How to Plan a Media-Worthy Ribbon Cutting

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A grand opening isn’t just an event – it’s a marketing tool. Timeless traditions include giant scissors, red ribbon, and a guest list full of photographers and journalists.

In order to receive the best coverage of your ribbon cutting, and ultimately the best ROI, you’ll need the media’s help. Despite what it seems like, giant scissors don’t make the media just appear. Planning the event to be media-worthy is one part, getting them there is another.

A Strong Invitation

Like any good marketing campaign, start with the end result and work backwards. Where would you like to see a photo of your event? What priority publics are you trying to reach? Consider which publications would provide you with the most effective coverage. Also consider which publications are likely to cover new business development (grand openings, grand re-openings, expansions), such as business or association journals.

Media outlets are receiving hundreds of requests, invitations, and pitches daily. Aside from the fact that traditional press releases are on their death bed, the lack of personalization won’t get your media-worthy event the attention it needs. To make the invite meaningful and distinctive, use personalized media invitations or make individual phone calls. This method might not be efficient for an entire list, but is good for reporters who specifically cover your industry.

A Wow Factor

A grand opening symbolizes new and exciting things to come. However, attending a ribbon cutting isn’t exactly new or exciting to a journalist. Breaking that mold won’t seem easy, but it’s possible. (Trust us, we’ve done it). You got them on board with a strategic invitation, now make them glad they didn’t miss it.

Incorporating creative elements is not only a good way to brand, but also to create photo opportunities. Photographers, editors, and readers will all appreciate a break from the giant-scissors-in-mid-cut pose. With that being said, the perfect shot doesn’t just happen. Plan in advance who needs to be in it, what it needs to look like, and where exactly it will take place.

Whether it’s a logo that needs to be visible, or board members that need to stand in the front row, plan a shot that will get everything you’re looking for. Even if it means taking multiple photos.

There are plenty of ways to take ribbon cutting traditions and add a brand-oriented spin. Print a logo on your scissors or ribbon. Or better yet, ditch the scissors and use a company product to break through the ribbon. Incorporate whatever your ideal creative element is, and let the photographers do the rest.

The Follow Up

Arguably the most important part of planning an event is measuring its success. Take note of the attendance of the media outlets you invited. Have a designated media check-in so you can keep track of specific names and titles, as they might vary slightly from specific people who you invited. This gives a better idea of who to follow up with, as well as which publications to monitor for mentions.

For the ones who didn’t attend, send out a detailed recap of the ribbon cutting along with photos. For those who did, sending out personalized thank you notes will also help to foster those relationships for your events in the future.

Business Anniversaries – Celebrate Smarter

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When planning business anniversaries, you should ask yourself: Why are we having this party?

Realistically, you can’t spend company funds on an event just for the sake of celebration. The event has to have another driver, a strategic business goal. This could be a thank-you to clients, a way of bonding with your community, a motivator for employees – in other words, you need to identify the stakeholders you want to reach, and figure out what you want the event to accomplish within that audience. That objective drives everything else. Be strategic – AND celebrate!

Five Tips for Successful Events to Celebrate Business Anniversaries:

  • Know that it’s not just about you – people don’t want to attend a business event that is all about the company history (exceptions can be made for companies 100 years old or above), which usually means a long, boring speech from the CEO.  Reinforce your brand, and acknowledge the past and future, in innovative ways.  Utilize multimedia, staging, even food to make it an event to remember (in a good way).
  • Put it in the budget. No matter the objective, well-planned business anniversaries cost money.
  • The higher the anniversary number, the longer it takes to plan. In our experience if you’re celebrating an anniversary of 75 years or more, you’ll need a full year to plan.
  • Don’t have your top executives “pop in” – have VP/C level executives accessible for networking throughout the event. These are the people who most directly represent your company – its values, its future – leverage them!
  • Employee-focused events shouldn’t be an afterthought or half-hearted. That will just hurt morale. Go all out!  Recognize the importance of your people, make them feel invested in and truly honored.

Top 3 Ways to Secure Corporate Sponsors for Your Event (and Next Year’s Too)

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Corporate Sponsors:  How to make your event the one that stands out.

When looking for corporate sponsors, chances are the companies you’re asking are getting requests from every other event organizer in town! Here are our top 3 tips for designing an event sponsorship that gets selected over all the others:

1. Customize each sponsorship to the company being solicited.

Do your homework – what are the hot initiatives at that company?

  • Tailor opportunities to sponsors’ needs – be strategic and create event packages that are suited to each sponsor, and create opportunities that are of value to the individual corporations.
  • Some companies may be looking for brand awareness whereas others may be seeking opportunities to test their products. Therefore, find out what they want and need, then create your proposal. Don’t assume you know what they want.
  • Be specific about their benefits – Tell the company exactly what they will be getting in return for their event sponsorship. What benefit are you providing them that no one else is/can? A logo on a screen and a table at the event isn’t enough.

2. Deliver what you promised, before and during the event.

  • Don’t over-promise attendee counts. Be honest. Have more names on the list than you have opportunities.
  • Not everyone says yes. Often you will have to arrange a lot of logistics and fulfillment pieces for sponsors.
  • Dedicate someone to manage those relationships and pull together their logistics in a timely and friendly manner. Event Sponsorship is a business transaction, not a donation. 

3. Track your data. Companies want ROI (return on investment).

  • Do pre-event and post-event surveys asking specific questions about sponsors. Know the demographics and psychographics of attendees and why that would be important to a company.
  • Ask the sponsor how they determine success and figure out how to measure that.
  • Bonus tip – Don’t just dump them after an event. Solicit feedback, thank them, and court them so they want to play again next year. Remember, the devil’s in the details: generic, form letter thank you notes are a terrible idea. Take the time to customize!

How to Use Pinterest for Events

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Pinterest: A Great Way Source of Inspiration

So you’re charged with planning an event and you are drawing a blank on the overall vibe, color scheme, décor and other visual logistics. Maybe you just wrapped up an event and would love for your clients and attendees to see the highlighted photos. Pinterest to the rescue!

Pinterest is a very useful visual discovery tool that can help you get unstuck in planning, feature past events and much more. It offers the wonderful ability to scroll through millions of images for inspiration or upload your own. You, along with the over 70 million other Pinterest users can create boards by “pinning” images and can then share your ideas with others.

7 great ways to use Pinterest for your events

  1. Follow key influencers and visit often to fuel new inspiration and ideas.
  1. Create boards for each piece of the event to help with conceptualization and planning your event. For instance, dedicate one board to décor, another place settings, another lighting, favors, etc. You can then share these pins with others directly from Pinterest or keep the boards private. Keep in mind if you’d like the board to be private, choose this option when creating the board as existing items may have already been re-pinned from your board!
  1. You can use boards to showcase and promote your event. For instance, you could have a board specifically focused on your event’s speakers. You can link photos to a corresponding website for more information.
  1. By posting photos from events that recently took place, clients and others can see snapshots from the event and what a success it was and share with others, increasing the viral effect.
  1. Posting photos from last year’s event can create and build excitement for this year’s and give prospective attendees an idea of what to look forward to.
  1. Looking to provide sponsors extra value? Create a board reflecting their products and services.
  1. The destination is often the focal point of an event. You can create boards to showcase specific things to do and see in your host city. This can be a great way to build excitement and promote an event in a unique way.

Invites Matter: What Makes a Compelling Invitation

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Throughout history, invitations have always represented the host. Originally they were hand-written to show literacy. Today, wedding invitations showcase a couple’s personality. But when it comes to corporate events, many organizations fail to utilize the invitation as an opportunity to showcase its brand.

Invitations market two things – the event and the organization. Companies spend a lot of money hiring marketing agencies and designing pretty brochures but then make invitations an afterthought; an irony considering more people will see the invitation than the event itself. No one wants to attend an event that looks boring based on the invitation. They still might attend, but it becomes a complained about obligation – not the kind of buzz that was intended. Spending money on an event that no one wants to attend doesn’t provide the best return on investment.

What makes for a compelling invitation?

  • It can’t, in any way, be mistaken for junk mail.
  • Its size, shape, or color needs to stand out.
  • No metered or bulk rate stamps.
  • Hand written or typed addresses are preferable to mailing labels.
  • Limit logo soup (large numbers of sponsor logos).

Many people think electronic invitations are appropriate, and for some events like association meetings they are perfect. Evites are considerably less expense. They also provide great data like the ability to be able to track metrics – how many received, opened, forwarded. Unfortunately, they lack the “this event is special” appeal and more are more likely to be ignored. There is no reason to discount electronic communication – just use it for save the dates and reminders, not inviting.

5 Free Ways to Market Your Next Event

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Events don’t always come with the luxury of a large marketing budget. If that describes your event, here is a list of some ways that you can quickly and easily market the event without spending a penny.

  • Create a Facebook event page

This is an easy way to publicize your event to all your followers, who can in turn share with all their friends. Guests can comment about the event, creating even more hype.

  • Posting on your local community calendar

This may often get overlooked, however we have found it’s a great source. It’s easily searchable and all the major events are posted there.

  • Ask for an interview spot on local television station

It’s worth a shot and many times local news stations are looking for hot happenings in the city.

  • Tweet about the event on Twitter

Twitter has such a huge following that posting your event instantly reaches millions. Also, keep updating your followers as the planning continues as to what they can expect, such as an interactive photo booth or a great new band. This keeps people intrigued and urges them to spread the word.

  • Include it in your email signature

This is a unique way to quickly get the event out there; I mean think how many emails you send a day. People can’t help but see it!

Invites At First Sight

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At first sightThe excitement for your event starts with your first touch-point – your invitation. Don’t rush! It is better to move the event date than to rush your invitations.

Let’s say this is the first time your company is putting together a big event. You have set the date, are entrenched in the details, and it is time to consider your invitations. Do you buy a template and print in-house? Invest in a graphic designer? Do you hire a printing company who has graphic design capabilities?

Think about your invitees – how many invitations do they regularly receive? What do those invitations look like? Are they physical or electronic? How are you going to make your invitation stand out? How are you going to give them a reason to attend your event? Will your invitation make it past the receptionist’s desk? A standout, creative, well-planned invitation can be a key element to ensuring attendance.

At First SightIf you do not believe your invitations will stand out, neither will your guests. Take the time to step back, re-create, brainstorm, or re-design your invitation. Every touch point leading up to an event is critical to the guest experience. Although the event world is a lot of behind the scenes work, you need to be highly sensitive to the elements that do reach your invitees. At first sight, guests should feel that excitement in anticipating your big event.

Corporate America: Change Your World, One Event at a Time.

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How can corporate events play a role in this new economy?

Whether you are re-branding, re-locating, or launching a new product, a well-executed event can bring life to your endeavor. If your strategic direction includes becoming a knowledge source in your industry, contemplate an educational conference or full-day seminar to shine a spotlight on your company. If your objective includes employee appreciation consider taking your staff off-site for a day whether it be for meetings, team building, or a combination. Step away from your traditional awards luncheon and spice it up with some creative ways to appreciate your top performers. Contemplate non-traditional meeting venues such as tourist destinations in your city. Offer more than just a lunch, perhaps an opportunity to tour a museum, gardens, or winery.

With reduced budgets, how can organizations accomplish corporate events?

Regarding new initiatives or becoming a knowledge source, consider new partnerships or strategic alliances with companies looking to accomplish similar goals. Working together to produce an event can allow for greater exposure to potential customers as well as larger production budgets. When looking at interesting off-site locations more often than not entrance fees are waived for the group so there will be no additional costs and your employees will feel very appreciated!