Share news
Listen
A concise and precise event brief helps your agency understand what you want to achieve in your event and is the key to getting a good work from them.
Your event brief is the starting point in talking to your event agency about your event. It is not only a useful tool to ensure your agency understands what the event needs to achieveÂ… it also helps YOU think through what you want to achieve with your event, a vital step often underestimated. And it will become an important reference document once the agency starts working on your event.
The event brief lists all the essential information, facts and details about your event. Here’s a guide in what your event brief should contain.
1) The event objectives
Before any work begins, make sure that an event is the right platform to attain your objectives.
To begin, it is important to know what the event is, what it is for and what is the end-desired results. For example: A sales convention to motivate the sales teams to increase sales. A 50th anniversary celebration with the launch of a new product line. Be concise and make objectives as concrete as possible so that you can monitor and measure the results after the event.
2) The audience
Who is the event organised for? Include profiles such as profession, age, demographics, countries that they are from, any preferences and special needs (example: translation booths if there are several languages spoken during the event) as well as "cultural" elements (serious, fun, formal, creative, etc.). How many will be expected to attend? Do they need to pay to attend? What events have they generally attended before?
This information will help the agency plan the program to ensure that there is no cultural clashes and designing content such as presentation formats and entertainment, that fits the audience.
3) Date, place and time
Date: Specify when the event should take place, if you have any flexibility on dates.
Place: If you have any preferences, give the specific configurations that the venue should have (for example: a venue with a historical background, a medieval ambience, a modern hall with the latest technology for audiovisuals…).
Time: What time should the event start and how long should it last. This also helps to define the content (is there time for any coffee break, entertainment and what kind?) and the pace (how long each session should last…) of the program. Let your event agency knows if you have a preference on the dates and the venue.
4) The budget
What is the budget available for this event? If you can divide the budget into services that you need, it can also help the agency plan and source for the right providers. For example: X Euros for catering, Y Euros for entertainment, Z Euros for venue. If you have no idea on the cost of these items, you can also let your agency manage the whole budget and let them proportion the budget for you, keeping to the total budget in mind.
Make sure that you specify if the event agency’s fee is to be included in this budget or not.
5) The content / program
This is the core of the event where you specify the program. For example: the style of the event, what are the themes, if any, and the detail hour-by-hour of what will happen.
Note that this is the main work that your agency has to to: come up with a detailed program suiting your objectives. So you do not have to be super-specific here: let them come up with creative ideas!
Specify are the messages you want to communicate. The agency will then propose the best way and media to communicate them. They should also provide you with designs on how the event will be set-up. For example: stage design, table settings for dinner, stand design, meeting room setup, secretariat services…
Also let them know if there will be any special presentation during the event and what are the logistics required. For example: a specially invited speaker who will be presenting slides from his laptop. The necessary logistics should be catered for projection of this presentation.
To ensure that you do not miss out any areas, include here the categories of services that you will require and let the agency design and put them all together in-tune for you. Specify any special needs or requirements you may have in these areas.
Possible list of services:
– Venue & accommodation
– Transport
– Airport meet & greet
– Registration / check-in & check-out
– Catering (specify special dietary requirements, if any)
– Sound and Audiovisual equipment / production
– Staffing (for example: hostess services)
– Logistics set up: tents, power generators,
– Furniture, design and decoration
– Entertainment, MC, Music, etc.
– Gifts and souvenirs
– Invitations, communication materials (posters, animated emails…)
– Management of VIP’s
– Photographers and Video of the event
– Others (insurance, security services, etc.)
6) Post- event activities
Let your agency know what is expected from them once the event is finished. Do they need to collect any feedback? Do you expect a written report on the event and what should it include? Are objectives met?
Once the event is finished, organise a post-event de-brief with your agency. Here, award any well-deserved compliments to your agency and iron out any issues that may have arise during the event.
7) Contact details
Provide your contact details or the contact details of your team, specifying the responsibilities, so that in case of doubts, the agency can contact the right person, unless you are to be only key contact person. Include telephone and fax numbers and email.
8) Additional information
Give as much information as possible about your event so that the agency gets as much knowledge as possible to design a special event for you. If you have a specific theme or topics, attach materials or information on where they can get more details. For example: URLs of web sites that give information on your specific themes, a sample of an invitation that you, specific colours that should be applied…
