A Backyard Affair: 5 Tips to Planning Successful Large-Scale Productions
Back in 2010 when I was fresh out of college, I landed my first gig at an advertising agency located in Minneapolis, MN called Olson. I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to do for my career, as it goes for most students fresh out of college. This first job led me to a 10+ year career in advertising and experiential marketing in Minneapolis and Sydney, Australia where I had the opportunity to work on a variety of amazing brands such as Diet Coke, Heineken, Wholly Guacamole, Hormel, and General Mills among many others.
Along with wonderful teams, I lead productions for fashion houses in NYC, music festivals with Cold War Kids in Utah, road shows through the Grand Canyon with Carlton from Fresh Prince, multi-day festivals with the Black Eyed Peas at Formula 1 racing in Melbourne, Australia, and cross-country road trips with a bacon-fueled motorcycle.
Long story short, my background is in large-scale branded productions. Naturally, it’s something I’ve missed doing; until this past September.
In April of 2021, I had the pleasure of planning a retreat for a group of Managing Directors at Beautycounter. Among them was Leah Huxtable; a female-business owner, hustler, entrepreneur, and can-do-it-all powerhouse.
For the past 9 years, Leah and her sister Eva have been throwing the Bash for Brains, a fundraising event to help raise money to bring an end to Alzheimer’s disease. This horrible disease took their Mom, Lucy - and together they wanted to do something to remember her legacy, and help other families that are affected by Alzheimer’s.
This year, they brought me on board to help with the overall event planning, production, project management & logistics management. It was an honor to be part of this team, committee, and event, raising money for such a great cause. It was also fun to get my feet back in the larger-scale production game for a few months.
2022 Bash for Brains
So, how do I work with clients to plan larger-scale productions? Here are six of my go-to tips as an event planner and producer.
Implement systems
All large events need good systems. Filing systems, spreadsheet systems, email systems, status reports, contracts, budgets, etc. I’m a master of implementing systems to keep my external and internal teams on track.
Keep a good budget, status report & run of show.
There are three key documents I live by when it comes to planning for an event that helps make sure each and every detail is in place.
BUDGETS | great ways to see a checklist of every detail going into the event at a high-level
STATUS REPORTS | keep your team on track & schedule
RUN OF SHOW | makes sure all details before, during, and after your event have been accounted for; including set-up and tear-down
Hold a pre-production meeting
Every circus needs a ring leader. No matter how many meetings you have ahead of time, it is crucial to your event’s success that you have a pre-production meeting to go through each and every detail, ensuring your entire team is on the same page.
Confirm and re-confirm with your vendors.
At least two weeks prior to the event, it’s important to send your vendors their own pre-production documents with all addresses, times, load-in and out schedules, and every other little detail. Then, call them to make sure they received your information and go through any questions they have. The more you review ahead of time, the less confusion on the day of your event.
Get it in writing.
If it’s an important detail, get it in writing. Time and time again, especially post-event there are discrepancies between budgets, results, you name it. If you have an important conversation with anyone on your internal or external teams, confirm that detail in writing - especially when it comes to budget numbers.
Create a system for tear-down.
We’ve all been there when the hard work is behind you, the planning is complete and the event is over. You’re exhausted from your 17+ hour days, but there’s one thing - you still have to tear down the entire event. This is where things can fall by the wayside. Making sure you have a team in place to remove all of your event materials is essential. If this includes bringing in labor to help tear down the large pieces, account for that in your initial budget. Create a system for collecting your materials, doing it in an organized way, and getting them stored and shipped to the appropriate locations. If you have an annual event, it is especially important that you have an efficient post-event process in place.
I had so much fun working on this event, that in addition to smaller retreat experiences, I have decided to take on two larger-scale events for the 2023 calendar year. These could be fundraisers, galas, reunions, backyard parties, or corporate events. If you have a big event coming up, or know someone who has one, please reach out to schedule your free 30-minute consult so I can help assure all of your event details are taken care of and give you back time to focus on the pieces of the event that you love.