Planning a meeting in Las Vegas or attending a convention in Las Vegas and having to organize satellite events?
| Today's Event Service Trends |
As every professional in the business knows, the planning process changes as advancements are made in technology and media. Event service needs are modified as planning procedures become more streamlined and effective for attendees. Here we cover five event service trends that are proving to be useful tools for planners looking to make every part of their program a Return On Investment (ROI) initiative.
Registration
Registration is usually the first chance a planner has to interact with their attendees before the start of a convention or event. How registration is executed is also an indicator to attendees just what’s in store for them. In today’s trendy marketplace, planners have to do more than just set up a booth with name tags and hope that the staff behind the table can quickly identify names through lengthy hard copy lists. They have to be more proactive in ensuring their attendees are left with a positive first impression.
There are companies in the marketplace that offer an innovative approach to registration that has proved to be a success with many convention goers. Planners can submit the names of their attendees up to 24 hours before the event, and can have every badge pre-printed and ready to go. Even online registration is now available, resulting in a more professional check-in experience that won’t take up too much time.
Still other companies can provide access passes that enable attendees to take customized photographs which can then be viewed online. Planners then have a way to drive back traffic to their convention Web site, increasing the visibility of the event. It’s a great way to make registration be more than just a formality and instead an actual event entity that can yield meaningful rewards.
Printing and Promotion
Most planners have a large quantity of collateral and promotional materials that they need to have printed and shipped, whether that be flyers, hand-outs or booth signage. A great way to save on this expensive event service is by having everything printed and manufactured locally in Las Vegas, your destination city. Just imagine having to ship 5,000 tote bags to Las Vegas from across the country. That expense is eliminated when planners decide to get their promotional materials printed by a local company. Here is a telling figure based on bids from Freight Center and an international shipping company for a ground shipment of printed material (flyers/brochures) from a major city to Las Vegas which requires a 7 day lead time for the equivalent of materials for a small tradeshow. The quotes ran from $340- $750, plus the fees from the convention hall for out of state freight.
Mobile Marketing
Tradeshows are a great way to experience the recent phenomenon of mobile marketing. With such a large number of attendees to keep track of, it’s crucial that planners find ways to keep everyone in the loop at the same time. This can be a difficult task considering that there are usually multiple activities going on at the same time throughout the facility and Vegas is known for its distractions. However, planners are forgetting the one form of communication that has united people of every background and generation: text messaging.
Tradeshow planners can use text messages to inform attendees about specific classes and meetings throughout the day. Text messages can be used as reminders for important times that they need to be aware of, as well as any changes that occur during the program. Just imagine how great it would be to inform everyone that a lecture has been rescheduled at the other end of the facility without having to worry about any confusion or drop in attendee participation. Planners can maximize on the data they have about their audience by sending text messages that are specific in nature to professionals that fall into a specific target demographic.
There are companies that you can contract to provide this service for your convention at a very low cost. There are even ways to offer the service at no cost to the attendees or you as the planner by selling text advertisements to your exhibitors and vendors. “If one was to run a 2 day show with 1,000 attendees and send 10 messages to each person throughout the event, that would cost them roughly $600,” says Jeffrey Arnold of Pocket Promo. “They could easily sell two $300 ads per day, which would generate revenue twice what they spent.”
Staging and Production Companies
When most planners think of production companies, they may not always think of them as essential to their particular objectives. After all, production companies are for big-scale productions only, right? Due to the economy, that is no longer the case. Staging and production companies are well aware that budgets have gone through drastic cuts and planners are working with a fraction of the financial support they are accustomed to. This has caused many to make their services available on an a la carte basis, giving planners the ability to choose which elements they would like to incorporate into their event without having to buy a complete package.
If you are on a budget, consider using a production company for just a single aspect of your convention or tradeshow. For example, the opening and closing of an event are usually the segments that make the most impression among attendees. Why not invest a part of your budget to hire a production company to handle any of these segments? The result is that even if the entire program is produced at the same level, at least attendees will be able to feel the impact of the creativity put into the opening and closing presentations. The opening ceremony sets the tone for the rest of the event, and the closing ceremony creates the last impression that attendees leave with.
XP Creative Group, a national company with a Vegas footprint, is accustom to producing elaborate conventions of Las Vegas-size proportions. However, they can also assist in individual production needs, such as branding, draping and stage set-up. If you are unsure of whether or not a production company will address your specific event needs, feel free to call and ask. There’s no harm in inquiring about what they are willing to do. At the very least, they will be able to provide suggestions about how you can go about getting the individual services you need if they are not able to help you themselves.
Registration
Registration is usually the first chance a planner has to interact with their attendees before the start of a convention or event. How registration is executed is also an indicator to attendees just what’s in store for them. In today’s trendy marketplace, planners have to do more than just set up a booth with name tags and hope that the staff behind the table can quickly identify names through lengthy hard copy lists. They have to be more proactive in ensuring their attendees are left with a positive first impression.
There are companies in the marketplace that offer an innovative approach to registration that has proved to be a success with many convention goers. Planners can submit the names of their attendees up to 24 hours before the event, and can have every badge pre-printed and ready to go. Even online registration is now available, resulting in a more professional check-in experience that won’t take up too much time.
Still other companies can provide access passes that enable attendees to take customized photographs which can then be viewed online. Planners then have a way to drive back traffic to their convention Web site, increasing the visibility of the event. It’s a great way to make registration be more than just a formality and instead an actual event entity that can yield meaningful rewards.
Printing and Promotion
Most planners have a large quantity of collateral and promotional materials that they need to have printed and shipped, whether that be flyers, hand-outs or booth signage. A great way to save on this expensive event service is by having everything printed and manufactured locally in Las Vegas, your destination city. Just imagine having to ship 5,000 tote bags to Las Vegas from across the country. That expense is eliminated when planners decide to get their promotional materials printed by a local company. Here is a telling figure based on bids from Freight Center and an international shipping company for a ground shipment of printed material (flyers/brochures) from a major city to Las Vegas which requires a 7 day lead time for the equivalent of materials for a small tradeshow. The quotes ran from $340- $750, plus the fees from the convention hall for out of state freight.
Mobile Marketing
Tradeshows are a great way to experience the recent phenomenon of mobile marketing. With such a large number of attendees to keep track of, it’s crucial that planners find ways to keep everyone in the loop at the same time. This can be a difficult task considering that there are usually multiple activities going on at the same time throughout the facility and Vegas is known for its distractions. However, planners are forgetting the one form of communication that has united people of every background and generation: text messaging.
Tradeshow planners can use text messages to inform attendees about specific classes and meetings throughout the day. Text messages can be used as reminders for important times that they need to be aware of, as well as any changes that occur during the program. Just imagine how great it would be to inform everyone that a lecture has been rescheduled at the other end of the facility without having to worry about any confusion or drop in attendee participation. Planners can maximize on the data they have about their audience by sending text messages that are specific in nature to professionals that fall into a specific target demographic.
There are companies that you can contract to provide this service for your convention at a very low cost. There are even ways to offer the service at no cost to the attendees or you as the planner by selling text advertisements to your exhibitors and vendors. “If one was to run a 2 day show with 1,000 attendees and send 10 messages to each person throughout the event, that would cost them roughly $600,” says Jeffrey Arnold of Pocket Promo. “They could easily sell two $300 ads per day, which would generate revenue twice what they spent.”
Staging and Production Companies
When most planners think of production companies, they may not always think of them as essential to their particular objectives. After all, production companies are for big-scale productions only, right? Due to the economy, that is no longer the case. Staging and production companies are well aware that budgets have gone through drastic cuts and planners are working with a fraction of the financial support they are accustomed to. This has caused many to make their services available on an a la carte basis, giving planners the ability to choose which elements they would like to incorporate into their event without having to buy a complete package.
If you are on a budget, consider using a production company for just a single aspect of your convention or tradeshow. For example, the opening and closing of an event are usually the segments that make the most impression among attendees. Why not invest a part of your budget to hire a production company to handle any of these segments? The result is that even if the entire program is produced at the same level, at least attendees will be able to feel the impact of the creativity put into the opening and closing presentations. The opening ceremony sets the tone for the rest of the event, and the closing ceremony creates the last impression that attendees leave with.
XP Creative Group, a national company with a Vegas footprint, is accustom to producing elaborate conventions of Las Vegas-size proportions. However, they can also assist in individual production needs, such as branding, draping and stage set-up. If you are unsure of whether or not a production company will address your specific event needs, feel free to call and ask. There’s no harm in inquiring about what they are willing to do. At the very least, they will be able to provide suggestions about how you can go about getting the individual services you need if they are not able to help you themselves.
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