8 IDEAS FOR A MORE IMPACTFUL EVENT

CREATIVE WAYS TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION

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There has never been better times in events. Physical events are back with a bang and doing quite well after the brief roadblocks that they endured due to the lockdown. Event managers are laying out impressive experiences for the attendees. Upgraded with learning’s from the pandemic, we have realized the importance of creating more personal experiential outings for attendees who are looking for customized experience & are now more technology friendly than ever.

As Event managers it is definitely a challenge to live up to these expectations on a consistent basis. The current scenario gives us an opportunity to focus & hone our craft better, enabling us to plan & execute our events much more effectively. Let us look at a few areas which undoubtedly are going to play an important role in ensuring our success & also will go a long way in how we are perceived as an organization by our stakeholders - especially the attendees.

However as I always stress, the audience & the purpose of our event should be the driving force in shaping our decisions as to which of these suggestions discussed below ( And to what extent) do we try and apply at our events in creating the desired outcome for our attendees. These are a few aspects of events these days which we need to embrace gradually and am sure will be play a big part in times to come leaving a lasting impression on our attendees.

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ACCESSABILITY

Accessability is one area where much is desired to be done. Events have to be designed to be accessible to anyone irrespective of the physical challenges or any other form of hidden disabilities. The registration form is a good way to get a grasp of how many such attendees are going to be visiting your event. While capturing the personal details of attendees including food preferences you can also keep an option you share about their special accessibility needs if any. This will help you co-ordinate your team taking care of the event execution to address the need s accordingly. This will also help you decide on a venue which is friendlier with respect to accessibility for such individuals.

This will enable you to communicate about this aspect clearly while promoting your program & keep such attendees informed accordingly. ??

MOBILE TICKETINIG

The number one outcome of the Covid lockdown with respect to our audience is how well they have embraced technology. Also with the use of mobile phones for almost all your needs everyone expects all their needs to be available at the tip of their fingers (literally). In fact we as organizers are also now majorly dependent on the digital media to promote our events.

So it makes sense to lead our prospective attendees through a well created and smooth process – from announcement of the event to a simplified registration process ,just with a few clicks on their phones. Mobile optimized site is a must have these days & sees an increase in attendee conversions. ?Mobile ticketing especially with the use of QR codes makes life easy for both the organizers & attendees equally. On event day, it not only reduces the expenses incurred on printing of badges but also shortens the time spent by attendees at the registration counter enhancing their experience by creating a good first impression.

NETWORKING AREAS

There is no two opinions that apart from gaining knowledge, networking is one of the most important reason people attend events, especially B2B ones. The most successful events are the ones which provide multiple networking opportunities for the attendees & other stakeholders to connect and collaborate.

These days you have very useful apps which help you enhance the networking process by connecting the attendees with relevant ?& pre-qualified co-attendees based on their interests & specializations, which can be captured at the time of online registration. This information can also be used to facilitate in-person appointments at the venue in the time allotted for networking. Another good option is to arrange for mini round-table meets for delegates interested on specific & relevant topics from which they can choose from. Provide them with specific spaces created for this purpose at the venue with clear signage’s/volunteers.

WIFI

WIFI is a non – negotiable service which should now be a given at all events. A strong & fast internet service is vital not only for the audience, but also for your event in general. In these days of social media marketing it enables better distribution of live tweets & posts by the attendees and the organizer in real time. Live streaming of videos by the participants is also something which is in vogue & needs good wifi.

So before finalizing a venue discuss your wifi requirements with your vendor clearly. Discuss about having a dedicated band width for your event specifically considering the number of attendees and the approximate number of machines including phones & laptops that would be used. Sharing of general band width available could be troublesome. Also keep a backup of technical support to address any sudden issues at the venue during the course of your event

PLASTIC - ?FREE EVENT

Sustainability is the need of the hour and modeling such behavior at your events shows your concern to the society & also shows your audience how easy it is to ease this concept into their daily practice creating a great impact. Few ideas to begin with are:

• Avoid the use of single use plastics. Go in for reusable /refillables, especially for water stations – Provide glass/steel pitchers on every table with reusable glasses or drink bottles.
• Use ceramic mugs at tea/coffee stations. Provide sugar cubes instead of sugar packets.
• ?For lunch preferable use washable plates, cutlery & bowls. Cloth napkins are a good option. Paper napkins if being used should be 100% bio-degradable. Provide aluminum foils or wax paper instead of one time use plastic bags for packaging if at all needed.
• For giveaways to delegates use paper/cloth bags or totes. For stationary give wooden pencils & pads made from recycled paper.
• Last but not the least at strategic locations throughout the venue create waste disposal stations providing separate bins for different types of wastes with proper signage as to what goes inside each of them. This will help your vendors to dispose the garbage collected more effectively at the end of the event.

SELF CARE AREAS

Prioritizing attendee well-being is a good way to promote your commitment?of their physical & mental health at your events. You can pro-actively take steps to include wellness activities, relaxation areas & provide healthy food options to exhibit this commitment.

Consciously create quite areas within the venue where attendees can relax & recharge themselves. Massage stations for the tiring legs, a short yoga session or just a closed zone with light music to relax are a few things your audience always loves! There are a lot of options that you can choose from depending upon the profile of your audience & your budget. A super short stand- up comedy/musical performance/live demo kitchens etc. are few options which events are trying out these days and with good feedback.

Remember all or any of these initiatives should be strategically eased into your program schedule. This should be done such in a way that it doesn’t eat into the quality time of the?knowledge sessions or disrupts your event objectives in any way.

SUPPORTING LOCAL COMMUNITY/CHARITY

Collaborating with a local NGO or charitable organization & supporting their cause through your event is a good way to establish your commitment to a larger cause, This is appreciated by the attendees and creates a lot of goodwill for your organization to leverage upon. Partner with local businesses & service providers. It helps in developing better relationships with them which will help you over time for your future endeavors.

DEI (DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION)

DEI as a discipline is going to play a more and more critical role across all industries. In short, Diversity is ?the presence of variances, including distinctions based on racial or ethnic background, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and financial status. Equity ensures that all your policies & processes are unbiased & provides equal opportunities & potential outcomes to all. While Inclusion is creating a work environment where everyone has a sense of belonging.

This is a new buzz amongst event organizations, but is something which has to be a part of your overall strategy than just a tactical approach to a specific event if it needs to serve its purpose. It definitely is the need of the hour and only helps in improving the event as a whole. ?So any conscious steps taken in this direction is something which definitely a value adding initiative. We will be looking at this aspect in detail in a future article to better understand the subject & the possible ways in which we can execute them.

Finally "Talk about these initiatives". Create social media posts with photographs and speak about the conscious initiatives take up by you at your events. Publicize them in your industry & amongst the public as well. Allocate this duty of documenting the initiatives to a dedicated volunteer during the course of the event. It will also help you get feedback as to how successful you were in implementing these ideas & enable you to straighten out any practical issues faced in your next event.

For all your feedbacks or for any kind ?of content/concept ?collaborations please reach out to:

[email protected] or 9870201422