How to Make Your Events Assets

Last Friday, I drove to the beach for the weekend. Despite the rainy forecast, when I got in my car and headed east, I felt free. 

Then I tuned into WXPN’s Funky Friday show, already in full tilt. The music took control when Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) came on. 

In my mind, I was totally getting down.

Rest assured that while chair-dancing and driving a car, my moves were far more constrained. And I did not break a sweat.

However, it got me thinking. 

People, we need events to come back! 

We need to dance. 

We need to have fun. 

We need to see other humans and not be afraid that they are walking viruses.

Am I right?

I can’t wait till that day.

Create an Asset

We see the light at the end of the tunnel, and soon enough we will be together again. (Keep wearing those masks and get vaccinated when possible so we can.) Whether your event is virtual, hybrid, or eventually in-person, now is the time to focus on making your event a true asset.

What do I mean by that?

In a word, your event is SLURP.

Successful.

Your community can’t wait to attend, and it generates a buzz.

Leveraged.

You use your event as a platform to accomplish multiple business outcomes—visibility, engagement, mission, strategy, expansion, place-making. It propels your organization.

Unrestricted-Revenue Producing.

(Or, for associations, “non-dues revenue producing,” which produces a far less interesting acronym.) It’s a significant source of revenue that funds mission-driven initiatives and capability expansion.

Now I realize SLURP conjures ramen noodle soup-eating, which, although a delightful image, may not be the best business acronym out there. 

But it is a fun word to say, and we can all agree that a SLURP event is truly an asset. 

It’s your destination.

Strategy and Boldness Win

Having produced hundreds of events—from intimate gatherings and educational events to large scale, multi-stage music festivals to presidential inaugural events created for television audiences worldwide—and advised hundreds of clients on event strategies, I can tell you that events tend to fall in one of three categories:

Level 1:

Frantic, chaotic, last minute, unprofitable.

Level 2:

Profitable (unless you include staff time), reliable audience.

Level 3:

Leveraged, significant source of unrestricted revenue, fulfills mission, magnet.

>> At which level are your events?  

Organizations whose events are in Level 3, SLURP events that have become an asset, take many right actions. 

For one, they see their events as extensions of their business—not frivolous, time/resource-wasting distractions—and they operate with a bold strategy.

Here are a few others:

Programming.

They know that the content or programming drives ticket sales or registrations so they make informed, wise investments.

Audience Development.

They work assiduously to ensure that the right people are in the room and build from there.

Business Model.

They learn how their business models work and deploy the right drivers to expand revenue, turn costs to profit centers, and operate efficiently. For example, they know that a driver of sponsorship is expanding quality and quantity audiences.

>> Do you have a strategy for creating your own SLURP events, yes or no?  

Mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes organizations at Level 1 make is underestimating what is involved with producing an event—much less a SLURP event—and getting their timing off. 

Often planning at the last minute or executing with little planning, Level 1 event producers have an opportunity to lengthen their production schedules and add talent to expand efficiency and quality.

Another issue affected by timing is sponsorship. Clients are always surprised to learn that starting 9- to 12-months in advance will generate much better results.

>> Yes or no: do you know what holds you back from a Level 3 SLURP event? 

Your Next Steps

So, what can you do to convert your event to a SLURP event?

1. Create an event strategy.
2. Create a year-long production calendar with your team.
3. Map out how to achieve a profitable budget. [Hint: it will involve corporate sponsorship.]
4. Identify where your event needs improvement and where you have opportunity to better leverage it.
5. Follow this blog each week in March for tools, checklists, and more tips that focus on these ideas.

Let’s start by enhancing your virtual or hybrid events so that when we’re finally live and in-person, you have the practices in place to create your own true asset.

Hands in the air, come on say "yeah"
Everybody over here, everybody over there
The crowd is live and I pursue this groove
Party people in the house

Thanks to CC Music Factory and songwriters Frederick Williams and Robert Clivilles[The 1991 House Dub/Bonus Beats] lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Royalty Network