10 Things NOT to Do at Your Next Awards Ceremony
Preparing for an awards ceremony can be quite exhausting. If you’d like to succeed no matter what hurdles you may face and organise the best possible awards ceremony, you should be aware of common mistakes at an awards ceremony so you can avoid them.
10 things to avoid at your next awards ceremony
We have put together a list of some things to avoid at an awards ceremony so you don’t have your own awful stories of poorly organised check-ins, endless queues, empty chairs, etc. We have a couple of recommendations while you prepare for your awards debut. From location to food, there’s much to consider when planning your next event.
Choosing an impractical venue
When organizing a large-scale event, it is important to choose a venue with a suitable capacity to hold all the expected participants and guests as well as to meet certain requirements, such as prestige, aesthetics, a convenient location, the availability of necessary technical features, and more.
How to avoid
These types of locations are always in demand, so it’s important to take care of any rental charges in advance.
Dragging the ceremony out
You also need to choose the right timing. Otherwise, the event can be disrupted, delayed, or dragged out for too long.
How to avoid
If it is possible to choose the timing of the award ceremony, you must first coordinate it with the officials responsible for the direct presentation of the award and then with all the other high-ranking guests invited so that you can avoid a tediously long ceremony.
Example:
Not being prepared
Needless to say, you should test the event equipment many times and prepare a Plan B for every possibility.
How to avoid
Have spare working microphones on hand, use a separate Wi-Fi network for the staff and for the guests, and do a pre-ceremony sound check. Prepare as much as possible by writing a list of things to check and testing equipment first.
Example:
Announcing the wrong winner
Having the best speech and making a smooth transition to the process of presenting the award is not enough if you occasionally announce the wrong person. This is an awkward and embarrassing situation.
How to avoid
Rehearse and make sure you’ve invited hosts that are familiar with the nominees and can read their names correctly from the cards.
Example:
Hiring an inexperienced host
There can be a few small advantages to hiring someone without a lot of work history as a host, but mispronounced award nominees’ names or awards given to the wrong people aren’t worth the cost savings. What could be worse?
How to avoid
There is no way to escape it. To err is human. Try to invite experienced hosts or simply the people that you know for sure will never fail when announcing winners at your award ceremony program.
Example:
Forgetting the branding
Branding is your company DNA. To pave the way for an increasing number of attendees, every brand wants to be the first to proclaim itself in the event’s logos and other promotional materials. Forgetting to do this means your award ceremony fails and obtains the lowest ROI.
How to avoid
Meet your customers’, sponsors’, partners’, and audience’s needs. If you’re building a brand that people will be interested in, you’ll need to pay attention to what they want and work this out even before planning your awards ceremony.
Example:
Overlooking the flow
Long queues are often formed simply because the organisers did not correctly predict the number of attendees and organise their technology to contain the flow and avoid long lines.
How to avoid
Provide your participants with online check-in, which is an easy way to buy tickets and go through the registration process on-site.
Example:
No photos or videos
Uploading photos and videos to your social media after the event and providing reports to your sponsors is a must. But what if you forgot to hire a photographer?
How to avoid
Hire the necessary vendors, including photo and video services, in advance. Request media coverage so that you can use these media materials if your photographer neglects to document something. Make sure you comply with any limits on how the file types and video formats should be supported.
Example:
Forgetting to follow up
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is forgetting to do a follow-up meeting after events. It’s essential if you want to take your relationship with your customers to the next level. It’s costly to forget to send your next follow-up email campaign or forget to thank your guests after the awards. It’s not even just about being polite; it’s all about your next awards show mistakes and losing your target audience.
How to avoid
When planning an awards ceremony, some people miss a critical follow-up item. Be sure to include it in your strategy. Meetings are great, and networking events are fun, but don’t forget the next step: a perfect follow up e-mail that will help you stand out from all the others.
Conclusion
Along with the best ideas on how to prepare your ceremony from beginning to end, awards ceremony mistakes should also be carefully considered and minimised. Be sure to test your equipment, invite competent hosts, prepare an award ceremony speech, hire reliable vendors, rent an appropriate venue, think of which dishes to choose and how to organise the most interesting awards program. Your event will rock if you are a careful organiser.
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