Event Planning Starts With Understanding Your Goal

With event planning, the goal comes first, and the event comes second.

That might sound controversial for an event planner to say, but this unique approach is what drives a successful event, time and time again.

When we first meet with clients, they often come in with their hearts set on organising a particular type of event. A gala perhaps, or a product launch.

Maybe they love the idea of it. Or they’ve done it before. Or they’ve seen other businesses do it.

But as event planners our job is to guide every client to choose the right type of event for their end goal. Event planning is not about what we can do for the event – but what the event can do for you.

Event planning begins with understanding your goal!

Different goals need different types of events. And our job is to help you design the perfect union for the best outcome. This means identifying the different types of events and how each can be used to achieve a different goal for your business.

Let’s get started

What is the goal of the event?

Before we choose which type of corporate event to plan, it’s essential to identify your goal for the event. This is the very important first step in the event planning process. But it is often the most overlooked.

Does your corporate event need to:

Let people know about a new product/service
Connect your employees with customers
Share information and data with a small team, the wider company or the industry at large
Facilitate debate and discussion
Celebrate your staff, your brand or business milestones
Support your employees to bond and build better relationships
Expand your company’s reach and connect with new prospects
Strengthen relationships with existing customer database
Boost employee morale and workplace culture
Raise funds
Support a cause or charity
Upskill staff
Boost your brand name recognition and reputation
Support the health and wellbeing of your team
Show appreciation to employees, affiliates or clients
Garner media attention

As you can see from the above list, there are many different reasons why your brand might wish to host a corporate event. The tricky part is matching your goal to the right event type.

Types of events

Being part of the events industry means we get to see it all. The latest trends, the old-school classics, the successes, the fails and everything in between.

There is a wide spectrum of event types, many of which can be employed in the corporate sector.

These include:

Conferences
Trade shows
Team-building events
Fundraising/charity events
Summits
Gala balls/dinners
Workshops
Networking events
Product launches
Retreats
End-of-year parties
Awards ceremonies

Each of these events can achieve different goals in different ways.

Matchmaking your goal with your event

Choosing the best-suited event type to match your goal can make all the difference to your ROI.

First, reflect on why you are hosting the event. What’s prompted the idea generally?
Second, think about the end-goal. What outcomes are you looking for?
Third, consider the budget of the event (we can help you think about how to stretch it!).

For example, say you are wanting to do a brand activation for a new product. An influencer retreat might be an incredible way to get the product out there. It would let everyone immerse themselves in a relaxed environment and utilise your product to the max.

However, if you’ve got $10,000 to spend on the event, a week-long retreat is going to max out that budget just on accommodation, before we’ve done anything else. So in terms of event planning, perhaps one more aligned to a typical product launch would be the better choice. It would allow you to get your product out there, work with influencers and achieve your goal, but at a much smaller cost.

The right event will help you smash your goals!

It’s important to remember that just because you hosted a certain kind of event in the past, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way going forward. And seeing another brand do it on social media certainly doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for your very different goals.

As event planning professionals can work closely with you to identify your goals for the event… and then design the perfect event to smash them out of the park.

Once we understand your goals, we can identify metrics to measure the event’s success. This may be the amount of money raised for your chosen charity, the number of new leads acquired from the event, or the number of units sold.

Each event type is specific to the goal the client is trying to achieve.

Event Planning Perfect Matches

Sometimes, you might have a great idea but no clue how to execute it. Or you’re not sure how to make everything work within the budget. Or perhaps you don’t even know where to start!

An experienced event planning professional is able to align your goal with the best event. And this is where FAME Events thrives.

We create dynamic events that are sure to get tongues wagging and brand names known. We know how to flex our creativity while also smashing your metrics. It’s about fresh ideas merging seamlessly with strategy.

And when it comes to matching your event with your end-goal – we have it in the bag. We’ve got your back, 100% of the time, and we’re always give you our best advice on which event type is going to be best to help you meet your ultimate objective.

Here are a few examples of our clients’ perfect unions: