For the time immemorial, man has been celebrating events of different kinds. In the early ages, he had plenty of time to plan and enjoy the events but today with the acute shortage of time, we need someone else to handle the events, someone who might have acquired some specialization or past experience so that the host is able to concentrate on the other relevant matters.
Event can be of celebrating your marriage ceremony or your birth day. On collective basis, you can organize the gathering on account of some festival, conferences or meetings and event management can be said as application of project management skills to organizing such events. This has now become an industry and professionals work in form of big companies just to hold the events. You can too organize events. Events can be classified into four broad categories based on their purpose and objective:
- Leisure events like leisure sport, music, recreation.
- Cultural events like ceremonial, religious, art, heritage, and folklore.
- Personal events like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries.
- Organizational events like commercial, political, charitable, sales, product launch, expo, meetings, conferences, seminars, convocation, conventions etc.
Event management involves studying every intricacy of the purpose, devising the event concept, identifying the people to be invited, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities. Post-event analysis and ensuring a return on investment have become significant drivers for the event industry.
The recent growth of conferences at the large scale, popularity of continental festivals and conducting games around the world means that their conducting can no longer be carried on ad hoc. Events and festivals, such as the Asian, Olympics, Common Wealth Games and other regional and international competition, have a large impact on their communities and, in some cases, the whole country. They need professional touch.
The industry now includes events of all sizes from the Olympics down to a breakfast meeting for ten business people. Many industries, charitable organizations, and interest groups hold events of some size in order to market themselves, build business relationships, raise money or celebrate.
Event management is considered one of the strategic marketing and communication tools by companies of all sizes. From product launches to press conferences, companies create promotional events to help them communicate with clients and potential clients. They might target their audience by using the news media, hoping to generate media coverage which will reach thousands or millions of people. They can also invite their audience to their events and reach them at the actual event.
Since demand of conducting events through experts has increased drastically, event management has become an industry in which companies and organizations service a variety of areas including corporate events (product launches, press conferences, corporate meetings and conferences), marketing programs (road shows, grand opening events), and special corporate hospitality events like concerts, award ceremonies, film premieres, launch/release parties, fashion shows, commercial events, private (personal) events such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Clients hire event management companies to handle a specific scope of services for the given event, which at its maximum may include all creative, technical and logistical elements of the event depending upon the budget.
Event Management is a multi-million dollar industry, growing rapidly, with mega shows and events hosted regularly. Surprisingly, there is no formalized research conducted to assess the growth of this industry. The industry includes fields such as the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions), conferences and seminars as well as live music and sporting events. The logistics side of the industry is paid less than the sales/sponsorship side, though some may say that these are two different industries.
You Too Can Become Event Manager!
You can become an event manager if you have garnered your quality to plan and execute the events of different kinds. There are an increasing number of universities which offer courses in event management, including diplomas and graduate degrees. In addition to these academic courses, there are many associations and societies that provide courses on the various aspects of the industry.
Study includes organizational skills, technical knowledge, P.R., marketing, advertising, catering, logistics, decor, glamour identity, human relations, study of law and licenses, risk management, budgeting, study of allied industries like television, other media and several other areas.
Certification can be acquired from various sources to obtain designations such as Certified Trade Show Marketer (CTSM), Certified Manager of Exhibits (CME), Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM), Global Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP).
Event managers and their teams often remain behind-the-screen to run the event. Event managers may also be involved in more than just the planning and execution of the event, but also brand building, marketing and communication strategy. The event manager is an expert at the creative, technical and logistical elements that help an event succeed. This includes event design, audio-visual production, scriptwriting, logistics, budgeting, negotiation and, of course, client service. It is a multi-dimensional profession.
Now, Event management software companies provide event planners with software tools to handle many common activities such as delegate registration, hotel booking, travel booking or allocation of exhibition floor-space.
The event manager may become involved at the early initiation stages of the event. The management of events calls, largely for coordination, from stage one. The first thing required is to get the orders for the event. This process is also known as pitching for an event. Usually, whether it is for small time events (birthday parties and weddings), or then for the larger ones assigned by companies (exhibitions and trade fairs), or then the international concerts; the event manager/company is asked to submit a project report, with the finances involved. On the basis of this is the assignment given to them.
Event planning is one of the more creative and exciting aspects of being an administrative assistant, but it can also be one of the most unnerving. When your company is throwing a big bash and you're suddenly put in charge of the details, it can be difficult to avoid a run-in with Murphy's Law.
"I would say that the number one most important thing is to keep every detail about the event in one place," says Shawn O'Gallagher, a publicist at Random House in New York City. When O'Gallagher is in charge of planning book signings or readings, he sends the venue (i.e., bookstore) an event confirmation, including the date, time, address, book title, author, event contact and his contact information. He saves both a hard copy and a soft copy.
"If we need to reference it quickly, we have everything in one page, and not a batch of paper-clipped scrap papers in a lump" says O'Gallagher.
If your event has many bits and pieces that won't fit comfortably on one page, make a "scheduler," or binder, that covers every aspect of the event.
The scheduler should be divided into categories with a section for every aspect of the event -- from caterers, to contracts, to seating charts, to guest lists, to emails of authorization and proposals from different vendors. And the first page of every scheduler should be an emergency contact sheet with the contact information of everyone who is involved in the event.
You shouldn't only rely on one form of documentation. When there's a crisis on the night of the event, you may not be able to go back to your computer and hunt through your files. Your best bet is to keep both a scheduler and an electronic record of all event details. I always suggest people use specifically designed event software when storing event information electronically.
If you can't get either of these programs, you can do it the old-fashioned way by creating an Excel spreadsheet with all the details, including site selection, entertainment, decor, catering, audiovisual services, volunteer list, staff list, task-management list, etc.
No matter how you keep track of all the details, take the time to be organized and make sure everything on your lists is accurate. Be sure to spell-check and update your event information frequently, particularly if you're producing events on a regular basis. Lastly, even in the heat of a crisis, take that extra minute or two to check your records before you react.
If the event manager has budget responsibilities at this early stage they may be termed an event or production executive. To brief you again, I find that in management of the events, the various stages include:
• Getting brief of the event from the client.
• Site surveying and design
• Budget drafting and getting list of the guests
• functions to be performed.
• Cash flow management
• Supply chain identification
• Procurement
• Scheduling
• Technical design
• Health & Safety including crowd management
• Logistics
• Sound and Video
• Light
After you determine to become an Event Manager, you get openings in the areas of :
• Event Management Consultancy
• Hotel, travel and hospitality Industries
• Advertising Agencies
• Public Relations Firms
• Corporations
• News Media
• Non-profit organization
• Integrated Marketing & Communications
• Event Budgeting and Accounting
There are a number of companies hosting and organizing events on a regular basis. These range from the small time private events to the large-scale international events. Yes, the large scales one do happen far rarer, but then the amount of returns they churn out is far beyond expectations. However, in the past there have been events that have also resulted in losses to the hosts and sponsors for varied reasons. But then, all said and done, event management is about organization and execution, and that is precisely where the money lies. Those in the field are paid for their these services.
Today, there a number of people, who have entered the field because they realize the potential of the market where demand and supply is concerned. In fact, the most profitable aspect of this field is the need for creativity. And that is how and where one earns.
Fortunately, with a little organization and the following tips from experts, planning your next event will be not only stress-free, but also successful.
Be Happy – Plan and Enjoy The Events.
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