Seminars and events have always been implemented as a

holistic experience to participants. Thus, organizing an

event requires extensive planning and preparation with most

work implemented at least a few months before the actual

event. Most of the time, seminars seem to run like

clockwork with all events flowing smoothly according to

schedule. In reality however, much groundwork has been

worked on with the purpose of developing the right

atmosphere in addition to a beneficial experience to

partipants.

1. Establishing the theme of the event

Each event follows a theme and purpose which will drive the

event set-up, the target audiences or the participants, the

guests and the marketing approach. In general, a business

event such as an international conference for a particular

industry will appeal to participants conducting businesses

within that industry as well as sponsors who gain mileage

out of publicizing their products during the event.

Apart from that, the theme of the seminar will also

determine the type of marketing channels to be used to for

publicity. This also holds true for the seminar marketing

team who will need the event theme to correctly identify

target participants and companies to sell the event to.

2. Selecting a venue

Venue selection is highly dependent on the scale of the

event. Usually this is determined by the number of

participants, the presence of any guests of honor (such as

royalty or politicians) the activities during the event, or

if there are additional floor space required for exhibition

purposes.

A typical seminar of about 100 – 200 can be comfortably

implemented in a hotel seminar room, possibly in a theater

style setting or classroom setting. However, larger scale

events with participant numbers scaling between 500 – 1000

may require a large hall, ballroom, auditorium or a

convention center.

The location and quality standard of the venue is also

important especially if the event involves the

participation of VIPs. With this, a reputable location

would be imperative, including good quality and wide range

of seminar facilities available. It is always wise to

explore the possibility of a few venues and examine their

location suitability, level of services, ambience, and

costs before coming to a decision.

3. Seminar Marketing and Publicity

Seminar marketing is by far the most critical and often

most challenging task in event organizing, and is often

regarded as the most critical factor of an event’s success.

This is because the number of participants turning up for a

seminar is highly dependent on the strength of marketing

activities and publicity. Whether or not the event achieves

its objective or whether the organizers will walk home with

a profit or loss largely depends on the marketability of

the event. This means that the right marketing strategy and

seminar positioning must be adopted in order to draw

adequate event sign-ups.

Most of the time, event organizers who have large budgets

will turn to above the line marketing such as newspaper and

magazine advertisements as well as radio and television

advertising to publicize the event. Press releases may also

be sent in to major newspapers, in order to create the

awareness of the upcoming event. Additionally, large

advertising media banners and posters can also be purchased

to advertise the event in high human traffic areas. When

using print advertising, the specific magazine or newspaper

used must have the target audience of your event as their

primary readership base. Also all print media should be

copy written with an enticing approach, highlighting the

extensive benefits of participation.

However, if budget is a problem, then below the line

marketing may also do wonders. If the event is industry

specific, mass faxing to companies belonging to the

industry would be feasible. Telemarketing is a very

effective marketing channel to create awareness within the

right participant group. Additionally, dispatching sales

personnel to attend to the requirements of large

participant groups is an ideal and effective strategy. Mass

emailing has become one of the most cost-efficient methods

to reach out to large target audiences. This would be

really useful if the event organizer already have an

existing database. Otherwise, a list of names can be rented

from database companies to attain the same results.

4. Collaboration with sponsors

Getting reputable sponsors to participate in an event will

help boost the creditability of the event, as well as

reduce costs. Sponsors can also help with marketing, as

they also help publicize your event to their customers.

Apart from that, some of the sponsors can chip in on venue

rental in exchange for exhibition space or publicity for

themselves. Some sponsors also require a short message of

their company to be given to the participants during the

event. Others give away sample products or door gifts to

participants.

5. Managing People and working with speakers

A seminar will not be successful without the people running

it, as well as the speakers sharing their knowledge to the

participants. Invite speakers who are of caliber and

reputation to the event, and who will provide the

participants with relevant information to their work,

industry or business. Prepare the speakers beforehand and

work with them on their Power point presentations as well

as pre-inform them of the logistics processes, timing as

well as the expected audience size. Check with them on any

special requests, such as the requirement for an overhead

projector or additional microphones to be used for question

and answer sessions.

All events require a good team of people handling tasks on

ushering, registration, customer service as well as

handling financials. Familiarize the team with any required

event protocol to eliminate the possibility of confusion or

error. In order to ensure smooth implementation, each

person should be familiar with their individual roles. This

can be ensured through a preparation of a detailed schedule

of events coupled with roles and responsibilities for each

person. Ideally, a project manager should control the whole

team and ensure that everyone is carrying out their duties

efficiently. Apart from that, the project manager also has

the delegated authority to deal with all parties such as

the venue management as well as the sponsors and event

exhibitors.

6. Actual Day – Preparation, Registration, Ushering,

Feedback

All seminar planning and preparations, constituting 80% of

total work involved, cascade to the actual event which may

last only for a few hours or a few days. On the day before

the event, visit the venue to ensure that everything is in

order according the requirements and specifications.

Microphones, projectors, audio and video systems must be

all checked to be in excellent working order. Over at the

office, have a packing list prepared and get all require

items transferred to the actual venue at least a day before

the event. Event staff should be dispatched to work on site

preparations, including setting up booths, decorations and

posters, the day before the event.

On the actual day, staff should be present at the venue at

least 1 ½ hours before commencement. They should report to

their duty stations and must be ready to receive

participants half an hour before they are scheduled to file

in. Registrations must be made at the door to ensure

authorized access. Name tags, door gifts and event

schedules or booklets will be given out at this point and

ushers will show participants to their seats in the event

hall.

Staff will also be responsible for providing advice or help

to participants during the event. Finally, feedback forms

should be distributed and then collected from participants

to determine the satisfaction level on all aspects of the

event experience. This is in order to receive pointers,

ideas and advice for future improvements.