A Reflection on KiNDLiNG

It is true what they say, events can become ‘like’ your babies. Okay I am not sure if people say this but it is the only way I can describe the relationship between event manager and event. 

I am an aspiring events manager/coordinator/planner, any of those terms, this is the career path I would like to have. Well, the career path I have studied for. 

Interning at AIME has been a great experience in learning all things event planning and seeing an inaugural variety night come to life. I have become one with the stresses of an event, and understand that you cannot control everything. Although stressful, staging an event can be so fun and if it is successful then the rewards are plentiful. 

But let me explain this metaphor that events are like ‘children.’ 

For starters, you worry about the event day and night. You care about its legacy and want it to succeed. You put all your time and effort in giving it the best opportunity to make its mark. Secondly you cannot help but tell everyone about the event. It is a constant conversation starter.  You want everyone to know about it because you are proud of what it will become (and you need tickets to sell). And finally, once the event has been delivered or put to ‘bed’ you can finally relax.

See events are like children, well, sort of. 

 

  Taryn and myself had the responsibility of creating this colourful photo back drop. Pinterest was great inspiration. Our role during the night was to take photos and keep track of names, so that these photos can be used for social media purposes. 

AIME WA’s KiNDLiNG event was not shy of a couple of issues. Not even the most efficient planning can stop external factors impacting an event. A couple of weeks prior, we had several acts that could no longer perform at the event. This put strain on the Events Manager and myself to try find replacement acts within a very short time frame. In addition to this, our volunteer security member had a change of plans and the CEO decided not to fly over from Sydney to attend the event. 

However, none of these issues compared to the stress made from very low ticket sales. The week before the event, only 35 tickets had been sold. 35 Tickets! 35!! At the beginning of the planning process, 350 tickets were expected to sell. This was based on the reason that AIME WA has over 6000 mentors. 

This has been a very important learning curve for me. That a not-for-profit cannot solely rely on its volunteers and other stakeholders to fill seats at a fundraiser event. The promotions side of an event is so significant in attracting community support. The way you target your audiences through different platforms and the extent to which you push the event in media streams. As this was AIME WA’s first major event, and they did not have a headliner act or a major incentive to attract numbers, promotional efforts were so important. Posters and word of mouth would not be enough to carry this event. It needed radio ads, newspaper articles, social media, posters, personal emails, letters and direct communication with schools, mentors and universities to make the tickets sell. 

Thankfully, the week of the event saw a flood of online tickets sell. It is interesting to see how people tend to purchase tickets closer to the event date. We had 200 people walk through the doors. KiNDLiNG was a success and raised necessary funds for AIME’s mission in reaching 10,000 Indigenous students by the year 2018. It was a great night filled with amazing performances and great food.

It was a privilege to be a part of an event so rewarding. To close the gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community, to inspire and bring unity. 

A photo from the night used for AIME WA's Instagram page. 

The glamourous and not so glamourous side of PR.

One thing I always remember about my first ever PR unit is that my tutor said to us, "If you think this degree is going to be anything like Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, you might as well leave now". Wow was she correct! As fun as partying it up with celebrities in NYC sounds, there is a whole lot more to PR, and I have quickly discovered that being at my internship.

I always imagined there were going be times where things didn’t go smoothly and events did not go to plan. Today was the perfect example of that!

I have always had an interest in events and thought I understood roughly how event management worked. However, after today my views have changed completely and I praise those who manage to keep their sanity while planning for an event!

I was told to meet at the Perth convention centre an 9.00am on Wednesday morning to help set up and prepare for an event that was taking place and due for a 10am start.

When arriving at the location I called my supervisor to organise a meeting place like we had planned. From that moment on it was manic! She was stressed, exhausted, out of breath and overall drained. Everything that needed to be done before 10am wasn’t even close to being finished. People were arriving early, and there was nowhere for them to go besides hanging around the foyer area while the rest of us franticly set up the conference area. As if things weren’t stressful enough, one of the colleagues who had volunteered her time to help with the event slipped and fell down the stairs. Thankfully she was ok but she had to be rushed to the hospital as she is 20 weeks pregnant- so you can imagine the thoughts that were running through everyone's heads.

Things were a bit out of control as we had to manage those arriving early, those complaining about the temperature of the heat in the room, organise each person a conference badge, all while being still being worried and anxious from the previous accident that had just occurred.

Needless to say, my supervisor was close to tears as everyone counted on her for a successful event. Thankfully by 10 o’clock the hall was set up, the guests were enjoying tea and coffee in the foyer and everyone was ready to enjoy a successful conference!

If I’ve learnt anything from this experience, it that, you can prepare as much as possible, but there will always be a time when things don’t go to plan. And that’s ok! The most important part is that you stay calm, stay focused, and keep smiling so that everyone thinks things are ok! (even if they’re not).

It’s given me a lot to think about as I feel event planning may be an area I would like to dig deeper into.  Minus the stresses and unplanned injuries, the event was a success and the feeling of accomplishment makes you feel like all the hard work was worth it!

And while I do admit, I still enjoy indulging in episodes of Sex and the city, I am also grateful that PR is nothing like that of Samantha Jones career. I am learning so much more then I ever imagined and look forward to where my future is headed.

I am hoping to volunteer outside of my internship at other events to get a greater feel of the environment! Who knows, maybe this could be a new pathway for me!

Time is the most valuable commodity

Continuing on from my previous post, we are now currently five days out from the huge event that will be Future Music Festival this year, and it has been stressful to say the least.

This has given me an insight into how large scale events work (or don't work) and how putting together these kind of events requires hundreds of companies and potentially thousands of people to have to work together, to achieve a general universal goal. Communication is key. Once communication is lost or blurred, this is where problems arise.

I never thought I would be given this amount of responsibility. I am very grateful on one hand, but have been given so much responsibility in an area where let's face it, I am no expert. In the past few weeks I have booked in food vendors, furniture, decor, hair stylists and make up artists, port-a-loos, staff for Future Music's VIP areas. All while recording every thing I have purchased or ordered as I have to stick to a strict budget. I have had to liaise with all these clients about delivery/collection, create site maps and spread sheets upon spread sheets, to make sure everyone knows what is to be done and what I have purchased/hired.

This sounds glamorous, but has in fact been the most stressful job I have ever come across as I have not had much information to go off, besides a budget. It makes it very difficult when most of the team work in other states, and you have to factor in time difference, as well as them having to organise 6 shows across Australia. Time is such an exhausted and valuable resource in the events world and it is always running out. I would in fact argue that my role, should have been a paid full time job commitment, hence the stress of trying to fit all of this work into 1-2 days a week.

Needless to say I am counting down the days until Future is upon us, as I would I am very excited to see how the whole event comes together, and I am very excited to be able to relax.

Luckily I am part of an intern team here at Mellen Events and we are all feeling the same way, which makes it all a bit more comforting. With all of the team we have agreed this is definitely an events internship and not a public relations one. Seeing as these industries often go hand in hand, we feel the experience is invaluable.

Billie Reason