Thinking about global event planning can be quite exciting but it’s also a challenging exercise considering all the logistics that need to be coordinated for a successful event. Below we will discuss some of the challenges of planning global events so you can have some insight into what goes into presenting and producing successful global events.
Challenges of Global Event Planning:
With the rapid growth of international business, nowadays organizations take part in international conferences, seminars, and meetings both within the country and outside the country. The increased globalization of business has allowed businesses to experience benefits for expansion, better information, stronger research, and more. The benefits of globalization of business are so significant that even governments want to aid the process.
With more and more organizations starting to get involved in global markets, the number of international events is also growing. Conferences, seminars, workshops, and meetings are being held globally, which play a pivotal role in helping these global business entities network and expand. Organizations, as well as individuals, attend these global events to leverage both personal and professional relationships. Below are a few challenges of planning global events.
Understanding and Negotiating
As they say, knowledge is power, and making sure you understand the global market, the regulatory environment, and the local culture is, therefore, a critical part of good global event management. For the success of your event, you will need to find an expert who understands all of these elements and can help you develop a global strategy. While they may be fluent in English, they might not necessarily understand your culture. There are multiple opportunities for you to run into an issue where the global event planner has not fully understood your local culture. And, while this may not seem like a big deal, it can cause serious complications, delays, and even cancellations. Having the right perspective and the right partner can help you overcome these issues.
Venues and Suppliers
When you plan a global event, you’re dealing with suppliers that may not even be in your own country. This can be quite difficult, especially when you’re attempting to plan an event production in a different time zone. If you’re working across three to four different time zones, things can get even more confusing. Without the right help, you can actually find yourself struggling to find suppliers that are even available to work with. And, even if they do deal with events, they may not deal with global events on a day-to-day basis. To further complicate matters, suppliers will also have to deal with language and cultural barriers. Not understanding this, or pausing to consider that, can cause delays in supply, which, in turn, can cause problems.
Managing Risk
When you plan a global event, you will have to constantly evaluate risk and ensure that you’re not crossing any boundaries. Ensuring that you comply with all rules and regulations, no matter where they’re from is incredibly important. Failing to do so can cause further issues down the line, especially when it comes to venue hiring, permitting, and the like. Understanding this, and planning ahead, can help you overcome these issues.
Currency
Another issue that is quite common is having to deal with multiple currencies. If you’re trying to plan a global event, you’ll have to ensure that the event budget takes into account the different currencies and exchange rates. The rate for the day could change, which can have an adverse effect on the budget, and your planning. It’s critical that you manage this, and that you constantly re-evaluate the exchange rates.
Not thinking about your virtual audience
It’s important to remember that there are many people globally who will want to partake in the event – and through the power of hybrid event productions will have that opportunity. One of the most common ways to include remote attendees is with a live broadcast from the event. This allows remote attendees the ability to watch the live stream, or record the event, to catch up on the presentations, speeches, or talks, at a later date. This means that your event needs to be readily available on a virtual event platform and produced with two different audiences in mind. In essence, that means making sure the conference production is engaging, but it also needs to be understandable; so providing subtitles, as well as translated content, will ensure that you appeal to a larger audience.
Lack of Expertise
Finally, one of the biggest hurdles, when you’re planning a global event, is having the right team in place to ensure success. Depending on the event at hand you want to ensure that you have the right support to avoid pitfalls and allow the team to efficiently and effectively manage the venue, suppliers, production, and of course all coordinated with an eye on the bottom line. This, in turn, can help you deliver a successful event, and allow you to truly reap the benefits of globalization.
These are a few of the most common obstacles, and issues, that people run into when they attempt to plan a global event. However, with the right strategy, and the right help, you can plan a successful global event.
