The time of year has come around once again, bringing the challenge of running a successful Freshers’ Event. Freshers’ fairs are easily one of the biggest events in the academic calendar, attended by hundreds of eager students keen to get into the swing of university life.
At the start of the academic year, all UK universities host an annual Fresher’s Fair, allowing all new and current students to network, find out about their lectures, and sign up for memberships. This article lists the 6 most important things to consider when planning your Freshers’ event.
- Making your Fresher’s Event fun
- Finding a suitable venue
- Publicising your event
- Think of your audience
- Work out the structure of the event
- Insurance
Making your Fresher’s event fun:
Your event should bring your audience closer together and make them feel less nervous about the start of University. If the event has unique aspects and something that they have done before, people will feel less like they have to impress anyone. Use figures from past events to estimate attendance and revenues. Having event ideas that bring people together to start their journey at university will benefit you in so many ways. As you are aware, many Freshers’ Event are full of students who have packed up and left home for the following three years. Most of them will be outside of their comfort zone and you can use this opportunity to help freshers get to know one another.
Onsite activities are a great way to break the ice and get rid of the initial awkwardness you tend to find in those situations. Activities that involve two or more people and that create endless laughter are definite ways of creating friendships.
Finding a suitable Fresher venue:
One of the golden rules when it comes to planning a Freshers’ Event is making sure that you book a suitable venue or space. You should bear in mind any access points for individuals who have disabilities. This can include ramps as well as stairs to ensure all students can enjoy the experience on the day – and it will also add a welcoming feeling for students with disabilities. The thing about choosing a venue is making sure it’s suitable for the event type, for example, if you are planning a fresher’s ball you will want an indoor space but if you want to book an outdoor space that would be more suitable for a fresher’s festival. Another thing to consider is the location of the venue as students don’t want to be spending all their maintenance loans at once so make sure that the venue is close to campus.
Publicising your Freshers’ Event:
Publicising your event is one of the most important steps in planning your event as it gets the word out about the event and makes sure you attract the right people. Think about social media platforms students are using the most and which works best in attracting the best amount of people. Make sure you are putting out engaging content to boost awareness of the event. An idea to attract people is to run a competition on social media for someone to win free tickets to the event. Get them to enter by sharing the post on their story, tagging friends, and interacting with the post to increase awareness of the event.
On the other hand, you could consider using an external student marketing agency that can help with your creative concept, book, manage, and staff the events. Using older students to man stalls is a given win as students are far more likely to chat with them than people who are not their age.
Think of your audience:
This event should feel comfortable to its audience and in this case, the target audience is students that will attend the University. To get the best out of your Freshers’ Event, you should consider choosing a theme. This will give students something to focus on and many students love an excuse to get dressed up and look fancy. The food, drink, and decoration will then stem from the theme and the whole event will interlink.
Another idea to consider is the fact that most students do not have a lot of money, so the event should be cheap and affordable. The entry ideally should be the most expensive thing as that includes the event itself and the cost of running the event. Selling tickets will work for some events to give you an idea of the number of participants but in some circumstances, it will not work in your favor so decide beforehand what your plan is.
The kind of activities should be inclusive and creative and based on your audience. In some scenarios, you won’t need activities as such, but you will need to provide the entertainment e.g., a DJ or a musician. This is easier to book weeks before to avoid disappointment. If you do hire musicians, also remember to plan your insurance policy which is ideal for solo performers, bands, dance groups, musicians, and ensembles. To find out how Insure Our Event could insure your entertainment, click here for more information.
Structuring your Freshers’ Events:
Structuring your Freshers’ Event is the key to a successful event as it gives the students a structured timetable to follow. Giving your fresher’s event a structured format could include a brief presentation from the organizer, holding a question-and-answer session, and helping attendees mingle. The day may also include a presentation from a current student or a recent graduate. They could speak on the following topics: Preparing for University, 5 things I love about University, and things I wish I’d known when I started University. The day might also include breakout rooms for attendees to chat in small groups. Choosing the right amount of time for each is important but not crucial as the students should feel comfortable in the workspace and they won’t do if they feel rushed.
Insurance for Freshers’ Event:
The first thing all event planners need to do is organise insurance. It’s important to do this first because purchases towards the event, such as venue booking and food or drink receipts, can be covered by your one-off Freshers event insurance in case of cancellation. Public liability for a fresher’s event is also key. Insurance can cover the consequences of any slips, trips, or injuries, including lawyer fees and compensation. Insurance offers cover for equipment and money at the event.
Insure Our Event is a specialist event insurance broker. We will work with student societies, universities, event planners, and venues to get the best possible event coverage at the best price. Just let us know a few details about your event and we’ll present you with a competitive quote instantly.
Fill out our quote form today and see how cheap it is to insure your fresher’s event with Insure Our Event.
