President Whitfield in a recording room

Program and Content Development

Whether you’re planning a corporate conference, community gathering, or a spectacular celebration, your program should be engaging and purposeful to fully captivate your audience.

Determine Your Audience and Prepare Accordingly

Understanding your audience is fundamental to the success of any event. By aligning the event’s themes, features, and content to the needs and expectations of your attendees, you can create an experience that leaves a positive lasting impression. A strong awareness of your audience also helps to build promotional strategies, enhance engagement, and ensure overall event satisfaction.

Consider who will be in attendance (e.g., students, faculty, staff, community members) and what content and format would engage them best.

An inclusive event is one that everyone can participate in and enjoy. One of the best ways to understand the needs of your audience is by asking them questions during the registration process. That can help you identify dietary restrictions or special accommodations for presenters and audience members, such as wheelchair ramps, special seating, and sign language interpreters.

For assistance with making the event website and materials digitally accessible, consult the Office of Accessibility Resources.

Swag bags and giveaways serve as material reminders of your event. Before you make any purchases, list potential items that resonate with the event's theme and can be of value to attendees. This could be branded merchandise, informational materials, or products that align with your event’s purpose.

Tips for Gathering Swag Bag and Giveaway Items
  • University policies restrict providing external gift cards as event prizes. However, RebelCash or Dining Dollar cards for use at campus establishments are acceptable giveaways. Fill out the request form to get started and contact the RebelCard office with any questions.
  • Work with Integrated Graphics Services or outside vendors to order promotional items. During this process, ask for samples before placing an order and allow ample time for order fulfillment and delivery.
  • As sustainability becomes more vital, think eco-friendly. Opt for items that are reusable, recyclable, or made from sustainable materials.
  • To help keep costs down, ask colleagues in other campus units if they have surplus items that can be repurposed for your event.
  • Dedicate time for assembling the swag bags. Pull together a team of colleagues, student workers, and volunteers to support the preparation. This should be done at least a week in advance to address any last-minute issues or changes.

Guests from outside the UNLV community can benefit from an organized campus tour. You can schedule tours for various groups including school and community-based organizations and corporate groups.

Before You Extend an Invitation

Be aware of the following requirements before inviting specific individuals to your event:

Considerations for VIPs or Special Guests

If your event is hosting VIPs or special guests, consider their unique requirements. This may include:

  • Special seating
  • Dedicated staff assistance
  • Separate entrances
  • Additional special accommodations

Knowing these needs in advance can help you allocate resources effectively.

Develop an Event Theme

An effective event theme captures the essence of your event, resonates with attendees, and contributes to the memorability of the experience. When crafting a theme, you will need to blend your creativity and your understanding of the audience to align the theme with the event's core objectives

a room decorated with dining sets and red fabric

Revisit the established primary goals of your event. Knowing the core objective will provide a foundation upon which you can build your theme.

Your audience demographics, interests, and cultural sensitivities should be taken into consideration when building your theme. For example, an academic event might benefit from a theme that’s scholarly yet engaging, while a student-oriented function might be more vibrant and energetic.

If your event has a sponsor, brainstorm ways to visually integrate their logo, branding, or ethos into your theme. This helps ensure consistency and boosts sponsor visibility and engagement.

Make sure your event theme translates into compelling visual assets such as logos, symbols, emblems, and fonts. The consistent use of these visuals across all event touchpoints, from invitations and program booklets to signs and banners, will improve thematic coherence. If possible, collaborate with graphic designers, artists, and other professionals.

If your budget permits, invest in thematic decor that can leave a lasting impression. Opt for distinguished linens, floral arrangements, and unique centerpieces that align with your theme. Plants add a touch of vitality and freshness to any venue, making spaces feel lively and welcoming. Little touches, like themed props, can make a significant difference.

For larger budgets, UNLV has several decor partners listed on the Campus Contracts page that you can hire to plan and set the mood for your event.

An effective tagline communicates the essence of your event in a concise manner. When creating a tagline, think of a catchy phrase that aligns with your event's purpose, resonates with your target audience, and complements your theme.

Compelling taglines can also be used across promotional materials, presentations, and event signage to further act as a unifying thread and reinforce the event's message. Collaborate with your communications or marketing team to brainstorm and refine the perfect tagline that encapsulates the spirit of your event.

Before finalizing your theme, seek opinions from a diverse group. Feedback can offer new perspectives and help refine your theme further.

Once your theme is finalized, create a comprehensive document detailing all thematic elements. This guide can be shared with all members of the planning committee and stakeholders, ensuring consistency across all aspects of the event.

Curate the Agenda

The heart of any event lies in its content and programming. A robust event agenda engages, educates, and entertains to provide impactful takeaways.

Before diving into the current event's agenda, take the time to analyze past event agendas. This can provide insight into what worked well and what didn't, helping you to build upon successes and avoid repeating mistakes. It can also offer a starting point for the structure of sessions and allocation of time.

Identify and secure speakers who are experts in areas relevant for the event. Consider their public speaking ability, charisma, and potential to connect with the audience. Securing notable presenters can significantly elevate attendee interest and engagement.

Helpful Links

Work closely with your speakers to create compelling and interactive content. Offer assistance or guidelines on developing slide decks, infographics, and other presentation materials to ensure consistency, quality, and accessible content across all sessions. Supply them with any logos, PowerPoint templates, and other materials centered around the event theme.

Infuse the agenda with interactive workshops, Q&A sessions, panel discussions, and hands-on activities. These foster active learning and break any potential monotony.

Schedule regular breaks between sessions to prevent attendee fatigue and allow time for networking and informal discussions, which can often be as valuable as the formal program.

Ensure that each session is allocated a period of time that matches its content density and expected audience engagement level. This helps avoid the potential for overruns that can disrupt the flow of the event.

Anticipate potential changes or disruptions such as speaker cancellations or session overruns. Prepare for such eventualities with standby speakers, supplemental content, or adaptable time slots.

Academic conferences have unique needs. Ensure that you have facilities for poster presentations, symposia, and concurrent sessions for different tracks. Incorporate structured networking opportunities or dedicated times for attendees to interact.

Supplement the core agenda with entertainment or a social activity for attendees. Arrange for an evening dinner, city tour, sporting event, cultural outing, musical performance, or themed event to encourage informal networking. This will allow attendees to make connections outside the formal sessions.

Solicit feedback from a variety of stakeholders, adapting the agenda as necessary to address any concerns or suggestions that arise.

Finalize the logistical aspects by coordinating with all involved parties. Ensure that every detail, from technology setup to speaker facilitation, is carefully addressed.

Request University Leadership Participation

When hosting a special event that is open to the entire campus, or where faculty, staff, or students are being recognized, it’s appropriate to extend invitations to both the president and the provost. It is also good practice to invite the president’s cabinet members and deans. Whether you invite these individuals to present awards, deliver remarks, or simply attend the event, you will need to provide certain information when reaching out to their teams with your request.

Person giving a speech and raising their hand

General Guidelines

Remarks from a senior member of the central university leadership can help you convey a particular message to the audience. Their remarks may emphasize the importance of the event, the impact of UNLV, or the contributions of the people being honored.

It’s important to consider the role and message of the speaker before you reach out to university leadership. You may want a speaker to kick off the event, introduce a presenter or award, or deliver a message on a specific topic or theme. You should know these details, and those in the following sections, before extending an invitation.

There are many options if you would like a member of the university leadership (president’s cabinet members or deans) to make remarks, but you must check on availability before assuming or announcing anyone as a speaker.

Selecting the President as a Speaker

If you are inviting the president, please complete the UNLV president appearance request form. You may also consider inviting other cabinet members, especially if the president is not available. When the president is able to attend and provide remarks, it is best to avoid making a speaking request of other cabinet members. This will help ensure that messages are not duplicative and that the speaking portion of the program does not run long.

In addition to or in lieu of spoken remarks, if both the president and the provost will attend, you might consider requesting a joint written message to include in the program. High-level events also require the NSHE Board of Regents to be listed somewhere in the program (event) guide. The President’s Office can provide guidance and/or a list of current regents. 

UNLV President Appearance Request Form

Selecting the Provost or Other University Leaders as Speakers

If the president can't attend but the provost or another leader can, you can ask them to provide remarks. Depending on the event, you may choose to invite deans, vice provosts, vice presidents, or members of the president’s cabinet to attend and/or provide remarks.

To request the provost as a speaker, send an email to Tondra De with a copy to Mary Yedinak. You should include all the information detailed in the following section in your request.

To request remarks from all other leaders, please contact their executive assistant.

Regardless of which university leader you are inviting to speak at an event, you should provide the following information in your request:

  • Event name
  • Event date, location, and host/sponsor
  • Type of event (lecture, performance, fundraiser, community, etc.)
  • Target audience (students, faculty, staff, external stakeholders, community members, etc.)
  • Role of speaker (introductory or closing remarks, award presenter, attendee, etc.)
  • Theme or speaker topics (theme of event, preferred topic for speaker’s remarks, topics of other speakers)
  • Time commitment (preferred length of speaker’s remarks/attendance)
  • Event contact person

Keep in mind that the president and provost have tight schedules and may only be available for a portion of your event. You should submit your requests as far in advance as possible to secure their attendance at your event. For the president, appearance requests must be made four weeks prior to the event. You may need to be flexible to accommodate their needs and schedules.