When it comes to planning a corporate conference, there many aspects that need to be considered. For the uninitiated, it may seem like something of a daunting task to organise such an event however if you break down your requirements logically you will find the task isn’t as complex and you may have first thought. Here are a few pointers of elements to consider when planning your conference.

It is important that the venue retains the right atmosphere. A good conference venue should have a comfortable feel about it. This is one of the most important aspects as an insufficiently sized and equipped room will render any sort of meeting unsuccessful. If all of your attendees and organisers feel comfortable in the venue then there is more chance they will enjoy themselves, feel well looked after and the chance of them returning for future events and passing on recommendations will increase.

It is generally expected that conference venues will be able to accommodate attendee’s wireless internet requirements. As such you should make sure that the venue has high speed wireless broadband. You may also wish to offer such services as projectors, flip charts, stationary and possibly photocopying. If your event is likely to be based around key speakers then it is important that the venue is able to provide appropriate audio visual equipment as this will make all the difference. Before the conference begins, check well in advance that all the equipment is in good working order. It is also worth double checking that the rooms are clean and sufficiently spacious.

It is well worth putting yourself in the place of one of the attendees and imagining what requirements you would want out of a conference. It is easy to focus on the technical aspects of the event and forget about the aspects and services which will help people to relax and feel comfortable between presentations. With that in mind you should consider provisions for food and drink. Good catering will always be noticed at corporate events and can be a good lure to get people to attend. You may wish to hire the services of a professional catering company, or if you are using a hotel as your conference venue then you may find that they provide their own food and drink. This will give you one less aspect of the conference to worry about organising, however do ensure that the hotel is aware of how many people are likely to be attending so that they can prepare appropriately.

The marketing for your event should begin a few weeks ahead of the conference. Larger conferences may even start to advertise several months ahead of the event date as they need extra time to attract the attendees they require. Events like these can take a significant budget to put together so in order to cover some of your costs you may like to take time to find sponsors. These could be local companies or organisations who would have an interest in advertising to the particular attendees your event is likely to attract.

Author Bio: Edward Kendricks is writing on behalf of CTS, a leading supplier of conference audio visual equipment.

Category: Advice
Keywords: audio visual, conference, meeting, PA system, events, event planning, speakers, technology