May 2018

Corporate Event Planning Logistics

An event is an event, right? What could go wrong? Take a professional’s advice and don’t even pose that question to yourself. There are real planning differences between a corporate event and a private event. Even if you are experienced in one, don’t blindly assume the same rules apply to the other. We’re here to share the logistics we find most important from our vast experience as a corporate event vendor.

Think about these things the very moment you decide to have an event. Putting them on the back burner could cost everything.

Corporate Event Planning Logistics: Liability And Disclosure

There are legalities and privacy concerns at play with corporate events that aren’t as obvious with weddings or family reunions. Although, it’s not a bad idea to ask for proper insurance at your wedding, either!

Event Liability Insurance

Event liability insurance provides coverage for damages you could be liable for. This includes accidents during your event that cause injury or property damage. Hundreds of people attend large corporate events and it’s impossible to prevent damages on that scale.

Many venues may require proof of insurance coverage from you before contracting to host your business event. Be prepared and talk to an agent before you venue shop.

Your vendors should also be properly insured. Specialty vendor insurance protects concessionaires, exhibitors, and vendors as well as the company holding the corporate event. Claims arise from limitless situations including operations, premises, products, completed operations, advertising or personal injuries.

Request a Certificate of Liability Coverage from the vendors working your event.

Request Additional Insured Coverage

You can take your caution a step further and ask for Additional Insured status on your vendor’s insurance policies. This covers any liability running to you if, for instance, a speaker falls over injuring someone.

The best practice is asking the vendor to add your business to their policy as an “Additional Insured” because this places you under the umbrella of their insurance. Your status should show on the Certificate of Insurance. Request this coverage for the day of the event and additional set up and tear down days also, if necessary.

Non-disclosure Agreements

NDAs are a different type of insurance. They protect your information from unwanted leaks whether intentional or unintentional.

You’ll work with many different individuals and companies to successfully plan an event. You may share information with them that is sensitive, proprietary or confidential. This is an important reason to establish a Non-disclosure Agreement with vendors. This ensures that no sensitive company data is breached before or during your event.

Corporate Event Planning Logistics: Team Planning

Entire teams often work together to plan corporate events and you need to manage this process correctly. Working with so many people can cause lags in communication when deadlines are at stake. It’s also easy to lose track of what each member of the team is doing.

It’s important to remain professional and courteous with your vendors and the venue. Give them as much advanced notice as possible when decisions are made. The same goes for changes in the plan.

Remember that vendors themselves are often involving 3rd party professionals or rentals and they need to secure those services in advance. In spite of the best intentions, corporate planning teams often suffer from an internal breakdown in communication that delays crucial details causing last-minute scrambles.

You must manage the input from your team and the needs of your vendors to keep your timeline intact.

Corporate Event Planning Logistics: Pulling It All Together

Your event is a big deal. You spent a lot of time planning so be sure you deilver your important message. That’s why proper planning is important. It’s the silent backbone of every successful event. When done expertly, it goes completely unnoticed. It’s glaringly apparent when it doesn’t go smoothly, however.

For help executing the videography, audio visual rental and support and photography for your next corporate event, contact Diamond Sonic. We’ll take it from there.