Event management has gotten a lot more complicated in the past few years. With new technologies coming up regularly, it can be overwhelming to stay on top of the fast changes in the industry. There’s a constant need to reinvent events, all while trying to increase productivity and work more efficiently. Meeting and event planners have to keep current to continuously manage a range of fields – analyzing data, planning, communicating, and most importantly transforming ideas into real experiences.

Needless to say, this complicated discipline of event marketing is powered by productivity. Since 2020 is set to be a busy year for event planners, here are 5 event planning productivity tips that will help event planners make the most out of their days:

The first rule of administrative command is prioritizing tasks on the basis of importance. With the overarching vision of the event serving as the parameter for judging the importance of tasks, tackling each task at a time is the most efficient way of getting things done. Time management and focusing on the right objective at the right time is the secret to efficient event planning. Prioritizing doesn’t mean rating certain event-related tasks as unimportant, it means doing the right thing at the right time.

As the event planning cycle is very similar in nature for every event type, you may consider creating a system that can be used through the entire portfolio of events you manage. For example, to plan for a conference you may start with booking the venue (so you can set on the date), followed by finding speakers and attractions (so you can promote the event), and reaching out to sponsors (to secure funds). Tasks that would take lower priority on the early stages of event planning may include catering, AV, promotional material, and more. Here’s a workback schedule template that can help you plan, prioritize, and delegate all aspects of your event.

Events have become increasingly analytics-based. There are various measurable factors that determine the success of an event. Hence, every important decision you make should be backed by information. Making data-based decisions also gives event managers the chance to improve with every decision.

Measuring Net Promoter Score (NPS) at the events, a metric for evaluating customer-loyalty for a brand or product is a great way of incorporating data into your event management processes. Also, conduct thorough surveys that surpass mere opinions and stories. Use calculable metrics to verify that the choices you make are impacting the event in a positive way.

Using data to make practical decisions helps event managers to learn from their mistakes and plan better events the next time. Since all decisions are being made based on prior results, event managers can reject ideas that haven’t worked in the past.

Despite the scientific approach that all event managers are obliged to have when planning for events, at its core event management is still a creative process. Without innovation and the skill to anticipate what attendees may or may not like, event managers will never manage to host successful events. Innovation is what makes an event stand out.

Team up with creative partners — design artists, comedians, musicians, entertainers, furniture and visual effects artists. The goal is to make your event as appealing as possible. Challenge your creative partners to do their best- from designing event merchandise, to creating Instagram worthy spaces.

When selecting an event destination, be sure to inculcate certain aspects of that region’s culture into the event. Since there are going to be a lot of local attendees, integrating the culture of the community into the event is a great way of showing appreciation and making the event feel unique.

Collaborate with the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the locality to ensure you incorporate all the right cultural aspects of the place into your event so that your guests have a memorable outing. Take into account the nature and demographic composition of the region your event is being held in to steer clear of any oversights.

Event management software can save event planners a lot of administrative time and make teamwork more efficient. There are actually a number of benefits of using event technology to help you be more productive. Event management platforms help event profs build event websites and manage registration, ticket sales, event schedule, attendee messages, and more. Here are some ways you can save time and be more productive working with an event management platform:

Event management solutions like Attendease can help you by providing intuitive digital tools for event professionals across multiple industries. Event automation platforms can help you automate important processes like registration, event check-in, event surveys, email notifications, and more. User-friendly features in a website that cuts down on the time needed to carry out these tasks individually boost the productivity levels of the event management team.

With all the effort that goes into organizing a perfect event, there’s always the risk of an unforeseen error. That’s where all this preparation helps. By following these essential tips, event managers will be ensuring that they are fully prepared to battle any unexpected circumstances.

Want an easier way to manage events in 2020? Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites while managing registration, passes, attendee communication, event analytics, and more. With a tool like Attendease, event managers can provide their attendees with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need.

Sponsorships are the lifeline that keeps the events industry sustainable. An important aspect of event management is finding the right sponsors who can provide the right financial assistance needed to pull off a big event, in exchange for brand exposure. 

Over the last decade, event sponsorship has become the primary way in which events receive funding, products, and other services. Undoubtedly, the most lucrative form of sponsorship for event managers, the brands too gain a lot from these events. For them, these events serve as an extremely specialized branch of promotion and marketing, bringing together brands and potential customers/business leaders on a face to face basis.

For example, the watch company Rolex was one of the first brands to support TED conferences. Rolex created short promotional videos and played them at various TED Talks. The event marketing campaign was called, ‘Rolex’s DNA: innovation and design’, a theme that suited the nature of TED Conferences.

Budget

In a survey conducted by EventMB in 2019, it was revealed that over 70% of event professionals who spent over $5 million on events in the 2019 budget plan to spend even more on event technology in 2020. 57% of the event professionals who took part in the survey stated that the budget needs to increase in order to improve the event experience.

Organizing an event is an expensive undertaking. Ticket sales rarely recuperate the expenses. Ticket prices also have to be kept affordable to ensure maximum attendance. What’s an event planner to do? Sponsorship.com revealed that in 2017, sponsorship spending in North America on events reached 23 billion dollars. Sponsors make events financially feasible, keeping ticket prices reasonable, ensuring the implementation of the latest and the most innovative event tech.

Credibility

When brands and event heads enter into a partnership, both parties can gain credibility from each other. A great example of both parties coming out as more credible due to an event is TechCrunch Disrupt and New Relic. The cloud-based software platform New Relic started sponsoring the TechCrunch Disrupt events in the early 2010s. 

Since then TechCrunch Disrupt has become one of the most highly anticipated conferences in the technology industry with their event “Hackathon” which pits contending hackers against each other, gaining a widespread following. Both New Relic and TechCrunch Disrupt gained credibility due to this exchange. All events are aimed at brands and events lending and sharing credibility while increasing the number of potential customers and event registrations.

In 2020, finding event sponsors is not going to be difficult. Businesses have enough evidence proving that events are one of the most, if not the most effective form of marketing – both B2B and B2C. Here’s a complete guide on how to improve your event with event sponsorships.

Before you start reaching out to potential collaborators, you must have a clear overall vision for your event. Answer key questions like –

Only after thoroughly analyzing your ideological goals can you start planning for the practical ones. Brands are extremely particular about how the event will feel for attendees. The way they want the attendees to communicate with each other and the brand may not align with your views.

Teaming up with organizations that do not share the same vision as that of your event brand is pointless. Another important criterion is the experience of these organizations in sponsoring events. If they have limited or no experience at all, teaming up with them may not be fruitful in the long run.

Find organizations and brands that fit your overall event idea. For instance, partnering up with a meat company for an event about sustainable eating habits isn’t ideal. Choose only after thorough consideration and create a detailed list of potential event sponsors with their contact information.

Once you’ve created a list of potential sponsors, the hard part follows – pitching the event idea to them. Be it via mail, phone or personal meetings, pitching sessions shouldn’t be used by event managers to pander to all the demands that potential sponsors may make. It should be a collaborative endeavor focusing on important issues such as –

The better the communication is during pitching, the better the outcome. Even if an organization rejects the pitch, it is much better to clearly state everything in advance instead of facing disappointment and confusion in the future. Event managers need to communicate the value the event can add to the brand.

A fair exchange of value is what organizations are looking for when participating in such conversations. They care more about how the event will affect their bottom line. Hence, conveying crucial data such as –

The sponsor may also ask for event-specific data, statistics, etc. You can collect such data from previous events, especially if you use event management platforms with data collection and analytics visualization dashboards. Overall, communicating value and guaranteeing returns for the sponsors is the most important aspect of pitching. 

Explain in simple terms every benefit, incentive, and necessity in clear terms. The sponsors should know exactly what to expect in return for their investment. Since large sums of money are usually involved in sponsoring large events, a detailed projection report must be provided to every sponsor you pitch your event idea to. Another great way to convince sponsors is to provide them with testimonials from previous sponsors.

Since securing all the required funding from one or two sources is not possible, it is better to offer brands different sponsorship packages. Create multiple levels of sponsorship, each granted with various benefits and plugged at varying prices. For example –

Make sure to make the sponsorship page on your event website as optimized as possible. Use rich graphics to design the page.

Lastly, once a pitch has been made, event managers will have to give a clear ROI estimate to the sponsors. To prove that your event can return the amount you want them to invest, you must provide them with data from past events, information about attendee demographics, and testimonials from past sponsors.

Show the sponsors that you have teamed up with a professional marketing event automation platform like Attendease. Automation platforms are essential tools for event management teams. They help in creating a scalable event planning process. A partnership with a reputed platform like Attendease will indicate the sponsors that the event is set to be an intuitive, seamlessly branded and convenient experience for all attendees. 

Refrain from forcing sponsors to increase their level of interest. Teaming up with only the companies that suit your event ideals is a better approach than teaming up with anybody and everybody who is willing to pay money. Innovative event ideas when powered by the right sponsors have the potential to create something special. Use this guide to find the right sponsor for your event. 

Want an easier way to manage events? Attendease helps event managers create customized, branded and full-featured event websites while managing registration, passes, attendee communication, event analytics, and more. With a tool like Attendease, event managers can provide their attendees with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all the event-related information that they need.