What should your event agency provide before event day?

A clear brief helps your agency stay in control of the welcome. Attendee details are correct, badges reflect your client's brand and the team knows who handles each type of question. Preparing together with your event partner lets you focus on the programme and your client on the day.

What do you need to provide in advance? Start with the event date, venue, expected numbers and the work you would like support with. Activo helps you agree who handles registration, design, equipment and staffing. Also identify who approves decisions on behalf of your agency and the client. Then work through these five areas.

1. Registration and the right attendee details

Agree which registration system is the main source and which details are needed for check-in, badges and access. These may include names, organisations, attendee groups and, where relevant, session choices. Match the fields to what the reception team actually uses.

If you use Activo for registration, we use that as the basis for the agreed reception process. If the list comes from another system, agree the file format, how it will be shared and how updates will be processed. Supply an initial version in time for checking and setup. This preparation is needed in advance even when badges are printed on site.

2. Branding and approved designs

Share your client's logo, colour codes, font and any brand guidelines. For print, a suitable vector file is often the best starting point; we agree the technical requirements for the chosen format.

Decide which details appear on the badge and who approves the design. Check readability with a long name or organisation name too. Review the e-ticket, badge and any lanyard together so they feel consistent. The options for e-tickets, badges and lanyards help you recommend a suitable approach.

3. Attendee groups and access rights

Specify which days, entrances, rooms or programme activities each group can access. Guests, speakers, crew and exhibitors may follow different routes. Also decide whether these differences should be visible on the badge.

Ask your client to confirm the access arrangements and identify who may change them. This gives the reception team clear instructions. Discuss how replacements will be processed and how to avoid leaving both the original and replacement registrations valid.

4. Venue, equipment and setup

Share an up-to-date floor plan showing the reception desk, entrances, scanning points and guest routes. Include when the venue is available for setup, where materials will be delivered and who the venue contact is.

Agree who provides desks, suitable devices, any printers, power and internet. Allow time before opening to check the actual scanning points and test badge distribution. These arrangements form part of the preparation for access control at the event venue.

5. Run sheet and available contacts

Provide the opening time, expected arrival peaks, programme start and the time reception closes. Specify who scans tickets, distributes badges and assists attendees with additional questions. Review your team's responsibilities alongside Activo's.

Name one agency contact, with a phone number and a backup. Include who can make decisions on behalf of the client. The team will then know whom to contact when you are with a speaker or needed in another room.

Plan the handover in three stages

Build a timeline together that fits badge design and production, registration and on-site support. Use three clear stages:

• Prepare: share the initial attendee details, branding, attendee groups and venue layout so we can develop and check the setup.
• Approve: confirm designs, access rules, quantities and the agreed work before the relevant production or delivery deadline.
• Update: agree how late registrations, replacements and corrections will be communicated and processed.

On-site printing allows details to be processed later; design, materials and setup are prepared earlier. If a client changes the approach, we discuss the effect on timing, staffing and costs. You can then explain the implications clearly and request approval.

Give the desk team clear instructions for special situations

Include a forgotten e-ticket, a guest who cannot immediately be found and a replacement attendee in the briefing. For each situation, describe what the staff member checks, which action is permitted and when they need to consult someone.

For example, if a ticket has been forgotten, the staff member looks up the registration and verifies the person and their access. If anything remains unclear, the question goes to the designated contact. For a new registration or a badge issued on the spot, we agree beforehand who authorises it and which facilities are needed.

Finish with a shared handover

Review the five areas together before event day: have the details been checked, designs approved, access rules clarified and venue arrangements confirmed? Do the relevant staff have the current brief and contact details? List outstanding actions with an owner and deadline.

You can reuse this handover process for your next event. Your agency keeps a familiar way of working while the details vary by client. Activo works with you and coordinates its role with the tasks your own team handles.

Frequently asked questions about preparing for event day