As marketers, we have always believed events are great opportunities to accelerate exposure, build brand awareness, and make new connections, but how do you take regular events and turn them into a memorable experience? How do you ensure that every part of your event is taken care of, and there is a lasting impact?
In 2020, we curated an experience that changed the game for us. Surrounded by authors from our sister publishing house, and challenged by low morale resulting from the pandemic, we came up with the idea to host the first MAGIX (magic x 10) experience in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A small, thoughtful retreat designed to provoke micromoments of happiness was the result when 24 authors from seven countries joined us for a four-day experience.
Here are some of the key elements to consider when transforming a simple event into an unforgettable experience:
Audience
The first step in creating an emotional connection with the target audience is to know who your audience is. What do you know about your audience? Who are they? What is the primary age range and gender? Where are they located? What do they like? Dislike? What is important to them?
Tone/Style
What do you want people to feel while they are at your event? How will you approach all the touchpoints of communication? Every communication must convey the same style and tone of the event to create the most powerful experience. This can be achieved through the creation of editorial guidelines and keywords that will be used throughout.
Key Messages
Once the audience has been identified, it is important to create a checklist of the key identifiers. In other words, what are their triggers? What do they need to hear, see, smell, and sense to know that you are putting together an experience ? How do you create an authentic connection with every component of experience?
Deliverables
What can you do to that is impactful or even life changing? What can you deliver to your audience to ensure they will remember that experience for a lifetime? In what ways can you identify what they are going through? How can they connect with those around them who are having the same experience? Are they in a difficult situation? Are they on the brink of creating a new goal in their life? Are they on a mission to go to the next level? Can you deliver an experience to help get them closer?
Timing
Experiences are all about timing and congruency. When do the key action items need to happen to build the experience? Is the timing of your experience aligned with relevant stories that are happening around you? How are you using the timing of the experience to advance the emotional connection of your audience?
Roles
Every experience has its own ecosystem with key players, and events are no different. It is in how you customize the experience and fully integrate it throughout your event that gives it power and ensures the audience is moved by it. For example, for an event we think of attendees, sponsors, advisory board members, vendors, and the community at large. What do each of these segments need? What will activate them? What do they need to see, feel, and connect with to have the best experience possible? This is how the ecosystem is created.
Tools
Tools are amazing ways to activate the experience. These tools can be multisensorial in nature, bringing all the elements together to create magic. Creativity, content, scents, colors, technology, sounds, and food all come together to provide a unique journey for the event stakeholder.
Post Event Closure
Many companies and organizations believe the end of the event is the end of their marketing activation, but that is not true. It is actually another step along your marketing journey, and while the event itself ends, the experience doesn’t! The longevity of a well-delivered experience will live on the hearts and minds of the people who attended it. How long it lasts is determined by how well you were able to capture their hearts and give them the feelings they needed, such as hope, determination, resilience, power, and self-reliance.
Metrics
Data-driven experiences justify the effort of the pre, during, and post deliverables.
Here is an example of a Creative Brief, Checklist and Brand Ecosystem table we developed for a past mission with JJR. This will give you insight into how we set all of these details up.
We hope that for your next event you are able to use these examples to dive deeper and consider the incredible impact one interaction can have for you and your audience. It is not stagnant, it is ever-changing and you are the driver! Create your next event with these ideas in mind and we promise it will take it to the next level!