Planning Events In Dallas

So you’re planning an event… there’s lots to do and everything costs money. You’ve probably got important goals for your event; things that you need to happen a particular way. Getting those critical details worked out perfectly can sometimes distract party planners from the big picture, causing them to miss important details that can have a huge impact on the event’s success.

Like the saying goes… The Devil’s in the details. The little things you might overlook are often the most important to your guests and in the end the guests are what the party is always about.

Here are ten things anyone planning an event should consider:

1. Location, Location, Location…
   This old adage is true in every circumstance. Where you host your party will determine how many of your potential guests will show. Think of all the different levels of accessibility from highway access to traffic flow to parking capacty (or special event valet service).
2. What Is My Event Trying To Accomplish?
   It’s hard to stay on message if you’re not sure what the message is. Events can be expensive without being effective. The truth is that they should be more effective for a lot LESS expense. You need to have simple, specific goals and not very many of them. Is your event a just celebration or is it making a memory for a liftime? Is it a concert or is it really an interactive sales pitch? Is it just an opportunity to hear someone speak, or is it really a forum to create a base for a new product launch? Consider your goals carefully so that you will know when your event has been truly successful.
3. What Will Make My Guests Excited To Attend?
   Entertainment is a great way to get people excited about attending your event. There are many great options from live music concerts to comedians to guest speakers, djs, interactive games and so much more. Attract a crowd by designing your event around what your target audience would be most excited about. Find entertainment that complements your audience. Every industry is a niche in a sense and for every niche there is a community. The people in that community share other common interests, just because its human nature. You can privately, or sometimes openly, ask advocates within your community what they would most like to see in your event. Make a few real people excited about your idea and use their excitement to promote your event. You get their valuable input as well as their cooperation as advocates.
4. How Can I Get The Most From My Event Budget?
   Every detail of event planning is expensive and there’s so many people trying to get a piece of the pie. To make sure you get the most value from your event planning budget, focus your attention first on the elements that will attract and retain your guests. Decor is beautiful and impressive and is often crucial to branding messages and sponsorship. However, it doesn’t make the event exciting in itself and will never help promote the event in advance. Expensive live entertainment is great, but if that occupies only 45 minutes of a 3 hour event, you will have difficulty keeping people with you before and after that performance. Catering and beverage service is always a great way to attract an audience. Keep in mind that the guests will make a quick exit when the food and drinks are gone so make sure to accomplish your goals first. My recommendation is to have a balance of several appealing factors. Offer free or discounted food and beverage for a limited time early in your event. Entertain guests while simultaneously accomplishing your goals by sandwiching the best (and most expensive) parts of your event with sponsorship and brand messages.
5. How Do I Get The Word Out?
   An event is only great if its well attended. To fill your event with enthusiastic guests you need to aim for a much larger audience than could ever fit in your venue. The best problem you could ever have is to have more guests than you can fit in your Dallas venue. So the question remains, how many people do you have to reach with your promotions to get enough of them to show up to make your event a success? Consider what competition there may be at the same time as your event. Look for the community that represents your niche in the local area. Take the time to establish a communication channel to your audience far in advance of actually promoting your event. If that isn’t possible then attract the attention of thought leaders in your niche. In some cases you can directly contact outspoken bloggers and people on Twitter or Facebook and get them involved. Whatever you do, aim high and don’t slack off promoting until your event is a blowout.
6. How Long Should My Event Last?
   Sometimes its a really good idea to leave your guests wanting just a little bit more… Plan your event so that your audience is captivated during the most important moments of your event with your best offerings and end the event with a bang. Make sure the important parts of your event happen while the majority of your crowd is actually in the room. It’s a common mistake to start the good stuff either too early or too late. Give your audience a full hour after you open before you get started with any entertainment or important content. Assume that some of your crowd will leave before the end of the event, so try to get anything critical done before the last 45 minutes of your event.
7. What Day Of The Week Is Best For My Event?
   Timing is important… If your event will take place late at night, try very hard to secure a Friday or Saturday night. If that’s not possible, schedule it for a Thursday and try to plan your event to be done before midnight. If your event takes place during happy hour, I highly recommend planning your event to occur Wednesday through Saturday. If your ideal day of the week isn’t available when you want to plan your event…strongly consider moving your event or selecting a different venue.
8. How Long Will It Take All My Guests To Park & Enter The Venue?
   A simple thing like entering the venue seems like it would never be a problem. The truth isn’t so simple. A few people entering and exiting at once is hardly a problem, but a few hundred or a few thousand becomes another thing entirely. Venue capacity is partially based on the number of entrances but there are still plenty of venues that are just not equipped to handle a large volume of guests arriving all at once. My friends at Advantage Valet told me once that, on average, you can expect 2.5 people per vehicle arriving at a venue. That means if you have 1,000 people arriving all at once, you need to be able to quickly accommodate parking 500 cars. You will also need to consider how many lines your will call/box office/registration process can run simultaneously. Checking in 1,000 people one-at-a-time is a terrible plan for an event on a tight schedule.
9. What Will My Guests Do Before & After My Event?
   Where your guests come from and what they plan to do after your event will set the tone for how they act at your event. Consider the difference between coming from work for a happy hour and dinner event and traveling out for an all day event. If your event is a party, concert, comedy show or other nightlife-style event it is likely that your guests will want to continue their good times after your event. If people can plan out their entire evening out in an area of town that has great entertainment options it will be easier to convince them to come to your event.
10. How Can I Leave A Lasting Impression On My Guests?
    If you have a brand message, or any other type of goal for your event try to build up to a big moment sometime around 3/4 of the way through the event. Then give your guests something tangible, literally something they can take home with them, as they walk out the door. Even better, give them something on their way in to entertain them through the slower parts of the event and give them something of value as they leave. Slap your brand all over something that you can give away with pride, something your guests will keep.