Even for corporate event strategy and management companies like ours, we have found ourselves lucky enough to produce large scale private events for some notable Canadians including milestone birthday celebrations, retirement dinners, wedding productions, memorials and more.
It’s not lost on us just how special these events are. Private events are highly personal, heartfelt and are typically focused on a more familial or individual endeavor or outcome. This means it can be hard to understand objectives, or the desired ROI. That said, event strategy still plays a key role in delivering a successful experience.
Here are five strategies to consider:
1) Outline the Vision of Individual Clients to Guide All Future Event Decisions
Get inside the hearts and minds of the clients, tapping into their psychographics and getting deeply curious about their vision, motivators and dreams for the event.
2) Strategically Select Partners and Locations That Fulfill the Client Personality
Match your partners and event producers with the personal mantra of the individual clients. This is both an art and a science. What motivates you should match what motivates the clients, and in these types of
events, it matters sometimes even more than in corporate. In terms of venues, it’s got to feel like a “home away from home” for the individual clients.
3) Identify Opportunities to Maximize the Client’s Personal Investment
Because private event budgets are usually funded by personal money, the event producer’s responsibility is to ensure the investment is maximized and heightened. Work hard to build an event design that is reflective of the individual’s view on budget expenses, and places emphasis on tangible spend (product, and experiences) versus intangible spend (labour, trucking and shop time).
4) Balance Personal Tastes with Strategic Solutions
Sometimes the job is to “save clients from themselves” and this is paramount in private events. While often clients bring ideas to the table, it is our job to ensure we make the right, strategic decisions that both support the budget and the vision of the event.
5) Personal Event “Brands” Matter as Much as in Corporate
Personal brand is just as effective and fun to develop as corporate event branding. Ask questions about deeper motivations, what matters long term to the clients and even memorable and fun features from their childhood. All private clients have a personal brand already – it’s our job to bring it out of them and turn it into an experience.
Lisa Marks is owner of Brand Alive Inc, a Western Canadian corporate event strategy and management company that aims to build culture in everything they do. brandalive.ca and @brandaliveinc
