If you’re in the event space, you may see more and more companies referring to themselves as “event experience agencies.” While this may at first just seem like business jargon, it actually has a distinct meaning—not all events are experiences, but with the right agency, you can create an experience rather than just an event.
Still have questions?
Not to worry, today we’ll dive deep into the topic of creating an experience and how to make something that’s truly unforgettable.
How Does an Experience Differ from an Event?
You may often hear the terms “event” and “experience” thrown around when you’re planning an event. But these two things are not interchangeable. Let’s take the definition of two words straight from Dictionary.com:
- Event: something that happens or is regarded as happening; an occurrence, especially one of some importance.
- Experience: a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something.
Did you catch the difference there?
An event is just something that happens—albeit something of importance—but an experience is something personal. By marrying these two definitions into one thing, we can create something that not only brings people together for a goal but leaves a lasting impression for the rest of their lives.
5 Insights Behind the Curtain
So, how do we change an event into an experience? Here are five behind-the-scenes ways we create memorable experiences for our clients instead of forgettable events.
1. Catered to Attendees’ Needs
First and foremost, we want to make sure the attendees’ needs are met. Whether it’s a virtual event or in person, your attendees need to know that all accommodations and personal preferences have been accounted for.
For example, an event should keep in mind that some of their attendees could be hard of hearing or have visual impairments. If you don’t provide live captions, you’re excluding a whole group of people from being able to access the experience you want to share. This is also not just important for hearing or visual impairments, but many attendees are read/write/visual learners who will only retain the information through visually seeing it written out. The goal is to get the most out of the experience for your attendees by considering every detail carefully in the planning.
Or, for an in-person event, you’ll likely have food served at some point. If some of your attendees are celiac or have religious food preferences, you don’t want their food to be an afterthought. They should have just as high-quality food as every other attendee.
You can even find ways to delight your attendees through small details with your food—for example, mocktails are having a huge moment in the industry right now. This simple drink option is a great way to add some fun and flair while also catering to any guests who may not want to drink and allow everyone to join in on the fun!
While this takes a little more work than giving everyone a single solution to their needs, it creates an event that feels truly personalized and even protects you from any legal issues that could arise from a lack of accommodations.
2. A Seemless Journey
For this article, we’re lifting the curtain for you so you can see all the work that goes into creating an event. But we’d suggest you do the exact opposite for your attendees.
Once your event has begun, the attendees don’t want to know all the planning that went into it—but the impact of that planning should be felt in their experience. Your event tells a story, and a big portion of creating a memorable experience is seamlessly guiding your attendees through that story.
According to event statistics, engagement (especially in virtual events) can be the hardest part of an event, but it’s one of the key metrics used for success. For this reason, it’s crucial to ensure anything that could distract your audience from the goal is hidden from view.
By putting in the hard work of creating a journey for your attendees to follow, you make the event seem effortless to them.
3. Attention to the Details
Details matter.
This is something that we all know conceptually but may not know how to put it into practice. However, not paying attention to the details could cause decreased product quality and a lack of engagement.
Worse, it may “break the fourth wall” for your audience while they participate in an event. It can be hard to focus on the story you’re creating when the giant print piece doesn’t fit its display in just the right way.
By working with a professional event production agency, you work with a team that knows what details to look for and how to make sure everything is accounted for. And this is not just to make sure everything is “correct.” Details can include small things that really wow your audience and stick with them. The beauty of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night can be seen from afar, but it’s those small brush strokes and intricate lines that really make the piece breathtaking.
4. Made to Be Remembered
Your event has a message to share, and you want your attendees to walk away remembering what they learned. But in order to accomplish this, you need to make sure you’ve created a memorable event.
One way our team has found a way to do this is by incorporating learning styles. All of us learn and retain information differently. Some do best with hearing the information, others need to have it written down, many need to see it visually explained, and there are those who need to have a hands-on experience to understand.
Your attendees will likely be a mix of people with different learning styles, so you’ll want to incorporate each style into your event. Have a visually appealing slide deck alongside the speaker, not just their bullet points or graphs where you can’t read the details. Create a hands-on exercise to go along with the event. Provide branded journals and pens for note-taking. The possibilities are endless, so get creative with it!
5. Uniquely Designed
The best way to stand out and be remembered is by being different than the rest. Many events come in with the same approach, which can cause them to blur together in the attendees’ minds.
You want to create something wholly unique to you and the message you want to convey.
If your attendees don’t know what to expect because you’re doing something no one else has, you are more likely to be remembered and to have people talking about the experience you created. Plus, creating a unique event solidifies your position as an industry leader in your field.
Be the trendsetter, not the trendfollower.
akire productions Is Your Event Experience Agency
Perhaps these five steps sound great to you, but you’re not sure how to implement them or need help doing so. If that’s the case, akire productions is your answer! We’ve based our model for creating events on these five things. Our goal is to truly create a memorable experience for your attendees—all while honoring your goals and budget. Get in touch with our team today to see how we can make your next event an unforgettable experience.