Where we’re heading
Photo: Jeffrey Moore Photography
Transform the mundane into the celebrated, the unseen into heroes.
Not only can you flip the table, why not reinvent the table?
Scaled to the theme and the venue
When people think about the future of corporate events, trade shows, conferences, and networking, they think tech.
Since most events lock down their big-budget items first, that totally makes sense.
Whether they are using (or considering) AI-enabled registration, projection mapping, data-driven personalization, or options for hybrid engagement, planners are trying to make the best choices for their clients and their clients’ budgets.
I’ve got to say, though, that being human-centric is the most overlooked competitive advantage in live events. Every brand strategist worth their salt knows this.
Ask anyone who has shelled out thousands of dollars (roughly $2000 to attend and another $2000 for food, lodging, and transportation–and that is in the U.S.) to attend a conference or trade show.
They’ll tell you that creating organic connections with people they don’t normally meet is one of most important things these events offer.
Creating and building those connections is what a recent soft launch for a new brewery venue in Roswell, GA (part of greater Atlanta) was all about, where we helped create an engaging guest experience.
The event itself was simple and elegant. Spirited Event Group, a venue management firm, showcased how this space could be transformed and allowed the vendors to show off what they could do.
Gorgeous weather let them open the entire front of the venue to the patio, giving us an easy-breezy summer vibe.
The motif of simple and elegant came across in the decor and the way vendors offered their specialties for industry guests. We facilitated interactions between companies, vendors, and individuals who rarely have the chance to enjoy each other’s work.
For the planners of high-end corporate events, conferences, and trade shows, gotta say it again: giving attendees a way to relax into connection matters.
Less is more
One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make when deciding on entertainment for professional events is assuming bigger automatically means better. Nope, absolutely not!
At corporate receptions, executive networking events, hospitality lounges, leadership retreats, and conference activations, the real objective is rarely “wow for the sake of wow.”
When you delve deeper, the true objective is usually about these:
- Encourage conversation [Connection]
- Increase attendee dwell time [Sales]
- Make an emotional connection [Duh]
- Reduce social friction [More and more people don’t drink alcohol.]
- Create value for sponsors [This is so often ignored. Sponsors need meaningful ROI if the host organization wants to create and maintain a relationship.]
- Increase approachability between guests [How do you break LOTS of ice?]
- Reinforce brand positioning [Put that brand into their hands, eyes, and hearts, in addition totheir social media feeds.]
- Make networking feel natural rather than transactional. [And for international companies, making it safe and culturally appropriate takes precedence.]
You need entertainment that understands and uses the psychology of a room.
At the Gate City Foundation Room HQ’s soft launch, we brought people together.
We were the social catalyst that helped guests comfortably engage while highlighting the venue as the center point of the experience.
This, precisely, is what often separates luxury event environments from events that just overwhelm.
A BREWERY?
Have you walked into a new venue and had the feeling you’ve been there before?
That feeling of ‘deja vu’ boredom is why corporate event planners are increasingly looking for venues that feel authentic.
Modern breweries are a cool option because they can combine:
- Architectural character
- Industrial-modern aesthetics
- Built-in conversation energy
- Indoor/outdoor flexibility
- Local identity
- Casual sophistication
- Elevated food and beverage programs
For conferences and trade shows especially, it is difficult to impress attendees with traditional ballroom experiences alone.
Planners are under pressure to create environments that feel curated, culturally relevant, representative of the local vibeand socially magnetic.
An idiosyncratic brewery space can give you that and particularly when you couple it with entertainment that complements the environment.
NO ONE WANTS TO JUST WATCH
Event entertainment has been getting more and more passive for a while now.
You watch a costumed performance. The DJ is probably in the corner and keeps the volume UP. There is this background ambiance and not too much time or space for interaction.
People want to participate.
And let me tell you, they don’t want to be forced into participating. All of us are done with the age of awkward icebreakers.
What works? Give folks the option to engage in a spontaneous and organic way.
Those spaces and moment of transition are where interactive entertainment experiences really shine, and yes, you’ll find us in those spaces building real relationships.
Where we shine:
- Trade show networking receptions
- Conference welcome parties
- VIP hospitality experiences
- Corporate celebrations
- Client appreciation events
- Executive retreats
- Brand activations
- Association conferences
The brewery soft launch’s energy showed something important and kinda astonishing.
I saw again that folks are far more likely to remember how an event helped them interact than what the backdrop was.
That memory creates an emotional carryover for the venue and for the organizations hosting the event.
SO WHAT?
The reasons for trade shows and conference planners should care are huge:
Trade shows and conferences are under pressure from all sides.
Attendee attention is fragmented.
People get information online.
You can watch keynote speakers remotely. Then there’s digital networking….
So why would you attend in person?
Well, the answer increasingly comes down to the quality of the experience.
CREATE A SUCCESSFUL EVENT
Then be the event that hosts:
- Unexpected conversations
- Human connection
- Emotional texture
- Shareable moments
- Genuine atmosphere
- Networking without pressure
That is why many brands are rethinking entertainment as a strategic business tool.
A well-designed interactive entertainment experience will:
- Increase booth traffic
- Extend guest linger time
- Improve sponsor visibility
- Encourage (or guide) attendee circulation
- Create natural conversation-starters
- Reduce social hesitation (aka shyness) among strangers
- Improve overall event stickiness
These are measurable ROIs and simple business outcomes dolled up in the guise of entertainment.
What is luxury, anyway?
People think formal when they think luxury. No. Luxury is presenting what matters to your attendees and removing the unnecessary frictions.
As a matter of fact, many of the most effective high-end experiences now feel intentionally relaxed.
The luxury is in what you choose to omit and the purposefulness of what you choose to include.
For me, I see it over and over again, one of the most important aspects of luxury is ease of access. Think about it. You show up and are whisked to the center of things. Take out the daily grind stuff.
Then you have pacing. Are you rushing people? Worse, do they feel herded?
What is the overall ambience of the event? Is it about the individual, or is it just a generalization about who that market segment is (emotional intelligence)?
Do you have the ability and the confidence to not oversaturate the room?
When you examine what luxury is through this lens, the brewery soft launch environment nailed it.
Guests had room to explore, they could hear each other and see each other, get to know one another! Wow, what a concept.
Lip Print Analysis and Autograph Readings helped people ease into the social architecture of the event instead of competing for attention.
For sophisticated corporate planners, that distinction is hugely important.
Caveats
Yes, Mildred, it’s not all peaches and cream.
To create exceptional, individualized, high-end events, you have to allocate additional resources for those planning, designing, and executing it.
It won’t be a simple “all included” event where one vendor provides it all.
Or as they say, you get to choose: Good | Cheap | Fast.
You get two out of three unless you want to create something absolutely and totally unique.
We can work with those constraints and still deliver. But the others?
Atlanta’s event evolution
Atlanta continues to lead as a destination for conferences, trade shows, and large-scale corporate gatherings. It’s role as a hub for international events and global business opportunities cannot be overstated. Atlanta’s strategic geographic location in the Southeast positions it within a two-hour flight of 80% of the United States population.
And that global relevance is increasing demand for unique experiences, not the standardized experiences we’ve all come to loathe.
What partners need to stand out
Event planners look for partners who understand:
- Audience psychology
- Flow management
- Corporate culture
- Brand sensitivity
- Networking dynamics
- Guest comfort
- Interactive engagement
- Sophisticated restraint
Fakers are losers
Sure, you can try to fake it.
I see it all the time.
A company eyeballs what we do, hires a couple of cuties to replicate it (without the training, the expertise, and the experience) and are stupefied when it falls flat. Easily predicted.
The elements that do work have been culled from experience operating in live environments and understanding how people move, connect, and emotionally respond within a space.
Kinda like taking a fancy box from great truffle maker and putting sub par chocolates in it. IYKYK.
My take-away
What I noted about this event was that it wasn’t just a glorified walkthrough.
I saw a premonition of changes across live events and hospitality industries.
Everybody yaps incessantly about:
- experiential
- emotionally intelligent
- interaction-focused
And it makes me want to toss my cookies or go back to my rallying cry that purple up-lights and beer doozies are NOT entertainment.
I see more and more that the most effective means of engaging with entertainment is about creating analog, synchronous, sensory experiences.
If people aren’t comfortable, they’re less likely to connect. Why not give them the elements that make them feel comfortable?
That’s what we’re about.
This is what guides our approach to corporate events, conferences, trade shows, hospitality activations, and high-end social social events.
Because (let me say it again): in the end the only thing people will remember about your event is how it made them feel.