STANDING OUT
31
Louisa Daley speaks
to creative agencies
to understand the
importance of bringing
the ‘wow factor’ to
delegates
Wow Factor
hat makes a
conference stand
out from all of the
rest? We spoke to a
range of event professionals from
agencies Top Banana, Cue, DRPG and
Julia Charles Event Management to
help you achieve that ‘wow factor’ for
your next conference.
As you can imagine, engaging
delegates can be a challenging task.
Our modern technology is constantly
evolving which means that we have
access to information in flashes, at
home or on the go. Whether this is
through social media or the news, the
never-ending buzz of the world limits
our attention span for specific content
and prevents us from simply sitting
still and listening.
Many believe that conferences rely
on exactly this from delegates, but
they don’t have to, which is why
picking up a pen and paper appears
more daunting than picking up our
phones. Conferences must engage an
audience, like our phones have
engaged us. The only way to achieve
this is through human interaction and
the ‘wow factor’ stems from getting it
right, as participating in a conference
will leave more of a lasting impression
on delegates.
Across the board, event
professionals say that you must first
understand both your clients and
audiences’ expectations, in order to
successfully interact and wow them.
Craig Ewan, project manager at Cue,
stresses that you have to “ask the
right questions from the get-go.” For
example, who is the targeted
audience? Why are they attending?
What is the key message and the
desired outcome? Katie Doughty, a
producer at DRPG, provides the
answer that delegates attend
conferences to “learn and gain
something from the experience.” You
need to ensure that attending a
conference is more valuable than a
day in the office, especially when
delegates have emails to catch up on.
Knowing the answers to these
questions allows you to tailor your
event to “suit the business message
but also the audience,” adds Jemma
Peers, client and commercial director
at Top Banana, who says that one
cannot exist without the other.
Now that you have done your
research, the communication style is
key. Michael Charles, director of Julia
Charles Event Management advises
to “keep your session short and to the
point” by suggesting the ‘seven-
minute rule’. This ensures that you
have the perfect amount of time to
educate, entertain and energise