How to Plan an Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony is a great way to celebrate the accomplishments and hard work of those in your industry or business. But how do you start to plan an awards ceremony? We’ve put together some guidance on how to throw a memorable awards ceremony.
Tips for planning your awards ceremony
1. Set a budget
The first stage of planning your awards ceremony is setting a realistic budget. This will ensure you don’t get too carried away when it comes to planning and end up cutting corners on certain things because you have overspent at the beginning of the process. You should also add up the prospective costs as you go along and compare these to your budget to ensure you stay on track.
2. Pick your theme
Picking a theme for your awards ceremony will help to give the event a sense of cohesion and will also inform the design and audiovisual choices you make. You could go for an upmarket black tie event, an Oscars-themed event, or something more informal.
3. Secure a venue and a date
Choosing an appropriate venue will allow you to throw an awards ceremony that meets your high expectations. If your place of work has the space to house the event, that’s great, but don’t try and squeeze it in just to try and save money. As well as being large enough to accommodate all your guests, you also need to allow adequate room for staging and AV equipment.
4. Choose your award categories and voting system
Choosing your award categories can be a lot of fun. Depending on the tone of your event, you may choose to do a mix of serious and less serious categories, but make sure that those who have worked hard or achieved great things are acknowledged and appreciated. You will also need to decide how the nominees and winners will be determined, whether this is by attendee votes or a judging panel.
5. Create a guest list or market the event for people to buy tickets
The next step in planning your award ceremony is to decide who will attend. As well as the nominees for the awards, do you also want to invite the other people who work in your company, key figures within your industry, or local business owners? Just be sure to bear your venue capacity in mind!
6. Create a floorplan
Once you have your guest list, you need to work out how you want everyone to be seated. Often awards ceremonies have a similar setup to a wedding, with lots of tables, which is a much more sociable setup than rows of chairs such as with a conference. However, this could work too if the event is sufficiently entertaining!
7. Hire entertainment
It’s also a good idea to hire some entertainment for your awards ceremony. This could be live music or a comedian who can perform a small set and also present some awards. Having entertainment will give the proceedings some variety by breaking up the award presentations. You’ll also need a quality AV company to support the entertainment.
Tips for setting up your event
1. Make use of LED screens or walls
LED walls or screens are a great way to display graphics, award categories, nominees, video links, entertainment and more. This will give your awards ceremony more of a visual presence and ensures everyone in attendance can see the action.
2. Hire a stage
A stage provides a great focal point for the awards and amounts to a much more professional setup, making any venue look like a dedicated events space. It is also easier to set up other AV equipment when you have a stage to link it all together. A stage will make your winner’s time in the spotlight feel that bit more special!
3. Hire personal microphones for the hosts
Personal microphones for your hosts will ensure they are heard by all in attendance and can effectively command the proceedings. If you are planning on your winners also speaking, you might want to consider having a separate stage microphone.
4. Hire a sound system
A good sound system will allow you to play music throughout the evening, as well as play the audio for any video content and allow all the guests to hear everything clearly. Having the right sound set up will ensure nothing sounds tinny and the event feels professional.
Planning an awards ceremony can feel like a daunting process, but it is the ideal way to show appreciation for your employees or peers while also having an exciting night in the calendar for everyone to look forward to. If you are looking to hire AV or event production services for your awards ceremony, then please get in touch.