19 Jan

Organising an event is a complicated process. Whether you’re a business owner arranging a corporate event, an agency creative putting together the next experiential campaign for a client, or an event planner co-ordinating the hospitality for a launch party.

While the theme, budget, venue and catering will all be major considerations, the one thing that can make or break an event is the staff. You need to find people who not only match the brand that they will be representing but also suit the style of event that you’re holding.

Finding the right individual for an event is an awful lot like match-making, so we’ve decided to take a look at the personality profiles that we think best complement specific types of events.

 

 

Experiential/Guerrilla marketing staff

 

 

If there’s a kind of event that screams personality, it’s experiential and guerrilla campaigns. They’re popping up all over the world and have proved to be particularly popular in recent years. Matching the staff to the brand is crucial and you certainly don’t want to have a shy wallflower if you’re going to be playing Wheel of Fortune on a baggage carousel, like Zappo’s campaign in Houston. You’ll want someone who’s friendly and approachable, able to bring the product and brand to life and reach out to consumers, just like the staff we sourced for Nando’s Pic or Nic campaign.

 

Likes

• Having fun and being the life and soul of the party.
• Anything that allows them to be an energetic extrovert.
• Making new friends.

 

Dislikes

• Sitting still.
• Being serious for any length of time.

 

 

Sampling/Leafleting staff

 

 

The point of most promotional events will be to share products or material to a specific target market. Staff who are approaching people at a particular venue, whether it’s on the streets or an in-store event, will require many of the same qualities as we’ve mentioned above, but an ability to recognise who is most relevant for what’s being handed out is vital. A willingness to walk up to people and engage in conversation is exactly what we looked for when we chose staff for Ocean Spray’s ‘Get a taste for it’ campaign.

 

Likes

• Being able to put a smile on someone’s face.
• Working to specific instructions and being super organised.
• Meeting people and mingling.

 

Dislikes

• Working to a vague brief.
• Being stuck behind a desk.

 

 

Sporting event staff

 

 

Like any other promotional event, a campaign based at a sporting event will require staff to exhibit the kind of skills we’ve already mentioned. The main difference with staffing an event at a sporting venue is the nature of the event. Staff will need to be comfortable finding their way through large crowds and not feel intimidated. We took this into consideration when recruiting staff for Barclays Premier League.

 

Likes

• The roar of the crowd.
• To be enthusiastic and passionate about the things they love.
• Being outdoors.

 

Dislikes

• Having to be subdued and restrained.
• Feeling cooped up indoors.

 

 

Conference/Exhibition staff

 

 

Conferences and corporate exhibitions needn’t be stuffy, overly formal affairs, but they definitely need an approach that’s a little more toned down than a frenetic experiential event. Staff will need to be well-spoken and sociable, with a natural air that makes visitors feel comfortable. While a more reserved, less energetic personality is preferable, you don’t want them to come across as aloof or unapproachable. Above all, exhibition or corporate event staff should be professional and always maintain the brand values of the business that they are representing, represented perfectly by the staff at all of Growth UK’s corporate events.

 

Likes

• Engaging with people.
• Being informative, helpful and polite.
• Attention to detail.

 

Dislikes                                    

• Messing around when there’s a job to be done.
• Having nothing to do.

 

 

Hospitality event staff

 

 

By their very nature, hospitality events need to make their guests feel like VIPs. Attention to detail is vital when it comes to staffing an event like this, hosts and hostesses should have impeccable manners, neat appearance and exceptional time management. We handpicked the staff for The Open Championship in Muirfield based on this criteria.

 

Likes

• Being attentive and giving people what they want.
• Everything to be meticulous and thorough.
• Being recognised for doing a good job.

 

Dislikes                                    

• Inefficiency and disorder.
• Unhappy customers.

 

 

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Whatever the event, be it part of a creative experiential campaign or a formal corporate exhibition, the staff who are there to host it need to reflect the values of the brand or business and match its needs to make it a success. Whether you need a roller skating squad of product samplers, or a sophisticated team of corporate hosts and hostesses, make sure that you find the right people.

 

To find out more about how we can help with your promotional staffing or experiential support needs, contact us today.