IMAGINE A CAREER IN EVENT MANAGEMENT
You have just pulled off the best event EVER. Your client is raving about you to their friends, and your phone is ringing off the hook.
It takes more than a love of parties, creativity and strong organisational skills to become a sought after event manager - gain the foundation knowledge and skills to support a dynamic career in event management with this hands-on course.
Be the conduit between a person's vision of the perfect event - be it a wedding, seminar, concert or party - and make it happen.
Lesson Structure
There are 9 lessons in this course:
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Scope and Nature of Event Management
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Developing the Concept
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Physical and Human Resources
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Project Logistics
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Marketing an Event
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Financial Management
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Risk Management
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Staging the Event
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After the Event
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Identify the various tasks which are involved in the management of a variety of different types of events.
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Explain how a range of different types of events are initiated and planned.
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Determine the human and physical resources required to deliver different types of events.
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Determine how physical and human resources will be organised in preparation for staging an event in order that needs are appropriately catered for.
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Develop a marketing plan for an event.
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Develop a financial management plan for an Event.
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Develop a series of risk management procedures to minimise the impact of different types of problems including financial, legal, marketing, crowd control, food services, and hygiene.
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Describe the way in which facilities and services are managed during the actual delivery of an event.
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Review an event after its delivery.
What You Will Do
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Research to find out what events are taking place in your locality.
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Study and compare different events.
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Review marketing of various real life events.
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List sources of potential financial support for an event.
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Interview someone who has managed an event.
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Explain the different legal and ethical responsibilities with respect to risk management of an event.
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Explain two methods of reducing liability, which could be used by the organisers of any event.
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Compile a stage plan, contact responsibility list and production scheduler with relevant run sheets for a one day seminar.
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Write a procedure (step by step) for choosing a venue for staging an event.
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List reasons why an evaluation would be undertaken after an event.
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Prepare a report to evaluate the event you attended.
WHERE SHOULD THE EVENT BE HELD?
Events need a location, resources and services to use at the location, and people to work at organising and running the event. Any or all of these things may be donated or bought or done voluntarily. Most events operate within a budget i.e. a certain amount of money to allocate to these various elements. However if finances are limited, spending needs to be carefully controlled, or creative solutions need to be found to reduce demand on the available funds.
LOCATION
All events need a location or venue, but choosing the right one depends on the type of event. Most events usually (but not always) have a predetermined general location or area in which the stakeholders prefer to run the event.
Choosing what is right depends on more than one factor though:
- Cost – your client or the stakeholders may want an amazing venue, but not have the funds to secure it.
- Capacity - the venue may not be able to hold the number of anticipated attendees.
- Facilities - it may not have all the facilities needed – e.g. kitchens, toilets etc.
- Access – it may not have access for vehicles (delivery vans, buses etc.) and, importantly, it may not have access for the disabled.
- Availability – it may be booked for another event already.
So in order to choose the best site, you need to progress through a series of logical steps:
- Establish the criteria you want filled.
- Prioritise criteria – some things cannot be compromised, others can.
- Make a list of possible sites.
- Choose the site that most meets the criteria, and lock in the dates.
An expansion of the criteria that you need to consider:
- Site availability – Is it available when you want it, if not, how easy is it for you to change your dates? Don’t forget you need lead and exit time before and after an event, to set up, and then dismantle and clean
- Legal – for example, noise control may prevent a concert being held near a residential area, local parking restrictions may also become an impediment
- Associated costs – hire charges for the site and service charges for things like cleaning, parking etc, will vary from site to site. Costs can increase dramatically by something as simple as poor access.
- Style – sites need to be attractive and appropriate, to the target market or the client (e.g. age demographic, formal or informal, conservative or radical, themed, etc.)
- Attendance capacity – the site’s ability to cope with anticipated (or unanticipated) attendee activity, attendee numbers, etc.
- Uniqueness – think outside of the box; uniqueness is something that can give an edge to most events from a children’s party, to trade show or landmark sporting event. Unique venues are a sure way of making events stand out. When uniqueness is appropriate, it can make an event both more attractive and more memorable to visitors/participants. This may result in more people attending, and more going away with very positive memories of the event.
- User friendliness
What Makes A Site User-Friendly?
- Good safe access – wide paths with non-slip surfaces, broad steps with sturdy handrails, good and plentiful disabled access
- Good lighting – is effective and well positioned so the area is well lit
- Comfortable seating – sufficient seating and well-located whether outdoor or indoor
- Protection from the elements – wind, glare and heat, UV radiation, rain
- Pleasant scents – fragrant herbs and scented flowers
- Attractive colours
- Pleasant outlook
- Interesting features – garden ornaments, landscaped beds, ponds and other water features, interesting plants
- Provision for both formal and informal activity
- Storage
- If children are involved, you may wish to offer stations for lost children, identity bracelets and so on, to offer security to parents.
It is important to check local regulations, by-laws, laws and insurance requirements when arranging any event, to ensure that you are complying with them, and following required guidelines.
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