How to engage guests: 5 recommendations from an event expert Pamela Norwood

Today we’ll share the recommendations from Pamela Norwood: creative director of the marketing agency and the owner of the event company in New York. Her resume includes events for world-famous brands: Rolling Stones, New York Magazine, GQ, the Condé, Travel & Leisure, and many others. The expert shared her thoughts on how to create “the very magic” for which visitors buy tickets for the event and fill the location on day X.

Each event manager will agree: the details are extremely important in the process of preparing the event. Attention to the “little things” is a guarantee that the event will be held without unpleasant surprises, according to the plan, and visitors will appreciate the easy relaxed atmosphere. And only the organizers know that behind this ease there are days and weeks of thorough teamwork.

The development of an event program, the organization of catering, the search and design of a location, the installation of equipment, and musical accompaniment are all important. But one should not forget why people will come to this event. This is the most important thing – the emotions of the guests, their sense of involvement in an important event, their impressions and joy. How to create this “magic”? Here are some simple guidelines.

Do not repeat yourself. New Event – New Ideas.

You can’t relax: do not let yourself and your colleagues work by the same hackneyed pattern. It is better to develop a strategy of interaction with the audience each time from scratch. Imagine that you are an artist, and each project is your clean canvas on which you will write a future masterpiece.

If the thought arose in your mind: “It was so awesome last time. I’ll do it the same way again, it should work”- do not give in, do not go soft. The organizer should not rest on his laurels, he should always be in search of something new.

This is not commonplace motivation. The meaning is deeper: if the organizer allows himself to repeat himself, very soon he will turn his work into a conveyor. As a result, he will lose interest, and this will affect the quality. A feeling of novelty is something for which many come to the event sphere. It needs to be saved.

Enthusiasm, sense of humor and mutual respect

Each member of the organizing team is a value. All specialists working on the preparation of the event form the image of the event company. They are its face. The result of the organization and the success of the event directly depends on their involvement and motivation.

Inspired, confident in their work, team members will create an excellent event atmosphere, will be able to convey a positive attitude to participants and visitors. And it all starts with mutual respect. Everyone – from the guy making coffee to the project manager should respect each other. Important qualities for the event organizer: enthusiasm, optimism, sense of humor. Cultivating positive emotions and mutual assistance, it is easy to work together and organize successful events. Agree, it’s worth it.

The ability to ravish.

Perhaps this is the most difficult moment. There is only one way to achieve that the audience was delighted: to surprise it. To begin with, it is worth evaluating all the subtleties of the organization and compiling a list of points without which it is impossible to hold an event. After that, you can evaluate each item on the list from the position “What if …”. In such a simple way, you can look at standard solutions in a different way and diversify even the most routine moments: whether it’s an entrance design, catering, or something else. Any of the actions can be presented so that visitors are delighted.

Pamela Norwood gave an example from her practice: 

“Preparing the Global Bazaar event for Travel & Leisure, we set ourselves the task of concentrating on the theme of traveling. Therefore, visitors associated all the elements beginning from the design of the location to the program and brochure with traveling around the world. We also left space for an element of surprise. Because in each journey, something new and unusual can wait literally at any moment, and no one knows what it is. Besides, the appearance of the team corresponded to the theme of the event. In particular, the waiters wore uniforms in Indian style.”

Another example is the Marfa Film Festival (Texas), which was attended by Pamela Norwood. The event was held in a thrift store. Before giving the guest a drink, he was offered to choose a container from the assortment of the store. Unusual cups, jam jars, beer mugs were offered to choose from. The price of the container was affordable: from half a dollar to a dollar. It was enough to give the purchased container to the bartender so that he began to prepare an individual drink.

The atmosphere was complemented by a musical group playing country-style compositions. Girls and women, representing the organizers, wore old-fashioned hairstyles (high buns). The organizers managed to create a peaceful atmosphere. Guests sipping drinks from unusual containers felt their personality. The solution was very simple but ingenious: the event will turn from ordinary to a special one.

 

Ability to make discoveries 

Probably everyone had a chance at least once, but to attend a similar event: when you come to the location, take a drink, sip slowly and wait: what so interesting will happen? But there are no events. Dull event – what could be more unpleasant? Guests cannot be bored and disappointed. They need to move and make discoveries. Being in the center of interesting events is a trend in modern culture.

Work as if a queen is coming to the event

Pamela Norwood recommends creating an image of a “guest of a dream”. This is necessary so that the team could focus not on the “average visitor”, but on something more. Even if the event is far from a royal reception, and most of the guests do not distinguish foie gras from Big Mac, you need to create such an atmosphere that visitors themselves want to meet a high level.