One of the many industry buzzwords you’ll hear as you explore an event management degree is “experiential event design”. This phrase simply means that your guests don’t want to just attend a meeting; they want to experience something that makes them part of the event itself. Through smart event design, you can wow your attendees with experiences, but it takes careful planning and thoughtful attention to detail. Here are some tips for creating this atmosphere.
Give the Attendees the Spotlight
When you attend a typical event, you are a viewer, and the spotlight is on the speaker, presenter, performer, or message of the event – right? But what if it was the other way around? What if your guests were the stars of the event, and the focus was all on them? This type of event design is what makes people feel as though they’ve experienced something, rather than just feeling like they’ve attended something. One great example of this is product launch events that broadcast attendees trying out the product for the first time to the entire event.
Always Leverage Technology
From live streaming your event and creating an event hashtag, to using augmented reality apps to add unique layers to your event design, technology is your friend when it comes to creating an experience. One of the key parts of an experience is that it transcends a single part of a person’s life. When they are able to connect the event to their social media presence, for example, by sharing in a hashtag party while the event is going on, they feel as though they are getting a more well-rounded experience that incorporates all parts of their lives.
The Experience Doesn’t Stop When the Event Is Over
Finally, one key difference between an experience and an event is that experiences linger. Don’t abandon that hashtag after the event is over; encourage guests to continue connecting with you. Plan an after-party through virtual means, or consider how you’re going to connect your call to action with your event design. If your event was structured as a story that allowed the guests to become a part of it, how are you going to continue the tale beyond that chapter? These are questions that event designers ask themselves as they work to provide a true experience for guests.
Learn Experiential Event Design at Your Own Pace
Are you interested in learning more about how trends like experiential event design can help you create a whole new career? From creating an experience to structuring your business, our event management degree is a great place to start. This self-paced course can help you learn how to provide guests the experience that they’ve been lacking in other events, and much more.
