Event Planning 101
A good chunk of successful event planning involves trying new ideas to appeal to your audience. But whether you’re an event planning novice or a seasoned pro, it also helps to get “back to basics” once in a while. Here are five essential event planning tips to consider, courtesy of Cassandra Johnson at Promotional Consultant Today:
1. Set your business objectives.
Pinpoint your reason for hosting the event and identify a measurable goal. What will make your event a success? Is it the number of referrals you’ll receive as a result? This will guide you in your decision-making throughout the event-planning process.
2. Build a baseline.
In order to track your event’s success, you must first get a baseline of the clients’ attitudes and opinions. This can be done by conducting a simple online survey that asks questions about your business. Are they aware of your services? Do you offer a product or service th at they would recommend to others? Keep the survey short with just a few questions.
3. Determine your budget.
Decide the amount you are willing to spend in order to gain the target return. When planning your budget, be sure to account for the venue, meeting planner (optional), food and beverage, printing, postage, photographer, gifts, audio/ visual rental and valet parking.
4. Identify your audience and create a guest list.
Define the type of guest you want to attend your event and build your guest list based on this description. If you are looking to go beyond your current contacts and client base, consider acquiring a list through a trade organization or other source.
5. Engage your team in the process.
Form a small team of three to four employees, request their input and assign specific planning responsibilities, as needed; then meet on a regular basis to stay on target.
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How QR Codes Can Benefit Your Business
Public Colleges are Reaching Out to Alumni
We all know that most state legislatures are making drastic cuts to their budgets. One of the main areas of cut backs is to higher education, and, as a result, public colleges and universities are turning to their alumni for support. This is a new experience for many public institutions; however, private colleges and universities have a long and successful history of soliciting their alumni and hosting reunion activities. Many events draw alumni to the campus, while others are held in various locations across the country where alumni congregate.
While academic programs and instructors at public institutions are being eliminated, alumni associations are increasing their staffs and gearing up their fundraising appeals. More events are being held in order to solicit their alumni. As a result, alumni associations are increasing their budgets to include banners, other event signage, and branding items. Before starting Banners on a Roll® with my partner, Brad Lehrer, I was a professional, nonprofit fundraiser. Consequently, I understand that alumni associations walk a fine line. They must host events and distribute printed materials which not only spread their appeal messages effectively, and, at the same time, they must assure their donors that the school is not spending too much of its money directly on the events and promotional materials. Donors want to make a difference in the lives of students; they don’t want to donate to the operational budget, which pays for services such as heating the buildings and cleaning the common areas on campuses. Alumni associations are developing programs to achieve their fundraising goals. Often supplies such as banners, table skirting, and stickers are purchased in order to host effective events. That’s where Banners on a Roll® can help. Give us a call to discuss your objectives, and we’ll work with you to meet your goals. Our years of experience working with nonprofits will benefit your organization by providing the most effective items for your events while working within your budget constraints. We enjoy developing fundraising campaigns, and we’re good at thinking outside the box to make an effective branding statement.
What a challenge alumni associations face! Not only are you scurrying to generate funds for your schools from alumni, but also you are competing with other nonprofits organizations across the country, which are also facing budget cuts. But you are not alone. Banners on a Roll® is here to work with you to host effective events which result in increased alumni donations. Feel free to give us a call, and we look forward to discussing your plans with you.
Banners on a Roll is Going and Growing with Social Media
@world, hello, please meet @Bannersonaroll
With 24 years in the promotional print and advertising business, Banners on a Roll® is going and growing with social media.
When we started Banners on a Roll, we made a commitment to create a people-centric company that understands the value of promotional products and how they make your brand, your event, your marketing efforts come to life. We created a brand and buying experience to understand our clients’ needs and reflect our belief that people matter most. To us that means that our top priorities are to serve our customers, care for our employees and educate our customers to become savvy consumers.
The Secret To Effective Event Branding
In my previous life, I was a non-profit fundraiser, who was in charge of community events. The only banner signage available then was conventional, vinyl banners, which, as you know, are quite costly. At each event I was the “banner guard.” Not only did I ensure that the event ran smoothly, but also I made sure that the banners were not stolen. Ugh! What an awful job! I constantly had to keep my eyes on the signage. Then after the event it was my job to roll up the banners carefully so that I could reuse them at other events. I wish that I had had Banners on a Roll! It would have been so easy to unroll a line of repeating imprints, put them up, and leave them for fans and participants to take home as souvenirs. I also would have had ready-made table skirting for registration tables and banquets.
Hello, Please Scan My QR Code: The Offline and Online Worlds Collide
Envision this. You are at a social gathering. People are mingling, chatting, and exchanging cordial pleasantries. Suddenly you overhear two people talking. One says to the other:
“Hello, nice to meet you. Please scan my QR Code.”
What?! Scan my QR Code? Really?
Yes, really. What you overheard could in fact happen. QR Codes are no longer a “what’s next” innovation from Popular Science. QR Codes are reality. As we discussed in one of our earlier blog posts, “Twitter, RSS Feeds, Facebook, oh my! Is Printing Getting Run Off The Press?” the offline world continues to seek stronger communion with the online world. QR Codes are a manifestation of this communion. The surge of online innovation has spurred a resurgence of offline innovation. And this is only the beginning.
Take Facebook for example … recently TechCrunch reported early rumors that this behemoth of a social network was experimenting with the integration of personalized QR Codes with online profiles. Print the code on practically anything and all your friends will be able to take a picture of it and instantly view your Facebook profile in all its glory.
