Planning Your Program
Whether you're organising a conference, festival, or corporate gathering, a thoughtfully crafted programme ensures participants have a valuable and memorable experience.
The types of entertainment, activities, and other event features that you provide for attendees, as well as the way they are scheduled and communicated, influences your attendees’ experience. These factors can also affect ticket sales and the external public perception of your event.
Tips:
Elements of an Effective Programme
- Alignment with your event’s purpose, identity, and target audience.
- Options to satisfy the needs and interests of all attendees.
- Clearly communicated scheduling information.
- No timing or location clashes between features that cater to the same audience segments.
Choosing Your Entertainment & Activities
Choosing the right entertainment and activities is crucial to the success of your event, as these factors significantly impact attendee engagement and overall experience. Consider aspects such as:
- Audience Preferences and Demographics
- Audience Profile: Consider the age, cultural background, interests, and professional backgrounds of your attendees.
- Feedback and Trends: Review feedback from past events and current trends to identify popular and engaging entertainment options.
- Inclusivity: Ensure that your choices are inclusive and accessible to all attendees.
- Event Purpose and Objectives
- Purpose: Determine whether the entertainment is meant to educate, inspire, or entertain.
- Theme: Choose activities that complement the event’s theme and identity; and reinforce the event’s message.
- Engagement: Select activities that encourage attendee participation and interaction, enhancing the overall experience.
- Venue & Logistics
- Space Requirements: Ensure the venue has adequate space and appropriate facilities for the chosen activities and entertainment.
- Technical Needs: Verify the availability of necessary technical equipment and support (e.g. sound systems, lighting, staging).
- Safety and Accessibility: Ensure that all activities comply with safety regulations and are accessible to all attendees.
- Timing & Scheduling
- Booking Availability: Ensure that your entertainment or activities are available at the times and dates that you require them.
- Duration: Consider the length of each activity and how it fits into the overall event timeline.
- Flow: Plan activities at appropriate times to maintain energy levels and interest throughout the event.
- Breaks and Transitions: Allow sufficient time for breaks and smooth transitions between sessions and activities.
- Budget Constraints
- Cost: Consider the total cost of hiring entertainers or organising activities, including additional expenses such as production costs and equipment hire.
- Value: Assess the potential return on investment (ROI) in terms of attendee satisfaction and engagement.
- Sponsorship: Explore opportunities for sponsorships to offset the costs of high-profile entertainers or unique activities.
Multi-Stream Programming
A multi-layer or streaming programme involves creating several concurrent sessions or tracks that cater to different interests, expertise levels, or attendee groups. While it is not suitable for every event, this approach can allow for a more customised experience, ensuring that each attendee can find sessions that meet their specific needs and preferences. Key considerations include:
- Audience Segmentation: Identify the different segments within your audience. For instance, you may have tracks for beginners, intermediate, and advanced, or streams focused on various topics.
- Content Variety: Offer a diverse range of content to cover all interests. This could include workshops, lectures, panel discussions, and interactive sessions.
- Resource Allocation: Ensure you have the necessary resources (rooms, technology, staff) to support multiple streams simultaneously.
- Clear Communication: Clearly communicate the structure and sessions/tracks available in your programme to help attendees easily navigate the options.
Scheduling
Effective scheduling of your programme is crucial to avoid conflicts that force attendees to choose between sessions they are interested in.
- Programme Mapping: Map out all sessions and activities before finalising the schedule. Identify potential clashes and make adjustments where possible to avoid them.
- Time Blocks: Use distinct time blocks for different activity sessions to avoid clashes.
- Feedback from Previous Events: Analyse feedback from past events to identify scheduling conflicts and avoid them in future programmes.
Internal Crowd Movement
- Venue Layout: Familiarise yourself with the venue layout and plan the placement of sessions to minimise travel time between them.
- Signage: Use clear, visible signage to guide attendees to different locations. Digital signage can also be helpful as this can be regularly updated.
- Staff and Volunteers: Position staff and volunteers at key locations to assist with directions and crowd control.
- Staggered Scheduling: If there is a potential clash in the schedule, consider staggering the start and end times of sessions to prevent large groups from moving at the same time.
Communicating Your Programme to Attendees
Consider how you will convey the timings and locations of your programmed entertainment, activities etc. to your attendees both before and during your event. Some options include:
- Event website
- Social media posts
- Email newsletters
- Signage (physical and/or digital)
- Printed programme
s - Information kiosks
- Event app
- Public announcements (during the event)
Useful Links:
- SouthlandNZ.com Event Supplier Database | Event Entertainment
- Celebrity Speakers | celebrityspeakers.co.nz
- Essential Talent | essentialtalent.co.nz
Have you considered?
- Who is your target audience and what preferences do they have?
- What event activities will support your event purpose? Refer to [Strategic Planning] section for information on setting your event purpose and goals.
- Can your venue provide the space and facilities required for your programmed activities? Refer to [Choosing Your Venue] section for information on selecting the right venue for your event.
- How will you design and print your physical programme? Options such as Canva are great options for a DIY approach. Learn more about this in the [Marketing] Section.
- Do you have access to a proof-reader for your programme? Basic typos and missed changes can be very frustrating for attendees!