In this race of events, shows and activities, it has become necessary for agencies to spark their events with something new every time to hold the attention of their attendees. An event can successfully manage to get huge footfall but what after that? What matters is not only the number of people attending the event but how many of them takes something from there. Thus comes the idea of investing in attendee engagement and customer encouragement.
There are a lot of factors that collaborate in executing an ace event. Great planning and execution are the two key factors as we all know but going in the depth of it, there’s a lot more to it. At EE we throw light on some of the basic yet important aspects that deal with attendee engagement.
Kile Ozier a Disney Imagineer and Itinerant Creative Guy rightly said “Don’t hand everything at once, keep giving more.” The art of storytelling plays a very essential role in the execution of an event. It should be molded in a way that allows slow sharing, generating curiosity and thus with every next move, enhancing the depth of experience. It is very important for brands to not serve everything in one platter. From the first string of the activity, the attendee should wait in curiosity to build a chain. All events that manage to associate their initiative with a story or a cause, are good to go and gather huge footfall. It is a great way to grab consumer attention and build better recall. Also brands with the help of event agencies should go deep in their chosen themes of the event and embrace research as a critical aspect of storytelling.
Now has come the time to integrate traditional forms of media with new ways of reaching out to customers. Social media adds immense value to an experiential event and helps in generating viral content for the brand. With the help of social media, event planners tend to engage in lasting discussions with their attendees. Social media trending is a vital tool for amplifying brand presence and increasing sales. Either tweeting about the event or broadcasting messages, social media platform has always been a great friend to marketers. Elucidating on the importance of social media, industry experts believe that it’s a great way to reach out to maximum in minimum time span. What cannot be spread through physical presence should take no time to expand through digital space, and social platforms thus become the right marketing tool.
From the consumer’s perspective, they are evaluating every investment they make through safe and sound decisions. Therefore brands should create opportunities to communicate directly with customers. Hosting personalized workshops and demonstrations, brands can engage attendees at a much deeper level. Providing your guests and potential buyers with personalized sessions, can prove to be a great marketing tool. There are several events hosted every now and then. What can probably differ one from another is the quality of communication it develops. All customers expect to be engaged and understood at an event. Elucidating on attendee engagement through conversations, Nilanjan Mukherjee, Head Marketing (Personal Care) ITC, believes “Create conversations with them wherever you find them; find out what they like, what they want, what they feel, etc. An interaction with attendees helps in gathering useful insights along with building brand connect.
The art of storytelling is very important in an event as we all know and that, if spiked with technology, has the ability to amplify it to the next level. ‘Digitizing experiences’ have become an agenda behind events for agencies. Technology integration in an experiential activity, is a great way to beautify and amplify an event. Brands have realized the need for digital innovation in their experiential campaigns but it still remains in its nascent stage.
Talking about events,
Managing Director of T.I.C, Gaurav Dhall added:
“Every event, be it corporate or social, demands unique way of presentation, thus posing a creative challenge in front of event companies to bring never heard before experience in the event. T.I.C has always known for bringing innovative concepts which becomes a trend, not just following the tried and tested way of storytelling in an event. The usage of surprise elements in the event which can go viral on the internet is definitely a trend. As much as you are talked on social media, better chances to get noticed and success of event is guaranteed. The idea that is not stand alone but involves audience in an engaging way, surely helps the attendees to be a part of the event rather than only be spectators. Social media act as one of the most critical element which no event planner would like to surpass. Use of content marketing is also very popular these days which attracts attendees.”
There is a lot to explore in this domain, amplifying our events through technological integration. Presence of digital wide screens and iPads, selfie booths and much more helps in enhancing connection and communication with the attendees. The integration of digital into experiential has thus become the need of the hour and should be paid heed to.
