Successful Summer Show Planning

It might seem that summer is just beginning to stretch its legs. Family vacations are taking up your social media feed, and OOO emails are bouncing around faster than you can say “reply”. But the reality for event professionals is…summer vacation is over. We have to start thinking about our Fall shows, Winter Budgets, and grand plans for 2025.

The events industry is ranked the 3rd most stressed–year round.

We hate to sound the alarm while you’re supposed to be sunning yourselves, but the truth of the matter is, fall will only be more stressful if you don’t think ahead. Let’s talk about some strategies that you can use to ensure your summer is spent wisely.

Networking

You may not think of summer as the peak time for connecting with your peers, when in reality–it’s the best. On a trip? As your network for their restaurant recommendations.

Have an afternoon to kill on the opposite coast? See if someone you’ve been meaning to set up a meeting with can have drinks. Incorporate your business and pleasure in a way that serves you.

Budget Planning

It’s everyone’s least favorite topic, but money is what moves mountains in the events world. Take time while your team doesn’t have five projects in the air, and assess the real ROI of your YTD budget.

What parts of your plans are working for you? What are you maybe spending too much on? What have you wanted to improve over the past six months? Wish list items may become more attainable if you really focus and assess your goals, and cost-sinks can be eliminated before EOY meetings.

Trend Hunting

Everyone’s favorite beach read is a trashy romance novel. We propose treating your LinkedIn feed like a gossip rag.

Prowl on the lookout for hot trends in events and marketing, do due diligence, and use the calm before the storm to head into fall fully prepared to hit the mark. Review quarterly reports, take note of what gets pics snapped, and, make sure you’re focused on the future.

While you may not be on a different show floor each week, you have to remember that each day of summer is precious. You can easily create more enjoyment and less stress for your future self by using your time wisely to plan, assess, and manage your time. All of these are great strategies, you may say, but how am I supposed to handle actually getting the shows off the ground come fall?

It’s fairly simple if you are keeping your finger on the pulse–not to be overwrought, but it all comes down to planning in advance. Next week we’re going to be giving you our 10 step guide to ensuring your events are seamless and stress free. Subscribe to the newsletter if you haven’t already, it’ll get send right to your inbox.

This edition of the LED Revolution was brought to you by our Marketing Manager, Megan. Megan Granett is an event evangelist and creature of creativity, bringing insights on how technology can make in person marketing more fruitful for all involved.