Sasha Klemens
HM592 Management
Homework #1 Part 1
05/08/09

Part 1: From the text Professional Event Coordination, answer question #3 on page 25 in the Exercises in Professional Event Coordination section. The minimum required length for this part is two pages. Include all six components of the “six A’s” including Anticipation, Arrival, Atmosphere, Appetite, Activity, and Amenities in detail. Each section should be 1-2 paragraphs. Include an introduction and summary paragraph tying them together.

A pharmaceutical company exhibiting at a medical convention trade show in your city wants to host an off-site evening hospitality reception for 200 of their best customers, featuring a theme that celebrates the local culture.

The pharmaceutical company is proud to host a hospitality reception to thank their customers and their workers for their services. Not only is this for the people a part of this company but is intended for everyone as well. However, this specific event is mainly designed for everyone to share their experiences and motivate others to wanting to pursue the medical field. The best part of any event is the anticipation of it all. Thinking about who will be there, what the environment will feel like, the food that will be catered, the activities that will go on, and the souvenirs are all part of what gets an event planner excited when creating events.

Lights, camera, action! The pharmaceutical company is excited to host an event providing to their customers. The anticipation will be built by making fliers, making invitations, posting online, and of course, word of mouth. The first time the event becomes just a thought is probably almost just as exciting as when the event is actually happening. It creates imagination and hope for the exact image of what the event is going to look like. The pharmaceutical company is looking forward to targeting out to those who are in the medical field or at least have interest in the medical field so these people can network with one another. The start of the planning will be the most fun and most stressful time as the company will need to look into the budgeting and participation of the event.

Dealing with the event itself is one thing, but dealing with the people of the event is another. It is important to look into where the attendees will park, the cost of the parking, and how to deal with the entrance and exit traffic. The pharmaceutical company will have to get together with a parking company. When the guests arrive, the flow of them entering the event will be an issue as well, so it will be important for someone to control the flow of arrival.

We would like the atmosphere of this event to be casual for the guests to feel comfortable enough to speak with one another without feeling too awkward. The temperature of the room will lean towards on the cooler side so it will allow the guests to walk around a lot and not sit down too much. Temperature affects what a person feels like doing. If it is too hot or too cold, nobody wants to be there. However, if it is too comfortable, no one would want to do anything. A nice chill breeze would motivate the guests to want to get up and participate in activities.

The food and beverage that will be catered out to this event would be cocktails and small appetizers in which the servers would be walking around servings to the guests. If it were a sit down plated entree, it wouldn’t allow the guests to interact much with everyone. Of course, there would be enough tables and chairs for all guests to sit down, relax and have good conversation with one another.

It is never fun to have an event full of strangers and having the host of the event create awkward ice breakers. The important part of an event is the connection strangers have with one another after attending the event by sharing a common ground. As for the pharmaceutical company, the best type of activity for the attendees and their guests is to have slideshows of what their company is about, raffles, trivia questions pertaining to the medical field, a comedic emcee, and a mingle hour, in which the guests will have a chance to talk to each other and ask questions. Once they are all loosened up and feel more comfortable with one another, perhaps sometime in the middle of the event, a dance session with a DJ would be fun and appropriate.

The show is over and now it is time to thank the guests and have them remember this special event. A photo booth will be located inside the venue having costumes and accessories to wear so the guests can have fun with the pictures. Aside from pictures, memorable mugs and water bottles with the logo of the company will be printed on the outside will be given out to every guest attended.

Since the importance of the event is for the guests share their experiences, the six “A’s” are all important and crucial for this event. The eagerness of the pharmacists, their customers, and guests, the flow of the traffic of the event, the environment, the food, the entertainment, and the gifts. These are the crucial aspects of the event and allows the guests to look back and remember this certain day.