Campaign Event Planning

EventPros just completed assisting with a political campaign lasting over two years, and we have new insight into planning events in the political arena.

One of the first things you must prepare for is the fact that most events virtually erupt around you. A phone call might come in for an event occuring less than a day out (a blink of an eye in the normal world of Event Planners). Fortunately, media professionals are used to this and can adapt to any situation they are given. The people behind the scenes at television stations are unsung heroes in our book – they adjust, scramble, and deal with a multitude of different last minute challenges every time they go out – and just like professional event planners they don’t stop to complain – they look for solutions and simply make it happen.

While we are used to planning decor, color schemes, plotting the best room set-up scenarios, and discussing for long periods of time the perfect ways to create the best event possible: political events must often be thrown together with the same degree of professionalism but almost no time to discuss details – much less plan.

Most importantly, when working with corporations, which are our primary clients, their staff’s believe (for the most part) in what their company stands for, and understand their company goals. The people we have worked with on this campaign are fanatically devoted to their cause 24/7.

There is a huge difference between having a strong interest in your company and what you do for a living, versus living to fulfill the dream of seeing your candidate win. These campaign folks, paid or volunteer, are steadfastly true to their cause – they are true believers. They work constantly, every breath is about the campaign – every spoken word directly or indirectly involves their candidate. Every day involves one goal and one goal only: win.

We have always known that corporate event planning; association event planning; wedding event planning; and festival/fair event planning are completely different animals. Now we know that campaign event planning is also a universe of its own. The complexities are astonishing, and reaction time is Olympic standard. It has been an incredible experience working with this amazing group of people – but for now, I think we will concentrate on the type of events that we are known well for achieving.

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