I don’t really hate big events

Thanks to Mix Magazine.. even if they did edit the word ‘imagineer’…

http://www.mixmeetings.com/past-issues/2013/october-november-2013/voice/are-bigger-events-always-better

(unedited version)

I hate big events. Designing for over 1000 people it is near impossible to ensure a quality personal experience for every guest. In large scale events participants become little more than cattle herded through various activities, inevitably are fed some form of passive entertainment and most will leave not understanding the message or goal.  In smaller events of 800 or less the possibility to fine tune the attendees experience, engage participants and create a quality event becomes possible.

As an event designer my creation process starts with the goal of the event, from there I imagineer experiences that lead to that goal. Not everybody reacts to the same experience in the same way. When you have a smaller crowd often they are from similar backgrounds, speak the same language and a have a similar culture. With these groups their reactions to experiences will be the same making it much easier to target the entertainment, the styling, the colors and create something guests will respond favorable to. Simple things, like color speaks very differently to different groups. Recently I did a launch in Shanghai for an overseas client, mostly vips also some press. The company’s corporate primary colors were white and blue. At first they wanted to brand everything

in corporate colors. In China blue and white are the colors used for funerals. We convinced them to use colors from their secondary palette as it was very likely a few guests may be superstitious and wouldn’t like being at an event that looked like a funeral. Of course in the US blue and white can be very stylish.

Learning experiences are better in smaller groups. Large conferences attract big name speakers. More often than not celebrity speakers give little more than a keynote speech, an overview of information you already know. Although inspiring to see them speak there is greater value to actually meet and talk with them. As a conference attendee I really appreciate the smaller conference

where you actually discuss and get quality time with the speakers and other attendees. This is where I get my most value for money. As a speaker I always adjust my lecture to the level of the class. With a broad range of attendees getting in depth discussion can be difficult. In one lecture I did at a large conference in the US, the subject was “The Event industry in China” 10%  of my class had experience in Asia and were looking for in depth knowledge. 90% thought Hong Kong was the capital of Japan. The lecture very quickly became a “geography lesson” with an overview of working in Asia, sadly leavening out the participants that would have benefited the most from an in depth talk.

My favorite part of smaller events is no downtime, waiting for 1000 people to find their seat in a ballroom after cocktails feels like hours. The client’s favorite part of small events is budget management and the return on investment. Measuring the ROI of a small event is much easier to track and can be very accurate. When managing the budget, in smaller events it is easy to see where every dollar goes and exactly what you get for it.

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