The Difference Between Event Planning and Event Strategy

Event professionals excel at planning—they’re efficiency experts who know how to optimize processes and resources to run seamless events. But if they want to deliver greater value to stakeholders, they need to think and act more like business professionals—the effectiveness experts—by understanding the critical difference between planning and strategy.

Although often used interchangeably, planning and strategy are distinct activities:

• A plan is a detailed proposal for doing something.
• A strategy is a set of guiding principles that inform decision-making.

This distinction becomes clear when placed in context. Let’s explore the building blocks of any successful business and how they apply to events.

The Key Business Building Blocks

• Mission Statement The foundation of any business or event. The mission defines your purpose and inspires stakeholders. Example: Marriott's mission statement emphasizes enabling people to experience the world while fostering inclusivity and growth.
• Vision Statement Your vision projects where you want to be in the future, connecting your current mission with your aspirations. Example: Marriott's vision statement focuses on being the global leader in hospitality.
• Values Statement Values guide behaviors and decision-making, shaping both internal culture and external connections.
• Strategy Once your mission and vision are clear, you create a strategy—a roadmap for achieving your goals. A good strategy answers: What actions should we prioritize? How do we allocate resources effectively? Without strategy, efforts are scattered and resources squandered.
• Goals and Objectives Goals are broad, long-term outcomes (e.g., "Improve customer loyalty"). Objectives are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound) steps to achieve those goals (e.g., "Increase repeat customers by 10% in 2024”).
• The Plan A business plan synthesizes all prior steps into a detailed proposal. It’s the “how” of implementation.

How Planning and Strategy Differ—Yet Intersect

Strategy precedes planning, because strategy provides the framework for planning. Without strategy, planning is aimless. Without planning, strategy is useless.

• Strategy is about effectiveness: Are we delivering the right results?
• Planning is about efficiency: Are we delivering results in the best way?

What This Means for Events

Event professionals are extraordinary planners. Their mastery of logistics makes them efficiency experts, saving time and money for event owners.

However, event strategy is often overlooked or left to business professionals, if addressed at all. This creates two common pitfalls:

• Business professionals host events without a strategy, resulting in aimless plans.
• Event professionals execute plans without a strategy, resulting in events that don’t deliver business value.

In both cases, the event may run efficiently but fail to deliver effectively.

Summary

Strategy and planning are essential building blocks—for businesses and events. While planning ensures operational excellence, strategy ensures business impact.

For event professionals to truly add value, they must evolve from being efficiency experts to becoming effectiveness experts as well. This shift will enable them to design events that are not only flawlessly executed but also strategically aligned to deliver meaningful business outcomes.

Efficient events are great. Effective events are transformative.