Answering Your “Why”

Often when you are starting to think about your event, you have something in your mind, a full room, conference center or stadium, buzzing with life and activity and immediately we go to planning mode to see how we can achieve that. But we want to encourage you to go back a little further before we begin planning and ask some more existential questions:

Figure Out Your Why

Whether you are having an in person or an online event, one of the first things you need to determine is what exactly the metrics of your success are in the event. These metrics are not primarily related to the number of people attending the event (although getting a big crowd may certainly be connected). If you are hosting a product or service launch, your ultimate goal will be related to the sales that are derived from this event. The amount of people who attend the event may therefore be a key indicator of success, but getting the wrong crowd that results in very few sales may lead you to adjust your strategy later. In this regard, just getting a big crowd may make you feel good in the moment, but it would be more helpful for your team to talk about the real metric of sales and plan towards that goal. If your goal is to communicate your vision to your super fans or radical core audience, having a huge crowd with hundreds of thousands may surprisingly actually work against your main metric. If your audience wants to be addressed as if they are the only one that matters, including them as just one among the thousands may be a bad idea. Think deeply about this metric, whether online or in person, and work with your team to achieve your goal.

Now let’s translate some of these thoughts into putting on an online event - In the TV industry getting “eyeballs” is a key indicator of success. Large numbers are also attractive to online broadcasters as they can result in advertising revenue. The strategy for engaging your audience online may be the same - simply gathering a big crowd. And if a simple big crowd is the objective, then maybe the right strategy is to go all out on platforms like YouTube and Facebook…. But if, when you’re really honest, your goal is more than that it is helpful to be honest about that and realize the limitations of that strategy. Maybe you don’t want to simply give all your audience’s data away to those platforms, maybe you want to serve them yourselves. That is why we are seeing the emergence of many OTT media platforms (previously you would watch content through the major media outlets - ABC, NBC, BBC - and now the content makers are going “Over The Top” to reach their markets directly. Think Disney+, Discovery+ and the multitude of niche brand video channels who are engaging their core audience). Getting to know who your core audience is, your “super fans”, your “radical core” and engaging them around topics that are relevant to their life may be a more effective way to energize people who will leave the event and immediately “sell” the vision to ten more of their friends.

You might initially just be aiming at gathering a big crowd, but figuring out your why will help you get the “right” big crowd!

Choosing the right type of event

‍There are different types of people, different types of objectives and different types of events. It is important to understand the difference between meetings. In some meetings you need to achieve deep collaboration between attendees, while other gatherings are about gathering as many people as you can to mobilize them behind a specific vision. Sometimes you need an intimate fundraising banquet and other times a rock concert. There is no type of event which is better than another, but it is important to recognize what you are trying to achieve and choose the right medium to communicate exactly what you need to. There generally is a right event type for your present needs and you don’t need to spend a lot of time and money to realize you have made a poor choice to achieve your desired goals.

The question you ask for an in person physical event is also an important one for a virtual event. There is not one type of online event - It is often possible to mimic the type of physical in person event that you are having with an online equivalency. However, it is important to recognize the differences between online and in-person. Simply being online means you are communicating in another medium, and while this offers many benefits over in-person events, there are similarly many elements that cannot and should not be  reproduced. 

Online communication is better for intense, effective and interactive information sharing as well as focused networking while physical events can be much better for creating space and time for more serendipitous networking, having meals, coffees and walks. Similarly you will never experience the intense, ear-bleeding, emotionally high experience of being in a mosh pit at a concert online, however you can experience a perhaps more intimate artistic experience through a broadcast feed. 

There are undoubtedly differences between on-site and online events. Know the differences and play to each’s strengths. 

A Note on Budget

It is possible to lose a significant amount of money in organizing a large scale event. However it is important for you to consider the financial aspects in the right way. As with many endeavors in life, it is also important not to underestimate the potential financial benefits and use false economy in planning your event. Many of the components of a successful event will involve spending, this may involve your stage line up, production budget or broadcast/distribution budget. Often your event will only be as strong as your weakest link. For example you may decide to go big on funding a high end speaker or band and then skimp on the production budget. In most scenarios this would be a bad decision. The same is true for online delivery of your event. There are some amazing solutions being offered to the market. It is important that you don’t skimp on providing an amazing experience for your audience. 

Refine Your Narrative‍

We have advised many event coordinators who are hosting large events and often the first component that is considered is the lineup of presenters on stage - famous bands and speakers who will have the ability to gather a crowd.  Gifted and charismatic stage personalities are great, and they may form a component of your overall strategy, however it is imperative that before you invite any presenters you are clear about your metrics and narrative. The narrative is the story behind the event and the reason why your audience will want to attend your event rather than the other events where the same speakers or bands will be attending. 

Discovering your narrative is typically a process which begins with discovering your “why” in hosting the event and the “why” your attendees have for attending. 

Following tried and trusted methods of storytelling in communicating your narrative is helpful in both in person and online events. Thinking of your potential attendees as the hero of a story into which you are inviting them with you as a trusted guide is ultimately helpful to all parties and the vision that you would like to see come to pass. 

It may be that you are giving your audience a unique experience and opportunity to get involved in the most life changing movement. If that is true, you need to recognize and find ways to communicate that vision that involves your audience. 

This narrative must be communicated through your event brand guide and your written and video communication as you promote your event. While this is true of all events, it is helpful not to miss this element when it comes to planning your online event and consider the unique online methods to respond to this narrative. 

Determining Your Stage Line Up

‍Who can communicate your goals most effectively in spoken, written or musical form? 

Often the impetus, even the existence of an event, comes from the lineup of speakers, subject matter experts, influencers and musical artists. While this may be a main hook to gather a big audience, the simple ability to gather an attractional stage lineup should not determine your event. The “why” and the narrative should always come first. Individuals or groups who present or perform from your stage need to serve this vision and narrative. If this does not happen there is a possibility that you, your audience and your guest speaker will come away from the event feeling used, and this lack of cohesion almost never achieves the worthwhile purposes with which you started out. ‍

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ONLINE CONSIDERATIONS - When considering either a hybrid or a completely online event, it is important to consider the different mediums of communication you are employing. A stage in front of 50,000 people in an arena versus small screens in front of a million people are two entirely different mediums. Although the latter is reaching a much bigger audience, a small screen is always a more intimate medium and requires an approach where the audience is being addressed in a more direct one-on-one manner. When considering your line-up, also consider how you are going to communicate to both audiences most effectively, and consider how your line-up is going to do this. Audience engagement is important in both mediums of communication. 

It’s clear that the world was taken by surprise by the COVID 19 pandemic and one question we have received throughout this time starts with the longing to return to in-person events but then continues with how we think things will change in a post-COVID world. Our response has long been that we also long for a return to in person events, however, online events are not going away. Even before COVID the online component of events was increasing in demand and its complexity was increasing. So this is an area that you shouldn’t ignore for too much longer.