Using academic venues for events

There are of course a number of different venues you can use for your events from traditional hotels, to conference centres to unusual venues and now more and more academic venues.

Universities have a wide range of meeting spaces and often accommodation available for events and we have looked at some of the reasons why you should consider an academic venue for your next event:

1.       State of the art AV equipment and support – often the meeting rooms and lecture theatres have inbuilt AV equipment often of a high quality – such as lectern microphones and work stations that you can use as part of the price so you do not have to bring your own laptop or  pay additional charges to hire equipment in

2.       Central locations – often academic venues are located in city centres with great public transport links and some even have free car parking 

3.       Accommodation available – many offer cheaper accommodation for events and space is available over the Summer months when the students have left, but some universities can offer bedrooms during Easter and Christmas holidays too

4.       Lower prices – they are often more cost effective options than hotels and conference centres and can offer similar packages to those available at other venue for a lower cost so you can use the money to spend on other elements of your event

5.       Sustainable venues – Universities have many sustainable policies in place, with full recycling facilities, reducing pollution and carbon footprints for events so you can ensure your event is as sustainable as possible

6.       High level of service – the staff are often highly trained and passionate about the venues and work hard to provide a good service for your events

Therefore it is worth considering academic venues for your next event and it might just be a way to make your event budget work and in turn lower your attendee price to attract more delegates for your next event!

If you have any experience of using academic venues or would like to write a blog for Mosaic Events please email sarah@mosaicevents.co.uk

Offering added value for sponsors and exhibitors at events

Time is precious, in the current climate many organisation’s want return on their investment in particular sponsors and exhibitors at events. 

We have put together a few key tips on keeping your very valuable sponsors and exhibitors happy at events:

Keep the event local – keep the event close to the delegates you are looking to attract run a series of events in multiple locations if easier than trying to get delegates from Scotland to attend a Midlands event this keeps the costs down on travel and accommodation for those involved

Using social media to promote sponsors/exhibitors – promoting them publicly through your Twitter accounts or face book to thank them for their support can be very powerful and reach a number of contacts without having to leave your desk!

Offer added value by offering an electronic copy of the delegate list (with all attendees that have not opted out of their details being passed on), also the opportunity to be included in any pre event PR

Promote early bird discounts and promotions – provide special offers for exhibitors to book places earlier this way you can have a clearer idea of bookings sooner

Allow exhibitors to choose their stand position – produce a floor plan of the exhibition area and send to exhibitors with the booking form so they can select their preferred stand at the event

Offer reserved seating for any conference dinners/table plans for exhibitors – allow them to choose who they would like to sit with if delegate list are available in advance therefore maximising their networking opportunities

Ensure the exhibition area is the same area for catering if possible and that there are suitable timed refreshment breaks, lunch times, and evening drinks receptions in the programme to allow exhibitors as much opportunity to meet delegates as possible

Cater for all dietary requirements – delegates now have higher standards for venues and expect all needs to be catered – make your event stand out – delegates often talk about the venue and food long after the event more so than the content sometimes! So work with the venue to ensure gluten, lactose, other allergies or any other dietary requirements can be catered for even if they are not notified in advance

Make your event memorable! – Give delegates information to take away to use back in their roles – do something different – interactive voting/ twitter question and answer sessions linked with your event or create a unique giveaway something delegates will remember the event for!

We would love to hear your comments or if you are interested in writing a blog for Mosaic Events please contact Sarah, sarah@mosaicevents.co.uk