The most comprehensive guide to large-scale event promotion in history!

Be a long-termist and try to maximize the experience of the audience, guests, and partners at every event.

In the process of continuous work, word of mouth will be accumulated, and then a certain cognition will be formed in the entire industry. Then, through continuous output of activities, continuous connection with this group of people through activities will be established, and potential energy will be accumulated slowly. After the potential energy is accumulated, word of mouth and brand will gradually rise. With long-termism + value output + time compounding, you will unlock excitement and joy.

The activity process is mainly divided into six steps! Market research - event establishment - event preparation - promotion & recruitment - event execution - event review.

1. Activity Framework

1. Purpose of the activity

This is the most important question before doing an event: Why do I want to do this event?

1) Enhance influence and strengthen brand.

2) Policy release, such as Toutiao’s Vitality Conference and Kuaishou’s Photosynthesis Conference.

3) Sales meetings. Companies that hold sales meetings have a standardized meeting process. There are no strict requirements on the information density of the meeting, but they emphasize the mobilization of the atmosphere and have KPI indicators.

2. Market research

This part is relatively simple. Since we are doing activities in this industry, we can definitely reach some people in this industry.

Well, whether through face-to-face communication, online chat, questionnaire survey, consulting some old employees in the company, or looking at the competition in the same industry and the activities of competing products, you can basically draw a conclusion. You can verify this conclusion, and then you will understand the needs of users and know the direction of the activity.

3. Determine the boundaries

Once you figure out why you want to do this activity, you’ll basically have a rough idea in your mind.

Working backwards from now, figure out how long the preparation cycle for this activity will take.

For example, if it takes 30 days, and we push it back 30 days from the current situation, should it be held during the week or on the weekend, should it be done half a day or a full day, and what is the type of activity, and who will talk about it? Who will listen? What is the purpose of this activity? Basically, there is a general and vague portrait, which is not precisely connected to an individual at this time, but we know what kind of label it has and what channels it can be reached through.

At the same time, boundaries are important! It draws some directions and knows what can be used and what cannot be used.

1) The budget is different, and the entire boundary is completely different. Maybe due to limited budget, some venues will not be considered and some teachers will not be considered.

2) The number of people and the budget are also closely related. Organizing an event for 500 people, 1,000 people, or 100 people are completely different concepts.

3) The duration basically determines the number of guests. Everyone is more enthusiastic about doing the afternoon activities, which are relatively simple, starting at 2 pm and ending at 5 pm, about 3 hours, 180 minutes. There are basically 6 guests, each guest has 25 minutes, a total of 150 minutes, and the remaining 30 minutes can be used to add some round-table forums and other sessions in the middle. The control in the middle does not need to be so strict, but the number of guests and the length of sharing time are inversely correlated. In addition, you need to consider whether the venue, food, and transportation are convenient.

4) Venue. 2019 is a special year. Many large-scale events from July to October cannot be held. In addition, the Chinese New Year this year is relatively early, on January 25, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Many large-scale events are postponed to the end of the year. In addition, many annual meetings are also held at this time, which will increase the cost of the entire hotel. In previous years, we might have to look for a hotel two months in advance, but this year we have to look for two months, three months or even longer in advance! There are actually not many places in Beijing that can accommodate thousands of people and have convenient transportation. It may be cheaper in the west, cheaper in the south, and more expensive in the north and east.

Through the above analysis, we can have a rough framework for what kind of activity we want to do. First, we need to define the entire boundary, and then further refine it. There is also a process of internal communication and coordination. It is impossible to make these very precise at the beginning.

2. Activities

1. Confirm the topic

First, do not cause ambiguity.

Secondly, you need to make everyone understand the value of the activity so that users know what you want to convey to them.

For activities within the industry, usually only the guest’s title is written, because everyone in the industry knows who he is, so there is no need to say what the guest is like or what he has done in the event section. But please note that for cross-industry activities, you need to write an introduction of the guests, because the audience comes from different industries and may come from all over the place. You can judge whether the event is suitable for you through the introduction of the guests.

2. Time and venue

Generally, the venue is a large venue or a small venue. Here, the large venue refers to a city, and the small venue refers to a specific location.

For example: We have decided to hold an event in Beijing at the end of December. Beijing is a large venue. How late can a large venue be held? If there are many guests from other places participating, they will book their flights in advance and confirm the venue half a month or 20 days in advance; if the event itself is for people in Beijing to participate, a group message will be sent to everyone one week before the event starts.

Generally speaking, weekends are better than weekdays, and Saturdays are better than Sundays. However, we must also consider the scale and impact of the event and avoid holding it on Mondays, as there are often many meetings on Mondays and it can be difficult to get away.

Afternoon is better than morning: Try not to hold activities in the morning. For afternoon activities, the start time can be slightly earlier and the end time can be slightly later. For example, starting at 1:30 pm and ending at 6 pm. This can accommodate more guests and provide more information, which is more efficient and saves costs.

In addition, the traffic flow of the venue is very important in large-scale events. We must start from the perspective of "novice" users and not take it for granted. We must consider the direction of crowd movement, routes, congestion nodes, and the distance and direction between booths, and avoid "deserted booths" (booths where people cannot flow through).

The venue should preferably be "back-entry", with the screen and entrance not on the same side. Do not enter from the front door to prevent audience members from crossing and blocking your view. Set up isolation barriers in advance to avoid distractions.

Generally, after we have done more activities, we can basically take a look at the venue and have an entire construction plan. We will know where to put the sign-in desk, where to put the entrance, where to put the screen, where to put the stage, and where to put the control console. It is basically quite clear.

3. Identify key communication nodes

If you hold an event for 500 people in January, working backwards, you must first confirm whether the event is free or paid, because the attendance rates for free and paid events are different. You need to calculate based on the attendance rate how many people need to register and how many people show up.

Based on the resources currently at hand, we can work backwards. For example, if an activity can attract 60 people in one push, it will need to be pushed five times. During the five pushes, it may be pushed twice a week or once a week. Promote it twice a week, maybe using different channels, once through the official account and once through posters, and the communication nodes will basically emerge.

Based on some major events in the entire industry, such as Double 11 or other predictable nodes, we don’t compete with them for traffic and stagger these nodes based on the special habits of people in the industry.

Let me give you an example here: For example, in the live broadcast industry, if the live broadcast industry wants to distribute posters, it may be done at two or three in the middle of the night or four or five in the morning. The effect is particularly good, because in the live broadcast industry, the broadcast lasts until one or two in the morning, and after the broadcast, it is necessary to review with the team before going to bed. Based on these, the specific dissemination time points must be fine-tuned.

The materials are the external publicity materials for the event, such as posters, main visuals or backgrounds of guests, similar to some communication materials. These materials are helpful for recruitment or external publicity.

4. Information entry issues

As the person in charge of the event, I have to decide the theme, framework, tone, and boundaries at the beginning. When cooperating with external parties, I am most afraid of encountering one thing that requires several people to coordinate at the same time.

Generally, when we organize an event, we will first establish a rule in the group: the company will designate a general person in charge, who is both the node for aggregating internal information and the outlet for external information, to ensure that all information has one person in the company to enter and outflow, and is synchronized to the group and collaborative tools to avoid information asymmetry. An event requires teamwork. Each person's specific responsibilities should be written down and synchronized with all partners.

In short, the troops were divided into several groups, each with its own duties.

5. Information coordination and transmission

This is particularly important, especially for cooperative activities, such as those hosted by multiple parties and with the guidance and participation of the government. Such activities are very difficult. It is recommended that an event should have no more than three co-organizers. If there are more than three, it will be very troublesome because everyone's perception and needs of the event are different.

For cooperative activities, try to simplify them as much as possible. At the beginning of the activity, the responsibilities of both parties should be clearly divided. For some things, you have the right to decide, and for some things, I will just inform you. I will handle all other matters. Otherwise, there will definitely be conflicts later, and a lot of time and energy will be involved to deal with this matter. This is external.

The same logic applies internally. For example, when it comes to guests, especially at conferences, there are more than thirty guests in total, and there may be 5 to 6 people to connect with the guests. The guests are divided into sections, and each person connects with several guests.

It is impossible for some guests to come in person for the connection, so usually they will be connected by the brand manager or assistant, which involves the transmission and coordination of information. We need to use some tools to prevent information from being attenuated during the transmission process, such as Graphite Docs, Youdao Cloud Notes, etc. The specific one to use can be selected based on the internal situation of the company.

3. Guest Information

1. Invitation List

After the theme of the event is decided, everyone holds a brainstorming meeting together and says who you think the guest will be. Everyone writes on the blackboard and then uses the elimination process, first adding and then subtracting.

Then, eliminate all unsuitable guests. For example, I recommend this guest. Why do I recommend this guest? What’s good about this guest? What have you done this year and which part should be talked about particularly well.

There are two aspects to the guest mode: one is to do well, and the other is to speak well.

To do well, you need practical experience, because in the actual process there is a difference between having done it and not having done it. If you have done it, you can talk about some important details, but they may be overlooked by others. In this way, people in the industry will feel a sense of gain, which is the so-called dry goods.

Some guests, although they have never worked in the industry, have been observing the industry in depth, have excellent expressive abilities, aura and sense of rhythm, and speak very well on stage, but there are few such people.

There are also some people who do very well, but get nervous when they get on stage. They can't speak completely or well, and they can't express themselves at all. For such guests, it is recommended that you don't invite them, because no matter how well they may do, if they can't speak on stage, it will actually be of no benefit to the audience below, and the feeling on the scene will also be awkward.

2. Guest invitation

You need to make these things clear: where will you hold an event, what scale will it be, and how long will it last? Which guests will participate? Who are the guests on stage? From the guest’s perspective, what is the value of this event to him or his company? During the invitation process, you must express these things clearly, either in the form of a PPT or text, and convey them to the other party.

Some events will list a lot of big-name guests in the early stages of their guest list, but in the end they are unable to come. This is a very bad experience for the audience, especially for ticket sales events, where the audience may buy tickets just to listen to one or two guests speak. In the end you may find that the two people you wanted to listen to the event didn’t show up at all, which is very awkward. This may also lead to ticket refunds or other unnecessary troubles, so please be sure to indicate the intended invitees in a prominent place.

3. Collection of guest information

When inviting guests, we usually ask for their profile, title, photo, success stories, and demos.

About the guest demo.

Many guests may not be able to provide a demo, but if it is some paid activity that provides practical information, especially for guests from other places, they will generally be asked to provide a demo, discuss a topic in advance, and record a 10-minute video. Through the video, you can see the guest's image, aura, expression habits, logical framework, language rhythm, etc., which can give you an overall understanding and help with later judgment.

4. Guest Slides

1) Time

The deadline for the guest’s PPT must be set. Be sure to move the deadline forward. According to industry experience, there will always be 1-2 guests whose PPTs are late, so you need to leave room for subsequent adjustments.

2) Version

Remember to number them and develop good habits to avoid making mistakes in versions. The transition version must be deleted, because some control consoles will put the old version on top. Generally, the guests don’t change much at this point in time, but some guests have poor psychological quality. Once they find that the PPT is wrong, they will be confused on the stage, or make the problem public, “The PPT is put on the wrong page, can the organizer change it for me?” It will be extremely embarrassing at this time.

3) Volume

Make the PPT as small as possible to prevent it from freezing. If there is a video in it, remember to extract the video and save a separate copy. During the event, make sure to agree on the signal with the guests in advance. In case of an operational error, just send a signal from the stage, "Please help me play the video", which will not affect the entire process of the meeting at all, and the experience is lossless for the audience.

4) Content

There must be solid content and methodology, especially those that can be used repeatedly and transferred, such as some data, analysis and outlook on industry frontiers, summary and sublimation of personal inherent successful experience, and some detours and pitfalls in the past, which are very important but some details that are often overlooked by others.

5) Quotes

These are called golden sentences and photo spots, which is why when some people talk about something to a certain extent, everyone can't help but take out their mobile phones to take pictures. It may be an emotional resonance, or it may be that the information content is large and difficult to digest in a short time, or it may be a very philosophical life motto that is very suitable for posting on WeChat Moments, or it may be a thinking model. Many people will take pictures to keep them, thus forming secondary dissemination.

5. Speech duration

Some guests have little experience in attending conferences. They had previously agreed on a 20-minute speaking time, and had also finalized the topic and outline of the speech.

However, he threw a 60-page PPT at me. At this time, I needed to communicate with the other party to find out where the problem lies, sort out the logical framework of the PPT, and significantly reduce it. At this step, I controlled the duration. In addition, during the on-site execution, there were also countdown screens, countdown boards, background music and other signals to remind the guests to pay attention to the time and control the rhythm of the event.

6. Guest reception

Guests’ air tickets and hotels, airport pick-up and drop-off, accommodation, meals, text message notifications, participation notifications, welcoming and seeing off, and guest gifts – these things are actually very detailed. Don’t notify each detail one by one, but learn to “round them up”.

We usually give the guests two documents. The first document is mainly used during the early stages of communication. It tells us what information the guests need to submit and the deadline, what the guests need to do, etc. It also confirms the speech topic, outline, and PPT submission. The second document mainly contains details about the guests’ flights and hotels, airport transfers, hotel check-in, meals, rehearsals, seating locations, order of performance, whether the PPT will be released to the public, etc.

7. Guest Rehearsal

Rehearsal is very important. Even if you don’t have much time after the guests arrive, five minutes can be very helpful.

1) Get familiar with the venue: Where is it roughly located? Do you know where to get on stage, where to stand, and where the positioning and photo-taking points are? Is it a handheld mic or a head mounted one?

2) Location of the reminder and countdown: inform the guests that there is a reminder, prevent them from looking back at the screen, and tell them where it is. A volunteer will hold a sign tomorrow to remind them of the countdown, so they should pay attention to the signal prompts.

3) Notification of on-stage performance: The general principle is to notify the first guest to go on stage and the second to go on stage. You can arrange sofas near the console so that the guests can wait in advance, configure the headsets in advance, inform them of some precautions, and encourage them, etc.

4. Site Construction

1. Selection of Builders

Professional and reliable. Working with professionals can save you a lot of energy and effort. How to evaluate whether they are professional and reliable? First, look at the past and see cases. Second, look at the other party's professionalism and attitude during the communication process. There is a period of adjustment between the two parties. It is best to cooperate with a company for a long time so that it knows your demands and work style.

2. Construction plan

This involves many factors, which I will not elaborate on here. The main ones are the large screen, stage, lighting, booths, off-site sign-in, interactive space, interview room, etc.

5. Activity investment promotion

1. Investment principles

In a word, cast a wide net and focus on catching fish. Generally, 80% is promised, and a 30% surprise is given later. A little bit is collected in the early stage. Do not make unrealistic promises for the sake of attracting investment, otherwise it is easy to cause disputes afterwards.

You must find ways to meet the customer's core demands, and if they cannot be met, make it clear in advance. If the customer can accept it, continue the discussion. If the customer cannot accept it, you can stop here, or balance the interests of all parties and take a step back.

2. Customer Source

1) Seize hot spots and new opportunities. For example, short video live streaming e-commerce is quite popular this year. If you hold a conference on short video live streaming, these companies will definitely have demands and want to have a lot of exposure in the industry. In this case, the value provided by this event and their needs are a fit, forming a link, and then they may become your customers.

2) We hold some activities every year to retain some customers, and these customers are likely to make repeat purchases. These customers need to be maintained and cared for.

3) Who are the sponsors of competing companies in the same industry? The other party may have the same needs because the entire user group is relatively consistent, which means that the other party has pointed out a path for you.

3. Integrate resources

To integrate resources, event sponsorship is divided into two parts. One is the event resources itself, such as some offline booths, on-site video carousels, stage speeches, roundtable participation, awards, host announcements, and other information related to the event. The other part is company resources. Many companies package advertising space promotion, information flow, etc. and sell them to customers.

In short, explore customer needs and meet them within your capabilities.

6. Activity Communication

1. User portrait

Who is the user you want to attract? Where is he? Through what channels can we reach him and how can we attract him?

2. Media Cooperation

The communication plan should be documented. Package A, Package B, Package C, please clarify which ones I can provide? Then the other party will match it according to your resources.

Identify your own resources and the resources that can be linked. Before looking for help from others, think about why others would help you and what rights and interests you can provide to others. Ultimately, both parties must achieve a win-win situation. Otherwise, occasional help is temporary and not long-lasting.

3. Learn from others’ experience

Registered audiences can use some tools to generate personalized Moments posters in batches, making it easier for them to post on Moments. This can also gather scattered personal Moments traffic. Although the amount is not large, the conversion rate is relatively high.

4. WeChat groups: red envelopes, group naming, and active group owners

This point is relatively simple and I will not elaborate on it. The key point is: attract attention, otherwise it will be useless.

5. Activity platform - activity line

7. Tickets and Check-in

1. Are tickets free or charged?

Charging for tickets can increase revenue while also raising the registration threshold. The quality of the audience is a little higher.

However, considering the influence of the organizer, the status of the guests, the local consumption capacity, the popularity of the topic, etc., free events are easy to recruit, but the attendance rate cannot be controlled.

In addition, free activities are easily affected by some external factors, generally around 50-70%. If you hold an event for 500 people, all free of charge, and if the attendance rate is 50%, at least 1,000 people are needed to guarantee that 500 people will show up for the event.

2. Check-in time and check-in tools

If the sign-in time is in the morning, for example, starting at 9:00, there will be few people signing in before 8:30, and the peak period is from 9:00 to 9:30. The peak sign-in period is when the event is about to start.

A huge influx of people in a short period of time will cause many problems, which need to be prevented in advance. Things to think about: whether the sign-in space is wide, whether the sign-in channel settings and process are reasonable, how efficient the sign-in is, whether the sign-in personnel have been trained, how the sign-in tools have been tested, whether the sign-in materials are in place, etc. These factors will affect the sign-in process. If not handled properly, it will lead to complaints from those behind, which will affect the opening of the event and user experience.

There must be someone on the scene who has the courage to make the final decision, take responsibility, act decisively, not be indecisive, and handle the problem quickly.

8. Execution Key

1. Focus on the big and let go of the small

All processes should be rehearsed more than three times so that relevant persons in charge are very familiar with the process of the event, such as the builder, host, stage controller, part-time person in charge, etiquette person in charge and other participants. If this cannot be achieved, the other party should also be informed of the approximate time nodes of the link they are responsible for, and who to contact if there are any problems.

All the icing on the cake comes from usual preparation. Don’t improvise during the performance.

It is enough to get the prepared things done at the event site. There will be all kinds of unpredictable and unexpected situations on site. We must focus on the big and let go of the small, prioritize stability, solve the key problems, and deal with the secondary problems if we have the energy, otherwise put them aside.

2. Risk Management

From the initial reporting to the venue, guests, audience, and equipment, there are actually many unexpected events. Just now everyone said that there is a "releasing" process and a "collecting" process. In the process of "releasing" and "collecting", there are various risks on multiple lines. For example, a guest agrees to come, but cannot come at the last minute.

For example, if there are not enough registrations for a venue with a capacity of 1,000 people, what should we do? Then how to calculate? What should I do if there is a sudden problem with the on-site equipment?

To deal with these potential risks, in the early stages of the activity, we must break down each link, analyze key factors, make contingency plans, conduct drills continuously, reproduce the problems, create scenarios, and then design solutions to minimize risks. Risks cannot be eliminated, but they can be reduced.

IX. Activity Review

All activities must be reviewed every time to find out the gaps and fill them in. It is also a process of "selecting the good and following it, and selecting the bad and changing it". We should learn from them, continue to promote the good ones, and discard the bad ones. This is also a process of mutual encouragement, mutual learning and continuous improvement among internal personnel.

There is a principle here called "PDCA", also known as the "Deming Circle", which is a quality control process. P stands for planning, C stands for checking, D stands for execution, and A stands for review. Think about the plan before doing it, continuously optimize and iterate during the process, and finally continuously improve and reflect and continue to the next cycle.

Everything must be recorded by someone in the meeting, and put in black and white. This must be kept and accumulated continuously, gradually forming an SOP manual, which can also be used as internal training material.

This may be the most comprehensive large-scale event operation guide in history. Behind every successful event are countless details, but "knowledge gained from books is shallow, one must practice to truly understand", these experiences still need to be applied in practice, I hope you can also hold a successful large-scale event!

Author: Li Tienan

Source: Huodongxing Academy (ID: huodongxingfans)