In event planning as in any area idle chatter between events professionals can easily turn into hard facts in the retelling. It’s led to some common myths about running events, which persist and could stop you from organising your best event.
It’s always healthy to question assumptions and commonly-held truths – if you don’t do so, you could find yourself following ‘rules’ which make your event less of a success, whatever metric you’re measuring it by.
We’ve rounded up three common event planning myths and why you should take them with a pinch of salt:
The old ways are the best ways
Many big events are annual events, or might even take place more regularly. Familiarity can breed contempt, and if you’ve got a formula that works, many people in the events world believe that you should stick with it. After all, if your fundraising gala has raised £10,000 for the last six years, you have every reason to believe it will continue to do so.
Unfortunately, in events, past success is no indication of future success. Familiarity breeds contempt amongst your audience too, and if you don’t mix it up you’re likely to see attendees drifting off to newer, more exciting events. On the other hand, if you continue to innovate and keep your event fresh, they’ll keep coming back to see what’s new.
Hiring a fascinating celebrity speaker your guests can’t wait to meet is a great way to mix things up; if you’re in the market for some fresh talent, contact top talent agency MN2S to find out more.
Event planning should (always) be fun
Event planning is a job that lots of people get into expecting a lifetime of food tastings, visiting glamorous venues and brainstorming creative ideas. Those are some of the best perks of planning an event – but they’re only the tip of the iceberg.
The vast majority of the work that goes into planning an event is unglamorous and difficult; from managing budgets and guest lists to planning advertising campaigns. There are more gantt charts and spreadsheets involved than it might at first appear – and so there should be!
The boring bits of planning an event aren’t a necessary evil, they’re what ensures the success of an event, so embrace the less glamorous elements with glee!
Innovation is costly
One of the most common excuses that event planners use for not innovating more is that it’s expensive. When planners have meticulously budgeted event plans that work, the idea of changing it up can be terrifying.
But sometimes innovations can save money, allowing an event planner to splurge a little more in another area. For instance, printed invitations are lovely but can be costly, especially when sent to a large number of people. Digital invites, whether by email or a platform like EventBrite, can save planners a bomb. Likewise, by breaking with tradition and choosing street-food style catering, you could be seen as cutting-edge while benefiting from significant cost savings.
Busting event planning myths
The three biggest myths that you should ignore as an event planner are:
- That the old ways are the best ways
- That event planning should always be fun
- That innovation is costly
By using common sense to distinguish truisms from myths you can make sure that your events are always the best they can be.
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