Whenever you think about business events – a seminar, a corporate retreat, a gala or even a conference – all of these are pulled together by an expert behind the scenes, coordinating the logistics, the run sheets and making sure you are in the right place, at the right time, on the right day, listening and viewing the right things.

It’s not a small undertaking, particularly when the events start to get bigger with more people attending across more locations and over more days.

pink backdrop for a fashion event
The Role of a Corporate Event Planner

The person who is often behind the scenes pulling all of this together is known as a corporate event planner or a corporate event manager. It is essentially their role to make sure they are across every element of your event, from the initial concept stage all the way through to execution, and often follow up after the fact.

It’s always the behind-the-scenes job, and there are often a lot of elements in our roles that people don’t think about, don’t see or don’t even consider the work that has gone into it.

It’s the corporate event planner’s sole responsibility to ensure that the goals and objectives you set when you start planning your event are achieved with the final result – whilst also trying to keep it on time and within budget. 

CEO doing a pre-event meeting with the setup team
setup team doing final arrangements on the long table before the event starts
Key responsibilities of an event planner are:
  1. Understanding objectives: this is always the first step, and it involves your event planner understanding what we are trying to achieve by planning this event. Do we want to excite and celebrate our employees, or are we trying to increase sales and brand awareness?
  2. Budget Management: Setting and then keeping to the budget is an important part of any project, no one wants to get to the end of the project and find out the budget was double.
  3. Venue Selection: Picking the perfect venue can make or break an event. When considering the perfect venue, event planners need to think about things like the capacity, the wet weather options, costs and total inclusions in the packages.
  4. Logistics and timelines: your event planner is entirely in charge of setting a realistic schedule for your event, ensuring all stakeholders involved are aware of the schedule, and then working on the day to stick to the schedule.
  5. Crisis management: this is one that is often overlooked, we have a saying at FAME that if the client and guests don’t know about the crisis, it was a successful event. Often you will find your event planner is behind the scenes putting out fires that you aren’t even aware of.
  6. Post-event analysis: equally as important as the event itself, the post-event analysis helps you to understand if your goals were achieved if you should run the event again, and ways in which to improve the event.
Event Design CEO with her right-hand during the event on a red carpet with event backdrop
Why corporate event planners are important:

Corporate event planners can become more than just logistics masters; a good event planner will help you by becoming your biggest brand ambassador, brand storyteller and problem solver.

  • Brand representation: by the end of your event, your event planner should know your brand inside out and maybe even better than you know it yourself. This means they are the best-equipped person to design, plan and execute your brand event.
  • Time and stress management: often, those in charge of engaging an event planner already have their own full-time jobs, and don’t usually have another 100+ hours in a few months to allocate to the design and production of an event.
  • Cost Efficiency: While there is, of course, a fee for your event planner, there are additional opportunity costs you are avoiding for your own staff that need to be considered. Our experience and expertise also ensure we catch the pitfalls before they become incredibly expensive.
a yoga instructor doing breathing exercises on stage with the brand logo on the screen at her back
Types of corporate events:
  • Conferences and seminars: all about the transition of knowledge and information for the delegates that attend.
  • Product Launches: to generate buzz and get potential new and old consumers excited about your new product.
  • Team building: aimed at strengthening your team’s bonds, loyalty and working relationships.
  • Corporate retreats: the best of both worlds, combining work and relaxation in one event to plan
A beautiful table setup in a bright space with pink and green florals and pink event backdrop
april and millie setting up the table decor for the event
Skills of a good corporate event planner:

Whilst there are many different planning styles that you will find across different event planners, there are a few key skills that every event planner needs to excel at their job.

  • Organisation: ability to juggle many tasks and problems at once
  • Creativity: the ability to transform a simple product or brand from paper to an event setup and bring it to life
  • Communication: like most things in life, clear communication is a massive element that ensures an event planning journey is successful
  • Problem solving: this is one of the most important parts, the ability to think on your feet and quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively solve problems 

 

Corporate event planners really are the unsung superheroes behind the drapes at your events; they help to understand your brand and your goals, make recommendations and then plan and execute an incredible event, all whilst you focus on what you do best – running your own business.

If you think you may need to engage a corporate event planner, we would love to chat a bit more about it and see where can help!