"You always have to be on the ball, thinking on your feet and finding solutions to issues whilst creating flawless experiences for attendees"

1. Could you tell us a little about your career?

My first official role in the event industry was an administrator for the event sales team at Ricoh  Arena, home of Coventry City Football Club, before the stadium was built. My role was flexible and I got involved in a whole variety of tasks including conference sales, hard hat tours, choosing tableware, recruitment, match day hospitality on the opening day and more. After that, I worked in the sales team at Hilton Birmingham Metropole, one of the largest conference hotels in the Midlands but soon decided that I would rather be on the organising side of events. I took a role at as an event administrator at an association, progressing to exhibition and sponsorship coordinator and then conference and seminar organiser. I learnt so much from others people around me and have also formalised my learning through a diploma in event management and a CIM professional certificate in marketing.

Currently, I work full time in a different association as a member engagement manager. It is a varied role which partly involves organising events for members, anything from a workshop for 30 people to a celebration dinner for 500 people.

More recently, after being proactive on social media for several years, I launched by blog www.amandathurlow.com in October 2017, to share my experiences as an event professional.  I have blogged about industry events, destinations, venues and more. This year I was invited to facilitate discussions at the Association of Executives Member Engagement Conference and at The Annual Exchange. I was also invited to join the judging panel at the Meeting Industry Association #miaList2018 and I am really enjoying these new opportunities.

2. You mention your 10 years of experience and the various roles you have had. But what was it that drew you to the industry in the first place?

During my degree in English Language, English Literature and Drama, I undertook work experience at the local theatre. I got involved with the team organising an outdoor arts festival and really enjoyed it. I was negotiating prices for onsite porta cabins, organising large deliveries of water to weigh down aerial structures, joining meetings with the local authorities about safety and road closures. My boss suggested I consider event planning as a career because I had a natural flair for making things happen. I worked with him on some local music festivals too and  listened to his early career stories about conferences he had run. It made me think about what opportunities there were available. That’s when I wrote to Compass Group about working at Ricoh Arena, as the local news had revealed that the stadium would include a purpose built exhibition hall and event facilities. I was lucky to have that inspiration and to have my work experience boss as a mentor through the early years of my career.

3. When considering the experience that you’ve had, how has the event planner role changed in recent years? What is expected of you? And what new tools have emerged that benefit your work?

Event planning has become less seasonal. When I first started out, summer used to be a quiet time, when you had chance to clean out the office cupboards and archive all the filing. Once the busy season in November was over and Christmas became closer, the workload became lighter. Now there is no such thing. The event cycle is continuous.

Around the time of the financial crash people gained more respect for events as a commercial opportunity and this has increased their popularity across non traditional event planning departments or organisations. Marketing teams in particular have placed more emphasis on events, seeing the value of face to face marketing opportunities.

Competition for bookings has increased as there are so many more events for attendees to choose from. Booking trends have also changed. People are more likely to book last minute than in advance, increasing event planners stress. Much more marketing is required across various channels. The expectations of event planners have changed as a result.

Attendees are demanding more experiences as part of an event. Event planners are required to be more and more creative with their event offering to keep attendees engaged. This involves keeping up with both audience and industry trends and trying to deliver more.

Tools that have emerged are endless and continually evolving, from more sophisticated operational event planning platforms to virtual reality, event apps and AI. There are tools that benefit the event planner, the attendees and both. I was at an event the other day where they were talking about the future of blockchain and what the likely to changes the event industry are going to be as a result. You have to keep ahead of the changes.

4. Creativity is key to event planning. When a client gives you a brief, what are the first steps you take?

The first steps in planning any event are to understand the aims and objectives. All events will have key messages that they need to deliver. Successful events deliver these messages in a creative way. I usually think about my ideas for a while and then brain dump them all onto a list. I bounce my ideas off other people in my team and consider the resources available. That usually helps define which ideas are most achievable.

5. On your website, the different stages of event planning are discussed. Which of these stages offers you the most satisfying challenge?

Event planning offers so many challenges that it is difficult to select just one. I enjoy the challenge of event marketing, using different methods to encourage event sales and monitoring the increase in bookings. Selling out an event is satisfying, as much as it is frustrating – if only you had more space and could sell more places!

The greatest satisfaction is that, whatever the challenge is, you have to find a way to get over it. The ability to resolve problems is essential to being an event planner. Over time and with more experience you become more adept at dealing with challenges: speakers dropping out last minute, hotel ceilings falling down and fire alarms in the middle of sessions have all presented challenges on site. I have learnt from each situation and been more prepared to deal with it the next time.

I get huge satisfaction at the end of an event, when it has gone well. Despite all the challenges pre and during the event, I have pulled it together and attendees have enjoyed the experience. Being an event planner is like being a swan. All the paddling happens under water but all anyone sees is the smooth gracefulness on top. This is why event planning is rated as one of the most stressful careers. You always have to be on the ball, thinking on your feet and finding solutions to issues whilst creating flawless experiences for attendees.

6. There are many KPI to measure the success in events, what’s your formula to measure the success of your events?

KPIs vary depending on the aims of the event. The KPIs of a sales event would be different to that of a press event/product launch or educational event. All events should be collecting attendee feedback though so this would be the key place to measure the success of the event. The questions asked would also need to help measure if the aim of the events had been achieved, beyond how satisfactory the catering or the location was.

7. As an event professional, we see that social media is integral to what you do. Where do you see the relationship between meetings and events with social media going in a near future?

More businesses will understand the relationship and community building power of social media. Many businesses use social media just to sell and miss the opportunity to engage with customers. Social media offers a direct way to engage with audiences in their own time, around topics they enjoy. Technology is always developing and will continue to offer more innovative ways to do this.

[bctt tweet=”“Many businesses use social media just to sell and miss the opportunity to engage with customers” Amanda Thurlo, professional #EventPlanner” username=”@nhmeetings”]

More businesses will begin to understand the benefits of working with industry specific social media influencers. They are ambassadors for the industry, who are already engaging with their audiences. Partnerships and collaborations can be created both within various industries, depending on the event topic but also within the event industry. The differences between B2C and B2B influencers will become clearer too. Although influencer marketing in the fashion and beauty industry is well established, in the B2B and event industry it is still emerging.

8. The EWL is the #Eventprofs unNetworking club, an organization of Meetings and Events professional who look for a more refreshing, more effective, and more enjoyable way to establish and maintain business connections, and gain new business. What does your role as Chair for EWL Club entail? And what 5 takeaways would you share with other event profs?

The structure of EWL Club has changed recently, so the role of regional Chair no longer exists but I am still an ambassador for the club. My role basically entails spreading the word about EWL Club, both by word of mouth and on social media. Also, engaging with members face to face and online to help create an effective network. The top five tips that I would share with other eventprofs include:

• Network within the industry
• Build relationships with others
• Learn from others
• Share your knowledge
• Create opportunities for each other

9. Looking at the guest blog posts you have written over the years, a recurring topic is sustainability. What extra steps need to be taken for a greener events world?

The industry is already taking steps to reduce the use of plastic straws but even more events could get behind this idea. Events, such as Farnborough International Air Show, actively encouraged attendees to use their own refillable water bottles, which was good to see earlier this year.

Sustainability measures are more achievable when the whole supply chain works together to influence attendee behaviour. I haven’t attended Imex but am aware of the many initiatives they put in place to offset carbon, reduce food waste, recycle and reuse leftover products to help benefit local community initiatives. I volunteer for a homeless charity in my spare time and would love to see more charities benefiting from the waste produced at events, although the primary goal should be to reduce the waste.