How can you use experiential marketing to create memorable B2B events?

Aside from defining goals, it would help to define the emotional shift you want to create with your audience. If the whole thing is about leads or upselling, you could end up with a 'blah' event. A great book to read is 'The Power of Moments' by the Heath brothers. Designing in Elevaling, Pride, Insight, and Connection will shape the experience. For example, I worked at Orange Code Camp, and we spent a lot of energy just designing the meet-and-greet experience alone.

In the age of the customer, people have become immune to marketing messages being bombarded at them from various platforms. The B2C and B2B companies that are making a deeper connection with their customers are focusing on creating experiences within the customer. A brilliant recent example is Misereor, a relief organization that created a giant interactive billboard depicting a cause that immediately accepts credit cards that are swiped through the middle of the billboard and shows donors the result and the impact of their donation on the spot. Brand marketers need to think in terms of creating a series of customer driven experiences and events, that in the long run become instrumental in helping R&D design new memorable products.

Knowing your target audience is one key to generating the leads you need. If you can pinpoint your ideal avatar, you're well on your way to connecting with them. Aligning your brand is really just an extension of you understanding your avatar on a deep level. Without this piece, the rest of the planning you do falls apart, so it's really a key to the success of your marketing.

This is the hardest step in the whole process for most teams, but it's the most important. It's easy for scopes to creep when you don't know your guardrails. Be as specific as you can about who you want to show up, what you want them to think/feel/do, and what success looks like. If you're really smart, you'll think two or three years down the road. Map out how a single event might become an engine for change over multiple years.

The format you choose should be aligned with the 'moments that matter' that you are trying to create with your audience. I feel in B2B, the format sometimes defines the experience. If you can map out the moments and understand how to measure them and their impact. That is when you can begin to overlay formats and features. IMO the format is the last thing you should tackle. A critical part of achieving a true 'experience' is knowing how to join moments. We can see this in our personal lives. The format of a dinner party is pretty standard. A great one has 'moments' and a great host knows how to design them in.

It's not just about networking and delivering information at B2B events, it's about forging meaningful connections and fostering memorable experiences. Break away from the conventional conference structure and embrace the power of immersive technology and tactics to elevate your event in order to create "personalized experiences" that will surprise and captivate your audience. Collect data beforehand to gain insights and understand their interests and expectations. Use this information to create captivating personalized experiences, such as customized agendas, AR or VR demos, targeted workshops, or even personalized interactive giveaways. By engaging multiple senses, you can create a more impactful and memorable experience.

Another important part to consider is to give the event staff a heads-up on the roles and moments you want to create. I have seen many a great idea ruined by support staff or even company staff not being on the same page.

It's worth taking a step back, looking at past events, and asking what people remember. What stuck with them? What experiences created memories? It often won't be what you thought. It won't necessarily be the thing you spent the most budget on. Whatever you do, leave space for the things that people crave most. Personal connections, relationships. Make it easy to make friends.

Always create 'One More Thing' moments! Even after your visitor starts to leave with the information you gave them, you can still influence them to stop in their tracks and take part in another fantastic B2B experience. Set up dedicated interactive feedback stations to listen to your attendees, understand their pain points, and address any concerns promptly that your sales team or support personnel may have overlooked. Motivate your visitors to share their thoughts and actively participate and offer real-time feedback by providing valuable incentives and rewards. It could be anything from event-only exclusive discounts, free tours and excursions, or the chance to win exciting prizes like reimbursing the value of their event admission pass!

The way we run feedback, while important, needs careful consideration. In the B2B space, we are polled and surveyed to death - we all understand the game a survey is not really a survey by a lead generation form. When we must integrate these digital feedback loops in a way that they can enable Real-time content adaptation or on-site personalisation. Otherwise, they are not part of the experience. For example, if someone at an event fills out a feedback form critical of a product, how cool would it be if a product specialist walked up to them to have a serious conversation? The digital experiences we create can and should be a key component to creating moments at the event.

Measurement is very important. But I would argue that too much measurement is stuck in the descriptive analytics space. In modern event design, the digital experience guides and joins up participating in an event, whatever the format. For that reason, measurement should be real-time to allow for the creation of signals and moments during the event which can themselves create moments of Elevation, Pride, Insight and Connection.

It's essential to produce shareable moments if you want to 10X your experiential marketing efforts to produce memorable B2B events that have the most impact. Remember the success of your event can extend far beyond the physical attendees! Design experiences that are highly shareable and encourage attendees to capture and share their experiences on social platforms. This not only increases your event's reach but also creates a buzz around your brand. From TikTok or Instagrammable installations to interactive photo booths, the possibilities are endless.