Whether you’re planning a conference for 40-50 senior leaders or an event for the entire company; the pressure is on to deliver an inspiring experience, value for money and a return on investment. It has to be more than simply putting bums on seats in an auditorium completely lacking personality or character.
The success of a conference comes down to clear objectives, a comprehensive brief, good design, planning and organisation; all of which makes for an unmissable event and a roomful of delegates who are glad they made the journey or took time out of their busy schedules to attend.
Where to start?
For us, a conference is more than simply finding a suitable venue. Until we’ve clarified what the conference needs to achieve it would be pointless setting to work on design and planning. It means understanding exactly why the conference is happening, the key messages to be conveyed, who the audience is and what delegates should take away with them as a result. Understanding company culture is also another important consideration; we wouldn’t be doing our job properly if we suggested that a young and cutting-edge tech company hold its annual conference in a very standard conference centre. Unless of course, we had something clever or surprising up our sleeves.
In this way we are able to become more than a supplier. For many of our corporate clients we’ve become an extra member of the team; trusted to use the budget given to us to best effect and to provide added value throughout.
Onto the conference venue
Armed with knowledge and information, it’s much easier to identify suitable venues. Naturally, availability, location, capacity and cost all have a part to play. The advantage of working with an events company such as MGN events is the ability to find amazing venues, often at preferential rates, or come up with totally unexpected ideas – who would think an indoor golf course would be a suitable venue!
Never underestimate the importance of design and production
From designing stage sets and setting up massive video walls to designing lighting schemes and incorporating the latest technology that will help keep the audience stimulated and fully attentive, putting together engaging content, right down to making sure all the sound equipment is functioning properly; it’s all about taking care of every detail and connecting with the delegates.
Creating brand awareness is another important element. From clearly branding the conference with your company logo; we’ll take inspiration from your corporate colour palette and incorporate it into the conference theme. And if you have any sponsors, they’ll also want their brands to be clearly displayed.
This is where our creativity, expertise and technical know-how become closely aligned with your business objectives. Add in clever trickery such as event apps, RFID technology, a delegate registration website, not to mention social media hashtags, and you’ll have an engaging conference.
Are you planning a conference?
Why not take a look at some of the conferences we’ve delivered and then give us a call to discuss how we can help with yours. Contact our team on 01932 22 33 33 or by email: hello@mgnevents.co.uk. We’d love to discuss your conference plans with you.
