Organizing a large conference can be a daunting and demanding task, especially to those of us with little knowledge of where to start, it requires a tremendous amount of forethought, information gathering, project managing and detail orientation For a large conference of 500 + delegates the entire process can take between 1 and 2 years from start to finish.

It is possible however to launch a successful conference in a year providing you have the right tools, knowledge and team behind you. Your budget needs to be set, with some flexibility as in most instances a set budget needs to be in place with a a 10% - 20% contingency as many unforeseen or omitted expenses can crop up along the way. So in addition your objectives for the event you need to be completely clear on your requirements and your decision processes swift.

The reality of event planning is that without knowledge and experience you can loose a large amount of time and money by over thinking the smallest details, making mistakes along the way and overlooking the larger more important aspects. To ensure the process is simpler for novices, there are a few rules you can follow:

 Budget

Unless your conference is being funded or sponsored this is a huge undertaking especially if your budget is limited and your requirements out way your finances. Map out your money before you start planning or booking suppliers, speakers, crew, venues and equipment. If you are unsure of how much to put aside for certain areas of the conference expenses it is advisable to contact an experienced event management or event planning company for assistance or advice.

 Venue

Most venues for large events get booked up months in advance of an actual event if you are looking for a space for a large conference of 500 + delegates it is advisable to find and book the venue at least 24 – 36 months prior to the event date to be on the safe side, especially if the event runs for longer than one day. Venue sourcing companies are experts at sourcing large venues suited to your requirements and can negotiate rates that are sometimes up to 30% cheaper than if you went direct, in addition some venue sourcing companies like ours offer this service for free.

A venue is required long before you event start marketing the event, if the venue is left till last you may end up with a lot of registered delegates on no space to hold the event. The same applies for AV suppliers if you are using an outsourced or specialty company as they can get booked up to 2 years in advance for large conferences.

Selling Points

 What will entice delegates or attendees to register and turn up to your event, if this is a ticketed event what will sell tickets? This is very important as you don’t want to spend months of time a huge amount of money on an event that no one attends.

Ensure you have a good selling point, something your attendees would be interested in seeing, learning or listening to. This could be an expert guest speaker or well known celebrity or motivational speaker for a conference.

 Content

The running itinerary and content on the day is very important, especially if it is a ticketed event, as your audience needs to be kept engaged. Nowadays events are treated as more of an experience, so plan an immersable, interesting and impressionable experience to keep your audience engaged and ensure you have enough breaks during the day to fight fatigue.

Large rooms full of people can get warm and stuffy. If you are holding the event in the summer months ensure the venue has a fully functioning air-conditioning system as this can really change the mood of an event and can add to the delegates overall perception. The same applies for the cold winter months ensure the heating system is fully functional, aim to keep the room temperature at 21 degrees for optimal attention and focus.

 Know your Objectives

Have a clear vision of what your objectives are for the event, what is the message you are trying to portray or deliver and what are you aiming to achieve at the end of the event. Put a workable plan in place of how you intend to achieve these objectives.

 Vision

 Know what your conference is going to look & feel like, first impressions count when delegates walk into a room, decide on the layout according to the delegate numbers and the purpose of the event, the ambience or atmosphere is important in order to deliver the message you are trying to get across, portray the event in the correct light and not the opposite of what you are trying to encourage your delegates to understand or achieve from the conference. i.e. if the conference is about growth and prosperity this needs to be portrayed in the set up and dressing of the room.

 AV equipment  is a huge part of the budget and people are looking more and more towards high quality technical gear so ensure this is suitable for the event and the message being delivered loud and clear through your images, presentation and audio.

Are you providing Accommodation?

 If you are planning a large event, accommodation can sometimes be an issue, as most venues even if they can accommodate 500 delegates do not always have the accommodation available for the delegates attending. Block book this when you book you provisionally hold your venue or look at out sourcing the business to other local hotels and negotiate a rate based on numbers attending. Unique venues such as Stadium’s or universities do not usually have accommodation available so keep this in mind when looking for a suitable venue. Bear in mind location and the logistics of delegates getting from one venue to another too!

Registering Delegates

 The most popular of conferences still have to go through a vigorous marketing plan to ensure all the seats are filled, Attendance and delegate registration or the sale of tickets is the single most important factor to ensure the success of an event. A high attendance rate brings in revenue; sponsorship attracts more delegates through supply and demand. It is also advisable where possible if you are using a management company to enlist them to provide and manage a full delegate registration and management system, as this will definitely create a smoother process in terms of managing your delegates, your marketing and your budget overall.

Ensure you have enough staff available on the day of the event whether they be yours, the venues or the event management companies to perform all the necessary tasks that will need to doing, registration on the day is always a bottle neck as everyone always seems to arrive at once and all of a sudden you have 50 people and 3 staff registering which causes impatience and a bad start to the day from the delegates perspective if they have to wait around for half an hour to receive there badge and welcome pack. 

Contracts

The details of an event change drastically from the initial stages to the signing of the contracts so make sure the contract from the venue once received if viewed with a fine tooth comb and double checked, just to make sure you are fully aware and agree with what has been contracted to. Event management companies if you use there services deal with these types of contracts all the time so if you use one they will be able to ensure everything is in order and save you time and a bit of stress. Always check the cancellation agreement prior to signing for both parties.

 Onsite Planning

Once the business planning aspect as been dealt with the next issue is the running itinerary for the day, where the delegates will register, network, workshop eat and socialize and how this is all navigated by the attendee, this needs to flow with ease, so is a very important factor when booking your venue, although it is part of the final stages of event planning it needs to be considered at the beginning when sourcing a venues. The best way to achieve this is to perform a site visit of the venues and walk through the various aspects of the event as if you were a delegate or attendee. Be clear and concise with your event manager as to your objectives and requirements or hire an event management company to manage the event on the day to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the event. A final run through with the venue and event management company is always advisable two weeks prior to the event just to ensure everything is in order, nothing has changed and that all parties are on the same page as to your requirements and expectations.