You are not event planners; you are experience makers. To craft event experiences that wow your attendees, work on shifting to an experience-maker mindset and self-image. Ryan Costello, co-founder of Event Farm and chief strategy officer at MemberSuite, shared this advice during WOWing Attendees Beyond the Door, the third workshop in our Crafting the Event Experience series.
Ryan uses the word “crafting” intentionally. Crafting an event experience starts with designing the event brand—a topic we covered in part 1 of the series. In that workshop, he introduced the tools we use for design inspiration when crafting event invitations (emails) and registration pages—the first touchpoints in the attendee journey.
Look at Details from the Attendee Perspective
Ryan’s special guest, Margaret Launzel-Pennes, CEO of POP Experiential, shared her experience crafting philosophy: put on the attendee lens. Regardless of the event’s brand, structure, or client, focus on how the experience will feel for the attendee.
Analyze every single touchpoint, not just the big stuff, but all the details too: checking in at the registration desk, sitting in a session, visiting the restroom, etc. Walk through an event experience mapping exercise so you can deliver on the promises you made in your emails and on your website. In our second workshop, Ryan discussed the different promises you have to make now about safety and the 20 pandemic-related changes to make in the attendee journey.
Take nothing for granted. No detail is too small, says Margaret. At pre-con meetings, share your experience expectations with everyone who touches the event—catering, greeters, vendors, and security—so you’re all on the same page.
Reverse Engineer Your Desired Outcomes
In the second workshop, we were also introduced to Costello’s conveyor belt, which shows how event experiences drive business outcomes. Experiences can’t just be cool; they must bring attendees along on a journey that leads to the business outcomes you desire.
When crafting an event experience, Ryan’s other special guest, Mark Roberts, Head of Experiential at POP Experiential, reverse engineers the whole thing. What does he want attendees (and his client) to think and say as they leave the event? What is their big takeaway from the experience? What quotes does he want to see in the press? He thinks about how he can design an experience that results in those outcomes.
Events (Ho-Hum) vs. Experiences (Wow)
Margaret isn’t trying to put on events. An event is a one-way engagement where content/entertainment is pushed at you. She’s interested in experiences. An experience triggers emotions in a two-way interaction, sparking curiosity and feedback.
An event is a moment in time, says Mark. An experience lives beyond that specific moment. It lives within the attendee after the event because it created a meaningful, emotional engagement.
Mark says it’s time to break the rules. Experience makers are busting out of proven event formulas. We’re not returning to just physical events, so take advantage of the freedom you have to push the boundaries on experiential marketing, i.e., event experiences. We’re in a hybrid world, which is an opportunity for a broader reach beyond the physical walls of an event, where you can have more collaborators and reach more attendees, and seamlessly integrate the physical and virtual experiences so both audiences feel primary. He sees the experience maker’s goal as giving goosebumps in this virtual space.
Turn events into experiences with Event Farm
Event Farm experiential applications (EFx) level-up guest engagement by creating fun and personalized experiences, while capturing invaluable data to measure engagement and ROI.
Inspiration for Big and Low-Budget Event Experiences
With virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3-D technology, you can provide experiences that are more fantastical than real life. Mark talked about an event at a Comicon for the TV series, Mr. Mercedes, where fans could immerse themselves in the TV show’s virtual set. During the event, fans collected clues, unlocked new content and prizes, and took part in a photo experience that transformed their faces into shareable GIFs.
This experience made attendees feel like they were in a different world, an exclusive world. It gave them technological goosebumps and shareable moments that lived beyond the walls of the physical event.
Sounds great, but who has a budget for that? Here’s the thing: “Wow” doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Lighting and video projections go a long way. Think “scrappy not crappy,” says Mark.
Ryan talked about a Charity Water fundraiser where, for a $5K donation, an attendee picked up two heavy jugs of water and walked around the perimeter of the room, emulating the walk taken to water sources by people in villages without clean water. This empathetic experience lands with you. It’s tough to make it around the room without stopping to rest and think about those who have to do this a few times a day.
For fundraising events, Margaret advises focusing on emotions, not money. For example, at a fundraising gala for a youth organization, inspire the attendee to get nostalgic by offering reminders of their childhood. Ask children served by the organization to write notes to attendees about the personal impact of their donations. Encourage people who donate to write back to a child. Trigger emotions and spark new memories.
Ryan recommends a “progressive” event experience. Don’t introduce all your event elements at once. Build a story. Change lighting and videos. Give a sense of a moving, alive experience, not a set-it-and-forget-it experience that feels dull after 20 minutes. You want attendees to feel like they can’t leave because something else might happen. Keep delighting and surprising them over and over again.
Well-crafted event experiences move people emotionally while also moving them closer to your business goals, whether that’s a pledge/donation, purchase, membership, or a deeper commitment as a fan or advocate. Crafting an event experience for your attendees—a moving, enjoyable, and memorable experience—is more than logistics, it’s an art.
To learn more about how to turn events into safe and engaging experiences with Event Farm, request a demo today.