event management support

Event Management Support, Solutions & Success

You’ve worked your butt off these past several weeks, months (or even year!) to organize this awesome event. The day has finally arrived, so you can sit back, relax and watch as the show goes on. Ha! Those of us who are event planners know that this is definitely not the case. You’re the planner, and the stress of your event and your ambition to have every aspect unfold perfectly can be overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to call in a lifeline, called event management support.

As an agency that handles events, personnel and promotions, we know that we have the right staff to assist with your event, regardless of the scale or length. To ensure your promotion is successful, we assist you in picking the right team and setting clear objectives for your event. We have over 1,200 versatile & enthusiastic events staff across Canada, whom we have recruited and manage internally, to support our activations, locally and nationally. If you have hired more than 5-8 staff for your event, or if your event requires excessive set up & tear down, we recommend event management support.

What do our event planning and project management deliverables include? To ensure this is something you would want to consider, or in fact need, for your event, here’s a list of what our event management solutions entail (and in a nutshell, it’s anything you may require over and above staffing) ::
• Securing quotes from suppliers (such as venues, custom builds, branding, hotels, accomodations, uniforms and more!) along with negotiating best rates
• Managing promotion logistics during planning and liaising with onsite event management to execute
• Coordinating site checks at venues and securing permits/access
• Booking and paying all required suppliers

In a nutshell, project management are estimated for anything coordinated over and above staffing and is not to be confused with event management. The latter would be allocated to event managers who support high volume events or those with significant set up / tear down (e.g. a retail campaign with 48 stores would have 1 EM for every 5-6 stores to support the execution or there may be 1 onsite EM for every 12-15 staff at a market research study at the airport). Our head office management will plan a program and depending on the scope, may lean on our EM’s locally or in other cities to ensure a smooth execution.

You don’t have to wait until the day of your event to receive assistance; Tigris has the tools, creativity, organization and passion to work with you from Step 1. It’s crucial to have an event management system in place so you aren’t running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Even a simple task such as registration can be time consuming without the right support. You may love the idea of event management, but clients are always hesitant before reaching out (we know, you like to do it all yourself!)

3 Questions Clients Asks Themselves Before Hiring Event Management Support

1. What Have You Done In The Past?
We get this question quite often, as will any other company that provides a service. It’s important to know that the agency you plan to work with is reputable and achieves amazing results. Over the past 11 years, Tigris has worked with many reputable brands including but not limited to Rogers, Samsung, GTAA, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Cadillac Fairview, CGC, Petcurean and RONA (to name a small handful) to provide event management support. We are also known for our event management solutions and event planning for the Miss & Mr. CHIN Bikini Competition for the past 12 years which includes recruiting contestants, coordinating cross-promotions, TV appearances, pre-promotional events, decor, choreography, costuming, prizing and onsite execution. Miss & Mr. CHIN International is held at the largest free multicultural picnic in the world: the CHIN Picnic in Toronto, held every July long weekend for the past 49 years!

2. How Much Are Your Services?
You know the old saying, “you have to spend money to make money?” Keep this is mind when hiring an event management agency. The money you invest will ultimately save you time, which in most cases comes at a much higher value than our event managers will cost you.

At Tigris, we pay our staff and event managers above the industry standard. Not only is it because we value their performance; we believe that by paying well, our team will give our opportunities priority ahead of others and we will also have more reliable/dependable workers.Unlike other company’s who are able to offer steady part-time jobs, Tigris is a temporary staffing and experiential marketing agency. That means our staff only work on an event to event basis with events ranging from 1 day to several weeks in most cases. As such, we offer them a premium, not only since they would need to take time away from other jobs/commitments to work, but also given the nature of the industry and time they need to put in to plan for every event they work. They can’t simply turn up! They need to review a training package and become expert on the brand they are representing each and every time they work. Additionally, all events staff and managers are required to provide feedback forms for our post-reporting which is extra time they need to invest after an event ends.

At Tigris, our rates fluctuate from event to event. As with any business, we are able to offer more flexibility based on the volume of work and also based on the length of the shift. The longer the shift = the more flexibility. At the minimum, we need to factor in the time the staff will be onsite and a small agency fee which is mandatory on all events to help offset our operational costs including admin/account management support, insurance, bookkeeping, payroll and incidentals. For anything over and above staffing, we would estimate the associated hard costs and estimated time to plan for these requirements. Other than this, the only foreseeable costs may be attributed to parking, mileage (for events exceeding 50km one way), and per diems (for staff required to travel).

3. What Is Your Cancellation Fee?
Our cancellation fee is clearly outlined in the quotes we provide to all of our prospective clients and the event services agreements we give to clients ready to book. We like to be completely transparent regarding our services and what you can expect. We don’t like to charge cancellation fees but need to be mindful of the time we’ve invested and our staff’s expectation to work if an event is cancelled on short notice.

These fees apply with different penalties based on the length of time in advance the booking is cancelled, such as 72 hours to 1 week. In the unusual situation that a cancellation fee is charged, this will help us offset the time we’ve spent to plan the event and also to offer a consolation to cancelled staff. How would you feel if you’d taken a day off from your other job to work only to have the event cancelled on you? The majority of the staff on roster are 19-25 and are depending on the money they are offered to work if they are booked.

It is not uncommon for vendors to charge varying cancellation fees and most, like hotels, are far less forgiving with their terms. Did you know that you could book a room at a hotel and you are on the hook for 100% of the cost after 10 days have passed, even if your booking is months or over a year away? Be careful about reading the fine print and ensuring your plans are solidified before you sign on the dotted line.

Are you wishing you had read this blog post prior to your last event? We don’t blame you! We’d love to work with you during the planning and/or day(s) of the event to provide outstanding event management support, brand ambassadors and creative services. Our services are available in over 15 markets across Canada including Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Let us get started on your free quote! Call Tigris at 647-286-9392 .