Event Planning Tips

Organising events can be stressful – but if you use our event planning tips, your task will instantly become much easier.

The basic elements of any event planning are always the same, whether you are planning a charity event, a dance, business conference, exhibition stand or concert.

Timescale

Allow at least four to six months for your event planning. So start your work on your event as early as possible.

Research the type of event you want to hold. Make sure it doesn’t clash with other company meetings, or major events such as a bank holiday!

Identify the aim of the event

Why are you planning the event? What’s the aim? What audience are you targeting? Having a clear aim from the beginning ensures you stay focused.

Delegate

Events are hard work. There is a lot of administration and organisation involved. You cannot do it on your own. You do need help. Create a team and delegate the different functions such as budgeting, publicity and venues. Hold regular team meetings to keep everyone up to date on what is happening and ensure nothing is missed.

Create a Schedule

Work out your schedule for the event. Know exactly when you need to have booked the venue, organise staffing, publicity, catering, security, speakers and other participants. Having a clear schedule ensures that you and all your team don’t miss any important elements.

Budget

Set out your budget and stick to it. Don’t let it slide, as spending can quickly spiral out of control. Identify how much you can spend on different functions such as hiring a venue and hiring staff. Be prepared to negotiate to get the best deal.

Hire professional help

If you need an extra pair of hands, even if just to cover breaks, toilet trips, etc. Or want experienced help rather than taking your own staff then you can use a professional event staffing agency.

Have a back up plan

Always expect things to go wrong, because something inevitably will. A speaker might have to cancel at the last minute, the caterers or venue encounter problems. There might a transport strike and more attendees than expected decide to use their own vehicles, which in turn may result in parking problems.

Choose your venue carefully

Make sure you have booked and confirmed your venue well in advance. Check out several venues before making your final decision. If you are worried about a venue, don’t take the risk. A good, reliable venue is crucial to the success of any event.

Publicity

Publicise your event as early as possible and maintain the impetus. It gets people interested, and encourages them to come. Talk to the media and get your message out on all your social media channels with plenty of eye catching visuals. Think about possible promotional activities, and search out every marketing opportunity.

On the day

Turn up well before the event starts. It will give you time to check that everything is on course, and no hitches have appeared. Relax and enjoy the event.

Evaluation

Seek as much feedback as you can from everyone involved. This will help you assess what can be improved for future events.

With the cost of living increasing temporary work could be an option

With prices inexorably rising, alongside higher energy bills, more and more people are becoming worried about stretching existing incomes to pay for even basic expenses. With dark winter nights requiring greater energy usage and Christmas expenses on the horizon, trying to cope financially is a serious problem.

Seeking additional temporary work is an option that is worth considering. A few hours extra each week, can make all the difference when it comes to finding money for living expenses. It can also bring in extra money to cover sudden expenses, or act as a way of providing useful cash to put aside for paying bills.

An added advantage is the fact that taking on extra work can also lead to new opportunities. You can learn new skills, find new interests and discover unexpected career opportunities.

Ever thought of becoming an extra in a film?

Britain has a very vibrant film industry, and there is a constant demand for extras willing to participate in crowd scenes. Then there are the numerous promotional films created by companies for advertising purposes or to highlight new services. All too frequently, these films require ordinary people to appear in the background.

Product launches often require people to hand out samples in store, encouraging consumers to try something new. This may only involve a few hours work. Exhibitions too require lots of additional staff as demonstrators, people who can meet and greet visitors, hospitality staff, set up and take down stands. Promotional staff are always in demand at venues nationwide.

Just think too of the numbers of car park attendants and stewards needed at special events such as the various winter Lumieres, concerts, Christmas festivals and fayres. Organising vehicles going in and out of the car parks, especially when it is dark, can be a crucial task as it can involve dealing with hundreds of vehicles over a few hours. If it is not organised properly, all kinds of access problems can occur.

Fancy being Santa Claus?

Just think back to last Christmas when there was a shortage of Santa’s in some areas. Demand for people who can take on the role of Santa Claus is always high. Santa’s are not just needed in store, but also at charity events, steam train rides, special promotions, even visiting homes and business events. Then there are his helpers – the elves and Mrs Claus. Many bookings for Santa Claus often require extra people to take on the such roles in order to manage queues.

Clearly there are a lot of opportunities for versatile people, willing to work a few extra hours.

Work out what hours you can spare for some additional work. It may be a few hours at the weekend or in the evening. Some people may have time during weekdays such as retired people, or when working shifts.

Students looking for extra cash can gain valuable work experience in many different sectors by taking on additional casual, or semi-regular work.

Experience is not always essential for people willing to work as marshals, car parking attendants, extras on film productions, product demonstrators and event staff. This type of work can involve anything from a few hours to a day or more.

Take a look at the Envisage website and see just what is on offer. You will need to fill in our form in order to join the database. We are happy to talk you through the opportunities to identify what type of jobs would suit you. Just get in touch now and see how we can work together.

Hire Temporary Sales Staff to run your Promotions

Why run a promotion? The answer is simple. It generates instant sales. That means empty shelves, which mean more demand for your products as you replenish them.

The value of a sales promotion team can be easily overlooked. They do more than just bringing a product in front of potential customers. In reality, they can often be the reason why people buy it.

Promotional staff are the public face of a product. They are there to talk to people, encourage them to try it because once a product has been tried, the more likely they are to hunt it out on the shelves and take it home.

When times are hard, and people have to watch their money, they are wary of buying something new because they don’t want to waste their cash. Being asked to taste something in store, or try out a new technique creates a greater feeling of confidence. Having experienced the product and liked it, consumers become more willing to recommend it to others within the family.

It’s not just product demonstrations or tasting sessions that generate this feel good effect. A similar feeling is encouraged when free samples are provided to take home. Trying a product free of charge takes away the pressure of instant decisions as well as the risk of finding it is not liked at home. Trying and liking eliminates the risk factor.

An added advantage is the fact that the promotional team can directly engage potential customers, talking about the product and its advantages. Think about ‘add on’ possibilities too – how about some recipe cards giving ideas on using the product within a wider meal? It makes it even more versatile, and can increase linked sales.

Also worth considering are the potential opportunities for upselling and cross selling. Running an instore promotion for say, a tablet will immediately attract attention because it is a desirable product. As soon as the consumer has decided to buy, the sales promotional team can point out that cases for the tablet are on sale nearby, as are spare charging wires. Or what about a cover to protect the face of the tablet? Within a short time, the customer has increased their purchases from one tablet to an extra two or three items, none of which were on their shopping lists when they entered the store.

News of a promotion can increase store traffic. Mentioning it in advertisements, on social media or in pre-publicity attracts attention. People may be thinking of buying a tablet, and news of a promotion of this kind can make a difference.

Hiring staff for events at the SEC Glasgow

Potentially able to seat over 5 million people, the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Glasgow is definitely one of the largest exhibition centres in the UK. It’s sheer size and highly successful record in hosting major events, concerts and exhibitions means that it is a great place for businesses to attract attention from a vast array of potential customers.

It regularly hosts over 50 events every year. These include concerts by West Life, musicals such as War of the Worlds, comedy productions featuring Dara O Briain and exhibitions like The Baby & Toddler Show, Scotland’s Speciality Food Show and The Dog Lover Show. Trade shows alone regularly targets over 340,000 Scottish businesses.

Making sure you have the staff at hand to benefit from this massive customer base is essential which is why talking to Promotional Models Scotland is essential

How can we help?

We know the venue well, and regularly provide staff to help out at events and shows. We can provide not just promotional models, but virtually anything you might need from promotional crowds, staff to hand out flyers and other information, demonstrators, event staff, brand ambassadors and much more. Our staff are reliable and hard working – they will become an immediate part of your team the moment they arrive on the site.

Some events we could help you with this year

Need a helping hand at the ideal home show?

Ideal Home Show 26-29 May

We can provide demonstrators, staff to hand out samples and get feedback, data capture staff, promotional staff to attract attention to your new products and services

Looking for staff to deal with queries at the Scottish hair & beauty show?

Scottish Hair & Beauty 12-13 June

One of the biggest trade shows in the country, this always attracts attention with hosts of new products being launched. Making sure that your stand is fully staffed at every moment is essential, which is why hiring extra event staff will ensure that no prospective customer is missed

SEEKING PROMOTIONAL HELP AT THE GIN TO MY TONIC SHOW?
The Gin to my Tonic Show 28-30 October
With countless people wanting to taste and try new gins and tonics, it’s important to keep display stands clean, tidy and with a constant supply of drinks available. This is an exhibition guaranteed to attract people who like these products. Capturing their attention now can mean a lot of repeat business. Having staff at hand to hand out samples, and promote your product is essential.

Hiring experienced promotional staff can make a difference

Promotional Models Scotland ensures that you have the best staff available throughout the event. These are people who are experienced, fully trained and reliable. They will make your stand come alive, and ensure that no potential customer is missed.

All you have to do is talk to us. We will do the rest – our database contains thousands of potential exhibition staff and promotional staff in the Glasgow area. We offer 24/7 backup service and all our staff are fully insured. Contact us now and book the perfect staff.