hard facts that can’t change and create the box we have to work with.
- Think Outside the Box: With the box created, our team starts to think outside it. We know the guardrails and what can’t change, but what can we do within these limits to create a wholly unique experience for your audience? We don’t just paint a pretty picture that’s outside of your budget—we create a realistic event within the guardrails you set. This is a creative, collaborative experience that you’ll get to join us on to ensure you get everything out of the event.
- Make It Happen: The facts have been acknowledged, and the creative process has allowed us to figure out what personalization is needed. With everything in place, akire productions executes on the plan we created with you. From the logistics to the creative personalization, everything will be handled to ensure each attendee receives a unique experience.
Striving for Lasting Effect
For events, the ROI tends to be low. In our experience, it’s usually around 3–5%. Our team at akire productions is working to actively combat this number by focusing on the long-term impact and creating a lasting effect through ROE. We’re not just looking to complete an event—we strive to make it something attendees will remember and talk about for years to come.
Lasting impact is our goal.
How do we do this? We create impact by focusing on people first—both the attendees and the people we’re working with to make the event happen. We understand you, so we can serve your attendees.
Transform Your Results with akire productions
Planning and executing an event can be a stressful time, especially when you’re doing it alone. With akire productions, you can rest assured, knowing that we work alongside you and partner with you to create an event that your attendees will always remember. We work with each of our clients as partners—we collaborate with you and your team, so you can get our expertise in event design and we get yours in your industry. Bring your next corporate event to life, and partner with us today!