What’s the trick to transforming a party into an immersive experience? The secret is event strategy.
Throwing a legendary party builds buzz around your brand. Producing a corporate event connects a target audience to a business purpose. An immersive event combines a party’s you-had-to-be-there atmosphere with the intentional design of a corporate event to inspire attendees to take action.
Event marketers who want to achieve an immersive experience should approach the event planning process strategically.
- Define concrete goals that tie to the attendee journey
- Set up the space to reinforce messaging
- Translate the big-picture vision into details.
Conference after-parties, corporate appreciation events, groundbreakings and franchisee meetings are all opportunities for brands to invite supporters into a cohesive story.
Know where to start the event experience
Mapping the attendee journey starts long before they arrive. From pre-event communications to the parking lot shuttle to stepping into your venue, every touchpoint should feel special. People like to know where to go. Being thoughtful about space analysis and layout helps guests navigate.
When designing the event layout, walk the space using the guest’s point of view. Their first impression should evoke an emotional response: wonder, excitement, delight. Creating action at the entry point is one way to accomplish this.
- Roaming entertainment greets attendees with fantastic sound.
- Vertical and large-scale hanging decorations draw attendees inside.
- Setting up bars close to the entry encourages everyone to explore the rest of the room with a cocktail or mocktail in hand.
- Positioning waitstaff with passed appetizers at the midway point helps clear congestion, bringing people into the back half of the space.
Related: Incorporating ‘think, feel, do” journey mapping into event design.
Take a “zoned” approach to corporate event design
Large-scale events for 800+ people call for lots of square footage. Without wayfinding and an intentional layout, guests can get lost or congregate in corners. Set up a show-stopping anchor in the middle of the space and build the flow around it. (For one organization’s Burning Man party, we installed a massive faux tree that appeared to be breathing.) Then, divide the rest of the room into themed quadrants. Define zones through different lighting, color blocks and graphics that connect to the event identity.
For a recent corporate employee summit, marquee letters named each zone and made it easy to find. When people are trying to meet up with friends, it’s easy to text “meet me in the Chill Zone” instead of wandering. Filled with comfortable furniture, it was a natural place for people to relax. Our “Smile Zone” was the place to find photo booths and activations, and the “Swag Zone” featured a gifting experience.
Using a zoned approach also helps the event team take ownership. Assign leadership of a quadrant so they’re motivated to make theirs the most popular zone. Even simple, low-budget activities can be a huge draw. Inspired by social media trends, we once hosted a water bottle flipping contest that cost nearly nothing to produce but brought an energy and excitement to the people participating and the crowd that formed to watch.
Related: Identify four key influences that bring fresh energy to event design.
Collaborate to infuse your brand into creative event strategy
Successful experiential event collaborations bring internal brand teams together with creative event agency experts. Brands share guidelines and forthcoming campaign creative that the event agency can incorporate into ideation. Designing your event around a focused creative strategy weaves your key message throughout the experience.
An agency partner will make sure big, creative ideas are operational. Event producers translate the overall vision and message into specific choices:
- Live entertainment
- Decor and staging
- Activations
- Food and beverage
- Gaming
Expert experience designers go beyond theming to connect people with your brand. When attendees engage in activations, they create lasting memories and become brand ambassadors.
Find actionable advice for experiential event design in our framework for setting creative strategy.