8P Theory Essential for Event Planning

We all know that planning is divided into many types, such as copywriting planning, event planning , marketing planning, market planning, advertising planning, etc. However, for these different planning positions, the skills required of practitioners are also different.

Take the event planning position that we are most familiar with as an example. When writing an event plan, we usually make strategic derivation ideas in the first few pages of the PPT plan. Only with strategic deduction can we plan activities rationally, package them creatively and present them in PPT. Therefore, it is necessary to master and understand some marketing theories, such as 5W2H analysis method, marketing 4P theory...

At the same time, in order to make the event go smoothly and be a complete success, we also need to adopt some marketing strategies behind the event. I call this marketing theory the "8P Theory of Event Planning", which are Project, People, (Price), Place, Promotion, Partners, Plans, and Performance.

If the activity organizer interprets the 8P theory in depth, summarizes it through personal insights, and applies it to the activity (project), it will greatly improve work efficiency and reduce mistakes in work.

1Project

The so-called project refers to an activity. First, Party A establishes contact with us through channels and tells you what the purpose of holding the event is (usually a brief will be given). After obtaining the basic information, all subsequent work will revolve around this project. Those who need to continue to ask Party A for detailed information will continue to ask for it, and those who need to divide the work internally will do so reasonably. Those who need to brainstorm need to have a brainstorming meeting.

In the first brainstorming meeting, when Party A provides sufficient information, it is necessary to confirm the basic information of the activity, such as:

What is the theme of the event?

What activities need to be arranged?

What is the scale/scope/size of the event?

What is the goal of the activity?

What is the profile of the event’s attendees?

…

Once the above basic information is mastered, it means that the project has officially started and entered the planning stage.

2People

Once you have mastered the basic information of the activity. We are about to enter the next stage and gather the necessary personnel to achieve this goal, including internal colleagues and supplier personnel, and if necessary, relevant persons in charge of Party A should also be included.

We can make a reasonable division of labor for different sections of the project. For example, the plan part corresponds to the graphic designer, the stage rendering part corresponds to the 3D designer, the plan corresponds to the event planner, and the budget quotation corresponds to the event executor or project manager. The corresponding person in charge of the project is the project manager.

When third-party resources are involved, the company’s resources should be mobilized to find suitable suppliers and establish contact for initial communication.

At this time, you can also use social tools to establish an online communication group in the early stage of the project to ensure the normal progress of the project. It can be divided into internal communication group, Party A communication group, and supplier communication group.

When all personnel are working step by step and delivering according to the established plan, the project will quickly move to the next stage.

3Price

The price here refers to the overall budget quotation given to Party A. Generally speaking, if Party A clearly tells us what the budget is, we only need to make a quotation based on the budget. Another situation is an uncontrollable budget quotation. Party A does not clearly tell us the budget, and we need to make a quotation based on the plan and then submit it to Party A's leader for approval.

No matter which method you use, there is a high probability that Party A will bargain based on the details in the quotation, and may even bargain to the point that you question your life. In order to avoid this situation as much as possible, we should grasp the cost price of each detail when making a quotation, and control the quotation within a reasonable range in the market.

For example: you can use general conventional materials such as trusses, tables, chairs, benches, rental stages, signboards, etc., and the client generally knows the approximate prices of these. Just add a little bit appropriately based on the cost. For scarce materials, such as holographic projection, performing arts resources, and high-tech equipment interaction, you can quote a higher price because Party A has zero knowledge of such resources and may have never had any contact with them.

If you don’t know much about budget quotation, or don’t have the core skills of quotation, you may want to click on this article to see how to make a reasonable project quotation? Customers won't bother you.

4Place

Location refers to the location of the venue where the event will be held. There is no doubt that the location of the event is one of the important factors for its success. Without the support of a venue, it will be difficult for an event to continue. If the room or venue is not scheduled in time, this may often lead to the cancellation of the event.

Things we usually consider when choosing a venue include:

Where is it located?

Is the transportation location convenient?

Is free parking available?

What is the capacity of the room?

What services or special facilities are provided?

How much does it cost to rent the venue?

…

Sometimes, in order to meet customers' different needs for site selection, it is usually necessary to provide customers with several site options in the proposal. And make different versions of site planning maps based on the actual situation and quotation of each site.

Therefore, it becomes very important to learn site survey first. How can project staff manage the site well? Just follow these 7 steps!

5. Promotion

Promotion is an important part of an event. We use some media channels to promote the event as much as possible, so that more audiences know about the event and achieve the purpose of event dissemination. Therefore, we need to fully consider the following issues when making a plan.

How will the event be promoted effectively? Which media channels/marketing tools are used for promotion? For example: If the event adopts a paid registration system, you need to find an event registration platform with large traffic to promote it.

Which social platform is used more by the target group of participants? What are their characteristics?

Which social media platforms will achieve the greatest communication impact?

Which ticketing system is best for your event registration?

Which KOLs match the style of the event?

How to interact with the audience during the process of communication and promotion?

…

Once all promotion plans are formulated, we can effectively promote the event according to the communication nodes. Here, Da Wang has an article on event communication to recommend to everyone. Learning to use "KOL" is an inevitable trend in event communication

6Partners

The partners referred to here are actually suppliers. A successful event cannot be achieved without the strong support of suppliers. If the suppliers are not strong, no matter how well your proposal is written, how cool the stage design is, or how creative it is, it will be of no use in the end. Therefore, it is particularly important to find a reliable supplier.

An offline event involves a wide variety of suppliers, such as construction suppliers and AV equipment suppliers. Photography and videography, performing arts, third-party part-time staff, security, venue support, live video, floristry...Among these suppliers, if one supplier fails to perform on site, the event may ultimately result in the customer deducting payment.

If you are cooperating with a supplier for the first time, you must conduct multiple surveys and field investigations. If possible, you need to pre-select a second supplier to avoid falling into a passive situation during the actual operation of the project.

Click on this article to learn how to communicate with suppliers and maintain good relationships. [Tips] How to manage supplier relationships and communicate with colleagues

7Plans

When all your plans have been completed and approved by the client, we need to review the plans as a whole. Is the content of the plan perfect enough? Are there any pre-selected plans? When encountering bad weather or force majeure, how will we make emergency adjustments to the event itself?

For each step in the activity, we should set up a plan to prevent any failure. As Murphy's Law says, "Anything that can go wrong has a high probability of going wrong."

What activists need to do is to prevent problems before they happen. No idea how to write a plan? 10 years of experience in proposal writing shared by planners

8Performance (Summary and Review)

In the event industry, a summary and review must be conducted before each event. The benefit of a summary and review is that it can prevent similar problems from occurring in other events next time, as well as improve personal knowledge points and continuously consolidate experience.

We can proceed in three parts: project review → evaluation and analysis of the results of each stage → project summary. We can summarize and review every link of the event site, event suppliers, and colleagues involved in the project. If conditions are ripe, we can invite the relevant section leaders to hold a project summary meeting.

If you haven’t developed the habit of doing project summaries and reviews, you might as well start with this article. After the activity is over, how should we do a good job of summarizing and reviewing it?

Event planning itself is a job that involves every detail. Not only does it take a long time, but the people involved also come from different positions and occupations. When planning an event, it tests the service awareness, adaptability and control capabilities of the event planners. Ultimately, if you don’t use any methodology to carry out activities, it will be difficult and prone to errors.