Video diary

A video diary would prove invaluable if your event were going to be run each year.

Imagine the benefits video images could give. In 12 months’ time, you will still have the slightly grubby, torn and coffee-stained site plans, but how do you describe things that worked well or went wrong? How do you convey to the people already planning next year’s event that the caravan entrance was wrongly sited? How do you describe a complex arrangement of tapes, cones and pay tables in the main car park entrance? How do you explain the problems caused by long queues at the railway pedestrian gate? One answer could be to get item on videotape.

You still have to document the problems, but those reports or log entries could refer to a video record, so that the problem can be seen. Being able to show the site, populated with actual members of the public, ducking under signs saying ‘Danger – Keep Out’ is better than submitting a report (but submit the report anyway). Being able to video that layout of cones and pay tables in the car park that worked remarkably well this year will allow people to do exactly the same next year.

Training

Videotaping members of staff performing their function could be invaluable in briefing and training your staff for the rest of the event or for next year. With videotape you can show how a car park marshal should use their mobile sign and give clear hand signals to drivers, to direct traffic efficiently. You could run a videotape of a gate person directing judges and competitors to their assigned parking areas.

There are endless possibilities. While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a videotape is worth a million words and saves a good deal of your time.

Advertising

Assuming that you are proposing to run the event again, you could use stills, clips or the whole videotape for advertising purposes. Still pictures may be used on your posters next year. Video clips or sections of the whole tape may be run on the local news or cable channels as a local news item next year. You may want to run some tape for a prospective sponsor, a company considering advertising at your event, or a potential attraction owner who is thinking of signing up to your show next year.

The videotape and images from the event will hopefully prove how successful, well organised, well managed and popular your event was, and so interested parties will want to be part of it next year.

Recruiting

You may be able to use videotape as a recruiting aid. Showing potential recruits the you want them to fill, as well as showing them how wonderful and enjoyable the day was, might help attract the staff you want.

Sales

You may be attempting to attract income for your event, either in terms of advertisers wanting to erect hoardings at your event, potential sponsors or perhaps stall and concession holders considering buying a plot for the next event. Showing them the videotape should be enough for them to see what the show was like, the numbers attracted and how much spending power you had on your site.

You must of course remember that this tape should have been taken at the peak time and not five minutes before closing and during a thunderstorm. If you want a sales videotape, make it a good one!