Ten Commandments for Hosting Outdoor Events

Some thoughts on how to make the most of your outdoor corporate event, concert, or promotion…from someone who’s done over 500.

1. “Honor Thy Weather.” There is no better marketing for an outdoor event than “sunshine and 70 degrees,” and if it’s cold and/or raining, there’s nothing you can do to save it, either. So make sure you respect the calendar and the typical weather for that time of year. You can hedge your bet by purchasing rain insurance. This really only comes in handy if you’re trying to sell tickets or product, otherwise the risk (just your expenses, not lost revenue) probably isn’t worth the potential reward.

2. “Let My People Know.” Depending on the type of event, be sure you have a lot of advertising lead-time. I’ve seen many events that should have succeeded fail, because the planning for the event was on a too-short timeline. Concerts and festivals need at least six weeks lead time. Store promotions/sales need at least two weeks.

3. “Thou Shall Steal.”  Steal ideas off of the internet. Look for that idea or “hook” that will get people there or give them a great impression. There’s simply no better “take-away” you can give your customers than a surprisingly-good experience. In other words, give them something special they didn’t expect, and not only will you have met your goal with them, but they will tell a dozen other people, too.

4. “Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Event.” Stealing is acceptable, but not locally. Taking even a single element from another local company’s promotion will get them talking about you in a bad way. Minor league baseball in this country has flourished…not because they tried to be Major League Baseball, but because they created their own unique experience that proved its value to fans. Show value to your customers through your own creativity.

5. “Thou Shall Not Bear False Advertising To Your Customers.” Planning any big sale or promotion is a very-detailed process, and the best laid plans often go awry. Always remember (no matter how costly or inconvenient it may turn out) that if you advertised that “Willie the Clown will be here from 2-4 pm,” then Willie had better be there from 2-4. Not “Joe the Two-Bit Clown,” and not “just from 2-3pm.” If you bring people to your event and let them down…you’ll pay for it, for months. Never under deliver.

6. “Thy Staff Shall Have No Other Events Before Yours.” Big sales, promotions, and events frequently happen on weekends, or at night. Want to make sure your customer experience is a big “FAIL?” Understaff your event.

7. “Respect Thy Customer’s Time.” While planning your event, decide a reasonable amount of time for your customers to be there. If it’s an hour, be sure to give them more than an hour’s worth of entertainment/food/things to see. If it’s 10 minutes, you better pack a wallop in those 10 minutes. Over deliver.

8. “Honor Thy Mother.” I did marketing for baseball teams for almost 10 years. It would have been logical to direct most of our marketing toward guys who were baseball fans, right? Wrong. Know who you need to market to? Mom. If you can get Mom to your event, everybody is coming. (There are some exceptions to this, but I can’t think of any? Okay…maybe if you’re Hooters.)

9. “Remember Thy Details.” Your planning will be all about the sale, the entertainment, etc..and by the event day you’ll have that pretty well figured out because you’ve talked about it for weeks. Know what you didn’t talk much about? Bathrooms. Garbages. Security. And how are you going to get power out to the parking lot?

10. “Thou Shall Have Fun, Or Else.” You’re doing something different, getting your staff and customers out of their comfort zone. Don’t forget it’s supposed to be fun! And informal! So relax your dress code, relax your rules, and relax your staff. Your customers will notice immediately if your staff isn’t happy to be there.