7 steps to delivering a successful experience

Published: March 2022

There’s no doubt that team members working for experience agencies are one of the hardest working breeds on the planet, with a plethora of tasks spinning around in their heads at any one time. Whilst skills like multi-tasking come near the top of the job requirements list, it doesn’t hurt to revisit the basics and think about the structure of delivering an event, experience, activation or campaign that will live long in the memory of ‘organisation enthusiasts’ the world over.

1. Have clear objectives

Objectives and goals help to determine if the brand experience was a success, or where improvements should be focused in the future. Objectives help in removing subjectivity when reporting on the event, particularly if it needs to be communicated to parties in other countries that could not attend, e.g. HQs.

When setting objectives, it’s worth starting by thinking about what the experience is trying to achieve. Shares of social media posts? Entries into a competition? Bums on seats?

Once you are clear about what the client is trying to achieve, think about how you’ll measure success. Often this is obvious and is simply a case of counting the number of people that complete the desired action. But you might want to go into further detail, such as the number of dishes sold, the number of impressions an advertisement receives and the amount of PR coverage achieved. You should have a good idea of what numbers represent success, so you can celebrate when you get there.

2. Be organised

Have a calendar that is agreed with all parties and stick to deadlines. By doing this everyone that is involved in the organising knows their tasks and when the completion is due. This can help in managing unexpected tasks as they arise later on, as time can be built in to allow for them.

Keeping everyone on the same page and everybody singing to the same hymn sheet will put pressure on departments that fall behind and highlight the areas that are not quite working. Of course, everybody will be ahead of schedule, all the time… right?

No. We all know that doesn’t happen, but the important thing is not to get stressed and maintain a solution-based focus. Staying calm under pressure and focussing on what can fix the problem rather than placing blame can go a long way in getting a project delivered.

We like to plan for more time than we'll need. No matter how organised you are, there will always be things that can go wrong or new tasks that arise unexpectedly. If you think you need 2 months to organise an event, be safe and give yourself 3.

3. Communicate

Have processes in place to keep everyone involved in the loop. This can be in the form of a weekly meeting, conference call, summary email or access to a shared project file. You’ll be surprised how easy it is for some departments to fall behind without regular contact. Naturally, people think that they have been forgotten or that their role isn’t important. By keeping in contact everybody knows where they stand and how they contribute to the bigger picture, which is inevitably essential to the team reaching the finish line.

4. Let people know about it

In order for people to attend your event, they need to know about it. We look at some of the options for promoting your event in another blog but simple options include social media marketing, influencer marketing and utilising the performers that will be present during the experience.

Months worth of work is often squeezed into weeks in the lead-up to the event. Everybody wants it to be a success, so people need to know it exists. Unless you just want to enjoy the party to yourself of course. We don’t blame you.

5. Document the event

Documenting your event helps to promote it to potential attendees and can provide marketing material for following events. Hire a professional photographer to capture those great shots that aren’t visible to the untrained eye so you can focus on making the event run smoothly. Share these shots with the appropriate socials and mailing lists - get the word out.

6. Review

Once the campaign is over, your focus should be on how to make it better next time around. There are lots of ways to collect data for this exercise, but the most effective way is to ask attendees what they think. It’s easy to look at your event through pride-tinted glasses without realising, so getting the thoughts of attendees is often a more valid way to get feedback.

Ask what they liked, and what they didn’t like, along with any ideas on how it could be improved. Remember the experience is only as good as the people who attend it, so their opinions should be top of your priorities.

Think about how well you have done in achieving the objectives you set out before the event (or back in step 1, whichever was closest).

7. Sit back and enjoy the ride

No doubt you and your team members will have worked incredibly hard to make the event happen, be sure to enjoy the moment. Let everyone in your team know you appreciate their hard work and they’ll be sure to replicate the effort next time around.

It’s not easy being an agency or the team member in charge of organising huge-scale events- but lavishing in the sense of achievement from a successful event is one that is tough to rival in other jobs. Good luck with the next one! If you need additional support or advice, don't hesitate to get in touch or read one of our other top-tip blogs on brand activation, or delivering a world-stage event.

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