AR 2009: Producing Effective Events

We went to AR 2009. It was my first time and I’m really glad I went. And I’m excited to go to other animal rights conferences in the future.

For details about this event, please take a look at arconference.org.

These are my notes from the presentation titled, “Producing Effective Events“:

Speaker 1 – Debra Erenberg, Rainforest Action Network

There are lots of different kinds of events with varied purposes but one thing in common, they’re all resource-intensive.
Rule of halves: half of the people who say they’ll come (to your face) will actually show up
Planning board: have a committee, make it diverse, helps take care of various issues and helps get the word out far
Drop dead date = the time when you’re willing to pull plug, reschedule, etc. if not enough people are going to attend
Be prepared to shrink space, move plants, tables, etc. to make the room feel smaller and thus make your event seem better attended
Have back-up plan for if too many people attend
Detailed event plan, timelines, clear expectations, etc are helpful
Use the buddy system. Everything is more fun when you’re doing together. Make the planning process fun, each task is a mini event.
If people aren’t as involved in the planning process, ask why.
Thank people constantly. They appreciate it and come back for more.
What if the fund raising event doesn’t make any money? Make the best of it, find the positive
Secure as much funding in advance as you can
If you’re planning a fund raiser, make sure people understand it’s a fund raiser
Media events? picture is worth a thousand words, reach out to media personally, be ready for them
If no media bite? Make your own media – blog, flickr, etc. send out post-event release

Speaker 2 – Amy Baird, Sea Shepherd

Getting the info out is crucial for an org like Sea Shepherd because if noone hears about it, it’s like it didn’t happen
Timing is key, people pay more attention when related events coincide. So take advantage of hot topics and news stories that relate to animals
Advertising can be activism – LUSH campaign example
Let people know about the event in advance: public needs time to plan (announce the even 1 week in advance MIN), media forgets (announce event 3 days in advance MAX)
Designate one person as the official media spokesperson. (My thoughts: I remember attending a pro-choice demonstration once with only two other people. But the news crews were there and they outnumbered the demonstrators. So all of a sudden, I had to speak. I wasn’t prepared because I hadn’t been designated as “the official spokesperson.” Lesson learned: prepare a soundbite and tell ALL your people.)
Follow up after the event so media and supporters know what happened.

Speaker 3 – Alex Hershaft, FARM

He offered some examples of past events in order to stimulate our creativity:
Street theater “die in” = all dress in black, all lie down at same time, sign-holders explain the demonstration
Slaughterhouse assembly line = blow-up dolls, calf doll, cable line, fake blood… you get the idea
Vigils at slaughterhouses, public picnic feed-ins…

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Because these posts are simply published notes, they are not official transcripts or exact quotes.

Vegan Soapbox