April 9, 2018

Activating the Event Experience

By Sean Pollock

There’s nothing like experiencing a fun event, live and in person. It brings in the customers, and it gives you a chance to bring out your best marketing strategies to build long-term engagement.

As you plan and activate your next experience for your target audience, keep these tips in mind.

Think Small: You don’t have to go big to get big results. Small and simple experiences can create content that truly sticks. An intimate experience can create more individual time with your customers, and great opportunities for immediate feedback and insights. When executed properly, and documented well, your brand experience will drive your consumers to tell your story better, and more authentically. So think small — but make it bigger than life.
Go Back to the Basics: Don’t overuse social sharing technology. If users can’t share it from their phone on a social medium they already use, then you are probably overthinking it.
Do Good: What’s the cause marketing/social responsibility tie-in? How could an attendee trigger a benefit to a local cause? As the Edelman Trust Barometer reported in 2016, roughly 80 percent of global consumers agree that business must play a role in addressing societal issues. Do good while building goodwill toward your organization.
Engage Peer-to-Peer: To engage Millennials at your event, consider using Millennials as your event staff and leaders. They’ll better relate with their peers, have a cleaner perspective on the audience, and elicit more open and honest conversations.

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING: When it comes to fashion and self-expression, Millennials follow their own beat. During this two-day Summer Camp festival, hosted by 107.7 The End in Seattle, accessorizing through a DIY bracelet station and professional henna artist complemented attendees’ individuality. At the same time, the one-on-one time gave advertiser General Assembly a chance to share more about its suite of adult education courses.