The event
profession is better today than ever. As event pros, we have the most engaged,
captivated audience (read: millennials) DYING to tell the world about our
events. Gone are the days of only relying on PR firms to spread the word.
People love to share on social media. They love to review, comment, like… brag.
Our event-goers are so willing to put out the good word for us — but
they’re equally willing to throw us under the bus if the event doesn’t meet
their standards. So how do we keep the birds chirping instead of crowing?
For one, we’ve
got to listen to them. Millennials are not the mysterious group everyone
touts them to be. In fact, they’re quite vocal; the challenge is knowing where
to find them since they won’t always come to you.
Knowing Your Audience’s Preferred
Social Platforms
At this point
it’s a no-brainer to set up an event hashtag to monitor the feedback on social
media. You already know that. However,
that only works if you have ample staff to reply in real time. Additionally,
you need to know your audience. What are their preferred social platforms? An
audience of premium retail shoppers will more likely provide their feedback on
Facebook; whereas, eSports spectators will gravitate toward Twitter (or better
still, Reddit). Go to these platforms, read what people have to say, and, most
importantly, have the right staff in place to decipher and prioritize what
needs to be fixed immediately and what can be used to help improve the
experience next time.
Identifying Event Ambassadors
The next
challenge is remembering that everyone is an ambassador. Event ambassadors come
in all shapes and sizes — from the lead event producers to the registration
desk to the janitorial staff — everyone onsite has more than one job; everyone
is integral to the event-goers’ experience. Sure it’s great to have greeters or
hosts who are “in the know,” but as my high school chorus teacher instilled in
me, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. Train and expect your
staff (yes, even janitorial) to know where the landmarks of your event lie and
encourage them to warmly interface with event participants throughout the day. Arm
them with information to answer FAQs and train them on how to respond when they
don’t know the answer. “I’ll find out and get back to you; how can you be
reached?” is a much better response than shrugging “I don’t know” and pointing
them in another direction. It’s about caring.
In a festival-style event, this is especially important for security teams. Keeping
people safe is their main objective, but they shouldn’t spoil the good time
with a lousy or aggressive attitude.
Using Art to Create the Totality of
Experience
The most
memorable events transform us and take us to another world. Whether you aim to
harbor a creative learning environment in a general session or to transport festival-goers
to another dimension, create experiential events to provide experiences to event participants.
Often the best
place to start is the entrance. Festivals achieve this by designing unique
entrances or landmark artwork. Take for example the 2015 Dutch Windmill
entrance at Outside Lands or the illustrious Caterpillar and Butterfly from
Coachella (below).
Each of these
examples sets the tone of the event from the onset and informs guests from the
get-go that they were part of something special. The same theory can be applied
to corporate events. Take the time and invest the resources to curate artistic
inspiration for your event participants. An inspirational environment can
rejuvenate your audience and stimulate meaningful conversations and creative
problem solving.
Making the Brand Part of the Event
Sponsorship is
key for many events, but simply slapping a logo on the top of a sign won’t do
anymore. Millennials especially are looking for meaningful brand integration –
and that’s good news for sponsors! Whether you’re a sponsor or an event
producer, look for problems that need solving and invest your sponsorship
dollars there. Let’s say, for example, your corporate group comes to town for a
large-scale conference. Sure, the hotels are within “walking distance” of the
convention center, but even with a brand-new set of Dr. Scholl’s inserts,
walking back to the hotel after a long day on the showroom floor can feel like
torture. Utilize your sponsorship dollars to hire a fleet of pedicabs to cart
people back to their hotels. Not only will event participants easily identify the
branded pedicabs, but your sponsor will love you for increasing their brand
exposure to the whole city.
Recognizing the Value of Community
Millennial or
not, human nature dictates our need for connection. It is why we congregate—why
we celebrate. I want to share an
example from an event Extraordinary Events produced this past fall.
In October,
just before Halloween, we produced a three-day, all-day grand opening festival
for a premium shopping center in Maryland. The shopping center is situated in an
emerging area amidst many residential property developments and, to be frank, a
lot of the neighbors weren’t exactly stoked that a big shopping center was
impacting the local traffic flow. So how did we help the client alleviate
relations with the surrounding neighbors? We invited them all in for a Safe
Trick-or-Treat event: dynamic costumed characters manned decked-out thematic
stations and interacted with kids and their families—handing out candy and
treats, posing for photos – it was a hit! After two electric hours of
trick-or-treating, more than 1,500 parents, kids, and pets marched through the
property for a costume parade led by Frankenstein and Dracula. The evening
closed out with a DJ-led group dance to “Thriller”.
Did the
property make more money that night thanks to the costume parade? It did; but
that’s not the point. The important consideration for the client and the
families that night was that this brand – this big corporate shopping
center—put in the effort to connect with the community and provide a safe place
for their kids to celebrate Halloween.
I implore you
to look beyond the ROI and remember that sometimes it is not realized in an
immediate sale but rather a lifelong relationship to a brand that managed to go
that extra mile.
Creating the Buzz
When it comes
to engaging millennials at events, you either sink or swim. There’s no denying
the double-edged sword that is social media – if they have a great time you’re
a hero and they’ll willingly brag to
everyone in their network; if they’re dissatisfied with the experience, they’ll
cut you down faster than you call yelp “Help!” Heed my advice above and couple
it with bullet-proof planning, permitting and safety precautions. You can do
this. I believe in you! Don’t let me down.
Mairead Delaney, an account manager at
Extraordinary Events, has worked alongside a diverse range of producers and
designers producing a wide range of events and activations nationally and
internationally. You may contact Mairead via mdelaney@extraordinaryevents.com. To learn more about Extraordinary Events, visit http://www.extraordinaryevents.com.
