EVENTS
How can this impact your financials ? Event budgets have forever shifted in my opinion — from the amount you ’ ve been allocated to spend , to the support from partnerships you might receive , through to the expectation that content can be available online , especially as an alternative to an in-person option . Those that want to be face-to-face expect that to be an offering , while those who might not be able to travel or get impacted by border closures also have an expectation that they won ’ t miss out on content . So , you need to start planning to cater for both . While it ’ s fantastic to have a two-way tech set up for your event , you can reduce the costs and greatly improve the quality of the output if you have control over the content going out from the hub location . That also places less pressure and expense on each of your spoke satellite locations .
We ran an event at the end of last year with very minimal tech requirements in the satellite locations — no AV support required . They just needed to go to a website and open the stream , just like watching a YouTube video . This style of broadcast also allows for the perfect blend of live elements and pre-recorded videos slotted seamlessly together .
Zoom absolutely has its place but consider a studio that you can create a dynamic stage set , or look at a venue that can host your VIPs that need to go onto the live broadcast , either from in the room or a studio space at the same venue . Your options are varied so spend time speaking with the experts .
“ Every event that we have been part of has received such positive feedback because people are craving that human interaction again ”
Alison Jack , Director of Admire Events
covered , too . So , if you had to shut down part of your event , you can still get this content to people no matter where they are located .
As an example , we have done an Awards Night where the in-person event numbers in the spoke satellite locations were limited ( only the finalist and one partner attended ). However , the event was simultaneously streamed to Facebook as well . The original intention was so that family and friends of the finalists could watch on live but if any of our spoke events had to shut down , we already had a back up for them to see the content live from home .
While we ’ ve covered the logistical benefits of the Hub and Spoke model , the biggest winner is seeing people come together face-to-face again . Every event that we have been part of has received such positive feedback because people are craving that human interaction again . A Hub and Spoke model , while the spoke might be smaller than your original event format , allows something to go ahead in person rather having to cancel your entire event .
Where can I run this style of event ? This can be done internationally , interstate , intrastate or even just multiple locations within the same city ! The location is going to be really unique to you , your style of event and what you are looking to achieve . Consider your event partners when thinking about locations .
Do you have a partner or sponsor for the event that is a national organisation and who would love the opportunity to have a presence in multiple intimate locations ? Could you use an event manager that has connections in multiple states and locations that you could partner with to make your planning easier ?
For your hub location think about where you can be best supported with your tech . This might vary if you need to have some people presenting live to the broadcast , or whether you ’ ll do a combination of pre-recorded and live . You can even have the broadcast coming from a studio that doesn ’ t have anyone physically attending as an “ event ” as such , it becomes a tech hub pushing the content out to your face-to-face locations .
For your satellite locations , give some consideration to how you can create both unique location specific aspects and elements of consistency that tie the broader event together .
For example , we had the same printed ‘ Dinner Program ’ and chocolate gift boxes across all locations for an event , while the in-person speeches incorporated local dignitaries and acknowledgements before watching the broadcast from the hub . These aspects help to create an atmosphere in each location that feels like part of something bigger . A client of ours described the satellite spoke locations perfectly as “ a party within a party ”. S
Alison Jack Director of Admire Events https :// admireevents . com . au
Summer Issue 2021 | Executive PA 31