Continue read Corwin’s latest post “For Events, Promote the WHY” on the Eventbrite Blog.

Okay – so let me play “opposite George” on this one and see if I can defend the value of the event-day check-in: How else will we know if they’ve arrived? What about their name badge? We have to get them their name badge! We need to give them their welcome package!

I can’t do it. I can’t defend the check-in. In short, it’s a pointless bottleneck. As an event planner, if you insist on giving away stuff, make it voluntary (staff a station and let people come to you), or if you have no shame, put stuff on peoples chairs. If you insist on using name badges then set that up near the coffee station (don’t worry, they’ll find you). Don’t make people line up to enter an event to collect something that’s not imperative to their experience. Besides, line-ups kill the mood every time. I think I’m grumpy today.

Download for FREE on iTunes

Enter my savior. Eventbrite Easy Entry offers eventholders a sleek digital replacement for traditional paper check-in. Yahoo! Now, this isn’t new technology but it’s now crazy affordable, check that… it’s FREE, and it’s connected to one of the simplest and cost-effective event registration systems out there.

The app features a digital list that grabs attendees as they register. It also syncs regularly with Eventbrite’s server, so you can offer multiple entry points for an event and each iPhone will be updated. And it allows you to review orders, so you can see each attendee’s payment total and method. It’s more reliable than a clipboard and simple to use!

Features:
- Log in with your Eventbrite user account
- Review orders for your event as they are placed
- Check in attendees at the event
- Sync attendee status across multiple devices
- Wirelessly updates attendance status in your Eventbrite charts and reports on Eventbrite.com

I’m over the moon about this app and I can’t wait to test drive it November 4th at CREATIVEMIX (bummer that I have to wait that long). If you’ve used it at your event let me know how it went!

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert

Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.

Stress Squeeze Toy	Silly Putty
Logo Launcher	Game Cube
Frisbee	Credit Card
Snuggie Blanket	Pack of Smokes

Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap. We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.

So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.

Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on CREATIVEMIX.ca/blog] ]]> http://redwagonmanagement.com/promo-fail/feed/ 1 http://redwagonmanagement.com/your-next-event-emergency/ http://redwagonmanagement.com/your-next-event-emergency/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:00:54 +0000 Red Wagon Management http://redwagonmanagement.com/?p=614 Whether you’ve planned one event or hundreds it’s happened to you: someone runs up in a panic because they need _______ and they think you’ll have it because you’re the event planner. That’s right, __blank__, they’ll ask you for anything and everything and they need it NOW! Thumb tacks, scissors, glue, a hammer, needle and thread, batteries, or Tylenol – you name it and as far as they’re concerned their crisis is far more important than anything you could be dealing with at the registration table or backstage. Well, after a few instances like this I decided to make sure the next “ask” would be met with an assuring “yes”. So I created THE EVENT KIT. It’s an emergency kit that has everything anyone could ever ask for while at an event. Exhibitors, performers, caterers, attendees, limo drivers, and volunteers – I’m ready for all their 9-1-1′s.

This was the most fun I have had shopping in a long time. I went on a shopping frenzy to Staples, Home Depot, and a few other stores (spent about $1,000 in total) and prepared the most amazing emergency event kit that I’ve every seen. We’re talkin’ the grand daddy of event kits here. I started off with a Pelican Case because I wanted something durable (I also have a bit of gear envy and this was my way of trying to be cool like my photographer and A/V friends). I bought some small organizers to make sense out of the little bits, and then I tackled the extremely difficult task of making it all fit. Now, when I show up on event day I feel armed and prepared to help everyone with their mini-emergencies.

Someone asked me the other day if I got the idea from watching The Wedding Planner (Jennifer Lopez) and I laughed out loud right in their face. I felt bad. Nope, I didn’t steal it from a movie. I don’t really remember any sort of brain wave – inspiration didn’t really come into play on this one. I’ve seen other planners with kits before but they’ve always been small tool boxes or sewing kits and I just wanted to take it over the top.

If you want to know what’s inside then download the PDF checklist below.

Posted by Corwin Hiebert

When someone registers or plans to attend an event that is free they automatically assign that activity the category of “maybe.” If they are not liable for not showing up then it’s no big deal in their eyes. But it’s a big deal for you, the event planner. Your event plan can be seriously impacted when attendance is such a variable.

Consider the poor success of a Facebook invitation. I haven’t seen any official statistics but, in my experience, it’s a miracle even if 1% of the confirmed attendees from a Facebook event actually show up. Sure, there are the exceptions, such as mass bike rides and water gun fights, but event promotion via social marketing tools invokes little to no commitment. And when the commitment level is low it is that much easier for someone to bail.

Discounts are dangerous too. I come across this one all the time. As an event planner you know that fear, that gut-wrenching feeling, of having empty seats and you’ll do anything to fill them. Too often, prices are hacked and slashed to get people in the room. If you discount remaining tickets, you’ve got a couple liabilities on your hands. First of all, you’ve just filled the room with people who have lowered expectations. These low-paying people can skew survey results, create a negative vibe in the room, and may not be the right people for the event. The second liability is that your pre-existing registrants will go berserk on you and demand refunds, thus lowering your overall revenue and negating the funds you just earned by bringing in the cheapies. It’s a trap. Don’t discount. Add value, don’t lower it.

Helpful Tip: Offer deals to event registrants only. When trying to increase attendance, focus on the people who have already registered for your event. By providing a discount on additional passes, they’ll be motivated to bring their own friends.

This blog post was originally published on the Eventbrite Blog on January 19, 2010.

When meeting other event professionals I’ve come across many different titles but the most common seem to be:

1. Coordinator
2. Planner
3. Manager
4. Producer

I’ve ranked them according to levels of responsibility – at least how I see them. I realize that most people in the event industry wear multiple hats; of course that could be said of most careers these days. However, I’ve been encouraging students of the event industry to be sure they know which type of role they’re looking to fill. To focus on ones’ strengths is huge when involved in bringing an event project to a successful conclusion.

Now, I’m not saying that we should heap new demands on a dying descriptors but I do feel like it’s important to say that roles and title do come into play from time to time. When considering the list above I see too many event planners call themselves event planners when in fact they’re taking on the responsibility and liability which I feel constitutes the title of producer. It’s not that I want to have a fight about semantics but the event biz would benefit from working with consistent terminology. These titles do carry some weight, some level of ranking, that would suit our business well if we operated under uniform definitions. In my view there’s a pecking order when it comes to roles and their are benefit of clarifying the position one carries. There are different levels of leadership (and ownership) with respect to an event project. Here’s how I would describe these roles:

1. Coordinator – tasks are assigned to them, check-list oriented work, heavy on the logistics and event-day operations
2. Planner – facilitating tasks and people, delegating, some decision making power
3. Manager – developing project strategy and direction, leading key elements like goal planning and marketing
4. Producer – the boss, idea maker, initiator, content planning, the final authority (aka Jesus Jr.)

The normal chaos of events can be significantly limited when the event professional(s) know their role. I’ve used these titles as the starting point for an event team (paid or volunteer) for nearly three years now and I’m glad I have.

Update: Want to get the most out of Twitter?

follow Darren Rowse or visit www.twitip.com

Article: I highly recommend this article by Jodi Mardesich (Inc.). I think it’s important to understand the value and limitations of social networking tools with respect to event marketing. Many people cram event promo down their friends digital throats and that is the exact opposite of how Web 2.0 works. Authentic conversations and newsy content sharing is at the heart of this medium; event producers need to respect their networks. Microblogs should not be used to make up for a lack of demand.

Now, when it works it’s pretty cool. Here’s a good example: NaturalPod and Mama Renew blogged about an upcoming conference their participating in Healthy Families Conference and they posed a question to their customers and readers. Based on the comments/tweets/posts they awarded a prize (a free event pass). This is great. It’s authentic, action oriented, it rewards participation, and targets an audience who is 100% in the target demographic. My name is Corwin Hiebert and I approve this message.

I’ve posted a snippet of Jodi’s article below.

————

Microblogging tools like Twitter are enabling direct communication with customers. Should you be developing a Twitter strategy?

“Wow. It’s not even 9 a.m. and I got all my required things done for the day. Maybe I’ll go back to bed.“ Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media, a Web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, Maine, “tweeted” that note in mid August. One of his 300 or so “followers” on Twitter, a social networking service, messaged him back, asking what made him so productive. “My secret is Pleasant Morning Buzz coffee from Whole Foods. Damn, now I have to kill you,” Brooks wrote.

Later that day, Slaton Carter, a social media coordinator for Whole Foods Market, the natural foods retailer based in Austin, messaged Brooks. His unsolicited missive, chosen as “Tweet of the Day,” had earned him a $25 gift card.

“Who says Twittering doesn’t pay?” Brooks jokes.

Welcome to microblogging, a new form of Internet communication that has interesting business possibilities. Continue reading at: http://technology.inc.com/networking/articles/200809/twitter.html

There’s only two reasons to pursue sponsorship: 1) the need for revenue, and 2) the need for an audience. A sponsorship “ask” implies that an organization wants to, or needs to, share their hard earned money or promote your event in tow with their brand to their invaluable customer base. If there’s a solid relationship between the event, its organizer(s), and the participants then all you have to do is make sure you’re customizing the sponsor “ask” to meet their business needs (and hopefully make a dent in your budget). That’s not hard if you understand their business and how they make their spending decisions.

Most event “people” apply a marketing approach to the task  of securing event sponsors; that it somehow comes down to the complex strategies of brand positioning, demographics, market share, advertising impressions and fiscal benefits. The adage is that by creating great promotional value you’ll have an easier job finding sponsors. It’s all a silly exercise without a relationship. Yes, great marketing value is key but money will never change hands without an unbelievable amount of trust. I recommend event planners do what they can to lower their clients’ expectations around sponsors on the short-term but build and execute a plan that builds relationships over time. Instead of making a big “ask” this time around send a big “invite” (the wine-n-dine kind) and make sure that potential sponsor has an amazing time at your event then start with a detailed follow-up plan in preparation for next time.

As well, an event professional can not forget that the days of cash sponsorship are fading away among small and medium sized events and that gifts in-kind, or cross-promotional connections, are making up a big piece of the emerging sponsorship pie. Event planners need to embrace this. Now for a few rants: Please stop with all the medal levels. If you have to keep Platinum and Gold so be it… but please don’t create endless tiers. I don’t believe corporate sponsors get excited about holding lower levels, being trumped by the big boys communicates inferiority – that kind of ranking doesn’t show how valuable their relationship may in fact be. As well don’t create a stack of logos on your collateral – that doesn’t communicate value or strategic partnerships… it’s simply brand noise and marketing people HATE it.

Connect With Existing Clients. I spend a lot of time reconnecting with my clients through simple little gestures like sending a post-card, inviting them out for an organic free trade coffee, or treating them to lunch. I find this invaluable because it’s during this time that we often have the freedom to brainstorm about the next event project without anything actually on the line; it’s very freeing.

Reach-out to Potential Clients. I don’t advertise. My business is built exclusively on relationships. Each October I send out referral letters (actual letters on paper, not an e-mail) to all my business contacts. This letter is simple, it highlights a couple past projects and let the recipient know how my company can help make their next event highly successful. Not all my contacts have events but they are suppliers or know of a company that could use my help. This is a great way to build “word of mouth”.

Establish Processes and Documentation. This is the boring stuff of business, sort of. I like to review all my previous projects to see if there’s any deliverable that can be turned into a template or that needed some tweaking so that next time it can be more streamlined. This exercise helps me make more money – plain and simple. The faster my company gets at delivering excellent service the less time it will take to accomplish the project goals. This inturn gives me more time to work on new projects and generate more money. It’s not rocket science.

So, in the end… October is MY TIME of the year. I love it. I would definitely encourage every event professional to carve out a bit of time (maybe even smaller chunks twice a year) to step off the event-train and spend some time building your business. I highly recommend it.

In the event world planners so often tackle their projects by simply focusing on the logistics and I think that’s only half the plan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate of managing an event project scrupulously but event planners need to realize that so often they’re brought in to make sense out of chaos but that’s only a small part of the bigger picture. Simply cleaning up someone else’s mess is not a great scenario for a professional who knows how to make a gathering into a memorable event that has a flare no one else but you can bring. Now, if the event is reoccurring, or you’ve been slotted in as the flavour/planner of the year, or you’re taking over from an employee, you’re likely to have very little input into the strategic nature of the project. The best you’ll be able to do is simply organize the tasks, deliverables, timelines, suppliers, and people in order to pull off the gig. That’s just the way it is sometimes.

Now, please know that I wouldn’t recommend to any event professional that they mess with an event right out of the gate as it’s important to build trust with your client. As well, you rarely know all of all the factors, stakeholders, and have a big enough picture when you first get involved. However, if you’re going to do more than be an event administrator you’ll need to put a plan together that does more than just make sense of chaos but it actually helps transition the project into an event that creates better results and elevates you to the stakeholder level. It’s like your own little act of justice against the previous perpetrator (planner).

I suggest creating a report that shows your client the best and worst of their event and make sure your recommendations are quick to follow. Do this by doing two simple things: 1) Take detailed notes throughout the project planning period and the actual event that shows the growth areas and strategic outcomes that were missed. Then, with permission of course, send out a detailed post-event evaluation for stakeholders, suppliers, and guests (use SurveyMonkey) so that you can collect feedback to support your vision. Try not to ask to many leading questions but highlight the areas that you perceive as critical to helping your clients get the most out of their event.

At the end of the day it’s all about putting a plan together and making sure that it’s helping build your legacy with the event and your client. Trust me, the A-Team is never wrong.