Get your marketing team and your events team on the same page
Get your marketing team and your event planning team on the same page
As a marketing manager, you’ll be all too familiar with the tricky task of getting your marketing team and events team to see eye to eye. Interdepartmental clashes are part and parcel of a big corporate; having to smooth these out can often seem like a task more suited to a UN peacekeeper.
If you’re at your wits’ end, fear not. We’ve put together a guide as to the best way to get both departments working in (relative) harmony.
First things first: Establish the objective of the event.
If you’re not clear as to why you’re holding an event in the first place, or what needs to be achieved as a result, getting your marketing and events team to see eye to eye will be impossible. By establishing a big picture overview of the event’s objectives, you’ll be that much more prepared when briefing your teams.
Have an initial briefing session with both departments.
Getting everyone on the same page from the beginning will save endless hassle down the line. Bear in mind that the ability to plan and execute an event that’s on brief relies on clear communication. As the marketing manager, this responsibility falls on your shoulders. Keep it simple in order to avoid any frustration resulting from instances of broken telephone.
After the initial meeting, have the marketing department put a clear, concise event brief together.
This should include the style and tone of the event, the marketing message that needs to be conveyed throughout, as well as any brand guidelines. Once you’re crystal clear about the goal of the event, briefing your event planning team is that much easier. You’ll eradicate any ifs or buts, and can then get everyone involved to focus on executing said event. Another crucial factor that will make everyone’s job easier is to ensure that the expectations of both sides are realistic. Be clear about what needs to be achieved, within a specific timeframe and budget.
Once the marketing brief is compiled, it’s up to the event planning team to put together a proposal. This then needs to be signed off by the marketing team – which goes a long way in cutting out an endless backwards and forwards.
Make sure that the decision makers and stakeholders have signed off on the event brief before you attempt to brief your event planning and marketing department.
This is absolutely crucial, yet frighteningly often overlooked. If you’ve planned an event that’s way beyond budget, or one that hasn’t taken the correct marketing message into account, an inordinate amount of time will be wasted. What’s more, if the event planning team has gone ahead without the consent of the CFO or powers that be, a substantial portion of the budget may be lost too.
Whether due to insufficient communication or management, many corporate event planners go off brief.
The result? A corporate event that’s created for the event planner, instead of for the intended demographic. This is not only a misuse of time and money, but is incredibly unprofessional and damaging to your brand. In order to avoid this situation, keep the channels of communication with your events team open at all times, and only brief your event planning department once the decision makers have given the go-ahead and signed off on the brief.
Making use of event management software streamlines the entire process.
Getting different departments to work together towards a common goal is difficult, but not impossible. If you’re using event management software that’s accessible by each team member, and that’s updated in real time, you’ll eliminate any miscommunication. Software that automates the RSVP process – from the very first online invitation to the post event report – can make interdepartmental clashes far easier to deal with. Find out about our event software, and how it can help you to get your team working together, here.
