Being professional marketers, we know the hero in any scenario is not the brand, the client, the event, or the story – it always is, and will be the consumer, around whom the whole marketing exercise revolves.
Over the years brands have constantly experimented with their tricks to impress their audience, and the art of brand storytelling has evolved steadily.
Woven through every new medium of the time– books, cinema, photographs and new media; the art has acquired a whole new dimension in the digital era.
The world of events is transforming. From merely being the typical networking venue and a podium for industry stalwarts and thought leaders, events have evolved to being experiential for every attendee– a tool of engagement and an experience that makes everlasting connections with the attendees.
Earlier, the role of technology in events was more of an amplifier, used to raise the ‘WOW’ factor. However, today it has gained critical relevance, with the events industry majorly relying on it for optimal success.
With new breakthrough technologies emerging almost every other day, we often tend to get lost over how we could use them as we try our best to keep abreast of the latest industry tech trends.
Beating the conundrum
However, the key conundrum remains – do we use the tech that fits the story or a story that fits the tech? Which should prioritise over the other: the story, or the tech, to create the most outstanding experience?
Putting things in perspective, the question here is not so eternal as that of ‘the chicken or the egg?’
Just as a fantastic movie script is not worked around the cast (ignoring a Stallone here, an Arnold there), rather the cast that is selected to suit the script.
In the same way, an event journey shouldn’t be tweaked to simply suit a particular tech; rather the story should retain its pristine essence, and the tech should work to complement the journey further, and not to alter it.
Both the elements are indispensable for a successful event and need to blend seamlessly to present a perfect narrative. That’s exactly what we call the event sweet spot.
In the modern day, where a surfeit of technological mediums is available, the ideal way is to exploit the most suitable tech to your advantage and make it intrinsic to the story from the very start to create engagement and a memorable experience for the audience.
As event professionals, crafting unique experiences usually means going all out with our arsenal: from acoustics to visuals, to AR and VR, and all that lies in the middle.
The tech geek in me is looking forward to technology coming more and more into play, pushing boundaries of creativity and storytelling.
The future is definitely digital, and it is already progressing by leaps and bounds, with user experience in the driving seat. It is the consumers’ world after all, that we live in.
By Ali Hamade – Head of Events & Technology, entourage
