CBI Annual Dinner

Experience

This event took place on the 17^th of November 2021 at the Radisson Blu at East Midlands Airport. I was chosen, along with another student, to shadow the CBI Midlands Event Manager- Hannah- for the day whilst the team set up for the event.

Before the event I:

Was involved in a variety of meetings to ensure the other student and I understood what the aims of the event were and what was expected of us on the day.
Had a meeting with the marketing team at University to show us how to post photos onto the university Instagram and explain what to send to them as promotion for the event, as the University were a sponsor.

During the day of the event, we were:

On hand to oversee the general set up for the evening, such as the rigging for lights and building the bar, ensuring everything was running on time and was in the correct places.
Given the task of setting the tables with the sponsors product on and making sure they were all set the same and for the correct number of guests.
Included in the briefing for the evening, with an explanation of how we could be on hand to help and our roles during the event.

During the event:

We were the first point of contact for the guests, being at the sign in desk and assisting with them registering their cars in the car park. Also directing guests to the free bar at the entrance to the event room and ensuring everyone was in the room at the start time.
I helped to rearrange the tables when guests cancelled last minute.
I was asked to go onto the stage at the end of the event to pick out some of the raffle winners.

I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to assist with this event, it was such a huge learning experience, and I was able to make a lot of wonderful network connections. The event was clearly planned well before the day of, this could be seen through the lack of decision-making while setting up and the whole event ran very smoothly. Shadowing Hannah showed me that in order to be a good event manager organisation is key, being able to be on hand to answer questions and resolve any issues on the day mean planning well beforehand, meaning the event manager can oversee the set up and assist when needed.

Skills

Event Design

This opportunity provided a lot

of insight into business events, especially

how the design of an event can affect the flow

and therefore success of an event. The event team

that I worked with explained how where products go on

tables can affect whether the attendees take them, and as

the products we had on the tables were sponsor items, it was necessary to ensure as many people took them as possible. We did this by taking them out of their boxes so people could clearly see what they were and placing them indirect eye line.

I was also taught about how the floor plan can affect the experience of the guests, especially those who sponsor the event/company. Not only the floor plan but also the seating plan can make a huge impact on how the event will be viewed by those who we need to impress the most. For example, when a guest

from the sponsors table cancelled, we had to move the

seating plan to ensure those who needed to would still

be facing the stage and would be sat next to the

correct people. This is now something I will

always consider when planning business

events, to ensure I can give the

optimal experience to

everyone.