At the recent NEO Ireland networking event in the Guinness Storehouse , NEO members and visitors heard from Des Doris of Alchemy Events on his top tips for planning. We thought the tips were good enough to share...

Lesson One:
It is 4pm, the stage is set, sound check complete and a final rehearsal has just got off without a hitch. The awards have arrived, staff are being briefed and put into position, everything looks just beautiful. AND there are still three hours to spare…but then… The bar manager approaches to ask when the wine will be delivered?

Having been assured that the wine had been delivered three days previously, this question prompted a few conflicting emotions for Des:
a) Burst into tears while at the same time strange everybody within a 10 foot radius
b) Remain calm (at least on the outside) and contact a friend in the right place for help

Luckily Des went for plan b!!

Sure enough the favour came through and 150 bottles of wine were delivered within an hour. But still, he was 250 bottles short. So it was off to the local off license, and if anyone ever wondered how many bottles of Santa Rita Reserva you can fit into a Volkswagen Golf… well, the answer is 250, and yes the exhaust did drag!

The lesson Des took from this experience was Don’t Panic, everything is fixable and so often the client never even has to know. Incidentally, Des never did discover what happened to the original wine!

Lesson Two:
It was the radio advertising awards, and a well known comedian was hosting the Radio Media Awards. We might all be forgiven for assuming that hosting an awards ceremony for 500 people would be a piece of cake for a pro but…

It is 10pm, coffee is being served, and the guests are jovial but restless and calling for the show to start. Des is backstage with the host who is definitely NOT relaxed. He is pacing up and down, staring at the ground and muttering at himself. The voice over announces his appearance, and then… He throws up all over his shoes!

So as you can imagine, everyone was pretty shocked as it was the last thing anyone expected. But like a pro, on he went and played an absolute blinder. As a guest you would never have known what had just taken place back stage.

The lesson learned was surround yourself with people more talented than yourself and then Trust them.

Lesson Three:
Des’ third example came from a product launch for a mobile phone company. At the networking event he had also provided some visual examples of the WOW factor at this event. There were models, there was theming, there was excitement and there were…lights, camera and action!!

Des was also to record an interview with a well known football star and present the interview on tape at the awards ceremony. This was all very well in principle but getting access to the player at the Chelsea training ground involving monster security was a little more of an issue.

Des flies over to meet him and is setting up in the press room – amazed at how many of the footballers ‘people’ were all hanging around, telling him to hurry up. And then…

What do you think is the most important item for a camera crew to bring? – film! Yep, the camera crew forgot the film.

The 30 minute interview time was ticking away and there was no way of getting film in time. The event was on in one week and the interview was to be the centre piece of the evening. In short, they were screwed. Or were they?…

Des had noticed a SKY TV truck parked around the back of the dressing rooms, they were there to interview another player. So with a deep breath Des approached the sky team and asked if he could borrow some Digi Beta Film Stock. After laughing heartly at his expense for about five minutes they handed some over.

So Des says the lesson learned here, was improvise. I say the lesson learned here was go Des, he was gutsy, swallowed his pride and was prepared to do whatever it took to get the job done.

Lesson Four:

As if that wasn’t enough drama for one event, there was a second incident from the same product launch. This incident really defines perfect planning.

Because of venue circumstances, the team at Alchemy Events were told they only had a very short time window for setting up room for the launch. Alchemy were in at 18:00 and the first guests would be coming in at 19:30 – oh my!

They had to:

• Clean the room
• Dress it
• Install the Stage
• Install the PA System
• Install the Lighting Rig
• Sound Check Jerry Fish
• Install 4 64” Plasma Screens
• Brief the Models
• Do a complete Run through.

…And so on. The team had rehearsed getting in the room over and over again and every detail was timed to the second.

On the night, guests were literally arriving to a building ‘tour’ to buy a little extra time. But they made it… just! And Des had discovered a new favourite AV team. The point to be made here was that they succeeded through perfect planning. The lesson learned was plan, practice, then do it again and again and again…then do it once more!!!

So by anticipating every contingency it is possible to minimize the risk of something unexpected happening AND you maximize the chances of coping when the unexpected inevitably does occur.

“In Battle Plans are nothing; planning is everything. “

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Summary

In summary, Des’ four suggestions for perfect planning are:

• Plan and Practice
• Hire Talented People and Trust them
• Improvise

And

• Don’t Panic

In the interests of a balanced argument Des finished with a couple of quotes on the futility of planning:

“Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning. “
Donald Rumsfeld

“There's nothing you can really do to prepare to rock. Do you prepare to eat a delicious meal? Are you hungry? Then you're gonna eat it. “

The Great Jack Black in School of Rock

And finally, but rather sadly

“We're planning on being married for a long, long time. “

Now ex husband of Jessica Simpson

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A big thank you to Des Doris of Alchemy Events for sharing his expertise and his own experiences with us. Des Doris is the founder and Managing Director of Alchemy Event Management. He holds a BA (Hons) in Economics and Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin and a Diploma in Advertising Studies from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). He got an important insight into how to put on a good show when, while attending DIT he would spend Thursday afternoons writing the lecture that his boss would then deliver to him and the rest of his class that evening.

Des founded Alchemy in 2004 after a long and distinguished career in Event Management nixers ranging from organising club nights to fund his college days to organising the Radio Advertising Awards while being Sales Manager of Dublin Radio Station SPIN 1038 during the day.

Alchemy was born out of the desire to organise great events offering creativity, value and transparency to clients and since its launch has gone from strength to strength working with clients like Eircom, Samsung, Initiative Media, The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland and Jury’s Doyle Hotels. Prior to setting up Alchemy Des worked for over 10 years in the Advertising Industry in RTE, McCann Erickson, Poster Management Limited and SPIN 1038. Email: des.doris@alchemyevents.com Web: www.alchemyevents.com Phone: +353 1 214 8637

If you have any tips you'd like to offer to the NEO News readers, please e-mail me: sarah@neoireland.com or phone me on 01 716 3631.