There Needs to Be a Refocus on Quality at Events

Events had become the lifeblood for many media brands leading up to the pandemic. While ads were a struggling business, experiential was the hot topic that could get all sorts of media companies excited. But then the pandemic hit, and that business died away for a while.

Now that the pandemic continuously appears to be behind us (though some reports suggest other parts of the world are starting to see a surge), events are flooding back.

But we need to rethink how we do events. The quality has always been subpar for so many events I’ve attended. I remember the very first one I went to. It was a trade show in the supply chain space. Everything about it was seriously subpar.

The food was pretty bad, even at the awards lunch I was invited to. I get that catering food is hard. But hard, boiled chicken with a disappointing mixed greens salad does not give anyone joy.

The venue itself was pretty disappointing. We were all packed into these narrow, makeshift rooms with airwalls dividing each panel. Rows and rows of us were just sitting there in warm rooms with poor air circulation. It was really warm.

And then the content was awful. Mix the warm room with terrible content and I fell asleep. I remember the nap because it was so deep that I had to pay Southwest Airlines an upgrade fee so I didn’t get stuck in the middle seat for being late to check-in.

No one cared about quality. All that mattered was people were going here because they had to go, and the event’s organizers could get away with average production value.

I do not believe this will work this time around. A lot has changed over the past couple of years, and I suspect two things will happen. First, we’re going to see a lot more competition. Media companies that have found themselves in a solid financial position in 2022 compared to 2019 will look to expand their brands with events. Second, attendees are going to choose higher quality.

I had breakfast with a big partner on Wednesday, and he said something interesting. “Events have just turned into these things where vendors swarm the few buyers there.” The equilibrium of buyer to partner had grown out of whack. Instead of a sufficient number of attendees looking to learn and potentially buy from sponsors, many companies were trying to sell with few interested attendees.

Events organizers can do a few things to try and bring things back into balance, and they are focused on three things: content, venue, and experience. And it starts with the attendee.

The important thing to understand is that sponsors follow attendees. So, if you have hundreds or thousands of high-quality attendees coming to your events, sponsors will participate. They have to. That’s how they’re going to find prospective business.

If we start with content, we must accept that it cannot and should not be an afterthought. The purpose of the content is to educate and inform, which is fine. But I think what we forget is that just because we are educating does not mean we can’t do it more enjoyably. Events organizers are entertainers to some extent. So as you’re thinking about panel construction, try to imagine who will be fun to listen to.

Often, you’re going to get people on the panel who are just dry. For example, many of those supply chain CEOs who spoke at that event I described were not the most enthusiastic people. But with good moderators, you can make the conversation more exciting because the interviewer guides it there.

This is why I’m not too fond of keynotes. You give someone 10-15 minutes of free time to say whatever they want and they’re going to come prepared with some of the most boring talking points imaginable. Unfortunately, this is where events tend to put sponsors first. “We have to give them stage time,” says the event organizer. But you do that at the detriment of the attendee experience.

If you’re going to do keynotes, save them for the most prominent names irrespective of what they’re spending. Sure, if you want the sponsor to give some remarks for 2-3 minutes, it is what it is. But if you’re going to have a keynote, it better shine. You want to find big names who will draw people’s attention and hopefully be exciting.

Ultimately, your content matters. If you can convene incredible discussions about your topic or great entertainers, your event will be fine. Even if the venue is bad and the experience is subpar, people will be forgiving if the content is excellent.

That said, let’s make the venues and experience great too.

Part of the problem for many event organizers is that venues are the limiting factor of the event. If you’re in New York City and want to do a 500 person event, you have many options. If you’re going to do a 1,000 person event, there are fewer options. Grow to 5,000 people and you can probably only go to the Hilton Midtown, Javits, or go custom at one of the piers.

But we have to appreciate the reality that the venue says a lot about our event. If you pick a hotel, it will be a carpeted, dark, windowless experience. You’ll have the size and an “all in one” experience, but the venue will not be exciting. On the other hand, if it’s a multi-day event, there’s nothing greater than going right downstairs to see the next panel. So, how you balance that venue look and feel is essential.

There’s also the branding conversation. When you’re building custom, you can brand everything exactly how you want because you have to bring everything in.

Naturally, as you move out of New York City, there is a lot more variability with the venues you can work with. Whatever you decide, it’s important to understand how that venue improves the experience for the attendee. Convenience vis-a-vis the hotel/venue in one building is one thing. Good airflow and natural light might be a different priority.

The actual attendee experience is, to some extent, tied to the venue. I think about the attendee experience in a few ways. First, there’s the food. People are going to eat and you get to decide how enjoyable it is. And this is a high cost since many venues come with food & beverage minimums, and they can get costly quickly.

I have a rule for food at events. Obviously, you want to try and make it as good as you can. But it also doesn’t have to be the very best meal I’ve ever had either. If you’re not serving caviar, that’s really okay. It just can’t be bad. It can be fine and ultimately forgettable, but if it’s bad, that sticks. I’d rather an attendee forget the meal—like we do most meals we eat—than remember the food was bad.

Second, what kind of activations can you provide? For many of the events I’ve planned, the purpose is for people to learn. But you can create additional opportunities for people to have fun, both on-premises and off. And in many cases, these can be sponsored.

For example, I went to an event once where there was a mini-arcade on the floor. There were probably 8-10 retro arcade games and attendees would come in and out, have some fun, and leave. VR is becoming a bigger part of our world; is there a way to activate an idea with that in mind?

Off-site, are there things that you can plan? For example, if your event is near a body of water, could you plan an evening cruise? This could be for sponsors, speakers, or something a set number of attendees could pay more for.

Even if you’re not planning it yourself, providing the information they need to make decisions might be good enough. You almost act like the concierge at a hotel. So, maybe you identify a good place for golf or, if it’s winter, a good place for skiing. You could locate vineyards if those exist in your area.

The point is that there are various ways for you to improve the attendee experience. And if you do it right, people will remember that they enjoyed themselves at the event.

As I said initially, a lot has changed over the past few years, and attendees will be pickier if there are options. There must be a focus on producing higher-quality events. In many respects, events are major marketing events for your brand. Why would you want to be cheap on it?

If the content is excellent, attendees will forgive. If the content is great, the venue is comfortable, and the experience is exciting, attendees will rave. We want our attendees to be promoters of what we’re doing. Give them quality and they’ll come back and tell other people to attend.

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter. If you have thoughts, hit reply or join the AMO Slack. I hope you have a great weekend and see you on Tuesday.