12 ways that the Event Masters PCO team helps you organise your convention

What’s a pco?

PCO. You’ve probably heard this term thundering around event halls in Cologne, Brussels, Vienna or any number of other cities. And yet you still have no idea what a PCO is or does. Put simply, a PCO or Professional Conference Organiser is a team that takes on the organisation of your congress, conference or meeting to make it a powerful, effective and memorable event. Below, you’ll find twelve services that PCO managers provide when you’re organising your conference.

1. Venue finding & contracting

Searching for different locations, catering and other services—let alone all the contract negotiations—is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But PCOs know plenty of top-class locations. How? Our Event Masters PCO has built up familiarity over 20 years of event management experience. And uses this insight to investigate which location is best suited to your congress, conference or meeting. As your PCO, we also encourage you to accompany us to check various venues. This way, you’ll feel as positive and excited about the location as your speakers and participants.

2. Online en on-site registration & housing

How do you plan your event if you don’t know who’ll be present? It’s not easy. This is why our PCO team creates a registration form on an online platform, linking it to an existing or a new website for your congress, conference or meeting. And this is just the start. As your PCO, we also make sure all participants are registered, that they receive personalised badges and all available data after the event. Handy? Definitely! And since it’s paperless, it’s also sustainable and environmentally friendly.

3. Project Management

There’s an enormous amount for you to look at when organising a congress. Which is why a helping hand is always welcome. Especially when it’s from a PCO you can rely on for:

• planning
• coordination
• supervision

The Event Masters PCO team makes sure everyone is fully briefed and that everything is planned with pinpoint accuracy. This means being in contact with your company to check you’re fully informed of everything. We coordinate your event from start to finish, then follow up with a clear and concise debriefing. You’ll have nothing to worry about. Every possible risk will be reduced to an absolute minimum with Event Masters on the job!

4. Graphic Design and Communication

It’s not just enough to plan an event. You need to make sure everyone is fully informed and looking forward to participating. How do you do this? With a PCO who works out a communication strategy with you, making sure your congress is presented to the market in a way that makes it unique, interesting and memorable. You need a good house style and logo. As your PCO, we also take care of this, along with slogans, web design and graphic design, in print and online. This is all done in a creative manner so that your congress will stand out from others. As well as communicating with participants, we assist you in your communication with various stakeholders, ranging from venues and suppliers to catering and press. From start to finish and beyond, your Event Masters PCO takes care of communication, keeping you closely involved in the process so that you’re kept completely up to date and fully informed about everything.

5. Creative approach

Thanks to the in-house expertise that Event Masters has with everything event-related, your congress will be handled with the utmost creativity. Your PCO takes different features from different departments, collaborating to ensure your congress or meeting is brought to life with a completely innovative, inviting and involving approach. Expect original activities, themes and the implementation of the latest trends.

6. Financial & Budget Management

The ultimate goal for your organisation is to gather and exchange knowledge. At the same time, there’s also a financial side that can’t be ignored. You need to raise funds to support the community and invest in further education and research.

Your Professional Conference Organiser has the skills, insight and experience to manage your budget and help you achieve your financial goals. 

7. Speaker Management

As your PCO, we contact the speakers for your congress and assist them in preparing their presentations. We make sure all the materials they need for their presentations are provided, set up and carefully tested to ensure there aren’t any unpleasant surprises. We brief all your speakers in advance, covering everything from timing to expectations. If you don’t know which speakers you need to book? It’s not a problem! We also put our extensive experience and insight at your service, with a database compiling hundreds of possible speakers.

8. Abstract Handeling

We help you with the call for abstracts. By adjusting our unique, state-of-the-art online registration software to your congress, we are able to assist you in gathering, distributing and choosing quotes from abstracts. And if you would like guidance with the digital on-site presentations, you need only let us know what you want to achieve. We will help you at every step from A to Z.

9. Exhibition Management

This is another area where our online registration software will benefit you. With a contract for all participants and constant communication with all sponsors, you’re guaranteed a successful exhibition alongside your congress.

10. On-site management

As your PCO, we lead your event along the right path, checking that all logistics are in order. Plus, we supervise every aspect and stay in contact with all suppliers. You won’t have anything to worry about on the day of the event!

11. Combining different Event Masters departments

Would you like to approach your congress, meeting or conference in a completely different way? Would you like to add a team-building session? Or introduce your international participants to the highlights of Belgium? Then Event Masters is the partner for you. As we have everything needed to take care of all these possibilities in-house, there are fewer suppliers to take into account. Plus we offer a complete 360° approach to your congress. We make the difference! 

12. Following and implementing new trends

Our event masters are up to date with the latest trends and cutting-edge event technology. And we are always happy to integrate them in your event. Would you like an example? A popular approach at the moment is the use of ‘digital storytelling’, where a lecture is given via video. The audience can use an app to ask questions during the presentation. And receive a live response from the speaker. Thanks to approaches like these, Event Masters stands head and shoulders above the competition, ready to make sure your congress succeeds in doing exactly the same.