Regardless of how dedicated you are to your event, the unthinkable can take place. No one ever wants to consider the thought of ‘what if’, but if you can think it and it’s realistic, it could happen.  

Having a back-up or ‘plan B’ is not only limited to the actual event itself. It can be for the minutes, receipts, or even the likes of contracts that need to be duplicated and saved somewhere safe.  If things go sour with any of these, you could find yourself in a very unpleasant situation. 
 
media update’s Nakedi Phala takes you through four back-up strategies that you can consider in your next event marketing campaign. 

Here are four strategies that you need in place when setting up a plan B: 

1. Back-up your event’s documents 

When you are putting an event together, you will need to record all the information about the venue, theme, date, audience reviews and other relevant information. For hard-copy documents, such as invoices, scan and save them as PDF files or make photocopies of the original receipts and keep them in a safe place. 

For digital data, such event logos or burner designs, it’s not enough to just save them on a computer, laptop or memory stick as these destinations aren’t that safe; they could be misplaced, reformatted or stolen. Rather, back-up your digital items on DropboxBusiness, Google Drive or Online Cloud BackUp. The best thing about these online storage platforms is that they are accessible from anywhere, at any time. 

Let’s suppose that you’re presenting to a co-partner for the event and you forgot your laptop at your workplace. You can simply ask to use their computer to access your data. That way, you don’t have to worry about postponing the meeting or having to drive all the way back to your office. 

2. Have a back-up of media practitioners 

Inviting journalists to cover your event is a good thing, as it will give you earned media coverage. But what if they didn’t RSVP or don’t pitch up on the day of the event? 

When sending out the invites, try to keep it open for another journalist to attend on behalf of his or her colleague. Remember, you want media coverage — so keep your options open. 

You discover that you don’t have enough journalists covering the event while it is taking place. What do you do?  Well, consider these options:
  • Contact freelance media practitioners.
  • Contact industry vloggers and bloggers. 
  • Check your contact list for intern media practitioners — they are most likely to cover the event as they are still looking to groom their reputation and grow their byline status. 
At the end of the day, media practitioners are human. On the day of your event, some will wake up feeling unwell, so you need to have a plan in place or some options available if you are running short of earned media coverage. 

3. Back-up your logistics and assets

If you have opted to hire event equipment, such as stage and lights and sound, request for the equipment to be delivered a day before or at least a few hours prior to the event.

The advantages of setting up early include: 
  • If you are hosting a concert, artists are able to prepare 
  • Everyone partaking in the event is more organised
  • You are able to notice missing equipment 
Assets, such as vehicles, can break down anytime and you definitely don’t want that happening while your driver is on their way to pick up your special guest. But what if the unfortunate happens? Well, nowadays, there are ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Taxify. These apps even have an option for hailing luxurious rides so your guests will still be driven in class and feel important.

For advertising and promoting your event, at least 70% of your billboards must be vinyl and 30% must be digital billboards. Why? Power outages affect your advert and sun reflection can illuminate your ad billboard. Have extra microphones, extension cords, bulbs and also petty cash, which will come in handy for any unpleasant surprises that might hinder your event.   

4. Have internal staff on call for the event

The more staff present at the event,  the better. But sometimes, you might need extra people to help, such as more brand representatives, more ushers or more PR.

Before the event, have extra staff on call in case of an unforeseen emergency. To avoid individuals taking strain, you can allow for key players to have their assistants do the following: 
  • The PR manager can have their junior PR tag along to help with answering questions from journalists. 
  • The marketing manager can have their assistant help with monitoring the success of the event.
  • The office administrator for the day can assure that caters and service providers deliver excellent service on the day. 
Which avenues do you take when faced with an inconvenience when putting together an event? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Weshu... oratile ditaba tjarena akere na? Refe maikutlo agago. 

Now that you’ve learnt ways a plan B can be of good help, read on Three reasons why a co-branding partnership bears great results
 *Image courtesy of Crosswalk