A complete summary of the offline event planning process!

For advertisers, offline event planning is no stranger.

Because offline activities are an important part of the entire communication strategy. Therefore, advertisers, whether they are AE/AM, planner, or artist, need to master certain basic knowledge of offline event planning .

Here, I would also like to provide you with a perspective. No matter what position you are in, you can learn some knowledge about offline event planning.

Because, in addition to professional knowledge, more training in offline event planning can help you have stronger core competitiveness in the workplace.

1. Project management ability: As the person in charge of the entire project, you need to coordinate the entire project, such as time control, cost control, etc., which is very helpful for cultivating your project management and coordination abilities.

2. Crisis handling ability: There will be crises in every project. When a crisis occurs, how you remain calm and resolve it easily depends on your increasingly developed crisis management skills.

3. Upward/downward communication ability: During the project process, the most important thing is communication, which involves communicating with project team members, leaders, suppliers, customers, etc. The communication skills for different communication objects are different, so when you do enough projects, you will also accumulate a lot of communication skills.

Below, I will sort out the basic process of an activity from 0 to 1, as well as possible problems and solutions. It is recommended to collect it and read it several times.

01Preparation before the project

What should we do before the project starts?

First of all, we need to clarify customer needs, understand the project background and what message the customer wants to convey through this event, and tap into more of the customer's hidden needs.

We need to obtain sufficient information to ensure the quality of our subsequent work.

Here, we can give users a list of requirements, make a form with the information you want to know, give it to the customer, and let the customer fill it out themselves.

Here are some ideas for you on what important information you should get.

1. Background information of the client

2. What is the core purpose of the client’s offline communication? Improve brand image? Detonating public relations communication? Boost sales?

3. Advantages of the client’s brand: What are the core advantages?

4. The purpose of the customer’s event: launching a new product? Create an idea?

5. Customers’ thoughts on the event: The customer’s initial thoughts will influence the overall direction of the event.

6. Customer likes and dislikes: The customer’s personal will dominates the direction of the activity, and what we need to do is to satisfy the customer.

7. Electronic version of the customer's VI design (logo source file, standard colors, prohibited colors, main KV, etc.)

8. Product advertising films and advertising images

9. Photos of activities other than customer activities

10. Full name of the client company

11. Basic information of the customer contact person and his/her superior, including name, rank, phone number, email, etc.

Before the project is officially implemented, in addition to the above preparations, a large number of meetings need to be held to discuss the early implementation of the project, as well as supplier management, customer communication, etc.

There are many things to note about these meetings, which are summarized here for your future reference.

1. Project cold start meeting:

This meeting is mainly necessary when visiting customers in the early stages to obtain project information.

In this meeting, we should pay attention to the following points

1) Wear formal attire: You represent not only yourself, but also the image of your company.

2) Bring enough equipment:

Laptop: convenient for you to display company information and past cases

Laser pointer: Need to use during PPT presentation

Recorder: Record the entire meeting conversation to prevent disagreements during the information conveying process

Notebook and pen: record the customer's suggestions, key points that need attention, etc.

2. Brainstorming Session:

The main purpose of this meeting is to sort out the entire project planning, produce a rough program framework, and clarify the person in charge of the entire project and related personnel arrangements.

1) Main participants: Account managers, event planners, project executives, business support staff

2) Main outputs: project positioning, project strategy, interface personnel for each functional module, and project promotion process

3. Planning meeting:

The main purpose of this planning meeting is to clarify the key issues of the entire project and the final formation of the entire planning scheme.

1) Must attend the meeting: All project team members, business support personnel

2) Invited participants: department managers, project managers, department leaders, supplier representatives

3) Meeting process summary:

Introduce client projects;

Explain the necessary aspects of the project and confirm the content of implementation;

Explain the cost budget and operation cycle (to ensure that the content discussed in the meeting is within the budget and can be completed within the operation cycle)

PS: This is very important, because the creative form required by the customer must be within the budget. If it exceeds the budget but the customer still insists on it, you must communicate with the customer.

Theme discussion - the main idea and performance elements throughout the activity

Discussion of creative highlights: highlights must be feasible

4) Main outputs: solution style, solution module composition and module writing responsible person, solution content and process, solution completion time, quotation form and block budget.

4. Project meeting:

Project meetings can be held within the project team or between the project team and the client, depending on the project team's own arrangements.

Holding meetings is a necessary measure, but we must ensure the quality of the meetings and avoid holding meetings that produce no results.

We send project progress sheets to customers every day to let them know what we are doing every day - to reassure them.

Everything we do must be based on reason and we should not let customers direct our work.

Verbal communication is stronger than written communication, and face-to-face communication is stronger than telephone communication.

After we finalize the entire event plan and officially start the cooperation, the next step is to start the module of preliminary preparation for the entire event. Although the focus may be different for different types of activities, we can roughly divide it into the following aspects.

1. Venue

2. Personnel management

3. Supplier Management

4. Material Management

5. Project progress management

1. Venue

Depending on the size of the project or customer requirements, we choose different venues. For example, for a company's annual meeting, we can choose a hotel or a stadium. For pop-up stores, we can choose places with high traffic in shopping malls. For industry conferences, we can choose to hold them in hotel lobbies, etc. This needs to be agreed upon with the customer.

After we select the venue, if there is a need for 3D design, 3D designers and executive personnel will be required to visit the venue in advance. Specifically, we need to pay attention to the following factors.

1) Routes: guest entrance route, VIP channel route, parking lot to main venue route, venue to banquet hall route, dressing room to stage route, etc.

2) Material placement and size: the size and placement of sign-in boards, photo walls, roll-up banners, etc.

3) Main venue, sub-venues, and banquet venue: stage location, applicable specifications and height, field lighting control system, AV console location, AV lighting rack, and power output position lights.

PS: Please note that some hotels provide some equipment, such as large LED screens, lighting and sound systems, but the quality may not be very good. There are usually relevant suppliers. Try not to choose those provided by the hotel.

4) Actor dressing room: tables and chairs, hangers, makeup mirrors, dressing areas, power supply, etc.

Regarding the venue, we have provided some ideas in general. The specific choice should be based on the venue, size and other factors.

2. Personnel management

As for personnel, they can be divided into etiquette, models, part-time staff on the scene, entertainers, photographers, etc.

When selecting personnel, ask the client for confirmation and conduct unified training before the meeting to ensure the professionalism of external personnel.

Especially for part-time staff and etiquette, you need to provide alternative plans, or directly find a local agency responsible for the human resources part. Because if you look for them one by one, the uncertainty is very high and it is difficult to manage, so try to choose a professional human resources service team.

3. Supplier Management

The suppliers here can be divided into three categories: construction suppliers, AV equipment suppliers, and material suppliers, and the specific details need to be formulated according to the project.

For builders:

Participate in the site survey process and measure and photograph each implementation location;

After the 3D designer designs the three-dimensional renderings and construction drawings, they must be sent to the builder at the same time for evaluation and communication of implementation key points and difficulties.

The contractor must explain the implementation methods, materials, and craftsmanship for the production of key materials, and provide samples of all products while explaining the craftsmanship.

During the construction process, you must bring enough auxiliary materials, such as ground film, carpet, tape, rainproof cloth, lighting, etc.

For AV equipment suppliers:

The implementation renderings should be sent to the AV lighting supplier as soon as possible, so that they can evaluate the implementation and explain the key points and difficulties of the implementation.

According to the renderings, propose equipment implementation plans, power connection diagrams, circuit diagrams, total power consumption, special requirements, quotations, etc.

Develop waterproofing solutions for routing lines based on demand

A safety assessment of the power supply provided by the site should be conducted

A risk assessment should be conducted for stage special effects.

4. Material Management

Material management is a series of processes in which designers design the materials needed for the event and hand them over to relevant material production companies for production. Although it seems simple, there are many details that require attention.

1) When designers design materials, the color mode of printed materials should be CMYK instead of RGB.

2) When the designer is working with the production factory, he must make samples in advance and compare the color differences. Only after confirming that they are correct can he start mass production.

3) Before mass production, the content must be proofread, for example, whether the QR code is correct, guest information, company logo and other key symbols are correct, to ensure that there are no mistakes.

4) During the material production process, the quantity must be checked clearly. It is better to produce more materials than less.

5) When designing and producing, you must go to the material production factory to see the finished products to prevent problems such as color difference. If you cannot reach the site, you can ask the production company to take photos or record videos.

5. Project progress management

A large-scale event is a complete project.

For a project, I think the most important thing is the management of project progress.

For offline activities, it is more difficult to control the project progress because there are many uncertainties and external personnel are involved, who are also members of the entire project team. For example, you cannot fully control the progress of the supplier, which means you need to constantly manage the supplier's progress.

For more details, please refer to this article https://www.socialmarketings.com/articldetails/10921

02Activity Execution

Activity execution is the final implementation of the planning proposal. Activity execution is also the step in the entire project that may have the most problems, and may encounter many uncertainties and unexpected crises.

Now let’s sort out the entire process and precautions of the activity execution.

Before entering

The main task before entering the venue is to check the materials, and various business support departments, suppliers, and performers need to be in place.

1. Materials

According to the bill of materials, check the materials, focusing on the quantity and type of materials, to ensure that the materials on site are consistent with those on the bill. Please note that any materials must be checked clearly, because there are many small materials that are easy to overlook, and if missed, it may be fatal to the project.

For example: Once we were doing an event, and we forgot to bring the PPT page-turning pen, which ended up affecting the experience of the entire event. Although the PPT page-turning pen looks small, it is indeed a very important material, so we must check it carefully!

2. Personnel management

Before we enter the venue, we have already informed the relevant personnel of the entry time and precautions, but we still need to notify and confirm by phone at the end.

Site location: whether the original plan has changed, whether the site access is unobstructed, whether all interfaces/responsible personnel are in place

Contractors and AV suppliers: Has the original plan changed? Has the vehicle been loaded? Can it arrive on time?

Suppliers of performing artists: whether relevant personnel have arrived at the assembly location and whether they have uniform dress requirements.

In addition to the above, dress code requirements for personnel must also be managed.

When the client does not have clear on-site dress code requirements, we should try our best to standardize the clothing of team members and part-time staff.

Generally, if the customer does not require a dress code on site, dark colors will be uniformly communicated. In particular, it is necessary to notify in advance that exaggerated colors, alternative styles, unstable clothing, and clothing that does not conform to the company's image are prohibited.

If the customer has strict requirements and there is no unified supply, the clothing should be provided according to the customer's requirements.

For example, if the client is Li Ning, it is best for team members to wear Li Ning clothing. These are all details.

When customers or we provide clothing, the following points need to be noted:

Clothing distribution and recycling are managed and stored in a unified manner.

Backup of clothing should be reserved in case of temporary additional personnel or clothing damage

All clothes should be ironed before use.

Don’t hang your phone on your chest

You are not allowed to wear scarves, glasses or other accessories without permission.

If work badges are distributed at the event site, the placement of the badges should be unified.

3. Site management

Site management means ensuring that suppliers complete the construction process perfectly and avoid unnecessary troubles and dangers.

Before construction-related personnel enter the site, construction permits must be obtained for them in advance. This is required in general large venues, otherwise it will be difficult to enter the venue without a construction permit.

During the process of moving in, moving out, and construction of the products, it should be ensured that the hardware facilities on site will not be damaged due to construction. During the construction process, the safety of surrounding equipment, personnel, and electricity should be fully considered. We cannot escape responsibility for any damage to equipment and personnel caused during the construction.

When the construction party requests to use the power supply on site, the power supply should be brought out by the site for the constructor to use. We should ask for basic information such as power and voltage.

The contractor should bring a certain amount of construction materials to ensure that it does not affect the final effect of the construction or damage the local hardware facilities.

For example: After the stage is built, the ground film should be laid as soon as possible to prevent the platform from being contaminated or damaged by staff members stepping on it; heavier works should be covered with carpets before being built to prevent scratches on the venue floor/carpet/tiles, etc.

03Event Closing and Review

When the event is over, we need to wrap up and review it.

It is very important that when we add or delete materials during an event, we must communicate with the customer after the event because this involves the project amount. This is very important.

Furthermore, if additional items are to be added, the client must be informed and decisions cannot be made on their behalf, as this may lead to subsequent issues regarding the additional items in the contract.

When the entire activity is completed at the execution level, the entire activity needs to be reviewed and summarized, and a closing report, data archiving, etc. need to be produced.

The first is the closing report, which is mainly given to the client.

The closing report needs to be completed and submitted to the client within 7 days after the end of the project, and filed by the business manager.

The closing report can be made according to the following writing logic.

1. Material summary

2. Equipment Summary

3. Operational summary

4. Performance Summary

5. Data Summary

The other is an internal report, which is an internal review of the entire project.

You can write it according to the following logic

1. Preparation Summary

2. Operation Summary

3. Performance Summary

4. Supplier evaluation

5. Cost and profit summary

6. Advantages of the activity and suggestions for promoting the advantages

7. Analysis of activity shortcomings and their causes

The above is a summary of the timeline-related processes of the entire event from the initial planning to the final event review.

This only provides a framework, and specific plans should be formulated based on different types of activities.

The above is a summary of the offline event planning process from 0 to 1, which involves some details and precautions. I hope it can help you.

In order to help everyone have a greater chance of organizing a perfect event, my friend and I summarized some problems that have occurred in previous events and turned them into experience, a total of 18 points.

18 tips to avoid when planning offline events:

1. Offline material design is very important. Make sure the color mode is CMYK, not RGB;

2. Material production must be done in advance and cannot be done according to the project progress;

3. To ensure the quality of tea break management, you have to do it yourself

4. The entire event should be designed with traffic flow, security, and epidemic prevention measures

5. Bring a printer to the event site to prevent sudden increase in the number of guests

6. First make and distribute the Rundown (execution script) to relevant personnel, including the following items: serial number, content, time, duration, description, sound control, screen, lighting control, props, notes

7. Every event must have a "general control" person, which is usually the person in charge of the event from Party A plus the person in charge of the event from Party B. If you are Party A and do not hire an event company, you are the general controller.

8. Design the event theme VI visual image 1-2 weeks in advance, and prepare the design draft according to the size of different carriers; including but not limited to the main background board, sign-in background board, signboard, sign-in book, display board, poster, banner, paper bag, seat sign, lottery box, lottery ticket, invitation letter, etc.

9. When providing meals or tea break services, be sure to arrange at least one person to serve, keep the dining table clean, and assist customers in getting food.

10. Design materials must be sampled before mass production, and mass production can only be carried out after confirmation;

11. Remember to submit press releases in a timely manner when communicating with the media;

12. Pay attention to the size of the PPT in the venue and do not change the size of the PPT when you arrive at the venue.

13. Manage your time well. Don’t rush to complete the task before the deadline. Leave enough time to prevent any crisis events.

14. When making materials, the material, process and size must be noted.

15. If circumstances permit, there should be a second person in charge for important project links. In case the first person in charge cannot be contacted, the second person in charge can take over.

16. In normal times, in addition to the cases you have done, you should also study the projects done by your peers to form your own case library.

17. Communication is very important in a project, so hold meetings frequently, but avoid meaningless meetings. For details, please refer to some meeting settings in project management.

18. Prepare the fees for actors and media in cash in advance, put them in envelopes, write your names on them, and give the envelopes to the actors before the event starts.

Because after the event started, there was no time left. Of course, you can also pay with WeChat, Alipay or other payment methods afterwards. However, getting paid in advance will make you act harder.

The above is a review of offline event planning from proposal establishment to the end of the event, and a summary of 18 risk lists, which I hope will be helpful to everyone.

Author: Luuuuke

Source: Luuuuke