Detailed Event Planning Checklist

Your Complete Event Planning Checklist

Event planning checklist is just like your luggage-packing list for your overseas holiday.

It has to be comprehensive, meticulous and all-inclusive. My dear husband used to tease me that I am bringing our home along when I pack our luggage for a family holiday. After the holiday, he was thankful I did, because some of our personal items like medicine and milk powder I bought along was not available overseas.

Similarly, when I plan for events I will include contingency plan for all events. Do expect to work (hard) on a very comprehensive event planning checklist to achieve success for all your events.

1. Starting Point

Form an organizing committee and discuss with all parties involved - the goals, objectives and strategy for the event. Identify the target audience and your proposed products to be featured. Set a timeline for every stage of the event planning, from viewing possible Event venues, choosing the event consultants and entertainment, reviewing and planning manpower, budgeting, comparing and choosing event suppliers and services quotations, publicity and the event day execution etc. All these items need the appropriate staff or committee members with the right skills to be in charge. Choosing the right persons for the various area of responsibilities are important.

2. Making guest list, invitations and price comparisons

Prepare the guest list and get quotations for several suitable venues for the event. Do and pros and cons list and also a price comparison list for venues, suppliers, event designers and construction, equipment rentals, decorations, entertainment and catering etc.

Part of your event planning checlist should include site visits and meetings with the venue provider. This is very important especially if this is your first time using their facilities or they are new in town.

Meet with other service providers, preferably get those that have done similar event (this is especially important if your event has a huge budget event and your VIPs are government officials or head of state.

Do not choose an event planner or service provider who has no experience to handle large-scale event. The learning curve will be too steep and stressful for all parties.

Once you have selected the venue and other service providers, the negotiation for the price starts. A good event planner is someone who can bargain for the best price and package for an event. Speak to other companies that have hosted similar events about their services.

Invitations should be sent out immediately after all details including venue, Guest-of-honor and sponsors are confirmed. The printing of the program and other publicity materials will be next.

3. Budget

The most important item in your event planning checklist will be the budget. Prepare a proposal (including event budget) for your company's Board or management's approval.

Once the Board or management has approved the event, you can go ahead to negotiate hotel rates and block book guest rooms. The hotel should be able to provide you with a good group discount rate for your guests. Whether it is an all expense paid for or your guests pay for his or her own accommodation, all these must be clearly defined in your contract with the hotel or resort. Details of payment or non-payment should be made known to all your guests (especially out of town guests) in writing.

Keeping track of your event spending within or less than the allocated budget is one of the most important tasks and tedious one too. It is also one that determines the success of your event.

4. Calendar of events

Your event planning checklist should include a timetable or event calendar for all parties involved in the planning and execution. Keep a close eye on all the deadlines and send out reminders.

Put a tick on your events checklist on each accomplished task as a motivating factor for you and your staff.

5. Define roles of organizing committee members

Your event planning checklist should have contact details of all committee memebers and their roles. This is to facilitate emergency activation and easy communication.

Committee members should be actively involved in every different part of organization and they are answerable to the organizing chairman or chairwoman. Large organizations that have regular events should have committees that meet regularly to review and evaluate all events.

6. Public Relations (PR) and Event Publicity

Using Public Relations tools like media releases, advertising and promotional materials and media conferences to announce a strategic change in business partnership or new product launch to generate awareness at the event, is one way to ensure coverage by the media. Very often, the public and stakeholders judge the success of the event by the amount of media coverage. Do use PR tools wisely.

Prepare the CEO or Chairman and the entire management team for media interviews (including those not involved) and prepares them with a set of Q & As in your event planning checklist, it should cover every aspect of the event. You do not want a stray media representative to catch up with your senior official who is caught off guard with questions about the event.

7. List of sponsors or participating partners

In your event planning checklist, ensure that you include sending out all your invitations or mailers with detailed information to your sponsors or participating partners. If possible sent a representative to meet them to explain the objective of the event in person. Nothing beats your sincerity in partnering by explaining the details provided your company staff.

Assign a team to be responsible for sponsorship and partnership follow up. These include updating sponsors and partners on the developments until event day and thank you notes and event summary report after the event. All sponsors and partners ultimately wants to see their ROI on events and this team will ensure that the company logos and name will be printed on all agreed printed and on site publicity materials. These include banners, brochures, mailers, advertisements, event favors, entrance arch and stage backdrop etc.

8. Corporate or product branding

All event planning checklist should include branding. Whether the event is to reinforce an existing brand or launch a new brand of products, establish an event theme to enhance the corporate brand or product brand. Using carefully crafted theme for the events needs many brainstorming sessions to come up with creative ideas. The deadline for finalising the event theme should be one of the most important items in your event planning checklist.

This is a good opportunity to launch your new logo or new brand. Consider a public contest for designing your logo or a contest to guess the product's unique features etc. Print signage or banner and display them at least 3 weeks before the event. Buy prime television airtime to publicize the event to ensure good retention and mind share of the event or product. Set up a new website for this event if possible.

9. Entertainment, Emcee, speakers or DJs

All entertainers, emcees, speakers and DJs need to be auditioned and interviewed for competency and appropriateness before your sign them up. The worst nightmare for any event organizer, is to find out that the entertainers do not perform up to mark or put up a lousy show or worst, embarrassing your guests at your event. All event organizers will ensure that everyone on stage have at least two rehearsals and everyone knows the goal, objective and understand your company's corporate culture. To avoid misunderstanding, all performers should be briefed on all protocol and any "dos" and "don'ts" of your company.

10. Post event management

Media releases accompanied by photographs of the event should be issued on the same day of the event and also immediately the next working day after the event to report on the success and number of attendance or sales figures etc. This will assist in possible or favorable coverage of the event especially if the desired media representative failed to turn up at your event.

It is very important to arrangement for transport, packing and collection (immediately after the event) of all event materials and recyclable materials, advertising boards, banners etc for the use of future events. This way, it will save you and your company a huge amount of money and it is environmentally friendly to reuse materials for subsequent events. Ensure that special requests are noted and delivered to their special owners, partners etc after the event. Special arrangements with the hotel or party venue for storage will also save you some overtime manpower charges and additional transport charges especially if the event finished late at night.

You may be exhausted after the event is over and it is also time to sign all your bills and invoices. This is the crucial part of your event management to ensure that all expenses are correctly billed and paid for on time.

Do a post event budget performance review and a post event survey and event management performance review. Your prepared list of customized thank you letters to all VIPs, guests and event partners should be mailed out immediately on the next working day.

Do a post event report and organize a meeting to get feedback from staff, volunteers and event planners. Take note of what could be done better and not repeat similar incidents or improve on the execution process in future events. Do keep a file of all media releases, TV or print reports, photographs and DVDs of the event for future use and reference. Upload speeches, presentation or video clips of the events on your company website for further publicity and those who missed the event.

EVENT PLANNING CHECKLIST:

Invitations and printed items

___Invitation cards

___Invitation cards for Guest-of-honor and VIPs

___Invitation cards for Sponsors or partners

___Invitation cards envelope

___Response card

___Response envelope

___Calligraphy

___Seating or tent cards for tables

___Programs

___Newsletter, mailers, flyers

___Product mini samples

___Goodie bags

___Admission tickets

___Translation set of programs (if you are targeting non English speaking customers)

___Signs and siganges

___Logo stickers

___Printing of new logo onto cards, gifts or favors

Event planning checklist can't be without the following:

List of service providers and suppliers

___Decorator or event designer (for stage, backdrop and the whole venue)

___Hotel or restaurant

___Airline or cruise

___Entertainers

___Destination event planners

___Transportation or car rental company

___Insurance agency

___Security agency

___St John or local ambulance and medical agency

___Audiovisual

___Photographer

___Videographer

___Florist (centrepieces, corsages, flower baskets and congratulatory stands etc)

___Company that provides temp staff for registration

___Event Planner

___Corporate gift supplier (for awards, trophies, certificates, event favors and gifts etc)

___Tents, chairs and tables suppliers

___caterer

___Bakery for the cake

___Entertainment company that manages entertainers (dancers, magicians, actors, singers, clowns, DJs and celebrity emcees etc)

___Government agencies (for licence to hold the event, grants, subsidies, taxes etc)

___Guest-of-honor liaison person

___Speakers

___Emcee

Event planning checklist should also include

Internal staff for:

___Powerpoint

___Protocol arrangements, procedures

___Delivery of event materials from office (sometimes cannot be outsourced to external party because of security and familiarity issues)

___Ushers

The event planning checklist should include the following items for the party venue:

___Location check (security checks especially if you have high profile guests like heads of states, governors, celebrities etc)

___Caterer set up

___Liquor (ensure that the number do not exceed the permitted number for the venue especially at hotels, they do charge tax per bottle - varies from country to country)

___Bartenders

___Linens and color and theme co-ordination of centrepieces etc

___Cake (storing and presentation of the anniversary cake by trolley delivery by hotel staff etc)

___Menu Planning

___Confetti or technofirecrackers or laser displays etc

___Prizes, gifts and awards

___Glow sticks and party noise makers to be placed on tables

___Theme oriented items and displays (ensure that all electrical items are safely sealed and hidden from sight)

___Gift/award table on stage

___Registration or information Table at entrance

___Entrance arch

Event Planning checklist for out of town guests:

___Airplane, cruise or tour bus tickets

___Passports and visa approvals

___Transportation (to and from airports, seaports and other locations)

___Hotel room reservations

___Mini tour itinerary cum meals arrangements

___Location maps of event venue and city area

___Welcome Gifts and fruit baskets

___Reminder letters and contact list

___Tickets and vouchers to places of interests in event venue/country

___Others (please specify here:______________________)

Event planning checklist for all decorations and organisers "tool box":

Indoors

___Venue giant size banners (to welcome guests)

___Electronic banners at entrances and lifts banners (to welcome guests)

___Event signages and entrance arch (to dispaly new logo and event branding)

___Reception desk guests books, guests tags and stationary

___Corsages and boutonniere

___Centerpieces

___Stage Backdrop

___Balloon Arches or red carpet with confetti

___Buffets - Decorations and displays (human displays? - waitress serving drinks glasses from a special dress with many trays)

___Buffets - Signage

___Seating arrangements and name cards

___Directional Signage (for VIP, private meeting/networking rooms and toilets)

___Company product display (for example newly launched car or equipment)

Program and entertainment line up

It is very important that all entertainers arrive early for rehearsals and back on time before their respective items. Hiring an artiste manager to take care of these aspects will help ease some of your stress. The event planning checklist for entertainment will include:

___DJ

___Emcee

___Singer/Dancer

___Band Type (Jazz/Rock etc)__________________

___Piped music during cocktails (choose appropriate party music for your theme)

___Caricaturist

___Magician

___Clowns

___Jugglers

___Balloon Magic

___Mimes

___Snake charmers