About This Website | Observations About PR | Miyamoto's Wisdom
Book Reviews | Miyamoto's PR Career
Get Inside Miyamoto's Diamond Head
Sign the Strategic PR Guestbook
View the Strategic PR Guestbook
Get your own Free Home PageSpecial events have always been . . . well, special to me. Ever since taking a "Water Week" bus tour on my first day as deputy public relations director of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, I have found no other public relations tactic/initiative that captures your imagination, stirs up your blood, gets more people involved, excites the public, causes you more headaches, drains your energy, brings tears to your eyes, makes blisters bloom, and just plain satisfies, more than special events.
The genre is unique. Part of what you do is a holdover from great events of history, from Biblical times to the American Revolution, from the days of P.T. Barnum's press agentry to Woodstock II -- full of showmanship and hype, while serving as a serious and effective means of communication.
Whether you're planning a booth at a food exhibition, an annual dinner for your stockholders, a college career day, a county fair, a groundbreaking ceremony, a conference, a Farm Aid concert, a MADD March Across America, National Save Your Vision Week, a centennial celebration, a Better Sleep Month, an exhibit of Egyptian artifacts, or an academic symposium, you are faced with the challenge of pulling together a talented melange of suppliers, free-lancers, company employees, and temps, into a team that operates like the delicate innards of a fine Swiss watch.
In the pages that follow, we will discuss a special event commonly produced by public relations professionals -- an annual employee dinner -- suggesting step-by-step procedures that should see you through the event. You can apply the procedures and principles discussed -- with modifications -- to any other special event.
You've just stepped out of the boss' office. It's only your third day on the job and you've just been put in charge of the annual employee dinner. You've never done anything like this before. Your arms are weak. You're wheezing. You're feverish, but you're breaking out in a cold sweat. You're beginning to hyperventilate. You are definitely in trouble. Where do you start? Who do you call? How to you get from point A (today) to point Z (the day after the dinner)?
The scenario is not unusual. So where do you begin? Begin at the beginning. Break the project down into manageable parts. Think back to what you've learned. You can almost hear the words that have been ingrained in your head since Day 1 of Public Relations 101: "The four steps in the public relations process are research, planning, communication tactics, and evaluation."
It's the magic formula. You can use it for whatever project, whatever activity you're dealt in life. However, let's make a few changes: "The four steps in the SPECIAL EVENT PROCESS are research, planning, event execution, and evaluation."
It's what will get you through this monstrous undertaking. So go ahead. Get to work.
The four steps in the special event process are RESEARCH, planning, event execution, and evaluation.
Let's assume that today is January 1. The first thing you need to do is find out what's been done in the past. You need to find out if there any employee dinner traditions that are now part of the company culture. You ask around and learn that your annual dinner is usually held in the month of July -- about the third week or so, after the end of your company's fiscal year (June 30). The event usually is held on a Saturday night and your employees apparently look forward to sharing the weekend night bonding with their fellow employees and their families.
The evening usually starts off with a cocktail reception where the company executives mix and mingle with the employees' families. There's always some background music going on -- you know, for the atmosphere. Then, everyone goes into the big banquet hall for a sumptuous dinner that costs the company an arm and a leg.
Dinner is followed by the women going to the powder room in small groups, and the men loosening their belt buckles and leaning back in their chairs to await the entertainment, which has ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous from year to year -- from famous pop singers to cross-dressed employees, from rock bands to hula troupes. And of course, there are the obligatory speeches by the company bigwigs.
Dress is usually informal, but occasionally, depending on where the dinner is held, employees have been asked to wear semi-formal attire.
You may not realize it, but you are already well into your research process if you've uncovered this much information so far.
So, just for the sake of this exercise, let's say that the boss has asked you for some preliminary ideas by January 7. It's Now January 3. You've talked to some employees (especially those who've been with the company a long time, and especially the secretaries, for after all, we know who runs the company, don't we), and some of the executives, and have a pretty good idea of what was done in the past. You've asked for suggestions and are feeling a little better.
You arrange to see the president on January 7, and lo and behold, when you get to the boss' office, you see three executive vice- presidents, two vice-presidents, and six department heads sitting there waiting for you. Your arms are weak. You're wheezing. You're feverish . . . You present your preliminary ideas. It doesn't matter what they are. We're talking high-level committee here. Nothing you present is going to survive in its original condition.
We fast-forward to January 14 for two very important reasons: (1) This may sound sarcastic, but it's going to take at least a week for everybody to come to an agreement on anything, and (2) it is a fact of life that you have a lot of other things to do. But at last, there is agreement. The big bosses feel that July 22 would be perfect. They've given you a mandate. July 22 it is. They also agreed that they want an elegant -- yet informal - - sit-down dinner, pre-dinner cocktails with "classy musical accompaniment," employee entertainment, and a few speeches. No, make that only one speech -- by the 70-year-old founder of the company. There will be about 500 people attending.
You sit in front of your computer. Whoop-dee-doo. You've waited a week for this? You take off your glasses and rub the bridge of your nose, slowly shaking your head from side to side. Executive committees should be banned from the face of the earth.
Okay. Don't despair. In a way, the rules of special events are like the rules of Monopoly. If it isn't prohibited, you can do it (within reason, of course). This apparent lack of executive guidance can only mean one thing. Even though they ripped your original thoughts to shreds, they apparently have decided to trust in your judgement.
The important thing is that you now have a vision of what the function will be. Vision is an intangible. In your mind's eye, you must be able to visualize everything that will make the event a hit. Leonard Maltz called it psycho-cybernetics -- visualizing success -- and authored a book by the same name. Once you have this vision, you can articulate it to the people on your team. No one can be a leader without a vision.
The four steps in the special event process are research, PLANNING, event execution, and evaluation.
Where to begin? The best way to start is to answer the questions posed by the journalist's five Ws +1 -- "Who, what, when, where, why and how?" You've already answered the "Who?" and "When?" questions, and have a good understanding of the "What?" and "Why?" thanks to your research and executive committee meetings. So, if you want to rationalize, you could say that you're more than halfway there, having answered four of the six questions.
"Where?" also is easily determined. There are only so many banquet facilites that can handle your function. Since your company bigwigs want "elegant," your choices are considerably narrowed to a few first-class hotels.
The first thing you need to do is contact a number of hotels (try for a minimum of three). Which hotels? Rely on your experience, talk to the employees, talk to your family, talk to your friends. A good reference is the American Automobile Association's (AAA) TourBook for your area, which rates hotels and their facilities.
Select three possible hotels, and call their catering managers. Tell them the date you're looking for. If they can accommodate you on that date, make a tentative reservation. Arrange a meeting with each catering manager to discuss in general what you are looking for in the way of facilities, menu, and ancillary services. Ask if you can do a walk-through of the banquet facilities.
Asking for references generally is unnecessary. Earning AAA recommendations and hotel reputations are the result of decades of excellent service. However, you might ask what other groups similar to yours have recently had similar functions there. Then, to make you feel more comfortable, you might call the other groups and talk with the person in charge of their function.
Each catering manager will probably supply you with a catering menu pricelist and guidelines to help. Don't be afraid ask if there's anything you don't understand -- especially their policies regarding the bar, tips (service charge), deadline(s) for guest count, the leeway they'll give you on your guest count (usually � 10%), parking arrangements, set-up time, and deposit and payment policies. You don't want to be surprised anywhere down the line.
Go back to the office, put together a memo recommending the hotel you like the best, and push for a quick and speedy approval. Once you've gotten it, call the catering manager of the selected hotel and firm up your reservation. Call the other catering managers, give them the news tactfully, and release the tentative hold on the date.
You've answered the "Where?" question. The only thing left is "How?" -- the actual details.
Oh, great. The details are the only thing left? All of a sudden, you're feeling overwhelmed again. After all, you've still got your regular duties to take care of. How can you possibly put this entire event together by yourself?
Relax. You're not alone unless you want to be. For one thing, there's at least one other person on your team -- the hotel catering manager, who will do everything in her power to help you.
Visit her again to discuss the room layout -- risers for the stage, whether to use long tables or rounds, color of napery (i.e., table cloths, napkins), registration table, lighting, piped-in music when the entertainers are taking their breaks, all that stuff. Ask for the catering manager's advice. You should have asked out about additional charges at your first meeting.
And, remember that you've got the power of the executive committee behind you. You can recruit a few fellow employees, and you also will be adding more team members as the project progresses. But for now, figure out what you still have to do.
In Part 2, we'll talk about assembling your project team, and tending to the myriad details that will make your special event a winner.
Sign the Strategic PR Guestbook
View the Strategic PR Guestbook
Get your own Free Home Page