How To Brainstorm Fresh Ideas For Events: Inventing Wow Factors
Whether you’re slightly stuck on how to plan your first event or feeling the burn out as a busy event professional, wow factors matter. Once you have the essential structures taken care of, you’ll want to spend time inventing a way to set your event apart.
You can accomplish that in several ways and we are here today to fire up your inspiration. This quick read will hopefully get your creative juices flowing!
Find Fresh Ideas For Events: Work With Vendors With A Reputation For Excellence
No man or woman is an island. Holding a successful event takes a team and each member of that team has insight that the others may lack. This is one reason that choosing vendors with stellar reputations is crucial.
When you select a professional vendor for your event, they have experience that breeds insight. Maybe they’ve seen the fun a photo booth can bring to a corporate event. Perhaps they know about a killer rental company with the most amazing seating arrangements for a steal. You won’t know unless you pick a leader in the field and foster an open, communicative relationship with them.
If you aren’t sure how to find these types of vendors, ask your colleagues, your venue, or even use online review systems like Yelp to narrow your search.
Find Fresh Ideas For Events: Go Beyond The First Page Of Google
While the idea behind Google’s ranking system is to give you the most accurate results for your query, sometimes it delivers the most popular results. That leaves you with the exact same ideas as everyone else who searches.
When you’re hunting for event planning inspiration, don’t be afraid to skip the first page of results. After all, you want bold ideas that are fresh. There could be something really special lurking a little further down the search page. This is a good area to be a trendsetter in.
Find Fresh Ideas For Events: Attend Events Yourself
Do you have the time and budget to attend a few local events yourself while you’re planning? This is an awesome way to get ideas! Event planners can regularly sneak in a few here and there- many are even low cost or free.
Don’t be afraid to take notes while you’re there and feel free to take contact info from vendors you see doing a great job. You can follow the event on social media to see how they campaign, too.
If you are planning your own wedding, you can still try this tactic. Ask the venue if there are any events coming up that are open to the public. For instance, wine tastings, silent auctions and charity events give you an opportunity to see how the venue ‘works’ in person and pick up all kinds of valuable tips from other planners.
Find Fresh Ideas For Events: Take A Tip From Marketers: Imagine You’re An Attendee
Marketers often create something called a customer persona or ‘ideal avatar’ to help them get inside the minds of their target audience. You can modify this tactic for your event as well.
Make a list of the types of people who will attend. For instance, “Professional Women In Their 30s” could be one group. Another could be “The Groom’s Family.”
Now, brainstorm separate interests these people have. Sure, you’ll be doing some guessing but it’s a more educated guess than a shot in the dark. Hopefully, you’ll see some patterns or easy ways to incorporate a few things from each persona that your guests will remember for months, if not years, to come.
If you’re really stuck, don’t forget what a valuable resource crowdsourcing can be! Your potential attendees can give you their own ideas for events- ones they’re likely to enjoy.
