Science of Staffing: LARGE Events (Pt. 2)

Constant Communication Since it's impossible for a field marketing agency rep to be present at every single program, you must make sure your Leads, managers and/or FMM are communicating with you several times through the event-day. Are your crews fully checked in? Has that last juice sample has been picked up from storage? It is your responsibility to have up-to-the-second information for your client on the status of their program. We use sign in services that tell us when the staff is on time, SMS codes that allow our reps to text in the latest or sometimes just rely on a good old fashion phone call. Getting information "real-time" let's you, the field agency, be preventative and proactive with any situation that may arise on an event. Do you think your client is paying you just for the staff? No. They're paying you to make sure that your promotions agency's account team and event marketing staff are seamlessly executing the event to their high standards. There are 100's of other agencies out there just waiting for you to forget these simple rules, so they can get their chance to shine. Stick with the basics here and you'll keep them all at bay.

Clear Responsibilities Your agency client has a vision of what a program's end result should look like; it's up to you and your team to make sure it gets there. From an execution standpoint, that begins with a clear brand message delivered effectively by your event talent. That means it's up to YOU, the field marketing agency (aka "The Expert") to fill in the gaps and assign position tasks and responsibilities start to finish on a program. From the time event staff arrives at an event (check in, set-up, etc) to the time it ends (checking staff out, breaking down, gathering extra supplies to ship) all the way to the delivery of those post-event deliverables (photos, reporting, shipping, etc) your execution logistics must be clearly laid out. Set clear rules and guidelines, and less will be left to chance.