When You Need To Hire a Professional MC for Your Event
In your line of work, you might be called upon to organise diverse event types, sizes and formats.How do you know when to hire a professional Master of Ceremonies rather than use somebody within your organisation?
Discover the types of events you’ll most likely need a professional host, and the roles an MC will play in those events.
5 Occasions You Should Hire a Master of Ceremonies
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1. Incentive & Awards Night
Celebration is at the heart of incentive events and awards nights. Rewarding employees or industry members calls for a ‘Wow!’ factor, and the choice of MC should reflect this.
The event host entertains the crowd with appropriate jokes, insights and commentary. Their personality and delivery style helps create an uplifting, celebratory tone that resonates well with the audience.
Awards nights can drag on if not punctuated by short breaks to keep the audience engaged and energised. It can be very difficult to rein in a crowd that has disengaged and switched off.
The MC plays a very important role in creating ‘light relief’ from the main proceedings, with humour, anecdotes and audience interaction.
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2. Industry Conference
Industry conferences are usually educational in nature, and often include interactive sessions with discussion, debate and consultation between a panel of expert speakers.
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Example
A professional MC facilitates the discussion to ensure the session stays on track and on schedule. They might also encourage audience participation and field any questions from the crowd.
In this scenario, the MC doesn’t need to have high celebrity status, but they will need good industry knowledge and polished facilitation skills.
3. Product Launch
A professional MC can lend credibility to a new product launch, whether it’s a business-to-business or business-to-consumer product. They may not need to have high-profile celebrity status.
A recognised industry leader – who of course has fundamental event hosting skills – can be a very attractive drawcard for potential customers to attend your event.
As a trusted industry expert, the MC can help reinforce the need for the product and endorse its use over others. This aligns with the corporate objectives to maximise product awareness and sales, and fits with the audience desire to learn about a new product.
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4. Special Event
Corporate Christmas parties and Melbourne Cup events fall into the category of special events. Your target audience and budget will determine the choice of MC, who needs to be skilled at both entertaining and event hosting.
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Example
A medium-sized company’s annual Christmas party might be well served by an up-and-coming television personality who is lower down on the celebrity scale making them affordable.
On the other hand, an all-female crowd of successful entrepreneurs at a Melbourne Cup Day celebration are more likely to embrace a very high profile female comedian who can provide witty humour, fun and relief from their busy schedules.
An industry leader with hosting skills can be a drawcard for customers to attend your event. Click To Tweet
5. Charity Gala Dinner
Fundraising is the primary objective of Charity Gala events, usually held at a prestigious venue with a formal dress code. Ticket prices are relatively high, making a higher-profile celebrity a good choice for MC. The MC needs to be a drawcard for the audience to maximise ticket sales and fill the venue with guests ready to open their wallets.
The MC at a Charity Gala plays an important role in making guests feel comfortable and engaged, right from the very start of the event.
They will need to be highly accomplished at ‘working the crowd’ to encourage donations and auction bidding. The MC achieves this by roaming around the room, mingling and interacting with the crowd.
Regardless of the event type, help is at hand to find a perfectly matched event host. Enhance Entertainment helps you source the best MC for your next corporate event.
Next steps
- The Beginner’s Guide to Hiring MCs gives you expert tips for success.
- INFOGRAPHIC: Event Manager’s Secrets for Choosing the Right Event MC
- Learn how to take a strategic approach to choosing the right MC
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