History, Importance & Current Status of Events Events Cycle Initiation and Preparation of Events Marketing Tools for events Future Trends

1. December 16, 2014
MUBS, Hamra
Beirut, Lebanon
Prepared by Mario Kanaan
Project Manager
Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal

2. History, Importance & Current Status
Events Cycle
10 ingredients to prepare and initiate an event
9 marketing strategies to promote an event
Future Trends

3. Events industry can be traced back to Europe and North-America
The first events took place in universities where there was the need
to share information in academic circles
This created the need for larger event spaces
Officially, 1896 is the year when the events industry came into
light with a group of businessmen from Detroit, Michigan who invited
large meetings to be held in their town.

4. At the beginning of the
20th century new types of
events emerged

5. Types of Events
Annual General
Meetings
Board Meetings
Breakout Session
Business Dinners and
Banquets
Conferences
Colloquium
Conclave
Congress
Consumer Shows
Conventions
Exhibitions
Expo or Expositions
Fairs
Functions
Fundraisers
Galas
"Green" Meetings
International Events
Meetups
Networking Events
Party
Plenary or General
Sessions
Political Events
Press Conferences
Product Launch
Events
Receptions
Retreats and Team
Building Events
Seminars
Shareholder’s
Meetings
Social Events
Symposiums
Trade Shows
Workshops

6. The events sector went through some very trying
times.
Despite the turbulent environment, events have
proven their worth and are here to stay.
The events industry makes a significant contribution to
the country and is a big economic driver.

7. Importance of Events
Myanmar ex:

8. What did this event CHANGE?
Enabled Trade Initiative
Created efficient and sustainable healthcare in East Asia
Improved Mining and Infrastructure
Achieved the New Vision for Agriculture
Built Peace in Myanmar
Built the Investment and Financial Services Ecosystem

9. On a destination level, there are several other benefits
to hosting an event, some of which include:
Economic benefits
Educational opportunities
Research and Development
Charity and philanthropy
Job opportunities
Strengthen destination brand

10. History & Current Status
GCC as an Events Hub
Lebanon’s Pending Status

11. Dubai is the leading events destination in the UAE with a
market share of over 75% international events in the
UAE in 2011.
Dubai hosts to almost 27% of all events staged in the
region
Dubai positioned itself as a leading events destination
globally and hosted some world famous international
conferences and events.

12. UAE will host World Expo 2020
and set to welcome more than 25 million visitors
over a period of six months during the Expo.

13. The GCC's holds 1.3 billion dollars from the MICE Industry
(Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions)
industry and is set to grow
The number of meetings in the region has more than
tripled over the last 10 years making the Gulf a popular
events hub.

14. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman have emerged
as the top three MICE destinations in the region:
State-of-the-art infrastructure
Facilities such as world-class venues for
conferences and seminars
Well-developed hospitality industry, supported by
their strategic location
Easy connectivity with the rest of the world

15. History & Current Status
GCC as an Events Hub
Lebanon’s Pending Status

16. Affected by the
conflict in the
region
Rise of the Arab
Spring
Internal security
and unstable
political situation
Drop in
occupancy and
tourism rates
Lack of foreign investor
interest in the Lebanese
Fear and lack of
trust in the
Lebanese market
market

17. Events Cycle
Pre-event
Initiation & Preparation
Marketing, Sales & PR
Execution
Operations
Logistics
Post-event
Surveys & Recommendations
Participant Loyalty

18. Pre-event
Milestone 1: Initiation &
Preparation
Marketing, Sales & PR

19. Pre-event
What do you think are
the tools/ ingredients
for planning an
event??

20. Theme & Agenda
Dates & Location
Internal Stakeholders
External Stakeholders
Website
Social Media Accounts
Suppliers
Speakers
Participants
Deliverables
Remember:
Many tasks go in parallel

21. Theme & Agenda
After the concept is discussed and clear:
Conference Name
Objective: Why?
A clear message describing the vision and mission of the
event
Target Audience: Who?
Create an attendee sampling profile: Geography,
industry, background, and education
Agenda: What?
The key topics that the event will highlight

22. Date: When?
Selecting the dates
Should not:
Coincide with other events
Coincide with holidays
Should be:
Held between the months of September
– June

23. Location: Where?
Selecting the location
Must be booked at least 6 months prior to the
conference
Must match the scale of the conference in terms
of space (both rooms and function areas)
Must be within the conference budget
Must be within the conference image

24. Internal Stakeholders
Top
Management
Event
Manager
Marketing &
Social Media
Manager
Sales
Manager
Web Manager
CRM Manager
Copywriter
Designer
Operation &
Logistics
Manager
An Event Manager is a bit of EVERYTHING

25. External Stakeholders
Partners & collaborators: Organizations that
support you in organizing the event through barter
basis
Speakers, Suppliers: TBD later
Sponsors: Companies that are active in the industry
and have a marketing budget and vision that is in
line with the event
Media Partners: Agencies, news outlets, TV, radios,
online and print publications that support you in
spreading the word
NB: Associated with theme of the event

26. Website
The website should be user friendly
A space where:
All the conference’s information and updates are
mentioned
Participants can easily register
Participants can download material
Participants can view list of attendees and book meetings
(added value platforms)
Interested professionals can easily understand the theme
of the conference and contact the organizers

29. Suppliers
Suppliers should be booked in advance
according to budget and conference scale:
AV Equipment & Technicians
Sound Systems & Lighting
Photographers
Simultaneous Translation
Hostesses
Giveaway Providers
Signage & Branding Providers
Registration System Providers

30. Speakers
Invited Speakers
Invited speakers are the top notch industry experts that you
need at your conference
Usually identified through research
They expect personalized invitation with expenses covered
Call for Paper Speakers
Apart from the invited speakers, there are industry experts
who have something to say and would like to be present on
stage at the conference
Usually they reach out to organizers, they cover their own
expenses

31. Participants
Invited Participants
These are usually VIPs and governmental officials
that you need at the conference
Paid Participants
Paid participants are the ones you need to
strategically target to be present at the conference
(marketing strategies will be discussed in later
slides)

32. Deliverables
Logo
Branding (Banners / eBanners)
Synopsis, Hotel Forms, Forms & Packages
Brochures or mobile apps materials
Ads
Badges
Signage (Backdrops, Rollups)
Other Collateral (Folders, Pens, Giveaways)

33. Logo
Branding

34. Forms & Packages
Ads

35. Brochure Badges

36. Signage
Backdrop
Other Collateral
Roll-ups

37. Pre-event
Initiation & Preparation
Milestone 2: Marketing,
Sales & PR

38. Why Marketing, Sales & PR?
Drive attendance
Increase Sponsorship Acquisition
Acquire Partners
What are you Marketing & Selling?
OPPORTUNITIES
Learning
Networking
Exposure
Certificates
Q&A platform
Access to info

39. Online Strategy
Email Campaign Strategy
Media Relations
Telemarketing
Direct Mail
Advertising
Promotion at other events
Pricing Strategy
Sponsors & Partners

40. #SocialMedia
Mostly used channels for events (twitter & facebook &
Instagram)
Mostly used channels for conferences: LinkedIn pages &
discussions and Twitter
For Specialized events: Blogs, specialized social network
Post your updates on a daily basis on the accounts
Post videos & photos
Engage the stakeholders and ask them to share

41. A unique, short, memorable branded
hashtag: ex: #SAFF2015 #DGTLU #LEF2015
Include hashtag and account names in
printed material or any online collateral
Encourage live tweets from your event
Customize your TWITTER profile page
Always direct your audience to your
website
#SocialMedia Twitter

42. #SocialMedia
Linked
Use the LinkedIn Events application to create your event
Ask people to mark that they’re “attending”
Start & Join Discussions – the best way to bring experts in the
field
Share the event through your LinkedIn status
Reach out through InMail
Connect with industry leads

43. #SocialMedia
Build your event in the Facebook Events application:
Post on event wall and send updates
Invite others to your Facebook event through email
Include the event on your organization’s Facebook page
Share your event on relevant Facebook pages and groups

44. Email Campaign Strategy
1- Save the Date Campaign: TO BOOK THEM
2- Intro Campaign: profile about the event:
sponsors, speakers, topics
3- Incentive Campaign:(Newsletter): Early
bird, group packages, good travel and hotel
rates.
4- Final call for registration: 10 seats left
5- Pre-event information guide

45. Email Campaign Tactics
General: Send to a large database
Personalized: Most effective combined with incentive
Participants do not tolerate content errors
Very brief and highlighting benefits
Avoid words that will identify email as junk: free, click here, large emails
Avoid long subjects: they should be brief and direct to the point
Direct contact information of manager/coordinator

46. Media Relations
Media Agencies are your Best Friends
Send Press Releases to Media contacts every time you
have a big announcement
Invite Media to Press Conference to write about the
event
Ask Media partners to promote the conference on their
marketing channels

47. Telemarketing
Work with an up to date database / Marketing list
Make sure to write down all the points you want to discuss
Keep it brief and clear
Ask for full info to be able to send them an email
Book a meeting if in the same country
Showing your prospects how your event meets their need

48. Timing is Everything
Ideal Timing for Prospects in Lebanon & Europe:
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Ideal Timing for Prospects in GCC:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

50. Direct Mail
Although the online world is eventually taking over, still
many countries deal with direct mail/faxes
Send a personalized direct mail to the prospect (usually
VIPs and officials)
Make sure to include all information and your accurate
contact details
Send them all required forms

51. Advertising
Both online and offline advertising are still very effective
marketing tools
Advertise in local/regional magazines and newspapers
Advertise online on partner and sponsor websites
Radio and outdoor campaign if the budget is enough
Most organizers hire a media agency to submit an
overall media plan that covers the pre, during and post
stages of the event

52. Promotion at other events
Attend industry conferences and events
Network with industry professionals
Look out for who is who in the industry
Spread the word during networking breaks

53. Early Bird Discount & other discounts
Offering incentive and introducing a sense of urgency to
prospects is very important
Early bird discounts with clear deadlines
Group packages for prospects from same company
Discounts for loyal participants (from previous years)
Discount for certain association and students
Pricing Strategy

54. Sponsors & Partners
Engage with sponsors and partners on social media
channels
Ask sponsors and partners to talk about the conference
on their marketing channels
Ask sponsors and partners to promote the conference via
a link/banner on their websites
Prepare an email/poster for your sponsors and partners
to send to their clients

55. Same message across all channels
Ex: early bird – promote it on SM,
telemarketing and Email camp

56. During event
Operations
Logistics

57. Checklists
Checklists
Checklists

58. Operations
PREPARE YOUR SCENARIO
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SCENARIO?
Who are your main teams? Organizing team, Hotel Staff,
Suppliers, Temporary Staff, Sponsors, Partners
Who is in charge of what?
Main checklist:
Signage & Branding,
Stage, podium, microphone, table and chairs
Seating (VIP, Regular)
Registration process
Stands of sponsors & partners
Rehearsals & Technical checkups (Presentations)
F&B functions

59. Logistics
Logistics in the event management cycle is all tasks
related to arrival/stay/departure of your local, regional
and international guests.
Main checklist:
Airport representatives
Flight list
Transportation list
Rooming list
Room drops for guests

60. Post-event
Surveys & Recommendations
Participant Loyalty

61. Surveys (Evaluation Forms)
Important to distribute toward the end of the conference or to
send via email after the conference
Recommendations
Each conference ends with a set of recommendations for the
industry as next steps for professionals – it is very important to
highlight these recommendations on all your channels

62. Post-event
Surveys & Recommendations
Participant Loyalty

63. Discuss dates for next edition and offer incentive
Thank external stakeholders by email & Social Media
channels
Make presentations available
Media Clipping to show coverage & importance
Always stay in touch online and personal communication

64. Media Clipping

65. Future Trends
Mobile event apps have become mainstream and will continue to
grow in 2015
Big data will become a key component of event marketing and design
Data breaches and app hacking will likely target events in 2015
Real-time, automated language translation capabilities will be used for
events

66. Future Trends
Event and hotel Wi-Fi is becoming expected and mandatory
The transition from “attendee” to “participant” will continue
Aerial (drone) video will provide new perspective for event
photography (if regulatory hurdles are passed)
Attention spans will continue to decrease
Despite the increased use of virtual meetings technology, face-to-face
meetings and tradeshows will remain viable

68. Thank you!
Mario E. Kanaan
Mario.kanaan@iktissad.com
Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal
mariokanaan@gmail.com