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Our 5m LED screen created a buzz at South West Business Expo

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Our LED screen created a buzz at the South West Business Expo, positioned high above the exhibition stalls. The screen showed adverts from the sponsors and partners along with information to all delegates about the show. With around 2000 delegates and 300 stands, the Expo proved a lively forum for networking. The LED screen was a draw for Waggle Events, bringing lots of delegates from training organisations, venues and charity fundraisers.

The 5m LED screen is particularly useful for outdoor events where a scattered audience can be entertained and informed without the constant need for tannoy announcements. We have used it for great effect at events like the Commando Challenge, which is a major outdoor event raising funds for Devon Air Ambulance and the Royal Marine Charity. We used teams of volunteers to film participants tackling the muddy challenges across the 10k course which we then streamed on the LED screen back at the Village, to the amusement of the audience waiting for friends and family to complete the course.

The screen is also very useful at conferences and exhibitions as it is visible above a crowded areas, distributing information and engaging the audience with interviews, activities and updates.

More information about our LED screen and audio visual packages can be found here.

 

Launching #WinWithWaggle at the South West Business Expo

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We’ll be running a 5m LED screen at the South West Business Expo on Thursday March 15th 2018. Held at Westpoint for the first time, the show looks like it is going to be huge! With nearly 2000 delegates already booked to attend, the organisers are keen to make the event as engaging and succesful as possible. The sponsors, partners and exhibitors have been offered the opportunity to show their information on our 5m LED screen which will be positioned high above the stands.

The high profile screen will catch attention and encourage visitors to take part in all the networking activites, talks and demos going on all day, as well as help exhibitors to reach a wider audience.

Our stand will be directly below the screen so we will be hard to miss! We are launching our new #WinWithWaggle competition. Simply take a selfie on our stand and tag us with the hashtag as well to enter the competition. Our top prize is a free Spa Day at the Award Winning Ilsington Country House Hotel & Spa. 

The hotel has been owned and run by the Hassell Family since 1998. Fourth generation, Devon hoteliers with a keen eye for detail and with staff who know how to make you feel at home. Packed with traditional character and a laid back vibe unwind in whatever way takes your fancy. The two beautiful lounges are perfect for a game of afternoon chess and a cream tea (there are three to choose from) or book some pre-dinner spa time either in the pool or with one of the therapists.

The panoramic setting is engaging so bring your boots. Impressive Dartmoor National Park is literally on the doorstep and the hotels own ten acres home to a flock of friendly chickens are yours to enjoy. Walk then lunch, cycle then sauna, horse ride then stretch out. The hydrotherapy pool soon eases away any aches and pains, the massages and facials in the Tibetan spa rejuvenate.

Awarded two AA rosettes for food, numerous awards for the Spa and recognised in publications such as the Good Hotel Guide. Spend a lazy lunch overlooking the gardens, a family fun packed afternoon playing croquet on the lawn or a long summers evening sharing a bite to eat on the terrace. You’ll find an irresistible combination of country charm, award-winning food, friendly service and unrivalled access to the untamed moor and beautiful countryside here.

Top 10 Tips for putting on a successful event in 2018

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Top 10 tips for putting on a successful event in 2018

Looking for tips for putting on a successful event? Waggle Events has LOTS of experience in putting on events and working with event organisers. So whether you’re a charity or a business, arranging a quiz or a 3 day event, we hope these tips will help you make your event even more successful.

tips for putting on events

  1. Start planning early

How ever experienced you are, you’ll enjoy the planning stages much more if you feel things are in hand and organised. For a big event, 4 – 8 months ahead is a good idea. Get the dates and venues booked as soon as you can. For smaller events, 4 – 8 weeks should be fine, assuming you don’t need to book a venue very far ahead.

  1. The purpose

Be very clear what the purpose of the event is and then work out why people would want to take part. You can then use that information to shape your event, budgets and marketing messages. Being very clear from the beginning will really help your planning!

  1. Break down the planning

Most event planning comes into one of three categories – logistics, marketing and content. If you have a project planner for each of these areas, it will help. Remember to include a backup plan for the key activities because things have a tendency to go wrong!

Under logistics, you may need to include signage, furniture, audio visual, flooring, crowd barriers, flowers, stewards, health and safety consultants, marketers, printers, designers, transport, insurance, portaloos, registration and box office and licences including alcohol and music.

  1. Be honest with yourself

It is very easy to get carried away with optimism! Have conversation with your colleagues and other event planners about what is realistic in terms of your ambitions for your event. Sound out potential attendees to gauge realist ticket numbers and price points.  Construct your budgets around these figures rather than desired numbers, ensuring you can balance the books.  You can always add features closer to the event if you sell more tickets than expected.

  1. Use social media and PR opportunities

If you want decent crowds, you need to get your message out there as soon as possible. Take or get hold of good photos you can use. Great photos of meetings, events, venues, speakers etc will all add to the interest. Build up a following, create an Event on Facebook, put it on Eventbrite…

If you can find marketing and PR partners or sponsors, that can be incredibly effective.

  1. Share the load

If at all possible, get other people to take responsibility for specific parts of the event. Use a shared folder to keep track of what is happening and to help communication within your team.

7. Audio visuals

You will almost certainly need speakers, microphones and screens of some sort. Make sure you have thought through what you want to achieve and have a good idea of the budget before you ask suppliers to quote. For instance, is the stage the main feature of the event or there to add atmosphere, or will a screen be needed. A good supplier will talk to you about how the event will run so that they can advise you and put the specification together.  If the venue is supplying AV, make sure it’s up to the job and that someone will be on hand to set up and help with any problems.

  1. Catering

Sometimes it feels like the delegates are only interested in the food! Sort out the catering as early on as possible – it can be a costly part of the budget if you’re providing food for an event. It certainly is something the event will be judged by. Remember the large range of dietary considerations you will be expected to cater for.

  1. The event team

You need a great team that you can trust and rely on to help plan, manage and run the event. Take your time choosing your team because the event will only be as good as the team running it. This applies to volunteers too. Arrange a briefing session and make sure you include some training events for all volunteers and organisers s that everyone is as professional and well informed as possible.

  1. The difficult second and third years…

On many occasions, the first year of an event will experience a little bit of a honeymoon period.  This is especially true with small charity events where friends and extended contact circles are keen to help an organiser with a first-time project.  Don’t be tempted to do the first year ‘on the cheap’ to ‘see how it goes’.  We are a fickle lot and are unlikely to return year on year unless we enjoyed the last one. If we have a good time at the first event we are likely to return a second time, this gives you time to increase the marketing for the third event which will inevitably see some of the original attendees drop away.

 

Final note from us!

Waggle Events have over 20 years of experience in event management so we hope you enjoyed our  tips for putting on a successful event. We supply audio visual expertise and equipment for fund raising events, conferences, exhibitions, special events and sportives – in fact, anywhere you need stages, lighting, screens, cameras, speakers and microphones. Get in touch to find out more.

Choose Waggle Events and support your chosen charity

We set Waggle Events up because we wanted to support charities directly, through our expertise. When you choose to work with Waggle Events, you can nominate a charity to benefit from a donation from us at the end of our financial year.

Contact us

www.waggleevents.org

rob@waggleevents.org

Telephone: 01626 897688

Mobile: 07540 345155

LED screen – one of the best ways to increase engagement at events

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Installing a LED screen at an event is one of the best ways of boosting engagement, encouraging people to stay longer and of course, giving any sponsors an opportunity to showcase their services. If you have a lot of people at an event, indoors or outdors, having a roving microphone and camera with a live stream back to the screen means that you can interview people and film the action – and everyone can see and hear what’s happening.

We have a great special offer for 2018 – book our LED screen for events in 2018 before the end of Feb and we’ll deliver to you free of charge if your venue is within 15 miles of Newton Abbot. If your event is being held further away than 15 miles, we’ll give you a 50% discount on the delivery charge.

Waggle Events provide audio visual equipment for events for charities, organisations and businesses. We can provide microphones, speakers, screens, staging and lights for indoor and outdoor events. Our event management team will be an essential part of your event team, making the most of the resources you already have to make your event a huge success. Our LED screen was a huge success in 2017, being used for the Dartmoor Classic, Commando Challenge and Devon Air Ambulance family day, Teignbridge Sports Bug events.

Portable PA on loan to local charities and fundraisers

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Our portable PA is available for local charities and fundraisers to borrow free of charge. The sound system can be attached to mains power or will run for up to 8 hours on battery only. The sound system is perfect for smaller events of up to 50 people and can be invaluable for organisers to make announcements without needing to hire and set up more complicated sound systems.
The latest charity to borrow the PA is Animals in Distress for their Muddy Mutts sponsored dog walk at the lovely Dart Country Park.

Portable PA

If you and your dog fancy setting yourselves a muddy challenge, in aid of the homeless animals in our care, come and join them for our Muddy Mutts Sponsored Dog Walk in the beautiful setting of the River Dart Country Park. The 3km course will involve mud, water, dog-friendly obstacles such as jumps, tunnels, weaves and temptation alley games, commando crawling and a water-dip.

If you and your dog prefer just to have a more relaxed walk in the beautiful South Devon countryside, there will also be a less challenging route with no obstacles. All you need to do to enter is pledge a minimum sponsorship of £20. All proceeds from the event will go to help the animals at the rescue centre.

Sound systems for conferences

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Waggle Events do sound systems for conferences, meetings and events right across the South West. We have a team of technicians who can do sound system installations in Board rooms, meeting rooms etc and a team who can set up and run all the audio visuals for multi-room conferences, including sound systems, screens, live streaming, microphones, lighting and staging.

Setting up sound systems for conferences is made much more rewarding when we are involved in the early planning stages becvause then we fully understand what is needed. That means that the technical specification is more accurate and clients aren’t overwhelmed with a list of equipment, some of which is ‘nice to have’ and won’t add value to the conference or event.

Understanding whether speakers will use a lectern, portable microphones or lapel microphones can make a big difference to the end result in terms of flexibility and sound quality. These aren’t always things people have thought about before they talk to their audio visual supplier!

An initial neeting means that we can run through the essentials of your event, assess the level of technical skill you may have access to inhouse and then put together a proposal including costings. We want your event to be as succesful as possible so we usually assume that one of our team will be on hand throughout your event to help with unforeseen changes or issues.