Exploring event experience design and the positive impacts we can have when planning relevant and thoughtful meetings. Includes musings on the cool people and lessons along the way.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Special Events - What Makes them Special?
The appeal of special events is precisely this: they are special. They elevate the everyday and allow people to live out a different way or being for a brief period of time.
If you are producing an event for the public, then you seek to promote and celebrate the special because special events hold public media appeal. They make good stories. The stories other people tell about an event are the realm of public relations. Now some of us are in the business of public relations, and kudos to you, for successfully sharing messages that bring brands to life and create connections for people to these.
From a pure Producer's point of view we want to create environments that allow escape from the everyday, where great company, food, beverage and engaging entertainment lets us not focus for a while... where we can put aside the every day things (and we all have them) and relax.
In the case of an evening event, one where the focus is on relationship building through shared experience, this would be an approach.
We create environments by first finding the "right" venue - whether it is the top of a mountain, inside an Aquarium, under a tent overlooking a sunset, or a purely blank space - dependant on where you are, the size of your group, the expectations, and so much more...
Once the venue is selected we combine furniture, linens, lighting, light, darkness, fabric, space, flow to create a sense of place that sets a tone and sends a specific message to the brain that you have arrived somewhere that is not "regular" and where you can allow yourself to be in the moment of where you are.
We use food and beverage in different ways in the evening than during the day. Through the day we want to use brain-friendly, lighter fare that allows us to produce the chemicals that provide a more alert state, allowing for greater contribution, learning and retention. In the evening however, we want beverages that say as you sip, relax. We can serve food that is richer, more luxurious in taste and texture and that send the messages that breaking bread in great company with great food is an excellent way to induce meaningful and thoughtful, relaxed discussion.
Entertainment can be used to set a background ambience, to provide close-up or interactive experiences, to provide a show that wows, get people moving on a dance floor, and to deliver key messages in ways that surprise. The entertainment when tied to the key objectives and integrated through the whole event is a layer that enhances in ways nothing else can, leaving lasting memories.
What really makes an event special though is a combination of all the above, and the small moments... a great takeway from a speaker, the person you meet and connect with instantly, a shared laugh over a moment of delight, a hand brushed in harmony during a powerful moment...
If you are producing an event for the public, then you seek to promote and celebrate the special because special events hold public media appeal. They make good stories. The stories other people tell about an event are the realm of public relations. Now some of us are in the business of public relations, and kudos to you, for successfully sharing messages that bring brands to life and create connections for people to these.
From a pure Producer's point of view we want to create environments that allow escape from the everyday, where great company, food, beverage and engaging entertainment lets us not focus for a while... where we can put aside the every day things (and we all have them) and relax.
In the case of an evening event, one where the focus is on relationship building through shared experience, this would be an approach.
We create environments by first finding the "right" venue - whether it is the top of a mountain, inside an Aquarium, under a tent overlooking a sunset, or a purely blank space - dependant on where you are, the size of your group, the expectations, and so much more...
Once the venue is selected we combine furniture, linens, lighting, light, darkness, fabric, space, flow to create a sense of place that sets a tone and sends a specific message to the brain that you have arrived somewhere that is not "regular" and where you can allow yourself to be in the moment of where you are.
We use food and beverage in different ways in the evening than during the day. Through the day we want to use brain-friendly, lighter fare that allows us to produce the chemicals that provide a more alert state, allowing for greater contribution, learning and retention. In the evening however, we want beverages that say as you sip, relax. We can serve food that is richer, more luxurious in taste and texture and that send the messages that breaking bread in great company with great food is an excellent way to induce meaningful and thoughtful, relaxed discussion.
Entertainment can be used to set a background ambience, to provide close-up or interactive experiences, to provide a show that wows, get people moving on a dance floor, and to deliver key messages in ways that surprise. The entertainment when tied to the key objectives and integrated through the whole event is a layer that enhances in ways nothing else can, leaving lasting memories.
What really makes an event special though is a combination of all the above, and the small moments... a great takeway from a speaker, the person you meet and connect with instantly, a shared laugh over a moment of delight, a hand brushed in harmony during a powerful moment...
What memories will you create?