There’s a lot more that goes into hosting a successful event for your company than meets the eye. To create an engaging, memorable event, your event planning team needs to design the look, feel and flow of the event. Then, scout venues, connect with vendors, plan the schedule for attendees and complete all of the other tasks that go into bringing your dream event to life. These events require thoughtful, strategic planning, which in turn requires time. 

 

At Cassis Productions, we have extensive experience creating various events — from experiential and hybrid to award shows and beyond. With our background, we’ve created a trustworthy list of vendor partners and developed the best way to strategize and develop an event. 

 

When you become one of our clients, we make each step of the process efficient and effective to meet your goals. Here, read what you can expect from our event planning timeline

 

How Far in Advance Should You Reach Out?

Once you’ve decided to hold an event for your brand, how much lead time should you give an event planning agency to produce your event? In our experience at Cassis, the answer depends on the type of event you envision

 

For example:

  • Large Conference — A large-scale event — such as a conference for thousands — requires a significant amount of time to plan. For these events, we recommend reaching out a year in advance, especially when looking to develop sponsor and partner opportunities.
  • Experiential Event — Experiential events require creativity and strategizing to really immerse your guests into the experience (hence the name). Though we would prefer at least six months, we can create a meaningful event in three to four months.
  • Award Show — Planning an award show can take six to nine months. This allows us ample time to secure a venue, confirm the nomination/award process, create a custom stage, and plan the unique touches to make the night memorable. 

 

Generally, the more extensive and detailed the event you’re planning, the more lead time event producers, like our team at Cassis, will need for the best results possible. For example, an evening micro event doesn’t require nearly as much time as a three-day corporate retreat for a large company.

 

Discovery Call

After deciding when to reach out to our event planning team, the first step is getting to know you, your brand and your vision. The discovery call is where we find out all of the critical details about your event, such as the size, goals and type of event. 

During every discovery call, we always ask brands the following questions:

  • What are your overall event goals? 
  • Where do events fit into the goals of your organization? 
  • How does your event fit into your industry?

 

These questions give us valuable insight into what you want your event to look like and its role for your company and industry. With these questions, we can start determining what marketing and event strategies will work for your event so we can plan the most successful event possible.

 

Event Proposal

Once we’ve wrapped up our discovery call, our team gets to work. We send an event proposal as the next step in the planning process. This document has all of the essential information about the event, including:

  • Brief Summary — This includes a general description of the event, including its purpose and goals.
  • Key Event Features — Here, we will list some standout feature ideas that will make it a unique and impactful experience for your guests, including design inspiration. 
  • Sample Event Schedule — This specifies when individual parts of the event will take place, how we will handle the flow and directing attendees attention, and so on.
  • A Proposed Budget — Finally, the proposal will include a comprehensive proposed budget for our team’s services and event features.

 

Contract Signed

Once you’ve reviewed the proposal and decided we’re the right fit for your event, you’ll sign a contract to retain our services. Welcome to the client roster! 

 

Kickoff Call

Now that we’re officially a part of your event team, the true planning process can begin. It starts with a more comprehensive kickoff call, where you can expect to:

  • Meet the Team — You’ll meet our expert event planning team and find out which team members will play a role in planning and executing your event. 
  • Discuss Core Objectives — We’ll reiterate your primary objectives and goals for the event so we know what to focus on as we dive into planning your event.
  • Strategize Budget, Design & Schedule: With established goals, we can get into the vital details that allow us to make your event a success for your company. This might include aligning on the budget, getting more in-depth on the design, flow and overall schedule for the production
  • Plan Key Documents — We’ll also begin to assemble critical documents that will help guide your event, such as timelines covering the planning process and the actual event, as well as task lists to help us get everything for a successful event.

 

Our Specialized Services Begin

As our experienced staff begins to produce your event, the process becomes highly personalized. We focus on your event’s individual needs. 

 

We have years of experience adapting our specialized services to take your event from concept to reality, regardless of the goals, size or event type. To learn more about how we can help plan your next event, reach out today.