Strategic Event Planning: 10 Principles for Creating Meaningful and Impactful Business Events

Strategic Event Planning: 10 Principles for Creating Meaningful and Impactful Business Events is my first book that is set to be published in 2020. Below you can find some details on what the book is about.

UPD: You can now access the excerpt from my book, a chapter on Event Psychology as featured in Smart Meetings, October 2020 edition.

Why did I decide to write a book? 

When I started my career in events, an event planner’s job was about booking a venue, organising catering and transportation, sending out the invitations, booking translation services, ordering some banners or printed materials, and collecting feedback forms. In other words, it was all about logistics. Even when it came to content, mostly it was done by thoughtless copying of what was done at last edition of the event, or creating another mix of the same boring parts like ‘plenary session + coffee break + evening reception’. Done.

However, I liked my job even then, because every time – despite all of the above – we’ve got something unique at the end. I believe such uniqueness was possible due to the nature of our industry. Meetings and events is one of those rare fields that reveal and support one of the impelling needs of any human being: the need in face-to-face interaction. Be that personal (festivals, meet-ups) or professional (conferences, workshops) context, events industry covers it all.

A book for Event Strategists

Now, I like my job even more. The industry has been evolving ever since. We truly are witnessing the golden age of MICE. From leveraging sophisticated event technologies to providing unprecedented economic impact to dramatic paradigm shift of the event planner profession. The latter I believe is the most critical moment. From being a logistics expert, or someone called ‘a travel agent/an order-taker’, an event professional has been turning into the strategic expert whose value inside the organisation is equal to those of the top management roles.

Business events has become the real tool for organisation’s development and is valued much more by the event attendees. I believe we are finally revaluating event professional’s strategic role  – or doing justice to it?

However, it’s just a start of a long walk, and there is plenty of work yet to be done. Strategic event planning requires new standards, constant improving of event design quality, and sharing best practices.

What is this book about?

The book is about how to plan business events strategically – that is, how to plan events people want to come back to. Events, that are efficient, meaningful and truly valuable for all involved – event participants, event team and their partners. I describe 10 principles for such planning which I believe should be implemented at every event that is designed to provide long-term, impactful outcomes.

It is a mix of ‘theory’ and practice; I planned it to be this way for a reason. Many people think that ‘strategy’ is something out of touch with reality. I believe it’s exactly the opposite; effective strategy is waived into the most tiny details. This is why I shared some practical tips and advice related to each of the 10 principles I talk about in the book. It’s not even close to comprehensive collection of tools and methods, but I think it’s a good start point for further discoveries on one’s own journey. 

I see it as my contribution to industry development and to development of the profession which I consider to be not only exciting for those who chose it, but the rare one able to influence lives of people from outside.