I’ve been interested in the wedding industry for a long time so when an opportunity came up in September to assist a wedding coordinator, I jumped at it!
Priscilla Chan
Events… and everything in between.
Things that Make Events Fail
From my experience attending and producing various events, the following things are sure-fire ways of making events fail…
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In other words, having the same old (boring) structure. Nowadays, you need to figure out new ways of engagement. Hybrid events such as Event Camp Vancouver are a new and innovative way of keeping your participants checked-in and engaged. Having a powerful concept will do wonders for your event. My newest obsession, Pecha Kucha, is a great example of this.
- Being wasteful. It’s more important than ever to produce sustainable, environmentally friendly events. Find creative ways to re-use decor, signage, giveaways from event to event. Source local vendors and products whenever possible to reduce your event’s carbon footprint. Limit your food wastage (some great ideas at Engage365).
- Ignoring new technology. Technology is such an integral part of our daily lives that it is a MUST for integration into your events. Everything from using social media to build communities and market events to creating mobile apps to Skyping in speakers to using new software for registering participants are all great ways of incorporating technology. Events need to seamlessly marry the online and offline worlds.
- Poorly defined goals/objectives. Unless you and your team are absolutely clear on what your objective and goals are for a particular event, how do you expect to successfully achieve it?
I know these things seem pretty basic and obvious but you’d be surprised at how many events fail because of one of these reasons.
How about you? Is there anything else you would add to this list?
Backstage at Keith Urban
Through a contact of a contact, I was put in touch with Janice, an event planner with the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. She (very kindly) agreed to let me shadow her for the Keith Urban concert in late September.
It was a really fun day for me. I got to wear a reflector vest, steel toed boots and a walkie-talkie all day. I met the guy behind Fin, and stood in the same room as Henrik Sedin, Russell Crowe and Keith Urban. I watched parts of the concert from different vantage points such as the Canucks press box, the spotter’s bench and backstage. And I got all the popcorn I could eat.
Besides fun, the day was also really enlightening. I was with Janice every time she had to troubleshoot a problem. I was present for the security briefing and the post-event briefing. I learned about all the ins and outs of a concert production including load-in and set-up, ticketing, security, staffing, logistics, meet and greets and load-outs. I learned that concert production is a VERY long day (I was there from 7am-12:45am while Janice stayed until 3am). I learned that you have to work well with everyone, even if you don’t personally like someone. I learned that multi-tasking is a MUST and a well-charged phone makes everyone’s life easy. While glamorous and exciting, putting on a large production like a concert takes a lot of prep work, a lot of creative solutions and little sleep.
I had a fantastic day and want to thank Janice for giving me such a great opportunity. This day really reinforced my desire to work in the events industry and I would LOVE to put on large-scale productions such as concerts one day.
I’m really, really, really excited!
So remember when I talked about how powerful informational interviews were and how I think every job hunter should use them? Well, as of tomorrow, I will be gainfully employed – all thanks to an informational interview I had a couple of weeks ago.
A Bait and Switch
In the beginning of August, I came across a job position that sounded right up my alley – an events and marketing coordinator for a business development company. The position would give me the events experience that I wanted while developing the strong marketing skills that I already had. At least, that’s what I thought…
Priscilla Chan 