Why Your Events Should Create an Emotional, Engaging Experience

We’ve all been to events that were, in a word, fine. They aren’t boring, but they also aren’t exciting. They get the job done. Business is conducted. Transactions are completed. Everyone returns home. In fact, most of the events that you attend in your life likely have a vibe similar to this.

While this may seem to be the normal, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, if your events are organized in this manner, you are missing a huge opportunity to establish your brand and build relationships between your company and attendees. The best events should be engaging and elicit an emotional impact in attendees. Truly well-choreographed events will have a lasting impact that lies in the memory of guests.

Example of Well-Planned, Engaging Events

You don’t have to look very far to find events that take advantage of planning to create an engaging, holistic experience for guests. In fact, chances are you’re familiar with many of them. Before discussing qualities of engaging events, let’s take a look at some examples.

Sundance Film Festival:

There’s a reason that Park City, Utah’s Sundance Film Festival is the preeminent one in the United States. In addition to opening the doors to anyone, this festival supplements screenings with Q&A sessions, various other talks, and even virtual reality experiences. For those in the industry, this festival provides opportunities for aspiring filmmakers to network with some of the leading directors in the craft. They were even able to successfully pull this off virtually in 2021.

Coachella:

This music festival has succeeded in establishing a strong brand by linking itself with a celebration of modern trends. In addition to offering the hottest musical acts, Coachella truly succeeds by creating an engaging experience where attendees have lots of opportunities to interact. It ties in music with an arts and fashion component to create a full-scale cultural festival that makes in California’s most talked about event each year.

Museum By Moonlight:

One even that you likely have not heard of is Museum by Moonlight, an annual fundraiser for the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, one of the largest children’s museums in the word. It brands itself as an event for “big kids” (i.e. 21+). In addition to getting to play in the five-story museum after hours, guests can take part in a silent disco, learn about the “Science of Alcohol” while trying out fun cocktails, listen to comics, and play in the outdoor sports experience. Much more than a fundraiser, the museum uses this event to build strong brand loyalty and community support with donors.

NCAA Football National Championship:

You might think that the annual NCAA national championship game is just a game, but you would be very wrong. This turns into a full-scale event that takes over the downtown area of a different city each year. Attendees can check out a fan experience where kids and adults can hone their football skills, catch one of many nightly free concerts, and interact with former players and coaches. They do an excellent job at turning a game into an amazing three-day experience of fan appreciation. This is an approach also taken by many other sporting events including the MLB All Star Game, NASCAR’s Daytona 500, and the Super Bowl.

Benefits of Engaging Events

When you create an engaging event, you reap many benefits. Here are some of the things you can expect to reap from your efforts in cultivating a great experience for attendees.

Brand Recognition:

Think of an even as a hype man for your organization. Engaging events get attendees excited about your company and build an emotional connection to your brand.

Showcase Your Organization:

Events are truly your time to shine. They provide many opportunities to share your culture, commitments, and successes. This ultimately helps generate great publicity.

Build Community:

One of the most powerful aspects of a successful event is the ability to encourage effortless connections between attendees. Successful events build in organic opportunities for furthering relationships.

Thought Leadership:

While your event may have a variety of different purpose, the best events are able to integrate thought leadership by helping advance agendas or generating innovative ideas. Like many other things, this is largely driven by facilitating engagement.

Retention:

Everyone likes to have fun. Making an event that is both valuable and fun will ensure that people keep coming back for more. After all, when attendees truly enjoy being at an event, they will gladly pencil it in on their calendars for the next year.

Why Do Many Events Fail at Creating an Engaging Experience?

With so many benefits, why is it that many events simply fail to create an engaging experience and emotional connection with attendees? Ultimately, it comes down to the reality that planning events is a very difficult, time-consuming task. It requires extensive planning and organization. Companies must pay attention to lots of small details, bring them together in a seamless manner, and ensure that the major messages are clearly communicated throughout the event.

This is why many organizations turn to a specialist in event planning when they seek to create engaging events for their attendees. Whether looking for live, virtual, or hybrid events, Maryland Productions has a long history of creating amazing events that will leave attendees raving about their experiences. Take a look at our Gallery to see what our events look like and how we can help make your next event a truly memorable experience.

How we can help:

Our team has years of experience producing virtual events and we would be happy to assist in producing yours! Since the onset of COVID-19 we have helped to plan and produce dozens of different events, ranging anywhere from graduations to corporate meetings and fundraising galas. To find out how we can help make your event a success reach out to us:

Phone: 443-384-0040

Email: [email protected]