Planning an Out-of-the-Box Event
Geri Wolf knows what it means to plan a unique, stylish event. As an event designer and planner at The Style Laboratory, she’s had more than her fair share of extraordinary clients looking for out-of-the-ordinary events. So when this seasoned pro offered to give our readers some tips on planning an out-of-this-world event, we were out-of-our-minds excited! We know you will be too.
Q. Briefly describe what you do at the Style Laboratory
A. I work as an event designer and planner. My main focus is designing and planning corporate dinners for small to large groups, the largest being a 1400-guest, plated dinner. Also, I plan a fair amount of restaurant openings.
Q. What’s the most unusual gathering you’ve planned?
A. The most memorable events I’ve executed were during the Republican National Convention. I was contracted to plan twelve elaborate events in a four day period. It was once in a lifetime opportunity, as the circumstances surrounding those events were like no other I had ever encountered up to that point.
Q. What tips would you offer planners when they’re planning a gathering that isn’t strictly buttoned-down corporate?
A. I believe every event starts with a blank sheet. While you may take inspiration from events you’ve executed in the past, each new event has its own personality based on goals, the hosts, the guests and the space.
Tip #1 — Get In the Box!
In order to plan an out-of-the-box event, you have to get in the box first. By that I mean get inside your client or your company’s head. What do they want to achieve with the event?
I worked on an event for Microsoft unveiling their technology center. Supplemental branding was difficult because their logo was plastered all over the center and the clients were already providing the interactive use of their software and hardware (Kinect, Xbox, Surface.)
The client wanted to use name tags, didn’t want standard boring ones, but had no idea what to use instead. I spent time researching on their website and discovered Microsoft’s TAG was their version of QR Codes or barcodes. Before that time, I knew nothing about TAG and the client had completely forgotten they had that product. As a result, we developed TAGs for each of the guests on their nametags, so that while they were networking they could snap a photo on their phones of someone else’s TAG and have all the info they needed. It made networking much easier and it was a subtle way to let the guests know about TAG as a product too.
Sometimes the out-of-the-box solution is buried somewhere on the client’s website or inside their head. It's your job to dig it out.
Tip #2 — The Human Element
As an event planner, it’s easy to forget that ultimately these events are about and for human beings. No amount of the "perfect shade of blue" is going to make an impression on people if you don't include them in your planning.
Being an introvert, any time I can create a situation at an event that encourages easy interaction between the guests, I feel I’ve been effective. Engaging your audience should be your number one goal no matter what kind of event you’re planning. As such, you should create an event environment in which the guests feel at home and can be themselves. People want to be happy and comfortable. It's our job to help them achieve that.
So ask the questions -- Who is the audience? What are their personalities? As a group, are there particular interests that capture their attention? What things do they enjoy outside of work?
Tip #3 — The Use of Celebrity
Take a page from the pop culture book when creating activities.
Of course, we always like activities that begin and end with laughter. For example, at a recent awards presentation, we integrated "A Minute to Win It" into the program, which resulted in side-splitting laughter for the audience. Having a television personality emceeing the competition just made it that much more entertaining. Keep in mind, local television personalities are pretty inexpensive to hire for events.
In this day and age, we seem to think everything (events included) are about social media. But if you concentrate on the "social" part, I promise you, you won't have to think twice about social media ... it will happen organically.
