It’s a fast-paced world, and planners who keep up with trends and technology have an edge. That’s where Brian Cole comes in. The CEO of edgefactory makes it a priority to help meeting professionals engage attendees and create what he calls “outside-the-box moments.” The Emmy Award-winning media production company has grown from a boutique business to a global player, and ConventionSouth spoke with the head of the Orlando, Fla.-based firm about event production trends and creating magic.
What are the most important things for planners to keep in mind when it comes to event production?
Being creative is the most important thing for planners to keep in mind when it comes to event production. Most events follow the same formula: The presenter walks out, shares information, says thank you, and exits. Planners should be thinking about how to break this mold.
We regularly hold ‘writer’s room’ meetings to brainstorm new and creative ways to engage audiences with impactful moments. To be impactful, these moments need to be either relatable, humorous, emotional, interactive, or something that the audience has never seen before. When we create these moments, we make sure they are also on-brand and on-message with the event so attendees don’t just remember the moment itself but remember what the event planners are wishing to convey.
Another factor for planners to keep in mind is to have a realistic timeline from Day One and manage that timeline and set expectations for presenters, talent, vendors, suppliers, etc. The more streamlined those logistical considerations are run, the more bandwidth they will have to produce those creative, outside-the-box moments.
What do you see as the role of hybrid and virtual meetings in a post-pandemic world?
Nothing can compare to the live event experience, but travel to live events can be cost-prohibitive for some prospective attendees. The pandemic showed people there is still value to be gained by attending an event from home. As a result, many more live events are continuing to offer a hybrid option. Because those virtual attendees are isolated from their peers and consuming the event through a small computer screen surrounded by the distractions of their everyday lives, the challenge becomes how to engage the virtual audience and intermix them with the live audience.
Networking is one of the most sought-after elements for large in-person meetings, which is why we partner with virtual platform providers that offer a myriad of opportunities for virtual attendees to interact with presenters, exhibitors, and with one another. Keeping the attention of someone outside of the live event venue makes it more important than ever to have content that is both engaging and visually stimulating, highlighting the need for plenty of video that evokes an emotional response from attendees, and using it to break up professionally designed presentation decks.
What are some key trends in event production?
The most important trend for event production is the creation of out-of-the-box moments. Moments are things that aren’t a presenter, expo, or networking cocktail hour, but things that bring more of the story to an event. A moment is something of consequence, importance, or significance that leaves a lasting impression.
We recently produced a sports-themed sales conference, and instead of the usual housekeeping slide loop, we opted to hire an improv actor to play the role of a sports television pregame-show host. He interviewed attendees as if they were the players and executives as if they were the coaches, replayed moments from the previous day as if they were game highlights, and highlighted upcoming agenda items as if they were big sporting events to look forward to. This was all packaged into a custom-branded ‘pregame show’ that completely had the audience’s attention.
Even décor can be a moment. We’re planning an upcoming event that has a mountain-climbing theme, and so we are designing the registration area as a basecamp complete with Tibetan prayer flags but changing the color of the flags to match the brand and assigning those colors new meaning that’s on-message. These moments that we create are what make an overall meeting experience more memorable.
Another growing trend is the ability to poll live audiences with instant analytics. Using only their phones, attendees can interact with presenters and with each other, making them feel as if they are a part of the presentation themselves.
Lastly, digital signage is more cost-effective than ever, eliminating the waste of expensive prints and reprints. It also not only allows for content to be more dynamic and ever-evolving throughout a show—rather than stuck on one message for an entire event—but the bright motion graphics are exponentially more attention-grabbing than static prints that blend into the background.
How has event production changed since edgefactory was founded in 1999?
Despite over two decades of the evolution of event production, at the end of the day, every meeting will still have a screen or two with a presentation driven from a computer. What has evolved, though, are tools that serve to spare audiences from ‘death by PowerPoint.’
The reason that we use the phrase ‘death by PowerPoint’ is that as good as a presentation deck is, it is limited only to sharing information without effectively conveying emotion. That’s why another big change in event production is the inclusion of video content. … video is how events make connections with their attendees. By combining music, motion graphics, and editing technique, video is a uniquely powerful tool that can make audiences feel something … and when audiences leave feeling, they leave remembering.
