You may not realize this, but at heart, everyone’s an event manager.
When it’s that time of the year you have to plan someone’s birthday, surprise your parents with an anniversary party, throw a Christmas dinner or invite friends and neighbors to an elaborate New Year’s bash—you’ve stood there like a trooper, taking care of everything from catering to entertainment, decorations and music.
But if you’re a working professional in business, education, law or entertainment—chances are, you know a great deal more about organizing events than your friends and family. Say, you run a business consultancy or a law firm, a member of the education board, or PR manager for a local newspaper—you’ve probably attended your fair share of corporate events, big and small.
You may partake in community workshops, local seminars and international conferences at various venues—from the local arts center around the block to a prestigious hotel in the heart of Los Angeles. And taking inspiration from all, you’re definitely in a position to organize one of your own!
Keeping the Spotlight on Your Event
If you’re thinking of organizing a seminar for your office, school or local cultural center, you’ll have your hands full with innumerable decisions. Choosing a venue, developing reasonable objectives, inviting keynote speakers, selling tickets or sending invitations—this is just the tip of the iceberg, and it doesn’t even cover catering and staging!
Planning a seminar is no small matter. But with your exposure to successful conferences, you’ll definitely have a few ideas to amp up the event!
As you sit at your desk, checking off all the things on your to-do list, you’re likely to be so engrossed in the bigger picture that you forget a few crucial elements that could make or break your event.
And that’s where we come in to remind you!
It’s All About the Details
You’re probably thinking a small event can’t match the grand and lavish set-up of an international conference. After all, you don’t have that big an audience and certainly not that big a budget!
Even so—a successful event, albeit small, holds the power to attract prospective clients, motivate existing employees, inspire promising ideas and boost overall creativity. This is an essential goal to have and, contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t have to rely on an expensive venue or celebrity guest-speaker!
You’re setting the stage for a presentation or a lecture by an expert in a field relevant to your business or institute. The point of a seminar is to keep the focus on the subject—which in this case, means the speaker!
You may not realize this until it’s too late and you’re watching a recording of your laboriously planned event, but professional lighting is one of the most important elements of the stage, second only to an excellent sound system.
We believe hard work and ambition should always be noticed. This is why we take pride in helping small businesses and entrepreneurs organize spectacular events on a budget!
Toronto Audio Visual Rentalsprovides affordable rental services for audio visual equipment, offering video cameras, wireless microphones, laptops and projectors on rent.
Contact us for inquiries and rental charges today!
VIP event: In the wave of managing big events, we often miss small yet essential things that require our constant attention in the first place. This list will help you remember those in case you forget while working on other essentials.
Scheduling Calendar Invitation for Stakeholders:
Decide who needs to be involved in the planning of this event and send them a calendar invitation including their traveling details, map of the venue, and its parking details. Mention their roles and expectations, obtain sign-off, and make sure it is received and acknowledged by all.
Professional compilation of Guest List:
You must inevitably ensure the correct use of titles, post-nominal, and salutation for VIPs to be invited. Some VIPs require proceeding documents to be submitted to them two weeks before the event. It needs to be managed carefully as any small mistake in the proceedings may create a bad image of your management skills in front of the VIPs.
Creating RSVPs:
Make sure to send invitations not later than four weeks ahead of the primary event date. The date of RSVP should be five days before the event. (To be selected in conjunction with the catering company’s notification of attendance number requirements). Send out an email regarding the confirmation of attendance the week before the event. It must contain an event location map and parking instructions as well.
Access provision for Disabled and Older people:
The venue should be accessed well by physically challenged and older people. Make sure, the event would have to push strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building by such people with the help of your supporting staffs.
Accommodation for interstate/international delegates:
In case your event is going to be for 2-3 days, decide whether your interstate/international delegates need accommodation facility or not. If so, choose a place close to your venue and include its expenditure in your budget well in advance.
External and Internal Security:
VIP event / Big events need security to patrol and bodyguards. It becomes more evitable when you have any special guests arriving, such as the Prime Minister. In such cases, you may also be required to liaison with Prime Minister’s security in advance.
Use of essential Signage:
You may require signage for direction/parking or conference room or promotion as well. Some need lectern banner as well. So, communicate with your marketing and communication team to arrange them before time.
Needless to say, apart from all the above discussed, you will require impeccable AV systems, lighting, decoration, catering, etc. to give your event a big success. Need helping hands for your next event? Let the whole team of Toronto Audio Visual Rentals help you make your event a grand success.