Sign of the times: Using AI to support the planning of events

Many of us are naturally wary of using AI tools - but rather than taking away our jobs, if we can embrace some of the fantastic tools out there, we can hopefully use it to enhance our jobs…and make our lives a lot easier! Here are some ways that the Coveted team has been thinking about using AI in our everyday event planning:

1. By making predictions for your event needs: AI analyses historical event data to forecast venue size, catering quantities, and staffing needs, reducing waste and preventing overspending. All of our clients are charities and foundations, so we understand the pressure to keep costs low

2. By streamlining venue selection process: There are AI-powered platforms that use machine learning to predict venue options that match your event requirements, speeding up the selection process (try Hire Venue as a starting point)

3. By creating personalised attendee experiences: AI can suggest tailored content, sessions, and networking opportunities based on attendee profiles, enhancing engagement. You could try uploading audience profiles and demographical information to ChatGPT to provide you with content and entertainment ideas, for example

4. By maximising fundraising activities: You can use AI tools to produce and copy edit your prize/lot descriptions for Live and Silent Auctions, or even for doing prospect research and creating biogs for event guests, or making recommendations for prize ideas, based on our guestlist

5. By supporting with on-the-day event tools: You can use AI to helps schedule tasks, set up agendas, and delegate responsibilities for smoother on-the-day event management, even helping with elements such as organising video and photo shot lists.

6. By creating AI-Driven marketing and promotional materials: Many of us already use Canva’s AI-generated content which can help you to produce quick marketing collateral (sponsorship decks, invites, videos) and you could also try using ChatGPT and Jasper AI for similar outcomes. Meta’s AI functionality and analytics can also help you target certain audiences.

7. By enabling you to make strives towards sustainability: Aside from recommending eco-friendly practices, AI can predict exact catering needs and help you to optimise resources to reduce your waste and carbon footprint

Sustainable events: reducing waste whilst increasing your social impact

We work with a number of organisations to deliver global conferences, summits and convenings. Particularly after such a long time apart, we truly appreciate the value of being together in person. However, as an agency we strive to encourage sustainability and provide a number of recommendations for organisations to consider. These include: 

• Encouraging organisations to send one representative to global convening s and encouraging overland travel where possible

• Providing a virtual/online option (which can also increase your reach and inclusivity) 

• Sourcing food and drink from local suppliers 

• Working with local teams and suppliers to provide AV, florals, photography and more

• Removing single-use plastics (straws, plastic bottles, wrapped items) 

• Moving to digital programmes and signage

• Reusing lanyards and using recycled and recyclable materials if producing any other printed items

• Partnering with other organisations to share resources/materials

• Re-using materials year-on-year (e.g. ensuring banners/branding is undated so that it can be used again) 

In the UK, we’re big fans of Event Cycle who encourage and facilitate the reuse of event items and materials. Have you seen other organisations doing the same thing?

Want to find out more? Or keen to chat about ways to reduce waste at your next charity event or conference? Do get in touch with Rebecca 

Comment below with your thoughts 👇🏼

The Coveted Team's 2020 Reflections

It’s taken us. a while to pull some of reflections together but we hope that this message finds you all safe and well after an incredibly challenging year – and indeed, a difficult start to 2021. Last year was a rollercoaster for us all – both personally and professionally – with nearly all of our in-person events postponed or cancelled and some of our favourite annual projects unable to happen. What looked like a bumper year of conferences and events, was impacted dramatically when Covid-19 hit.

But in the midst of all of the stress and sadness, we’ve also been able to take lots of activity online, learn to work with incredible new technologies, and to support existing and new charity clients to raise money and awareness for their critical work. Plus between us we moved and bought houses, got engaged and had a baby! ❤️

Here are some of our highlights from 2020… 

In January we hosted drinks receptions for the hardworking committees and advisory panels supporting some of our largest fundraising galas throughout the year. We were so excited about the year ahead!

In February our last in-person fundraising gala – the Rainbow Ball for Richard House Children’s Hospice – saw this London-based charity raising over £400,000, exceeding all previous amounts with a colourful evening of entertainment 🌈

In March we flew back from South Africa just in time for lockdown and experienced the devastating effects that the pandemic has had across the charity sector, with many events and campaign postponed indefinitely whilst organisations grappled with what was to come. We were able to host a number of “Coveted Cuppa” conversations over Zoom with event manager colleagues to talk through plans and work together to find solutions for virtual activity.  

But in April the first of BAFTA’s Academy Circle events transitioned online and we have loved hosting these intimate Q&A sessions virtually over the last months, with stars including Ruth Wilson, Rosamund Pike and Hugh Grant.  

In June we should have been hosting events in Monaco but instead one of our first virtual galas - for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra – was jointly hosted by the organisation’s London, New York and Tel Aviv offices for over 100,000 viewers and raising over $1m.

In July we instead ran virtual summer parties – wine tastings, Escape Rooms, quizzes and live DJs, all from the comfort of our living room. It’s not quite the same though, is it??

Most importantly, in August we celebrated Kerry’s 30th birthday! And worked with the team at UAL for the first time, to deliver virtual panel discussions as part of their graduate showcase,

In October some of our annual projects went online for the first time, with the Global Schools Forum Annual Meeting (previously hosted in Switzerland and Kenya) moving to digital and the 40th anniversary of the International Fundraising Congress (IFC) taking place as a virtual summit with over 1,000 attendees from 80 countries. We also had the opportunity to work with the fantastic team at Bite Back 2030 on their Youth Summit, a hybrid event for a charity whose mission is to achieve a world where all young people have the opportunity to be healthy, no matter where they live.

In December we rounded off the year with a fantastic Global Gala for Sadlers Wells, featuring renowned performers Carlos Acosta and Akram Khan, with special guests including Sting, Olivia Lovibond and Fiona Shaw. The global innovation challenge with Reimagining Fundraising saw a highly interactive and engaging We loved working on virtual Christmas parties and supporting with gifting ideas for incredibly hardworking remote teams across the UK.

What are we looking forward to in 2021?

We HOPE that the world will open up again and that we can soon meet again and host in-person events, parties, galas and conferences with our wonderful clients! But in the meantime, we’re looking forward to seeing more innovation and exploring new technologies to help us raise more money for fantastic causes who have never needed it more.

If you’re planning an event in 2021 and would like to take advantage of our FREE events surgery on 29 January, please get in touch to book a consultation! 

Share your thoughts in our events survey!

We’re asking events managers to participate in our events survey, sharing your experiences of the last 12 months, particularly how you have worked with event technology. Click here to submit your thoughts and we’ll be producing a report to share with you all later in the month.

Death of the Gala Ball: what we learnt from our annual conversation on the special events landscape

Back in 2016, the Special Events Forum and Hope Street Media started a discussion on whether the traditional gala dinner is no longer the best format for charities to raise money through events. In the past, these events have consistently raised six- or seven-figures for organisations, as well as providing an opportunity to engage both existing and new corporate, individual and celebrity supporters. However with complaints of event fatigue and a highly saturated market, coupled with budget cuts and the high cost ratio, has this type of charity event finally had its day? We picked up the conversation again, hosted at the offices of THRSXTY in Soho, with a panel of representatives from some of the UK's leading charities. 

In recent years, organisations such as Ark, the DEC, Save the Children, Unicef UK and The Prince's Trust have turned to immersive events to bring their work to life. Some have had success with raising significant income through this type of event, whilst others have mainly used the new format to reach other audiences and to present their work in a different way. So is the immersive event here to stay, or is this just a fad? 

Amanda Sinke, representing Right to Play UK, highlighted how doing something immersive didn't have to result in a dramatic shift in format. For Right to Play UK, this meant looking at storytelling and how they could bring to life their powerful and emotive stories from Africa at a ballroom in central London. Others echoed the sentiment and shared examples of how they had sought to bring something creative and interactive to their existing events, rather than change the event altogether. 

Hibba Al-Altrakchi, representing The Prince's Trust, shared the case study of the Trust's longest running gala event and how they took a risk to take the event out of the ballroom altogether and host it on the Belmond British Pullman. 

As well as reflecting the shift in focus, our audience observed that our guests should be at the heart of our plans and that our longterm supporters can help us to make these decisions and tell us what they want and expect from our events. For every organisation this will be different; when asked whether she thought that more charities should be doing something new, Hibba's response was a firm "Yes - but only if the time is right". 

As an agency, 40% of our work centres around the charity fundraising gala - our clients are still seeing great success with events of this nature - but much like those on the Forum, we continue to seek new ways of bringing our work to life at these events and doing more than just showing a charity film or delivering a speech. Just like other fundraising streams, the ever-changing sector demands that we challenge ourselves to do something different, take on our competitors and listen to the voices of our donors. 

We asked our audience to give us an idea of the future of their portfolios by a simple show of hands - it was clear that over half of the organisations represented still continue to grow their events calendars, with only a couple of organisations making a move to reduce theirs. That said, for those charities whose income is largely made up of event funds, new fundraising streams are being explored in an attempt to diversify and future-proof. 

The conversation continues and we look forward to seeing how it progresses. 

Autumn round-up: a colourful few months

Another amazing but knackering few months has passed and as we enter the Christmas season, I'm once again so proud and thankful to have worked on some fantastic events with some bloody brilliant people and organisations. 

The one with Patsy, darling! 
I have to admit I hadn't watched any of Joanna Lumley's travel documentaries until she spoke about them at this event on 15 September and I've since binge-watched whatever I could get hold of. Hosted within the beautiful surroundings of The Ned (where the service was first class), Ms Lumley was our special guest for BAFTA's Academy Circle and all of our guests left as serious fans.

We ate seabass and lemon tart (at Chef's recommendation) and drank Le Croix Belle from The Ned's beautiful cut glassware.   

The one that smashed all targets
On 19 October, the AKT Gala moved to Cafe de Paris for an evening bursting with entertainment, hosted by Gok Wan. The Gala exceeded all expectations, with the auction including the opportunity to enjoy dinner at Sir Ian McKellan's home. As always, the dance floor was packed until the early hours... 

We ate smoked chicken and papaya on blini, pan roasted Gressingham duck breast, strawberry feuillete with cognac cream.

The one with David Attenborough
On 23 October, what more can be said about this incredible evening generously hosted by Hotel Cafe Royal, one of my favourite places in London. Sir David had all 80 of our guests eating out of the palm of his hand during a Q&A hosted by his friend and former colleague Alastair Fothergill.

At an intimate supper afterwards, we ate venison loin with twice baked sweet potato souffle and braised red cabbage, followed by blackberry and apple pie with calvados cream. We drank Comtes de Taittinger and the wonderful Louis XIII. 

The one showcasing amazing emerging talent
On 25 October, the sixth annual Breakthrough Brits took place at Burberry's flagship store and we were delighted to host an informal supper afterwards at Thomas's Cafe. The event celebrates breakthrough talent in film, games and television. 

We ate cherry ponzo seared tuna, Hereford beef with Jerusalem artichoke puree, ricotta gnuddi with spiced winter tomato. We drank nothing but Nyetimber.

The one with breakfast with Doctor Foster
I binge-watched the two seasons of Doctor Foster in the two weeks prior to this breakfast on 1 November with the amazing Suranne Jones. Dressed in a jumpsuit and Converse, the former Coronation Street star had the whole room (both BAFTA and Quintessentially members) hooked as she spoke about her career to date, her production company and her plans for the future. She truly is a superwoman!

We ate mini bagels and pastries and drank Buck's Fizz and strong coffee. 

The one filled with colour
On 22 November, we worked with Richard House Children's Hospice to deliver their Rainbow Ball, where the dress code was strictly "anything but black". Our friends at Bloomsbury Ballroom hosted the event with The London Cabaret Club providing a breathtaking array of entertainment, from a contortionist to an aerial dancer. We beat all targets to raise over £350,000.

We drank Laurent-Perrier and ate heavy hors d'ouevres, cut out the starter, opted for a duck main (although we had over 40 guests request a vegetarian meal on the night - we will avoid in future!) and a rainbow-inspired white chocolate bombe. 

The one celebrating our teachers
And before we move into the Christmas period, we closed the season with an inspiring day at Teach 2017, bringing together school leaders and teachers from Birmingham and further afield for a day of learning and sharing of best practice. Our keynote speech from Ofsted Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, and our panel discussion on collaboration guaranteed lively debate, with our breakout sessions providing valuable professional development opportunities focusing on teacher wellbeing, behaviour management and coaching for excellence.

We ate sandwiches and drank copious amounts of tea and coffees - it is a free conference after all...

It works for me: setting up as a freelancer

Over the summer I had a few weeks out of the office which included a short break in Spain, returning to a spot that I’d visited almost exactly three years ago. It is, therefore, almost exactly three years ago that I decided to set up Coveted Events.

I recently put together some notes for a friend’s blog and thought I’d share these too. The following five things were my “must haves” before I decided to move away from permanent employment and into freelance consultancy:

1. Varied experience - Don't rely on one piece of work to carry you! I knew that I wanted to reach a senior level in events before I moved into consultancy - I wanted to be taken seriously and for my career history to speak for itself. Before I took the plunge, I deliberately sought to work or volunteer with small and large organisations, to deliver large-scale and more intimate events, and to work on team-led and independent projects, in order to demonstrate how diverse I could be. 
2. Clear expertise – I knew that I wanted to focus on helping charitable organisations maximise the amount of money they raised through events. I’ve diversified a little since then but largely I continue to work with clients who need my support in this area. Having a niche has helped me pitch for work and to feel confident that I can add value. 
3. A strong network of contacts within your field - I continue to be surprised at, and grateful for, the amount of work that I have become aware of through former bosses and through the wonders of social media. Remember to keep in touch, make the most of LinkedIn to stay aware of where your contacts move to and it doesn't hurt to maintain regular coffees or glasses of wine with those who could make introductions in the future. I will always remember a former colleague whose personal PR skills were second to none - she definitely inspired me to work on my profile and to focus on building working relationships with those who were influential. 
4. A next step – Now this is entirely up to you but for me, as a planner, I needed to know what the next few weeks looked like. I made the move out of a permanent role knowing that I had a holiday lined up, followed by a piece of work that would see me through for a couple of months and help me pay the bills. This helped me sell the decision to my family and partner, and took away some of the initial fear. For others, I know that part of the attraction is the unknown and I also know how helpful it can be to have space to think and breathe and regroup, before jumping into something new. 
5. Confidence and motivation – So finally, yes it's cheesy but I really have found it to be true! If you have reached the stage where you believe that you can do it, then put yourself out there and go for it. From this point forward, you will be your biggest advocate, particularly when you're having to prove yourself all over again to new people and clients, and your biggest motivator, particularly when you find yourself working seven days a week. 

But remember, it doesn't have to be forever. Use your freelancing time to build up your portfolio, to work with a variety of organisations, and to experience life without the infrastructure of a larger company. Permanent employment will still be there if you change your mind! 

I have often said the same about having a baby and stand by the same principle that there is never going to be a perfect time and you could put it off forever if you started listing reasons to wait. Three years in and I’m still learning and still have big ambitions for the business. 

I’m always happy to share my experiences and talk through what I’ve enjoyed/struggled with so if you want to hear more, get in touch.