Strategically Planning the Attendee Journey at Inside Live @AIA
Mentor Think Tank Intro
We wanted to personalize your journey at Inside Live atAIA24 by developing our Mentor Think Tank topics based on your registration responses. We analyzed the results which helped us to determine which topics to offer during each of the three Think Tank sessions.
Planning Tip: For specific sessions, we strategically assigned you each into groups with other attendees that have the same event size or budget. This way your conversations can be more focused and more relevant to your experience.
Mentor Think Tank – Enhancing Engagement and Experience Design
You can’t personalize without knowing exactly what matters to each attendee. This is why it’s essential to analyze attendees on a matrix consisting of age, gender, role, and event preferences. These meaningful motivators allow you to understand exactly who attends your events and what type of experience(s) they seek, so you can deliver the personalized value they’ve come to expect.
Read more: Q1 Trends Report
Mentor Think Tank – Enhancing Exhibitor ROI and Reporting
It is important for exhibitors to think of their event experience as an investment rather than an expense. From understanding exhibitor concerns to uncovering where exhibitors and attendees align (or don’t), this kind of data paves a path for event planners navigating new expectations. With these insights, you’ll be able to provide more valuable networking to everyone, despite differences in age, event type, and objective.
View the research: Q2 Trends Report
Mentor Think Tank – Budgeting (including ways to avoid overspending and hidden costs)
Budgeting is less about cutting your spending and more about putting dollars where they count the most.. It all starts with understanding what makes your audiences tick. What and how do they want to engage? Is networking important to them? Try thinking outside of the box and create simple experiences that cost less but stand out.
Read more: New approaches to enhance your trade show floor experience
Mentor Think Tank – Attendee Journey
Here’s everything you need to elevate audience engagement with the spotlight on an untapped resource: the show floor. Our pros outline how to design a floor that has better flow, designated areas tailored for your attendees, and new revenue-generating ways for sponsors to create more organic connections.
Keep these ideas in mind when exploring the AIA show floor. Messaging is placed at each of the entrances that combines attendee interests with AIA’s messaging and goals. AIA also utilized the building to enhance its signage as a key theme.
Read more: New approaches to enhance your trade show floor experience
Mentor Think Tank – Attendee Acquisition
The best events are all about the audiences. Attracting and growing your attendee base is always important, but today the stakes are even higher with so many demographic shifts. This guide walks you through these shifts with tips and insights to update your database and grow your show.
Read more: Audience Acquisition for Show Managers
Mentor Think Tank – Expanding Exhibitor / Sponsor Options and Opportunities
Sponsorships can be a win-win for all audiences when done right. We know brands are looking for unique sponsorship packages and attendees are looking for cool experiences. So, here are five ways to break through sales barriers while boosting the value of your sponsorships (and show) at the same time.
Read more: 5 Tips to Bank on Better Event Sponsorships
AIA’s Attendee Journey
AIA is broadening it’s audience to the entire architecture ecosystem of builders, interior designers, and architects. In doing this they wanted to transform their attendee strategy and began with incremental changes that they will continue to expand on in.
AIA is broadening its audience to the entire architecture ecosystem of builders, interior designers, and architects. In doing this, AIA transformed its attendee strategy beginning with incremental changes that the organization will continue to expand on in.
We really worked with the AIA team to understand their goals and messaging priorities, and to hone in on one of their themes “Change your thinking.” We helped AIA use this messaging throughout their event and prioritize the attendee journey from the outset. We started with discovering the event’s engagement touch points:
- Where will your attendees enter the building?
- What are they going to see?
- How are they going to experience this first touch point?
We brainstormed how to incorporate the building into the overall event design and landed on telescoping branding throughout the entire lobby and actually incorporating the building’s architecture into the design with wall clings throughout.
We incorporated the “Change Your Thinking” messaging into the awards lenticular design as well as the theme “Industry Meets Here.”This created a photo opportunity as you’re coming down the elevator towards the expo hall with noticeable and impactful messaging on the floor behind you, which became part of the attendee journey.
Go Deeper on Strategically Planning Your Attendee Journey
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