Registration is the second chance to make a good first impression--the
pre-event contact material and transportation
arrangements should have already done so. No matter the type or scale
of an event, adequate signage and a smooth, efficient flow through the
registration process are important. These considerations should be part
of the Critical Path and, ideally, have a team member assigned to track
all aspects of registration and arrival.
The event
organizer should consider the objectives of the event when planning
the registration process. If it is an awareness event,
any signage should promote the company or event focus, as well as giving
good directions. The registration area(s) should have professional,
eye-catching PR materials. At galas, awards, product launches, staff
performance, and client reward events, the registration experience can
and should kick off the mood of the event.
Red carpets, attractive décor and high-end company PR materials,
plenty of smartly dressed greeters and desk staff, welcoming gifts,
and entry way entertainment
all tell attendees that they are valued by the organization behind the
event.
A vodka company teamed with a charity
to launch their newest product in the most glamorous supper club in
the city, a former art deco
movie palace. Guests’ cars
pulled up in front of movie
spotlights and valets immediately took their keys. A red carpet and
velvet ropes lead into the venue. The charity had arranged for more
than fifty volunteers, all costumed according to the evening’s
theme, the Andy Warhol Factory, to be behind the ropes on either side
of the red carpet, screaming and snapping photos as guests entered.
Plenty of doormen in tuxes were teamed with hostesses in evening gowns
to scan the invitation lists and unbar the velvet ropes to let the invitees
in (a guest and media manager was also at hand with a master list in
case of any confusion). Each guest entered the event already feeling
as if something special had happened.
| Ottawa Conventions.com
Event Planning 101
Chapter 7: Registration & Arrival
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