Friday, November 14, 2008

Corporate Event Management Concepts

By D E Lake

Event management is the business skill of planning, co-ordinating and producing a gathering of people for a joint purpose at a specified time, on a specified date at a specified location. Event management takes all of the requirements of the key event stakeholders into account when planning the marketing, event logistics and creating the event content.

Business events are held every day for many different reasons. Some corporate event management companies specialise in product launches, training events or sales conferences. Workshops can be held to allow delegates to discuss their ideas with speakers and senior managers, or exhibition space might be purchased in order to meet new clients and potential customers. Nowadays business events are often combined with social aspects, such as networking, dinners and parties, but they often have a serious, business side as well.

Some events are purely for social or entertainment purposes. There are a huge number of concerts and festivals, catering for all musical tastes, as well as consumer shows and exhibitions, art installations and sporting events. Specialist shows might target particular groups, such as those with families, retired people, or those with a particular interest.

The planning of events takes in many stages, from the initial event concept to the requirements of all the stakeholders. Event managers will liaise with and brief the event venue, deal with technical contractors and ensure that all of the catering is booked. Event managers will also look after accommodation for speakers, delegates and partners and ensure that all of their requirements are met.

Many event managers are able to organise all kinds of events - from corporate events such as conferences and exhibitions to outdoor events such as concerts, sports events and festivals. Some event managers choose to specialise in one area. Corporate event management specialists tend to be smartly dressed and drive nice cars, whereas outdoor event production managers will often be found in jeans and t-shirts driving a 4x4!

The safety of your event is very important. You will have to make sure that those that you work with or employ work in a safe manner during the build, live and de-rig sections of the event. This is to ensure that everyone, whether they are working at, volunteering for or attending your event has a safe time whilst they are there. Understanding risk assessments, method statements and how to employ the right event sub-contractor are important parts of being an event manager.

Most event managers use technology to help them manage their events. Whether this be as simple as using email to communicate with delegates, or a mobile phone to catch up with suppliers, everything that technology can do to make planning easier should be undertaken. Many companies use proprietary event management software to manage delegate requirements and other aspects, and some use online registration systems to collect delegate details.

It is quite often possible to save a large amount of time and money by using an event management company. These event planning organisations have specialist staff, excellent contacts and the ability to get a good deal when working on your behalf. They've seen many kinds of events and can help your organisation to a level of best event practise.

To be a successful event manager you will need to have many skills, including be very organised, be able to do a hundred things at once and to manage several projects at the same time. Technology can be of great help to event managers, as long as they are able to use it effectively, so a good grounding in IT will help. another key trait of an event manager is their ability to listen to their customers and turn their requirements into the event that they want, for the budget that they have. - 15246

About the Author: