Event planning takes enormous time, effort, and money, from pre-event coordination to the actual day. Preparing for any event takes a lot of time and energy, and if you’re tasked with ensuring things run smoothly, you might feel a little stressed. This is where onsite event management comes in.
Planning and coordinating an event is not enough to create a spectacular event. Execution is the most crucial aspect of any event. Things can quickly become chaotic and unorganized; if not handled properly, even small mistakes can have costly consequences.
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What is onsite event management?
Onsite event management involves taking care of the setup and details at the event facility on the day. An onsite manager’s responsibilities and tasks are ensuring the venue match the client’s brief.
It is imperative to check all the details, from the décor to the photographer and videographer. The onsite event management team must ensure that all protocols are followed if security is required. If required, event check-in software should be used.
What are the Benefits of Onsite Event Management?
Onsite event management goes beyond simply staffing your event. There are countless ways this service contributes to the success of an event, from careful planning to attention to detail.
1. Professionals Handle All Pre-event Coordination
The best event management companies plan every step of your event with your vision in mind. It would be best if you considered plenty of factors when planning an event, and the details will make all the difference. In the pre-planning stages, it is crucial to consider the following aspects:
- Theme development
- Date Selection
- Venue selection and availability
- Logistics planning
- Cost analysis
- Branding
- Scheduling
- Audiovisual needs
- Optional Activities
- Food and beverage
- Awards ceremonies
- Green initiatives
- Cost analysis
- Equipment needs and transportation
With onsite event management, you’ll have professionals assisting you at every stage of the planning process, from the glamorous (picking a theme and selecting decor) to the not-so-glamorous (scheduling staff and transporting equipment). The list of demands is so long that a bit of help will go a long way.
2. Proactively Avoid Problems Before They Happen
A successful event involves extensive planning and preparation, often requiring months of planning to be successful. The people, rooms, equipment, and agenda of a meeting must all work in harmony for it to be successful. The possibilities of fire going wrong are endless, so how can you even begin to anticipate and extinguish them before they start?
By bringing in the experts, you will proactively avoid problems before they occur. The onsite event managers ensure that all breakout rooms, dining facilities, conference rooms, and equipment necessary to run a successful event will be checked to ensure no surprises.
3. Handle Any Problem During The Event
Event planners always run into snags, no matter how good they are. Some things are simply beyond your control. Often, unexpected problems spark a host of new ones, taking you away from your guests. When this happens, your company may seem unorganized or not going according to plan.
An onsite event management team can take care of all the details, from the emergencies to the nitty-gritty of the event. An experienced team of corporate event planners will have already handled every aspect of pre-planning and coordination, so they know how things should run.
With an experienced team facilitating the event, you can focus on enjoying yourself and mingling with guests.
Key elements of onsite event management
There is no substitute for onsite event engagement, no matter how successful online efforts may be. Organizations should make a comprehensive plan for increasing onsite event engagement. This article will discuss the critical elements of onsite event management. There are three general categories in which an organizer’s role can be classified onsite in an event.
- Operations
- Marketing
- User experience
Operations
Exhibitors must deal with many ongoing operations during the event to ensure its success. Thus, the event organizer has a team of operations professionals who handle all onsite operations.
There is the possibility that this team is not the event organizing company’s in-house team. In most cases, organizers outsource their onsite operations. It is possible to outsource this service to:
- Vendors
- Workforce agencies
The vendors and people hired from the workforce agencies are responsible for overseeing the entire operation at the exhibition center. In addition to necessities like light and sound, operations may cover a wide range of legal obligations. Some of these may include:
- Stall Fabrication
- Light
- Sound
- Workforce
- Legal
- Permission
- Printing
- Catering
- Miscellaneous
As their names suggest, the Stall Fabrication team manages all operations of stalls/booths. Sound and lighting departments ensure that sound systems, speakers, lighting, etc., are in place.
The catering department is responsible for food and drinks storage, supply, and hygiene. Human resources are handled onsite by the workforce team.
The legal team handles all legal obligations. There are times when the legal obligations are so extensive that a team is specifically assigned the task of obtaining permissions. It is necessary to obtain permission from several local authorities depending on the size and footfall of an exhibition.
Furthermore, other departments, such as hospitals, police, and fire brigades, must be notified in advance to plan their actions. To prevent any mishap, inform the traffic police department of such events. The size of some exhibitions can cause serious traffic problems in surrounding areas. It is essential to inform the traffic police department of such events to prevent mishaps.
To ensure the smooth execution of the exhibition, the individuals involved in operations are responsible. Depending on the venue, the organizer may have to deal solely with the internal vendors, even though the internal vendors may be more expensive.
Marketing
There is a difference between this and pre-event marketing campaigns, which are launched online and offline. The purpose of this article is to discuss the onsite marketing that must be done during or just before the exhibit.
Pamphlets, banners and LED screens can visually convey the message. Alternatively, vocal announcements can be made.
Several methods of communication can be established within or outside the exhibition center, depending on the location. An effective marketing campaign requires a well-conceived, well-executed strategy from the organizers. While devising such a strategy, the following points should be considered:
1. Organizers need to consider what they want to highlight in their marketing. Some organizers focus more on promoting their current events, while others promote other events within the same organization. Some go one step further to announce the next event in the series.
2. Choosing the marketing medium in advance is essential. Depending on the demographics and the cost, this may vary.
Event marketing has its marketing funnel, just like any other marketing. The marketers aim to market the exhibition in the surrounding areas. As a result, not only is awareness created, but also potential attendees who might be interested in attending the event are targeted.
The marketing plan is directly affected by some local factors. Most organizers know the different routes leading to the exhibition venue. During the event, they estimate the traffic on that route. Traffic quantity is not necessarily what this estimation is about. A lot of marketing is rational and insightful when you know the quality of traffic, the age group, whether they are primarily students or professionals, and how they prefer to travel.
User Experience
From the perspective of the event organizers, users are-
- Exhibitors
- Visitors
The user experience solely determines event success. This is the core of the organizer’s plan. To enhance user experience, much of the onsite planning takes place.
What can organizers do to increase onsite engagement?
- The onsite engagement plan needs to be interactive so attendees can navigate the event more efficiently. You can save time using interactive maps with exhibitor names and stall numbers.
- Attendees may be dissuaded from attending an event based on inaccurate information outside the venue. Attendees should easily be guided to the venue by signboards and other signage.
- Despite most of the registration and badge generation over an app, queue management should still be done onsite. Lack of proper management can result in unnecessarily chaotic events when footfall is high.
- An adequate number of registration counters is essential for the event’s smooth operation.
- Hotels in the area can provide accommodations for visitors from overseas or other cities. The overall event experience is enhanced by efficient transport from the lodging to the event venue.
- Attendees should be notified if parking or other local factors affect their event.
Online marketing and online user engagement often overshadow the effectiveness of onsite events. Investing time and money in online event engagement and promotion may be spoiled by inefficiency on the ground.
In the end, the event still revolves around human connection. The attendees remember an event that was well organized for a more extended time. It determines the future of upcoming editions.