What’s in it for me?

Our attendees are very busy and everyone is competing for their attention and money. Therefore, we have to put ourselves in their shoes and ask one simple question – what’s in it for me?

In the beginning of January I hosted #EventPlannersTalk about event storytelling and one of the examples that was mentioned by several participants over and over was TED talks. That’s a fantastic example how to integrate storytelling so that participants can remember core messages. I’m highly fascinated by the concept because TED charges premium ticket price but offers all the talks on YouTube for free. Following this chat I ordered the book “Free: the future of radical price” by the founder of TED Chris Anderson. More on this on another article.

Though, I kept thinking about examples within the events industry where we can easily implement storytelling and bring value to attendees, and remembered one of the activities we had back in Copenhagen during the MIND 2014 event – creative cocktail teambuilding activity at the Park Inn by Radisson.

Meetings are like a cocktail and all ingredients have to fit together to create a unique and memorable experience. After a brief introduction by our facilitator Bo Krüger, we were free to create our own cocktail following five very simple principles:

1. Find a name – The first step in the process is to find a good name. A name that will appeal to your target audience and convey the core message about the cocktail or the event.

2. What will you serve it in? – Think about the type of glass you’ll choose for serving your cocktail. Or think about the venue that will appeal to your audience to come to your event.

3. Participant involvement – How will you drink it? Will you drink it alone or as a team? How will you involve participants at your event? Will you provide some interactive networking session, a Twitter wall or other activities?

4. Great content – Is your cocktail going to be with or without alcohol? What beverages are you going to mix? Same is with great event content, think what are you going to provide to your attendees.

5. Local inspiration– How do you give your cocktail a local twist? How do you bring local inspiration into your event?Consider using local ingredients and suppliers for your cocktail and event.

As you’ll see on the photos, no cocktail was similar. All the teams came up with creative ideas so we could further learn from each other and get inspired. That’s just another example how Copenhagen Convention Bureau and their partners use storytelling to enhance attendees experience and increase ROI on meetings. Pure inspiration!

Have a look at our amazing creations: