Event Planning

By: Raelle Cunningham

The Walton Group Inc. collaborated with the city of Provo to host a kickoff event for Frontier airlines “Provo to Denver Inaugural Flight”. The event was great and went so smoothly and got me thinking we need to share a “how to” host a successful PR event.

So many students going into PR think planning event is fun and easy but they obviously have not done it very often. An event takes so many hours of planning and preparation and something always seem to go wrong. There is never the “Perfect” event.

TO-DO LIST

The first thing to do when planning an event is to make a to-do list for the event and refer to it often. Use an Excel spreadsheet to keep a detailed list of everything being done and make sure everyone involved keeps it updated. You do not want to waste time having multiple people doing the same task because they did not know it was handled.

Appoint one person to be in charge and to follow up. When multiple people think they are in charge it makes planning the event difficult.

For example on the Provo Flight event we were working with the city of Provo and there was a lot of uncertainty on who was doing what task. Lists were coming and going; details were getting jumbled. In the end everything was great and Provo City was wonderful to work with.

Make one list with specific duties for each person working on the project and have them report back to the “team lead.”
Example checklist:

Basic info

• Who
• What
• When
• Where

Needs

• Table and chairs
• Name tags
• Food
• Security
• Volunteers
• Audio Visual

Publicity

• Advertising
• Fliers
• Speakers Bureau

Guests

Emergency Plan

COMMUNICATION

Keep the communication lines open. Make sure directions are clear and do not be afraid to ask if you do not understand or forget. Communication is so important.

PURPOSE

The event you are planning needs to have a purpose. If there is no clear reason for the event it will not be successful. Holding a press conference for the opening of a new business is not always the best solution. Instead host a charity basketball game or blood drive.

Ask yourself
• Why would people want to come?
• How does this event benefit the community?
• What makes it news worthy?