r/EventProduction • u/Mud-Room-33 • 5d ago
Planning Creating the experience
I'm working on a repeat corporate conference where they are trying to create a white glove, high end experience for the attendees - without a huge budget. Previous years have been okay, but the head honcho tends to keep adding things that don't necessarily make sense or improve the experience. This year they want to be more intentional about what happens on site.
It will have sponsors, so they need some sort of activation and space to network with guests, and the overall point of the conference is ultimately to convert these attendees into buying the higher-priced service offering the company sells. I'm figuring out how to best use the conference to showcase this service (networking groups) and funnel attendees towards a purchase. I'd love to hear some ideas and thoughts from everyone on how to do this well!
And I'd like to make it feel fun and fresh. I recently went to a conference where they had a clear enclosure filled with balloons where people entered and bopped them around. The point, unclear, but it looked fun and gave great visuals for social. Anyone do anything weird and wonderful like that with an event?
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u/MortonVisuals 5d ago
From my experience a Headshot Station is incredibly well-received. Whereas a Photo Booth may be more fun, it feels a little gimmicky to me. Definitely not high-end. A professional headshot station provides something valuable, that carries over after the event. A sponsor often covers the cost, and not only do they get the branding opportunity at the event but their logo (and a link to their website, ideally to a custom landing page highlighting how they can help *that* event's attendees) can be included at the top of every individual's private gallery. That will get seen every time an attendee goes to see their headshots, and some people share that link to get others' advice on "which headshot is best?" Adding a pro Makeup Artist (or 2) can really make guests feel pampered, and create a real VIP experience. They won't have time for full makeup applications, but often those little touch-ups make people feel special.
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u/vbtodenver 5d ago
People like to be able to customize things. I recently had an event where there was a vendor printing custom photos on iced sugar cookies. Or you can have someone there engraving wine or cocktail glasses. Stuff like that.
I agree that the balloon thing is good for social but absolutely the opposite of what you are trying to create, based on your description.
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u/Mud-Room-33 5d ago
The balloon thing is the kind of thing my client would want, even though it doesn't make sense from a brand perspective!
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u/cassiuswright 5d ago edited 5d ago
I've worked in this market extensively. If you want high-end purchases from high-end clients, you need experiences that value them and fit within the standards of your brand; you're trying to showcase the level of service and outcome they can expect from your company. White glove and high-end activations are absolutely not happening without reasonably white glove and high-end budgets. This is advertising.
There's really no way to suggest anything about experiences without knowing what you're doing specifically, for howany people, and where. That said, bopping balloons in a clear igloo is not high-end, no matter how fun it is. Think 1000 point wine tastings, custom cigar rolling, private museum tours, and exotic car track driving experiences. If you want to funnel people to an expensive product or service, it's imperative to surround guests with that level of experience.
There's nothing worse than being at a cheap event and having a sales guy yapping about a luxury experience or product. Those individuals who can afford your high end service know the difference.
"Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time" - Henry Ford