What Does it Mean to Create?

As we continue to move our way into January, we’re thinking of the year we want to create for ourselves. Just as people think about what they want to create for the new year, event planners and their teams have to create from all different departments for their events.

It’s important to picture what you want the attendee’s journey to be — you want to create this experience for your attendees that’s the best possible experience, and make it better each year — thinking through the look and feel of the event experience is imperative. How do you brand an event? How do you communicate visually? A lot of people overlook creating an environment for the senses. You want your attendees to experience the event via sight and sound — how do the sensory details of events form memories? Another key piece that people don’t often think about is how an event translates to their brand. For example, if you’re hosting a happy hour and there’s negativity surrounding the evening, the event can do more damage to your brand than good. You have to be conscious to create and foster an environment that represents your brand. From onsite to digital, to your website, to badges, to lanyards, to graphics — all of this has to come together to encompass your brand.

One of the biggest mistakes made at events is transportation. Roadways get clogged, parking becomes expensive and lots run out of space and get completely backed up by cars entering and exiting. Creating the proper attendee flow ensures people can get to where they need to go and do what they need to do when they need to do it.

These aren’t things you’ll get right the first year or even the fifth year, but again what’s important is that each year you level up. Creating your ROI is important. What’s the purpose? Is this a nonprofit event? How are you going to raise money? You have to create the right price point if you’re selling something — whether that’s sponsorship or tickets.