You put a lot of effort into organizing and subsequently staging your event and ensuring it’s a hit with all concerned. But are your participants really looking forward to attending, or does the very thought of it fill some of them with dread? Now, more than ever, it’s time to take a very good look at your package and decide if it makes the grade. Perhaps you need some significant changes to take into account life in this new era, but what do you need to consider?

Not the Same Old, Same Old

You may go out of your way to understand your participants already. You may ask them for their feedback so you can improve your next event, and you may have created a notional “avatar” whose characteristics, demographics and personality match your target attendee. This approach is tried and tested in the event industry and is nothing new. But it doesn’t reflect the latest thinking and may not consider today’s challenging, emotional, and even anxious world.

It’s Experiential

To move to the next level, you need to make your events truly experiential. You should move away from anything generic and do your research to see how you can take advantage of your surroundings. Try to immerse your attendees in the atmosphere or eccentricity of your host town or city. See if you can create some niche experiences for them that help to lighten the overall mood.

Develop a Sense of Place

Some people call this creating a “sense of place,” but it does not mean that you should simply seize upon the first activity suggested by the local CVB. Look for something different and unpredictable and avoid anything that is purely stereotypical.

Orchestrating Serendipity

PCMA, the world’s largest network of business event strategists, have a memorable name for this approach. They call it “orchestrating serendipity,” or engineering some unexpected but meaningful moments. In fact, they go into detail about this idea in a study that the PCMA Foundation co-authored with Marriott International. The study talks about a clear sense of place, where organizers can leverage the immediate surroundings to create a much rounder experience for attendees.

Not Impressed

If your event caters to a younger demographic, you should know that this group tends to be far more interested in an experience than a bright, shiny object. They’re not likely to be impressed by a magnificently laid out ballroom with the latest in AV gimmickry. They’re more likely to be impressed by your cool activity, where they are taken to an authentic and perhaps off-the-beaten-path place to experience something that they may never have seen or felt before.

But this trend is not restricted to the younger demographic – and you may need to do something special to break the ice for a wider cross-section of your attendees.

The Introvert Attendee

Most people, truth be told, do not like walking into a crowded room full of strangers. This is particularly true in the wake of the pandemic, as people are still nervous and anxious and maybe even less likely to engage with strangers than before. It may take longer than average to unwind and strike up any conversations, and this may be a problem if your event is relatively short. Your people may not unwind in time to leave them with a good, lasting impression, and they may not have the time to cement new friendships. Consequently, they may feel somewhat empty when they leave.

Start As You Mean to Go on

Think about kicking off your event with several smaller groups and an experience of some kind, rather than bunching everybody into a generic meeting room. Look carefully around your community and ask the locals for their opinion. Find a place or an experience that “gels” with your attendees, based on the type of event and general demographic. Perhaps you can find a local artisan who is passionate about their work or a venue that is steeped in history relative to your group’s theme. Make the activity as low-key and informal as you possibly can, and make sure that it has a purpose or a hook of some kind to get your event off to a flying start.

Get out and About

Perhaps you can stage some of your breakout activities in the local community rather than at the hotel or conference center. Certainly, this may be more challenging to organize as you may have to arrange transportation and be creative with your schedule. But it will allow your attendees to see a lot more of the charm and character associated with the host town or city, and this can, in turn, make them more relaxed and open.

Try and weave some nature into the picture too. If the type of group allows and the weather plays ball, stage part of your event in an outdoor, rural spot.

Hit Two Targets

Event planners must always focus on the deliverable and make sure that they hit the target. If the conference is meant to teach people a new skill, or an exhibition is meant to sell people on a particular product or service, then this is the priority. However, a planner should also spend at least an equal amount of time to cultivate a sense of community in place. They should do whatever they can to bring people out of their shells at the very earliest opportunity and make them feel that they have made a good choice. These people will want to justify their attendance, and if you can include something unexpected and entirely outside the typical event deliverable, you will be making a difference.

Focus on Safety, Of Course

Safety is paramount today and more so than it ever was before. You always need to pay attention to cleanliness, social space, transportation methods and venue selection with this in mind. Yet if you can create a unique and safe sense of place for all your attendees, they’ll feel as if you care. They’ll enjoy a unique experience and something that they may not have been expecting. Before you know it, they’ll be raving about your style of presentation and eager to come back for more.

Get Help When You Need It

Event planning today is more complex than ever, and to help you do a job, you need to work with partners who truly care. This is why you should talk with eShow, an organization dedicated to support.

eShow helps to simplify your work by bringing many aspects under one umbrella. If you engage, you can take advantage of a comprehensive event management ecosystem of products. And remember, eShow will be there, wherever you need them. They can help you with your live, hybrid or virtual event – and will tell you what products could work best as you craft your new “sense of place”.

Thinking outside the box and keeping your audience engaged are two critical keys to any successful event. Now that virtual and hybrid events have become the norm, organizers must work even harder to keep energy high and hold their attendees’ attention.

Integrating games and competitions into events, also called “gamification,” is one of the hottest trends right now. Adding gamification to your event is one of the best ways to increase engagement, heighten brand awareness, and drive attendees to perform desired actions.

What is Gamification? The Basics

Despite its recent rise in popularity, there’s still some confusion about gamification and what it isn’t. It’s important to note that it’s not about turning your event into a big competition or creating something that resembles a fair; instead, event gamification is simply the process of incorporating game mechanics into the overall event experience. 

It works because humans, by nature, like to compete; they also feel a strong sense of satisfaction when rewarded for their efforts. Gamification taps into this psychology to drive desired behaviors in a fun and exciting way. 

Using Gamification to Drive Action

Defining your desired outcome is the first step to successfully incorporating gamification into your events. Whether you’re trying to build your prospect list, upsell to current customers, or increase brand awareness, it’s essential to know how you’ll measure your success.

While gamification can add a significant amount of entertainment to your event, this shouldn’t be the only purpose. Instead, it should always be linked to a specific goal that directly relates to the success of your event. For example, you may aim for a 30% increase in exhibitor interactions or a 25% increase in attendee referrals.

Once you’re clear on your goals, choosing the best gamification format for your event is much easier. For example, if you want to ensure your sponsors and exhibitors get plenty of traffic, you may offer points for each display they visit.

Some other ways to use gamification to drive action include:

  • Awarding points for correctly answering trivia questions during the event
  • Checking off boxes on BINGO cards for completing specific tasks
  • Hiding secret codes at various locations throughout the event space
  • Creating a scavenger hunt and awarding clues for taking particular actions
  • Offering the ability to earn titles and “level up” for completing several tasks
  • Giving points or rewards for inviting others to attend the event

Using a mobile app with gaming capabilities will help you design and launch your gamification plan. While it’s critical to have the right technology in place, simply providing access to an app isn’t enough. You’ll also need to motivate your attendees to participate in the games and make it worth their while. Do it right, and you’ll create loyal brand advocates who will be talking about your event long after it’s over.

Motivating Attendees

Since most people enjoy a bit of friendly competition, providing visual incentives like leaderboards, notifications, and personal scorecards can help keep your attendees motivated.

For in-person meetings, you may also consider giving out color-coded lanyards or badges for reaching certain levels. This will keep your gamification top-of-mind and encourage a competitive spirit.

Make sure your games are challenging enough to give participants a sense of achievement, but not so difficult or complex that attendees get frustrated or lose interest. It’s also essential to monitor your gamification in real-time. Keep an eye on how close participants are to earning awards and how engaged they are. If enthusiasm seems to be waning, make sure to send notifications reminding them how close they are to receiving a reward.

Choosing Rewards and Prizes

If you want people to get excited about your games, you’ll need prizes or rewards they want. While there are many options, ultimately, you’ll want to make sure the rewards you choose surprise and delight your guests.

For multi-day events, you may consider awarding experiences such as a VIP happy hour, a special dinner, a massage at the hotel spa, or an exclusive outing for those who reach certain levels.

Some organizations offer to donate to a charity of the winner’s choice, while others stick to traditional prizes, like a t-shirt and a coffee mug. As you choose the awards for your event, it’s crucial to think about what the prize says about your organization and the lasting impression you want to make.

Benefits of Gamification

Adding gamification to your event is an excellent way to guide your attendees to the actions you want them to take. It also makes them more comfortable, because they’ll know exactly what’s expected of them. In addition, when attendees are fully engaged, they’re more aware of their surroundings, allowing for deeper interaction with presenters and exhibitors.

Properly implemented, gamification converts “attendees” into “participants.” It helps them become fully immersed in the moment, learn new things, and get more out of the event than they otherwise would.

Gamification can create a fun and relaxed atmosphere and ensure a positive and rewarding experience. It can also significantly increase your return on investment by helping you to reach your predefined goals.

Add Gamification to Your Next Event

While the concept of gamification has created a lot of buzz lately, only a small number of organizers are currently using it to its full potential. By using gamification to upgrade your event experience now, you can ensure your events will stand out from the crowd. It will also allow you to increase both participants and sponsor engagement, encourage deeper connections, increase your session attendance, and improve the overall experience.

To learn more about how eShow can help you add gamification to your next event, request a personal demo. We’re happy to show you exactly how our mobile app works and help you choose the perfect line-up of products to ensure your next event is a stellar success.