Planning an event can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve never done it

before. At ID&C, we’ve worked with organisers running every kind of event

manageable and along the way we’ve picked up a wealth of knowledge on

what and what not to do when embarking on an event plan.

There are literally hundreds of things to consider when planning your event,

and no two events are the same, but along with Luke Stretton, Events manager

at Teeside SU, we’ve put together our Top 10 tips for student event planing.

1. WHY?

3. WHERE?

4. WHEN?

2. WHO?

It’s always a good starting point to remind yourself why you’re running a particular

event. This might sound a bit silly, but even if it’s blatantly obvious, like “it’s Fresh-

ers’s Week, der!” Just thinking for a moment about why fresher’s weeks exist will

help spur your creativity for all aspects of the planning.

Again, you might think this is an obvious one, but you

won’t always be running a fresher’s event, so have a good

think about your target audience and consider things

like how many males vs females are on campus? and are

more people into dubstep than indie?

Maybe your choices are minimal but you should always consider the venue.

Is it big enough? Does it suit the event? You wouldn’t want to host a summer

ball in an underground nightclub, nor would you want to promote a metal

line-up at a hotel!

The chances are, you’ll be battling against other nights and competition in the

local town or city, so when you hold your event is very important. Avoid clashes

with any high-profile events nearby, check if there’s a planned big football

match on TV that night and depending on the type of event it can

be a good idea to coincide with paydays, usu-

ally at the end or beginning of each month.

Who is the event

marketed at? Think about

the different student

demographics and what

you’ll need to lure them

away from any competition.

“

“

Luke’s top tip

5. THEMING YOUR EVENT

7. PROMOTION

6. BOOKING ARTISTS

It might seem a bit overdone, but a quirky theme can

really add to the experience of a club night. Fancy

dress and decorations have been popular with stu-

dents for years and can be a relatively cheap way of

setting your event aside from the competition.

Having a big name DJ at your event can be a guaranteed crowd puller but it doesn’t

come cheap and if you work on your branding, you don’t always need to provide one.

Social media has opened up a

world of possibilities when it

comes to promoting your events

but just because Facebook and

Twitter are free, it doesn’t mean

you’re advertising is guaranteed

to work. Interact with your audi-

ence the whole year round, get

feedback, give away free stuff and

get them hooked into your brand

as much as possible. Simply send-

ing a Facebook event invite won’t

cut it these days.

There’s an expectation to have big name

acts at a Students’ Union, but when you

consider the associated costs of well known

artists and the popularity of established

local venues it becomes harder for SU’s to

meet student expectations.

We try to throw a sensational fresher’s

fortnight to solidify the Students’ Union and

then top up with 3 – 5 big acts a year, these

might be DJ sets from bands or Radio 1 DJ’s.

Luke’s top tip“

“

Posters and flyers are still effective but we often use one flyer design

across a number of different events – it’s a money saver. We also use

other channels like ads and banners on the TV screens around the

University.

Facebook and Twitter are without doubt, our biggest promotion tools,

even more so than our website.

Luke’s top tip

“ “

Give free entry and a couple of drinks vouchers to a student photographer in return for posting loads of photos on your Facebook page. This will engage your audience and help build a following.

3. PROMOTION

10. HEALTH & SAFETY

9. BUDGETINGRemember, you’re running a business and

in most cases will have targets to hit and

funds to raise, so, budgeting is an essential

on our top 10 list.

8. SECURITY WRISTBANDS OK, this one is our speciality. Consider your budget but also think about the loss

you could find yourself with if your security wristbands are easy to take off, dupli-

cate or forge. Always customize your wristbands and passes and never use blank

ones. Personalising your wristbands is the best way to avoid any dodgy fakes and

is also a chance to promote your brand. At ID&C, all of our event wristbands have

tamper-evident closures, from the super cheap Tyvek wristbands to luxury woven

wristbands – whatever your budget, don’t forget the importance of security wrist-

bands, each person without a genuine wristband could signal a loss in admission

The quality and style of the wristbands are

associated to the ticket price. At our regular

events, we go for Tyvek bands, for end of

term events and balls we tend to use vinyl

wristbands and then for Freshers Week

we opt for fabric wristbands. Our freshers’

have to wear them for up to two weeks and

the festival-style wristbands are far more

durable, as well as being a great memento

of some messy nights out!

Luke’s top tip“

“Use figures from past events to estimate

attendance and revenues.

Consider what the price point for tickets

and drinks promotions needs to be, then

offset this against your expenditure and

estimated attendance.

Sometimes you have to run loss leaders to

maintain your following. We run a Friday

club night that doesn’t always make a

profit but keeps the brand competitive.

Luke’s top tip

“

“Perhaps the least fun part of event

planning, but leave it to chance and you

could end up regretting it. Remember,

you’re working with crowds of people

and safety must be paramount. Work

closely with the venue and make sure all

the necessary health and safety

procedures are in place.

If you’re unsure about what’s required with health & safety at your events, this handy

online event safety guide will help http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/index.htm

Well that’s about it – we hope our top 10 tips stand you in good stead for your event

planning. Whether you’re a newbie event organiser or a seasoned pro, keep our guide

to hand and you’ll be off to a good start.

A massive thank you to Luke Stretton from Teeside SU for helping us put this guide

together. Luke’s been running events for over a decade, so we thought we’d tap into his

mind and extract some knowledge nuggets - we hope you found it useful!

You can read a full interview with Luke on our blog www.idcband.co.uk/blog

Don’t be a stranger, hook up with us for more insightful features and lots of

wristband goodies!

NOW, GET PLANNING YOUR EVENT!

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