start the
conversation

Our dedicated team of event specialists are on hand to help you with whatever queries you may have. We are here to help you achieve something amazing. To find out more get in touch with our team

talk to the team
The guest speaker during the Mobility Conference 2015

Whether you’re a relatively small business or part of a multinational organisation, one way to get everyone together is with corporate events. If the idea of an old school corporate event is enough to elicit despair and dread, you aren’t alone. That’s why revolutionising the way you look at corporate event planning can make all the difference.

Have upcoming product launches, or keen on making the most of the next trade show? Whether you’re bringing together employees from all over or hosting the best and brightest in your industry, thinking beyond the cliches is the best way to get everyone having fun. If you’re stuck for ideas on the best way to implement conferences and events, we’ve got the ideal solution.

Read on now to discover more about how to steer clear of the cliches for your upcoming event:

Understand your audience

What is a corporate event?

Corporate events cover a vast range of different activities. The types of corporate event can be any shape, size, and scale. From days out designed to engage staff and celebrate achievements to ice-breaking exercises and large-scale conferences. So, when it comes to planning the perfect event for your specific audience, it’s all the more challenging to pick the ideal mixture of venue, activities, and meetings for success.

Corporate events may have numerous different purposes. Integrating new employees or announcing product launches, enjoying milestone celebrations, or entertaining guests at trade shows. These differences allow employers to tailor their respective conferences, meetings, and rewards to their business’s specific needs and goals.

An essential part of creating different types of corporate event, whether it’s for internal staff or customers, too, is to know what you’re trying to achieve. By getting creative with itineraries and innovative with your scheduling, you can make that upcoming event all the more memorable and fun for your target audience. By considering the attendees first, it’s much easier to create a corporate event that ticks all the boxes and provides a fun, enjoyable time for all by considering the attendees first.

Football Beyond Borders

Cliches to avoid when staging a corporate event

Many of your staff and guests will go into a corporate event with an idea of what to expect. Depending on their past experiences, that may not be a good thing for their enthusiasm or morale. If you find your attendees looking less than enthused during your corporate conference, that’s a sure-fire sign you’ve missed two of the critical components of success: engagement and fun.

Here’s how to avoid a cliché event and pleasantly surprise your guests with something they might never have expected:

Skimping on set design and layout

For large-scale corporate events, it’s easy to look cheap when you cut back on the set design budget. We’ve all seen the cliché of one man with a microphone standing on an entirely dead, empty stage. Ensure everything is appropriately staged, and everyone is seated comfortably to see the stage to ensure corporate event success.

Set design doesn’t necessarily have to be in-your-face or over the top. It doesn’t have to cost thousands upon thousands and be a spectacle of light and colour. But what you do want is something that fits the theme of your event and brings attention in all the right ways. High-quality set design can help make that happen.

Using cheesy imagery and stock graphics

One way to quickly cheapen your event is to use stock imagery and graphics. And no, that’s not just if you happen to be throwing an event for a particularly artistic industry niche. Stock imagery can look out of place at the best of times, making your overall theme feel less put-together and professional unless it’s handled by a specialist graphic design team.

Even worse if your attendees have spotted the exact same picture and fonts at the event that they attended just last month. The more original you can be with your graphics, the more of an impact your theme will make on your guests. At the end of the day, cutting corners with your graphics is a good way to reduce the professionalism of your event as a whole.

QE Hall, London 2019

Going royalty-free on your music

Short jingles and inspirational guitar may sound like a great way to add some liveliness to your event. But beware of the pitfalls of royalty-free music. Much like stock graphics, it’s likely your audience will have heard that music over and over again. Royalty-free content is, by nature, available to everyone – and you don’t want to accidentally connect your event to something on the less professional side of the spectrum.

Music can be an excellent way to add some fun into the average event, but don’t be afraid to splash out on something that’s either unique to you or at least paid-for content. It’ll make your presentations feel far more polished, and the ambience of your event as a whole feels less like a visit to your local low-price supermarket.

Encouraging interaction in only one form

Not everyone will want to engage in what you’re offering in the same way – but that doesn’t mean that they should be left out. This is particularly important for hybrid events that are both online and in-person, where you have to keep two crowds engaged in what you’re saying or doing at the same time. Keeping everyone interested in what you’re saying means stepping up beyond the average audience question time.

One way to integrate interaction is using technology. Just about every eventgoer will have a smartphone, and those calling into a video conference will too. You can use smartphones for anything from quizzes to scheduling to asking questions, allowing for great interaction with a crowd across two different methods of communication.

How Can We Help You?

Avoid the stress of event planning, and contact your friendly team at Eclipse for a free consultation today. Anything is possible and we always go the extra mile to make your event one to be remembered.

GET FREE CONSULTATION

Using inadequate or repurposed equipment

Whether you’re hosting an online conference or planning an event with a large audience, hardware failure can spell disaster. It’s such a cliché for corporate events to experience equipment failure that it’s practically expected at this point. If you want to subvert expectations, hiring or investing in quality equipment is one of the ways you can earn that professional badge of honour in the corporate events circuit.

As for the tech you choose, ensure that the people using it are fully clued into how everything works. Whether it’s some impromptu training with the hiring company or a run-through ahead of time, tech proficiency pays off to help you look far more professional. One great way to exceed expectations is by hiring a corporate events specialist to ensure everything is running as it should.

Hours of dry speeches without breaks

When you think of cliché corporate conferences and events, you likely have that creeping dread of sitting through hours of dull PowerPoints or listening to management talk all day long. Beating the cliché is easy – you can still get your points across for sales and plans while also providing engaging sessions and enjoyment in-between vital information.

A packed schedule with no breaks or time doing something else other than lunch is a recipe for boredom at the average corporate event. Whether you liven things up with entertainment or you encourage audience participation, you’ll want to get people actively involved in what you’re doing instead of passively absorbing information.

Garden Party

How Eclipse can help you in planning a unique corporate event

If you’re looking to avoid cliches and create an event that stands out, working with a professional event production company is the best way to ramp up that wow factor. Our specialist professionals at Eclipse works with you to design innovative events that reflect your brand and make corporate fun in all the right ways.

Whether you’re looking for extensive set design and building or support for virtual and hybrid events planning, our team has the expertise and knowledge to make your vision a reality. Our connections with some of the best venues across London helps us to create the ideal environments for meetings, conference events, celebrations, and everything in between. You can trust our event planning service to create something on-theme and unique from start to finish.

Contact Eclipse today to take your next event up a notch

Are you planning an upcoming event for your company? Whether it’s part of an industry trade show or a global online conference, skipping the cliches is key to success. Get in contact with us today to discover why our customers pick us to turn their ideas into a creative reality.

How Can We Help You?

Avoid the stress of event planning, and contact your friendly team at Eclipse for a free consultation today. Anything is possible and we always go the extra mile to make your event one to be remembered.

GET FREE CONSULTATION

Global event production company Eclipse has joined the SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) Alliance, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to seamless virtual and hybrid event delivery.

The announcement follows Eclipse’s well-documented dedication towards offering the best virtual and hybrid event production services and will support the delivery of high-quality and secure, low-latency video across public internet connections – mitigating issues many venues and event organisers and bookers are experiencing.

The SRT Alliance, founded by Haivision in April 2017, already has more than 500 members. Its mission is to overcome the challenges of low-latency live streaming by supporting the collaborative development of SRT (Secure Reliable Transport), the fastest growing open-source streaming project. SRT is a free open source video transport protocol and technology stack originally developed and pioneered by Haivision, which enables the delivery of high-quality and secure, low-latency video across the public internet.

Jamie Castle, Director of Sales and Marketing at Eclipse, said: “Over the course of the last 20 months not only have we been investing in the latest technologies and capabilities to support our event solutions, but we have been working closely with organisations to spearhead the recent revolution of virtual event offerings.

“Through our ongoing knowledge sharing and open discussions with organisations we have played a key role in the development of virtual events and integrations that have today set the standard, and we’re delighted to be joining the SRT Alliance to continue doing just that.”

“With the SRT Alliance, Eclipse is joining an industry movement to improve the way the world streams video,” said  Suso Carrillo, Director SRT Alliance at Haivision. “We’re pleased to see the SRT protocol being actively implemented by some of the world’s biggest broadcast and enterprise streaming workflows as its adoption and industry-wide recognition continues to grow, becoming the defacto standard for low latency internet streaming.”

Green-Screen-Studio-scaled

‘If we don’t do it now, when will we do it?’ isn’t the kind of green flag ‘freedom day’ the events industry was hoping for. A return to physical shows, certainly those set inside, while nominally ‘legal’ from July 19 has been subject to understandable hesitation. 

“The warning light on the NHS dashboard is not flashing amber, it’s flashing red,” according to Health and Social Care Committee chair Jeremy Hunt and, amid the national cacophony of test and trace ‘pings’, any business is walking a brittle line in terms of its staff numbers – as countless hospitality outlets bear testament.  

Suppliers are the key to putting on an event of any size and pre-pandemic there was always time to address issues anywhere along the chain to ensure delivery. Now though, even an alert from the NHS App can mean one of those crucial links can be lost to isolation at the buzz of a smartphone.    

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, a question published in The Times about audience attitudes to live entertainment, asking ‘How comfortable would you feel doing the following in the next few weeks?’ was pretty damning across all categories. Just 27% of respondents indicated they would be happy to physically attend a business event.   

While it’s hard to tell if that opinion would change were masks/social distancing mandates to be reintroduced, lockdowns have highlighted how resourceful the events industry has had to be. It has looked around wholly new corners to develop and deliver solutions to questions hard to imagine some 17 months ago.  

It is not a simple either/or situation between virtual and physical of course. With many events reaching far greater numbers nationally and internationally in their virtual incarnation, hybrid events, which were in practice in some shape or form long before COVID-19 – think Premiership football matches or the Brit Awards by way of profile example – are sure to be the popular choice. But balancing that equation, in terms of who is the priority audience, varies from event to event.  

Ideally, events will want to provide for everyone equally – and the tech is there to feed live content across the world with the capacity for interaction and engagement everywhere. Eclipse, for one, has its own in-house virtual event studio in Beckenham together with comprehensive facilities across London and the globe, all of which are supported by a dedicated team of in-house creatives and GFX designers. 

Networking ‘from home’ though, without the technology and the expertise on tap, is more than a struggle to deliver and harder still to sell, which is well worth bearing in mind for the sales and marketing pitch. 

Nevertheless, while we can’t predict exactly where the pandemic will take us next, the steps the live events world has taken to adapt has no doubt kicked even the biggest doubter’s doors off its hinges. Come what may, the show can and will always go on… and in spectacular fashion.

While we continue to overcome these barriers and develop innovative solutions to keep business moving, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team of event production experts for support on moving forward and to discover how Eclipse can assist your event through this turbulent period.

From employee support to teamwork retreats to a brand awareness product launch, putting together a social gathering of any kind can be stressful and perhaps overwhelming for everyone involved.

It takes event management, which is a collection of skills that not everyone has, to create a successful event. For that reason, Eclipse can offer a range of contact information, skills, and experience to make sure the execution of your plans is done correctly and gives a maximum return on investment.

A successful charity gala, promotional event, or sponsorship lead online auction can increase corporate support from the audience.

What is Event Management?

Event management is a range of skilled and experienced professionals that specialise in managing small and large-scale events either in person, virtually, or a hybrid of the two.

They Handle the Work

Rather than the corporate entity throwing the event, the management company handles all the initial preparations, project management, running of the event, and post-event follow-up.

The event management company deals with the details for the event, including all key aspects of hospitality, social media, marketing, and all employment for the event.

The goal of the process is to receive the most significant possible return for their client and ensure that those invited to participate wish to return to future events.

They Offer Experience

Corporate events can be a critical aspect of a complete marketing plan for any industry, but it’s not as easy as it may seem to get right.

The end-to-end execution of an event is a complicated process, and event coordination brings in an experienced team to ensure each step is correct.

Large Scale Events
Live event for the FA with full set design, projection screens and audio-visual production

What is the Importance of Event Management?

How you manage corporate events can either boost or damage a business’s reputation and client base.

Staging events, whether small get-togethers with sponsors or employees or thousand-person launch events, allow a company to promote its brand and make new relationships.

Enhances Reputation

With a good reputation, clients are more likely to engage with a company for its services. Those clients are also more likely to try new products at a launch and back a brand they can relate with.

Effective event coordination can be the difference between a company with mediocre events attended by only a few people and a business that holds interactive engagements and offers a return on their investment.

Builds Success

Depending on the industry, the return can include greater exposure, new relationships between vendors, and a more extensive client base.

If a business has returning clients and happy participants, it can show what the events industry can do while ensuring a budget is followed. In addition, post-reports are done to improve events for the next time, ensuring the opinion of guests are heard and considered.

Invest Africa – Live hybrid event with green screens, virtual studio and audience participation

How Does Event Management Work? 

Within the relationship between management and host company, the planner draws up and establishes an event management plan (EMP).

The EMP ensures the coordinator meets the wishes of the company holding the event and that a timeline is followed from pre-planning to post-event surveys.

In addition to a contract, the plan also serves as a key foundation for future events and helps to avoid repeating mistakes.

In the future, the EMP allows even inexperienced employees within the company to use the document to plan annual launches.

How Can We Help You?

Avoid the stress of event planning, and contact your friendly team at Eclipse for a free consultation today. Anything is possible and we always go the extra mile to make your event one to be remembered.

GET FREE CONSULTATION

The Role of the Event Manager

The duties and responsibilities of an event manager’s career will vary from event to event and between industries.

Some coordinators may only be responsible for the day of the event, while others may plan the entire function for an extended period and are included in every aspect of the planning stages as well as the day of the event.

They will start with general research and creative brainstorming, then begin by collecting lists and information from the host company.

This list can include potential venues, sponsorships, budget plans, and themes in which they can utilise to create an outline and timeline of the event.

Generally, when you search for an event coordinator, you should search for someone capable of creating an event management plan first and foremost. Your coordinator should have experience in:

Corporate conference at the Gherkin in London

What are the Benefits of Event Management? 

The perks of event management are evident at the close of events when the industry reaps the benefits of successful event planning.

Timeline and Staff

The inclusion of an event management company ensures that an event runs according to plan. Part of the success is delivering an event that meets their client company’s needs and requirements.

By using event management and project management, you receive experts that are specifically trained for thoroughly executing different aspects of the conference. This frees up the client’s employees to continue their jobs unhindered.

Customer Experience

Tourism and the events industry are using social activities around the world to broaden their scope, secure new clientele, and make a profit from it.

An event management company that specialises in organising social events can bring a personalised experience to your audience, offering a diverse and unique event.

Success isn’t just measured by an event that is put on and attended. An event planner will manage staff and address the five c’s of event management to create a successful milestone in your business.

The Five C’s

The five c’s are necessary aspects of event coordination to ensure a positive outcome. They are as follows:

All of this is done on a budget, on time, and ensuring effective risk management from beginning to end. An event management company operates within an exclusive career. They showcase the skills and experience necessary to catch hidden costs or problems for successful events. They also offer new and innovative ideas that are utilised for each launch and party.

Why Use Eclipse for Event Management?

Eclipse offers top-of-the-line event production across the entire UK. Over the last 30 years, Eclipse has created a reputation with venues, brands, sponsors, and important contacts to ensure a successful event for you and your clients.

Some of the things the experienced professionals at Eclipse can provide include:

Live Event Wembley Stadium
Full set design and audio-visual display with multi-screen support at Wembley Stadium

Final Points

The events management industry is specialised and can help with experience in all aspects of planning and executing your event. Eclipse can help you create an engaging experience for your audience from a sizable international launch or a small corporate gathering.

How Can We Help You?

Avoid the stress of event planning, and contact your friendly team at Eclipse for a free consultation today. Anything is possible and we always go the extra mile to make your event one to be remembered.

GET FREE CONSULTATION

Robin Purslow

With the UK’s entrance into step 4 of the government’s roadmap delayed until at least 19 July 2021, managing director of event production specialists Eclipse, Robin Purslow discusses the execution of events amidst a time of turbulence and transition across the events industry.

“Uncertainty”, “exceptional” and “unprecedented” times. All words that have come to the forefront throughout the course of the pandemic, and now almost 18 months later, words that many will very much welcome being purged from their everyday conversations.

While such words remain pertinent and very much still apply, to every situation there is solution, and despite last week’s setback on the UK’s full reopening the event industry’s unbounded agility, versatility and creativity will be central to its recovery over the course of the next six months and more.

With event cancellations and postponements and their consequential impact upon the industry well-documented throughout the pandemic, news of a delay to the UK’s full reopening has expectedly been unwelcome. However, as a global industry complemented by inbound and outbound travel, the uncertainty not just within the UK but across every continent and country will serve as a direct correlation to booker confidence, event capabilities and ultimately event bookings, and therefore this isn’t simply a short-term challenge.

As international delegates remain restricted to travel, subject to restrictions enforced by their respective governments, delegate numbers cannot be expected to return soon and is already a trend we are seeing with our enquiries from event managers and planners both in the short and longer-term. While this may be the case, and as many venues experience the same situation, to facilitate bookings and support with essential revenue generation the following options can be proposed to ensure your venue is equipped to do business, better.

Eclipse Hybrid

Interim Events

Whether it’s an award ceremony, annual conference or otherwise, cancellations and postponements can be hard to avoid under the current circumstances, however there’s still opportunity to put forward alternative solutions that can generate crucial revenue.

Understanding and empathising with event bookers is now more important than ever, and putting forward interim proposals and opportunities will be key to maintain valuable connections as well as returning business opportunities in the future.

Where we’ve witnessed week-long events delayed until further notice, at the same time we’ve also found great value and gratitude from clients where we’ve been able to propose contingencies and complementary alternatives such as stand-in, shorter events.

While celebrating and connecting face-to-face holds its own value, many have welcomed packaged events whereby virtual offerings can be integrated into existing event plans, with many opting to hold these interim virtual events as their larger, more physical event plans remain on hold.

hybrid events

Video and Hub Conferencing

Virtual events are nothing new, particularly as we’ve all adapted to Zoom, Microsoft Teams and more over the last 14 months. Virtual capabilities have however evolved ten-fold during the pandemic and now present an array of opportunities to overcome international barriers all whilst ensuring optimal engagement.

Utilising our own virtual event studio or those we have located across venues around the world, advancements in technology now allow users in a wide range of locations to deliver events without actually having to be in the same location, whether that’s speakers, sponsors, facilitators, or delegates. The format enables presenters and speakers to deliver from any site and is often utilised when delegates are unable or willing to travel, as it eliminates the need to employ just one dedicated event venue.

Combine these capabilities with our immersive augmented reality environments and events truly need no limits. In fact, delegate engagement and consequential commercial opportunities have been seen to increase in this format, with many venues now equipping themselves with our on-site virtual and hybrid studios to capitalise on rising demand for this offering.

We are all acutely aware of the impact COVID-19 has had upon venues, event planners, managers, and all those that make such significant contributions across the entire supply chain to make our £70bn industry one of the UK’s most valuable.

While we continue to overcome these barriers and develop innovative solutions to keep business moving, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team of event production experts for support on moving forward and to discover how Eclipse can assist your event through this turbulent period.

When you think of set design, your mind may go to a lot of different places. You may think of it as being related to movies, plays, and other theatrical productions involving costume, lighting, and extravagant set models. This is the most common and well-known place to utilize set designers.

However, set design has a scope that reaches far beyond that. Between corporate events, fashion shows, award shows, and more, it is truly something that can enhance any live or virtual event and turn it into pure magic.

In this article, we will explain exactly what is set design. We will also go over how having a unique set can take your next event a level higher.

What is Set Design?

A set designer is someone who links all the pieces of a vision together and makes it come to life in the physical world. They work in a variety of different settings with event production and creative teams, bringing an aesthetic appeal to events, shows, sets, and more.

A set designer’s job is to work with directors and organizations to take their ideas and make them into reality for each performance. A designer is a middleman who connects the dots from an imagined idea to the physical existence of that vision.

A set designer can work with backdrops, scale, scenes, and any decor items or props involved in the process, and take all of those concepts and work them together to scale the vision that creative directors have come up with for the event at hand.

Set design and building itself is something visually representative of the event or makes sense with the general concept of the type of event. A set designer deals with the logistics, actually building, organizing, and creating a model for the event.

At Eclipse Global, our creative designer team and director exercise their skills with set production for corporate events, fashion shows, awards shows, and any other kind of performance you could think of. They make memorable and amazing visual displays for these kinds of events.

Healthy & Fit - Set design example made to look like a health bar and consultation area.

What Contributes to Great Set Design?

Our designers use a lot of communication, planning, and a lot of hard work for the execution. Here are some of the factors that help make for a unique performance.

Teradata Connect - Set design example with 3D projector, engaging lighting and impactful stage presence.What Are the Benefits of Interesting and Great Set Design?

Live events thrive because of excellent set design. Here are some of the benefits of having set designer services at your next event.

Exampel set design for Uber using large projectors, 3D stage props and focused lighting

How to Implement Great Set Design Into Your Live Events

You can take your events to the next level by utilizing set designer services at Eclipse Scenic. Our team will make sure they fully understand your vision, budget, deadlines, and overall expectations to deliver you the perfect event.

No matter what your wants and needs are, we guarantee that we can supply the essential equipment to make your event magical. From 3d design models to lighting to scale models, we will set the scene for your event. If for some reason, we do not have the type of set pieces you desire for your event, our team is fully capable of building something unique for you.

Our team at Eclipse Scenic brings together professionals from many different fields with skills and knowledge of different subjects that all work together to make your vision come to life on stage. With years of experience and loads of talent, our designers, carpenters, and production managers will deliver exactly what you’ve imagined.

To accommodate the changing way of gathering and holding events, at Eclipse Global, we also can provide you with virtual event production. With Eclipse Hybrid, you can accommodate guests attending your event live and virtually. We’ve seen a rise in the need for these kinds of set designs, especially with the global pandemic. We have risen to the challenge and provided our clients with memorable and noteworthy Eclipse Hybrid events.

Leave the set designing to us. We will eliminate the stress of setting up your next event, so you can focus on other important tasks like the event menu, guest speakers, and order of events.

Virtual Set Design - example of a virtual or hybrid event combining a virtual stage presence within a physical environment

Conclusion

No event is complete without a great set design. Whether you are having a corporate event or a more special occasion, the set design is going to be essential to creating an impactful and memorable experience for everyone in attendance.

At Eclipse Scenic, we can create unique set design art, structures to scale and more that will speak to your audience, set the mood for your event, and create high engagement and memorability.

Contact Eclipse Scenic or check out our website page to make your vision come to life.

Eclipse Global Live Event

Planning an event is a challenging yet rewarding process, to ensure a successful event we have created this helpful event planner checklist with 10 simple steps for you to follow. We have identified the key components for planning an event: event preparation, event promotion, event day management and post-event evaluation.

Our comprehensive events planning checklist will help you to keep focused during your event planning and will give you the support you need pre-event and post-event.

 

Step 1: Identify event goals and objectives.

Having clear goals and objectives will give you an idea of what you want your event to achieve, you will need to consider the following:

Step 2: Choose the event date and time

When it comes to event planning choosing the best date and time for your event is extremely important and you will need to make sure that you have taken into account the following:

Step 3: Establish an event budget

Your budget is unlikely to be an exact number at the event planning stage but it is always helpful to have an idea of what your budget is, we suggest you are realistic and flexible when considering your event costs and to plan a way to keep track of your spending. An event budget will help you to make the majority of decisions from your event theme to how many guests you invite, to whether you have guest speakers and your audio/visual needs. With the uncertainty the events industry is currently in, it might be worth considering a virtual event as costs are considerably lower, you could consider having a free event and any upcoming events could still go ahead.

Event Budget

Step 4: Select a location, venue and vendors

The success of any event can all depend on location however the location for your event will also depend on the size and scope of your event. Whether your event will take place in a grand hotel, conference centre or as a virtual event, the venue you choose is crucial to the event success. You will need to choose the location that is right for your events needs so remember to consider this when applying your event budget.

Event Location

Step 5: Event speakers

A confident, passionate and engaging speaker can significantly enhance the quality of your event which is why you need to find the speaker who is the ideal fit for your chosen event. Make sure you research speakers pre-event as there is a wide range of speakers available that will be able to engross your audience whilst also competently getting the message of your event across.

Points to consider:

Football Beyond Borders

Step 6: Event marketing and branding

When it comes to event marketing and branding, the possibilities available to you really are endless, with a little creativity and imagination your event has the potential to be highly successful with optimal audience attendance. We consider this to be a vital step in our event plan checklist as effective event marketing is the key to event day success.

In modern-day marketing, there are many options out there that can help promote any size event regardless of location or theme. We have a few suggestions for event promotion which you can continue to use post-event.

Prague 2018

Step 7: Create an event schedule

This step in our event checklist might seem like an obvious step however creating a purposeful and useful event schedule will definitely benefit you not only during the planning phase but also on the event day itself. Your event schedule will be what you need to keep focused and on track during the day of the event as this will be the running order of your event.

This is the step in our checklist where you should include a contingency plan in case of complications on the day of the event. You will need to update your schedule regularly and make sure it is finalised and distributed to all involved in your event.

Download Free Event Planner

Step 8: Coordinate with venue and suppliers

Communication is the key to event success! You will need to have regular and consistent contact with your venue and suppliers so that everyone is aware of the expectations for the event. You will already have planned your timings for the event so it is important that your venue and suppliers are aware of these so that they can adapt and plan accordingly. We suggest sending a copy of the event schedule to your suppliers, vendors and the venue as this will ensure everyone knows what to expect on the day of the event.

SoSriLanka Eclipse

Step 9: Managing the day of the event

Now providing you have followed our event checklist step by step then on the day of your event you will hopefully be feeling calm, relaxed and most importantly prepared to host a fantastic event. You have your event schedule to keep you focused during the day and remember if any last-minute complications or issues should arise the show must go on, so you need keep calm and make sure you use the team around you to resolve any problems.

Helpful Tip: You might want to consider having a member of your team keeping a live social media presence during the event, this can boost engagement and further advertise your event.

Live Event Wembley Stadium

Step 10: Post-event evaluation

This may be the final step in our event planning checklist but it that does not make it any less important because this is the step where you can evaluate the success of your event and make relevant and beneficial changes to how you might approach your future events. Gaining feedback from everyone involved in your event including your team, the venue, suppliers and most importantly your attendees is how you measure the success of your event and how you can make improvement for your future events.

Eclipse Office

Final thoughts

Our checklist for planning an event is the vital tool you need to follow to ensure that your next event is the best it can be, we believe these 10 simple yet effective steps are just what you need to confidently plan your next event. Even though a successful event requires purposeful planning and creative marketing, here at Eclipse we hope you have found this checklist helpful and useful and we are always available to answer questions and to give extra advice.

 

Eclipse Hybrid

In a time where the future of the events industry remains uncertain due to the growing restrictions of the global pandemic, the events industry has had to adapt and change in order to continue providing events across the world, which has seen an increase in the popularity of virtual events. Here at Eclipse, we have always strived to be innovative and creative when working with our clients and in 2021 will continue providing the best in audio/visual support and event management.

Hybrid events are the next stage of virtual eventing, the idea of a hybrid event has always existed as a way to extend the reach of a live event beyond the limitations of space and distance. Since the use of live events has faced such challenging restrictions in the last year we will see a sharp increase in the number of virtual and hybrid events in the future.

Watch Video – Eclipse Hybrid Advert

What is a Hybrid Event?

To put it simply, a hybrid event is a combination of a live and virtual event because they can incorporate virtual, in-person and live streaming elements with ease. A hybrid event will allow your virtual attendees across different locations to participate and engage during the event in order to provide an immersive online experience. For an event that is able to cater to any online audience in a viewer-friendly way, with a hybrid event you will experience a seamless combination of technology between a live and virtual audiences. Hybrid events will allow presenters and audiences to confidently come together in a virtual event regardless of where they are in the world, these events are going to be the foundation that supports the industry’s transition back to live events when restrictions are lifted.

green screen studios

What are the benefits of hosting a Hybrid Event?

Hybrid events do have a significant advantage over the traditional live event because regardless of where your online attendees are in the world, they will be able to experience the event and take part virtually. Think of hybrid events as a way to actually do ‘something’ in a time where people feel like they are not able to do ‘anything’. At least for the near future hybrid events are likely to be integral in enabling as many events as possible to still go ahead as planned. There are many benefits to hosting a hybrid event:

  1. An increase in event reach and attendance. Without geographical restrictions, a hybrid event will allow you to reach more virtual attendees as people will not be required to travel to your event which will see a rise in your audience attendance.
  2. Optimal audience engagement. Hybrid events enable your online audience to interact, engage and contribute to the event in real time, we believe the key to audience engagement is engagement quality and frequency. There are many ways for your attendees to have a interactive experience including live polling, surveys and Q&A’s, here at Eclipse we are always on hand to help you build your hybrid event agenda.
  3. Reduced costs. A hybrid event is an effective and innovative way to bridge the gap between costs and results. The reduction in costs will be benefited not just by you the event organiser but also your prospective virtual attendees.
  4. Lower emissions with a reduced impact on the environment. With an increasing demand for businesses across the world to lower their carbon footprint and reduce emissions dramatically, converting events to virtual and hybrid will facilitate the quest to be greener.
  5. Increased flexibility. Hosting an online event that is hybrid is the prime solution if due to unforeseen circumstances your live in-person event is unable to go ahead.
  6. Enhanced data collection. A key benefit of hosting a hybrid event comes from the insight and data you can easily and efficiently collect. You would have all information including exact audience attendance, session interaction and attendee participation.
virtual studio

How do you run a Hybrid Event?

When hosting a hybrid event, it is important to remember that these events can have various appearances because the event will depend on your choice of format and unique audience. However, at Eclipse, we have a few hybrid event ‘must haves’.

  1. Choose an enticing theme with engaging content. An online audience will mostly rely on the content of your hybrid event so you need to present your content in an enticing and engaging way. Dynamic images, interactive components and entertaining hosts are an example of how you can guarantee a positive audience experience.
  2. Select a suitable virtual event platform. You will need to consider the live and virtual content you want to use and find a platform with the capabilities to optimise your online content. Finding the right online platform can be difficult, which is why Eclipse are always here to help you in any way with your event.
  3. Be creative with audience engagement. The keywords to remember here are vibrant imaging, interesting speakers and interactive programming. Hybrid events can offer a whole host of simple yet effective engagement tools like live streaming to allow your online attendees to be completely immersed in your event experience.
  4. Fast-paced sessions. We suggest you keep your hybrid events on a shorter time scale than you would a live in-person event because you want to keep your audience engrossed and tuned into the online session. Short and sharp sessions should be considered as what might usually work in a live event space may need to be adapted to suit a virtual space.
  5. Effective marketing. A hybrid event can attract audiences from all over the world which can increase the number of attendees who experience your event. This makes your hybrid event marketing even more important because you will want to advertise your event to as many people as possible, using your online tools like email and social media pages are a crucial way to market your event effectively. We suggest you keep a cohesive style and event brand that can thread through both live and virtual spaces.

What is next for the events industry?

After the UK and the rest of the world recovers from this recent pandemic it is likely that due to the easy accessibility of online technologies, that event organisers will continue using hybrid events for years to come. You will have already have invested and diversified your own infrastructure for providing virtual events which means you will always be prepared to make any event hybrid as and when needed. Hybrid events are an innovative, effective and simple way to spread your event’s message on a global scale. here at Eclipse, we are here always available to answer your questions and to give advice on what your hybrid event will need.

Remember that with Eclipse, anything is possible!

We are thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted in the 2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Awards, recognising our expert and agile performance in both virtual & hybrid event production as well as brand activation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

Having been commended for the delivery of the S&P Platts Global Energy Awards and Young Living’s Virtual European Convention, both of which were produced and broadcast virtually in 2020 for the first time since their inception, we take great pride in being recognised for our role in the evolution of extraordinary event production.  

 

VEI Awards S&P

 

While 2020 was a challenging year for everyone, we have been working tirelessly to reinforce and develop the latest and most innovative event capabilities that would meet the evolving needs of organisations on a global scale, and having delighted our clients with effective and efficient solutions we are thrilled to have our efforts recognised within the industry once more.  

 

VEI Awards Young Living

 

The awards, organised by the Virtual Events Institute, will take place on Thursday 22 April, where we will be shortlisted in two categories, ‘Virtual & Hybrid’ and ‘Virtual & Hybrid Brand Activation’. 

Digital Studio Logo

Mixed Reality

Throughout the course of the pandemic we have been working to push the boundaries of event production, so having acquired the world’s most advanced 3D creation platform we are delighted to announce the launch of our next generation digital event studios to deliver the most immersive event experiences.

Gearing events with the next generation of Mixed Reality, our digital event studios will provide event organisers with bespoke virtual environments specifically focused on the unique requirements of any event. Be it a conference, awards ceremony, product launch or more, the studios will give organisers freedom to control and deliver cutting-edge content, interactive experiences, and immersive virtual stages in real-time.

Watch Video – Eclipse Digital Studio (Explainer)

Evolution of Events

Taking inspiration from television event broadcasts and video game environments, 3D models, products, charts, graphs and more can be effectively rendered into any frame in real-time, presenting all-new ways to engage audiences and enrich the delivery of events.

Whether integrating augmented set builds and props, delivering an event programme across wide-ranging virtual environments, a hybrid event from hubs or broadcasting presenters side-by-side from different locations, the latest advancement in our event solutions will provide  organisers with unbounded virtual and hybrid event capabilities. With hybrid on the horizon, the solution isn’t limited to our existing studios either, as we are able to deliver the solution from any venue or location.

Digital Studio 1

The most recent of our well-documented investments into event technology and advanced solutions, our digital studios reflect the rising expectations of event organisers and has been highly commended as a cost-effective solution that meet the evolving needs of event organisers in this new age of events.

Pioneering Event Technology

Following the success of our virtual event productions amidst the pandemic, supported by the launch of our first  virtual event studio in March 2020, we are delighted to once more be investing in pioneering event technology that will push the boundaries of our event capabilities. As more of our clients continue to adapt and welcome digital integrations into their events, as seen by an increasing amount of hybrid event enquiries, our digital studios will provide a cost-effective yet creative solution that will undoubtedly drive events to the next level of immersion and engagement.

Digital Studio 3

The digital studio environment can be based on an existing venue, stage or site, while our in-house GFX designers can also develop all-new environments to fully immerse event audiences within any desired environment.

With Eclipse, anything is possible and we’re here to prove that virtual events can be and should be as immersive and inspiring as the real thing. To find out more about how we can make your events truly unforgettable.

 

CALL US