Uncategorized - AMS Event Services

“It’s his ‘baby’,” said AMS Executive Director, Mike Parket, with a warm smile.

“It’s not that the events in the past were not successful by doing it all himself,” said Mike. “They were extremely successful and that is exactly why he needed our support.” The event had grown in scope and complexity to a level that required more resources in order to keep growing which was one of the client’s main goals. Mike and his team were hired to manage the event but the hand-off was slow and at times painful for both sides. “I quickly realized that we needed to clarify the scope of work, our respective roles and, really importantly, how the client preferred to communicate. Once we understood that and acted accordingly, we made major progress. Fitting all of these pieces together is what enabled us to identify what was helpful or if there was a duplication of effort. This was a first test for us because without that mutual understanding, the level of difficulty would have been much higher and potentially the event would have suffered.”

Mike created the project plan by assessing the event timeline from the earliest planning stages and building a detailed work breakdown structure. He identified areas where efficiencies could be employed, saving the client time and money, and just as importantly, improved the attendee experience. As part of his plan, Mike proposed feeding the registration data into a more versatile and nimble onsite badge printing platform utilizing a custom API. By incorporating the onsite badge printing process, Mike was able to successfully eliminate wait times for onsite attendees to register and shortened lines for attendees who had pre-registered. The attendee feedback was overwhelmingly positive and that first experience upon arriving at the event, set the stage for a successful event overall.

Using a combination of custom programming and registration software platforms as the building blocks, and establishing a friendly, supportive rapport with his client while sharing measurable outcomes, like increased attendee satisfaction, Mike established trust with his client. The client began to feel comfortable turning over more of the “nuts and bolts” event planning which created more time for him to focus on developing the agenda, recruiting speakers, and securing event sponsors to help finance his event.

“It’s been such a rewarding experience to provide our event expertise to support our client and his association. Our team has been asked to take on a greater role each year since we came on board and the event continues to grow year by year. That is a testament to the work that we and the client put in to make the event such a success. It’s definitely a win-win.”

Successful events are created with equal amounts of strategic planning, artful design and budget management.

A careful eye on the budget ensures that the goals for the event remain in focus throughout the planning and execution. Mindful resource allocation combined with regular, clear communication are just some of the many benefits to working with an AMC Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) like those at AMS to plan your events. In fact, according to a report by the AMC Institute, in the first year under AMC management, associations realized an increase in gross revenue of 9.6% on average.

A CMP is an essential resource to ensuring association event contracts are created to reflect your priorities and protect your interests. Just as every event is different, so is every event contract. One of the core elements to an event budget is the contract for the event location. And the location contract is typically one the biggest line items in the overall event budget. Typically, an event contract includes language relevant to the event space, infrastructure, audio visual, food and beverage options. If an event is held at a hotel, the contract may also include sleeping rooms for attendees. Depending on the type of event, the contract may include requirements for décor and entertainment, use of external vendors. Each piece of the contract puzzle presents challenges and opportunities to allocate resources to creating an event that aligns with the clients goals. With expert contract negotiation from a CMP, your event and your budget are prioritized.

When it comes to professional event planning and especially when it comes to event contracts, contingency planning is everything. A contract that is negotiated by a CMP maximizes protections for the client. In recent times, for example, the AMS team of CMPs played a major role in significantly limiting liability exposure for our clients during the global health crisis and other unforeseen events. In this example, a clause was added to the client’s contract that enabled them to cancel and rebook their event only two months out from the event date. The thoughtful negotiation up front resulted in a savings of $50K in cancellation fees which was 35% of their overall event budget. Without that language in the contract, the client would have had little recourse. That example illustrates how expertise and experience protects our client’s interests foremost resulting in our client’s ability to maintain their budget stability and reschedule events when circumstances require. It’s a win win.

We’ll just say it. CMPs are everyday superheroes! But CMPs are not just about coming to the rescue in dire circumstances. In fact, our CMPs are busy working on our client’s behalf at all times because every event that we manage receives the same level of attention and care regardless of the size or scope of the event or budget. Our team has planned and executed every imaginable type of event from a full-scale regatta, with sailboats helmed by a captain and crewed by company teams, to large-scale installations at global industry trade shows to bespoke executive retreats. Our team has even created award-winning, fully customized virtual worlds for Fortune 500 companies, associations and academic institutions using leading edge technologies. Whether an event is in-person, virtual or hybrid, our team delivers memorable events with measurable results.

Our team of CMPs possesses a truly unmatched level of skills and expertise that they employ for our corporate, association and non-profit clients each day. They’re resourceful, flexible, anticipate challenges and create innovative solutions to meet those challenges. They understand that events are an investment and the ROI is always centered in their planning. They’re adept at juggling competing priorities to ensure workflow progression so that each benchmark is met throughout the planning and execution of every event. They are experts at clearly communicating with stakeholders before, during and after events. They understand the strategic goals for each event and act accordingly. And above all, they make it all look easy and fun.

There’s a reason AMS has been named one of the top ten AMC and event planning firms. If you have an upcoming event, our team of CMPs is ready to help. Please contact us events@amsl.com.