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As summer holidays draw to a close and we return to the office, maybe full-time or in part combining working from home, it’s a popular time for awards ceremony planning.

Whether it is charity fundraising, an internal awards evening combined with a company conference, or a customer success evening of recognition, all provide such a great opportunity as a platform to wow and engage with your audience.

Lemonzest has managed and delivered many very different award events over the years, some large, some small, some themed, some overseas, some involving robots and some high profile with celebrity comperes and talented musicians. It is fair to say that award ceremonies are extremely flexible and can be adapted to your audience and goals.

Some venues lend themselves perfectly for holding an awards evening with versatile spaces, easy network links and accommodation yet Lemonzest realise that occasionally something more intimate or quirky or state of the art is required and we have plenty of ideas and tricks up our sleeve to find exactly what will work for our clients.

During pandemic restrictions, we created a studio at our HQ in Birmingham and designed it to be flexible for different types of events and recreate live events as close as possible using company branding and hi-technology with our team of engineers on hand to deliver a first-class experience for all. It will continue to be part of our offering as we realise that we can offer additional services to clients and be flexible in our approach. This also applies to awards ceremonies that can be delivered and produced live or pre-recorded from the studio.

We are currently designing and planning a number of awards events that are using multimedia to excite attendees, deliver key messages and create a great impression. We have one industry award event that is utilising multiple sponsor collaboration which provides lots of opportunities for creative multimedia and another in-person event that is being held as part of a conference and is a high production event with theming and some top-drawer entertainment.

Here are a few things to think about when looking to deliver an awards ceremony to remember:

1. Plan ahead – not only to get the venue you want but you will need a decent lead time to secure entertainment. A 6-9 month lead time is typical.

2. Work with your event production team to shortlist possible venues and then visit them. This is highly recommended to get a good perspective on atmosphere, lighting, sound quality and what will work best for you. It’s also a good idea to look at catering options.

3. Have a budget – even if it is a ball-park idea. The options for events and awards ceremonies are endless so knowing what you are working to will help to get all of the essentials and suggest options for how to maximise your budget.

4. AV & multimedia production of branded content will help to incorporate sponsors and partners, build your key messages and provide re-useable content afterwards to maximise exposure.

5. Don’t forget the tech. We recommend working with our professional AV team who can do everything from set design to lighting to music. When you consider the number of smartphone users who will record, capture and socially share their experience you want to look your best and it’s also worth considering tech options for streaming or live tweeting your event for maximum reach and exposure.

Now is the time to get thinking and planning for your events and we have a team of #eventprofs waiting to advise, help and inspire you. Comment below if you would like any help or need support with any aspect of awards or conference. If you have any great experiences of award events, I’d love to hear those too.