Event Plan of Seminar Innovation without Boundaries - Essay Example

Event Plan Seminar “Innovation without Boundaries”                        Introduction             Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences. Events have tremendous consequences to nations such as Olympic Games, to organizations or even a few people such 10 people in a breakfast meeting. Event management as a field has grown tremendously over the years. It is a unique and exciting field for individuals with passion for planning and organizing events to build a career, Bowdin et al (2010).                  This is an event plan for the seminar Innovation without Boundaries for Summit Solvay a training firm.  The seminar will entail training participants on Simple steps to make innovation work ,myths and misconceptions about innovation, how to avoid common pitfalls of innovative thinking, best practices to quickly launch projects to prove creative concepts, how to harness existing corporate culture to drive innovation and growth. I.       Discussion A.                Event Details            There are three objectives for the seminar on Innovation without boundaries.  The main objective is to make profit from the money invested and returns on investment.  The second objective is to ensure that participants gain skills that they can easily implement in the work place.  The third objective is to ensure continued growth of organizations through adaption of latest innovation strategies.            The first objective will be achieved by having 200 plus participants attend the seminar. The second objective will be achieved by the quality of the presentations and interaction by the participants. A measure on the success of the seminar will be evaluated by participants being asked to respond to an evaluation questionnaire at the end of the seminar, Ramsborg et al (eds) (2008),. The success of the third objective will be assessed by the evaluation of the changes implemented in their organizations in a period of six months after the seminar.           The seminar will take place on 25th August 2012. 8.30 am to 5.00pm at Intercontinental Hotel in London.  The target audiences for the seminar are c-level management, middle management, supervisors and all individuals involved in the innovative process in their organizations.  The seminar will give organizations a platform to discuss the strategies they need to adopt for their innovative future. The seminar comes with the realization that every organization need to embrace change and remain abreast of the competition. This is especially important for organizations that operate in more than one country. The seminar on Innovation without boundaries gives these organizations to empower its staff with cutting edge skills to allow innovation in a multicultural environment.      B.                 Screening process To ensure the success of the seminar there are important things that must be put into perspective. This includes the ambience of the venue, information technology support like availability of Wi-Fi connectivity and accessibility to the venue is important. To attract 200 plus participants which is important in achieving the objectives of the seminar it is import to have a speaker with strong credibility. That is a person who has created and implemented innovative strategies across multinational organizations and has earned respect in the field. Strong marketing strategies are implemented to ensure the objectives are met.             The speaker is Jeff DeGraff  a highly sought after speaker and advisor for companies that include 3M, Apple, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, GE, Johnson & Johnson, LG, Pfizer, and Toyota. He is the Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Michigans Ross School of Business, where he co-created the Competing Values school of thought that is taught in leading universities, colleges and business schools throughout the world; the Executive Director of the Innovatrium Institute for Innovation, an idea lab; and the Managing Partner of the Competing Values Company, a top innovation consulting firm.       The venue should also be located in a place where meals will be provided so that the event organizers do not have to look for outside caterers. The tentative budget for seminar was C.                Audience / participants / organizers recognized The seminar organizers have two main target markets. Which are the corporate organizations and nongovernmental organizations operating across different countries as the primary participants for the seminar? A pre-seminar survey using online questionnaire tools such as Survey Monkey, Qualitrics or Zoomerang will be used in order to allow facilitators to identify facts about the audience, such as experience levels, familiarity with the topic and personal goals for attending the seminar. The primary focus during pre event stages will be focused on marketing to this target group and subsequent online registration of participants for the seminar. The primary focus during pre event stages will be focused marketing to the target group and subsequent online registration of participants for the seminar. . The two target markets that have been identified are as follows: 1.                  Corporate organizations – the main target in this market segment are the c-level management, middle managers, supervisors and all the staff in innovative teams. This market segment is important because most of the time they are involved in strong competition hence will be willing to spend resources on innovative strategies. This market segment also includes entrepreneurs and all organization that has plans expanding beyond boundaries. 2.                  Non-governmental organizations- operate across boundaries which make them ideal target market for the seminar. The need of coming up with different strategies to solve challenges facing society as well as raising funds for their projects across culture will make them appreciative for the innovation without boundaries seminar. D.                Time and venue selected / options shown / selection process explained          The event will take place on 25th August 2012. 8.30 am to 5.00pm at Intercontinental Hotel in London.  The date has been selected with two things in mind. The time will allow for proper planning and also because the day falls at the day of the week appropriate for seminars. The venue being at Intercontinental London, the venue was picked after comparing it with other venues like the Dragon hotel that was more expensive than the Intercontinental hotel. it therefore, turned out to be the most appropriate.           The selection of the venue was based on the following criteria; in terms of cost, accessibility, the capacity of seminar rooms to hold 200 plus participants, the technical support, the security and emergency support available. To ensure that cost of organizing is well managed, the venue selected had to meet the needs required at a rate that will ensure that the objectives are met.  The seminar organizers were looking for a venue that would be easily accessible to the participants. The seminar rooms should have Wi-Fi connectivity.           Since the seminar organizers do not want to incur extra cost, the event organizers looked for a venue that would also provide equipments such as microphones and speakers to be used in the event, Ramsborg et al (eds) (2008). The seminar room size was important in time of consideration of selection of the venue with emphasis for a room that would accommodate 200 plus participants. Since the seminar is to take place in London, the event organizers compared different venues within London based on the checklist of the desired venue. E.                 Agenda / planning of content of the event The seminar material will be prepared well in advance. This will be done in collaboration with the speaker and it will include handouts and all seminar materials as advices by the speaker. Schedule of events 8:00 Arrival and registration of participants 8:30 Opening training: Simple steps to make innovation work Jeff DeGraff 9:45 Myths and misconceptions about innovation by Jeff DeGraff 10:45 Tea break 11:00 How to avoid common pitfalls of innovative thinking by Jeff DeGraff 12:15 lunch break 2:00 How to harness existing corporate culture to drive innovation and growth by Jeff DeGraff 3.15 Afternoon break 3.30 Best practices to quickly launch projects to prove creative concepts by Jeff DeGraff 4:40 Trivia Contest. 5:00 End of seminar  F.                  Budget produced G.                Promotional Plan            A successful launch is always accompanied by a tri-media campaign to ensure that the target market is reached. However, due to the limited advertising and promotions budget, it chooses to advertise mainly via radio plugs in local radio stations in London. Repeat exposure via radio advertisements would spark interest among listeners. Among the three mainstream media, radio is considered to be the most cost efficient as it requires the advertiser a fixed advertising cost, yet it allows the product to be continuously stimulating the consciousness of its listeners.            Internet Marketing has become popular because Internet access is becoming more widely available and used. Well over one-third of consumers who have Internet access at home report to using the Internet to make purchases (What is Internet marketing 2004). Moreover, statistics show that Internet users increase at a rapid rate that in five years’ time, it is predicted that 80% of United Kingdom’s population will have a computer with Internet access at home  (Advertising 2007). Since the event organizer’s target market are individuals and groups who, most likely have internet access either at the office or at home, it chooses to primarily utilize internet marketing to promote its products.           The organizers shall create a website that contains pertinent details regarding the seminar. It would contain the pre event activities, building up the interests of the target audience. It would also present the profiles of the speaker. It would also contain materials on the speakers current work.                  Publicity and marketing are the powerful tools to create awareness, build image, motivate, educate and attendance generate. Because of low budget publicity and marketing will mainly be below line marketing. The following strategies will be used to market the event and reach the targeted participants especially the corporate resource departments. The website is a significant use of information by the use of internet. To ensure that this resource is sufficiently used, there will be a website where people can get valuable information and photographs about the seminar and the speakers which will be updated daily by the committee in charge to ensure adequate information is disseminated to the target group.                  The social networks including twitter face book and blogs will also be used to market the seminar and reach the targeted participants for the seminar, Ramsborg et al (eds) (2008). It has been noted that several people use these social networks, it will therefore, also be a useful resource to utilize during the marketing of the seminar. To add on these banner ads will also be adopted. This involves banner advertisements for different internet websites being purchased such that These our ad ‘pops’ when specific pages appear on the screen.   Direct mails and printed materials like brochures or invitations will be mailed directly to different homes and to different individuals. Bulk mails will be sent at once to the people who will be identified and have their email addresses on our databases. This will be employed since it is cost effective and also easy to reach different people at once. Finally, banners will also be placed in strategic places to ensure that the target audience is reached. The use of industrial publications will also be used to get the target audience.   I. Health and safety and risk assessment conducted     Webster’s defines security as a feeling of safety and contentment. As stated before, individuals will have been noted about all the safety precautions to take in case of any catastrophe. To add on this the hotel personnel will provide for a security person around the building, to ensure everyone is safe and comfortable ready to learn.  The participants will be protected against two major risks potential including, overall security at the exhibition. This includes guarding the parking areas, reception and halls, Tassiopoulos, D & Damster, G. (1994).. During the course of the exhibition, regular checks to ensure that the work is being carried out by the security personnel will be done. The security of the individual participants will be done by the participants themselves to ensure that all their personal effects are safe. This will be made clear to them at the beginning of the session. In addition to this, the security personnel will also be involved in maintaining the security of the participants. During the booking of the venue, it will be necessary to ensure that all the required fire protection devices are in place. The venue also has a telephone number for the nearest fire brigade, and the evacuation procedures including, raise a fire alarm, stop work immediately, walk calmly to the nearest exit and remember to close the door behind you avoiding taking lifts and finally, follow your evacuation route and proceed to the designated assembly area and have your attendance taken.              J. Closing down of the event summarized            The event will start at 8.30am and end at 5.00pm. The event will take place at Intercontinental Hotel, London. All the staff and the organizing committee will arrive at the venue by 7.30 am to ensure that all audio-visual equipments have properly set up. Set up the registration desk where name tags and seminar materials will be provided. The seminar room is well prepared, all seminar materials are in place. This will be after all the necessary materials had been dropped at the venue the previous evening. The first bunch of seminar attendants will be expected at the seminar venue at 8.30 am where they will meet with someone to show them direction and assist with necessary registration. Refreshments and lunch will be provided during the seminar. The seminar is expected to end at 5.00 pm but attendants will have time bond and network at the end of the session. Constant communication with the speaker Jeff DeGraff will be maintained. All the participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires in order to carry out a survey on how much they were able to learn. The sponsors of the seminar were will be recognized for the work well done to enable the financing of the event and the smooth coordination and support that they provided to ensure that the program was run smoothly. Their efforts to ensuring that the event was successful and that there were no hindrances during its planning and implementation process. The organizers of the seminar including the staff will be recognized for the fact that they were also the key players in the implementation of the idea and to ensure all the organization including marketing and publicity, inviting a speaker, organizing for an appropriate venue and ensuring that all the materials and requirements needed were put in place at an appropriate time that enabled the event to be successfully carried out. Their efforts in carrying out different researches to fill the knowledge gap and ensure that people get more knowledge in different aspects that affect the human kind during their day to day interactions. The participants will be appreciated in making the day a success. Their participation in the seminar had a great impact to ensuring that the event was successful. They were appreciated and urged to put in practice what they had learned and also to ensure that they pass the knowledge to their colleagues and friends who were not able to attend the meeting. Their contributions were of great impact.             Reflection on the planning process Conclusion              In event planning, several processes are involved. To start with, one has to have an idea, research about it while brainstorming with others in order to get the best topic to plan about. The objectives of the event must be well thought out. While planning for the event one must ensure that the purpose of the special event is important enough to merit the time and expense needed to properly stage, publicize and evaluate the event. It is also important to ensure that a careful match of the type of event that is selected to the purpose that it serves and also your target group, their needs, level of knowledge and also capabilities are well researched. To add on this, one should be able to identify the sponsors of the event and how to persuade and convince them to finance the event showing them clearly how they will benefit from it.             Finding the venue to hold the event is also another critical aspect that one must consider. A good venue should be appropriate in terms of cost, accessibility, the technical support, the security and emergency support available, Tassiopoulos, D & Damster, G. (1994).. It should be able to accommodate all the participants and take care of their needs. The venue should also provide safety for the participants by providing all the necessities in terms of health and security. Necessary precautions should be taken and emergencies taken care of. Participants should be cautioned on the areas that should be avoided at the venue. Proper sanitation, provision of water and adequate and healthy catering services should be provided.             The speaker of the day should have a vast knowledge and ideas in the topic being handled to enable the participants to have an easier understanding of the topic and be able to answer the questions forwarded. Proper planning therefore is the essential part in ensuring that an event is successful and the objectives are met.     REFERENCES Bowdin et al (2010). Events Management. New York: Sage   Goldblatt  (2003). Twenty-First Century Global Event Management. Chicago: Wiley Kilkenny, S. (1994).The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning. New York: Sage Shone, A & Parry, B. (2001).Successful Event Management: A Practical Handbook. London: Kims Publications. Ramsborg et al (eds) (2008), Professional meeting management: Comprehensive strategies for meetings, conventions and events, , 5th ed,. Iowa: Hunt Publishing     Tassiopoulos, D & Damster, G. (1994).Event Management: A Professional And Developmental Approach. Chicago: willey publications. Reply Forward Read More