Immersive experiences are the future of the event industry, presenting brands with an opportunity to further connect with participants and provide them with even more memorable moments. In 2018, the immersive entertainment industry had an estimated value of more than $4.5 billion.
According to Immersive Design Summit's 2019 annual report, "The foremost quality that reflects immersion is a sense of becoming lost within an experience or story. That is, a participant in an immersive experience becomes so fully engrossed that concerns and responsibilities of the real world often fade away, replaced with an immediate sense of importance and worth."
I was lucky enough to take part in an immersive experience when Haute Dokimazo, a truly modern think tank, invited me to their unique first-time event, "Secret Family Reunion." Naturally, I jumped at the chance to throw myself into something new, so I hopped on a private Boeing 737 with 80 business and marketing professionals to a surprise location: Tuscany.
The whole experience got me thinking about how businesses can enhance the events they organize with an immersive approach. There is a lot of potential for business trips and conferences to go from bog-standard and boring to experiences that are relaxed and open and encourage genuine connections.
Create From Within The Moment
When your business is putting an event together, let the agenda be built by your participants. Sitting in front of a PowerPoint presentation and receiving a lecture is a very one-dimensional way to process information. Encourage your attendees to be active participants in their own learning.
This can create a real sense of community, where people can contribute ideas about what they want to learn and how they want to learn and share their own knowledge.
In Tuscany, we moved between topics, focusing on how to make the event industry more innovative. This prompted some great discussions: We took a deep dive into how to story-tell your brand, how to create human-to-human experiences (led by yours truly), how to use improv to increase participation and even held a session on how to build a stronger team.
Fun And Business Do Mix
Having fun and getting to know others allows your attendees to feel relaxed and, in turn, be more honest and forthcoming with ideas. A stuffy, corporate conference setting doesn't create the conditions to set the world alight with new ideas when no one knows the person sitting opposite them.
Our immersive event in Tuscany seamlessly combined business and pleasure. In between each session, there was a chance to take a pasta or pizza cooking class, attend wine sessions, work out or even go truffle hunting. Heck, we even formed a conga line at 20,000 feet up, with music and neon lights, until the captain asked us to sit down! Often, it's the fun part of an event where people experience the most growth.
Immersive events are also a way to tap into younger audiences because there's an increasing expectation for interconnectivity. Younger consumers are looking for unique experiences that they can talk about and share with others, especially online. Inaccessible and run-of-the-mill business events fail to deliver the wow factor that makes experiences memorable for a "millennial" cohort.
A fun example I saw recently is a Secret Cinema event for Stranger Things in London, where sets and replica items from the TV show were recreated, and actors once again took on the roles of their characters. Guests dressed up and were free to roam the sets, interacting with characters and watching live scenes. In this immersive experience, fans of the show get to be part of a rich, interactive world.
Don't Sell, Just Help
If you're creating a business experience that's solely centered around selling something, participants will see right through it. Some events I've attended in the past seem to put together an agenda with a sales pitch every 10 seconds.
People don't enjoy feeling as if they're being sold to; they want to make their own decisions, independently.
Curating an immersive event relies on making people the primary priority. When people are looking to do business, they're more likely to make a deal with — first and foremost — people they like and who they've had a positive interaction with.
Let A New Environment Create A Deeper Connection
Removing people from their comfort zone can create extraordinary results, especially when teams that work together in an office setting every day are encouraged to interact with each other in a different way. A change in environment is a huge part of this. Once you take everyone away from "normality," it levels the playing field and makes participants build new bonds. You can leave behind the tensions and complications of the work environment.
A family of generations ran the magical estate where we stayed in Tuscany. The owner and his family were there every step of the way, from breakfast to dinner, creating a tight-knit experience. The entire "family reunion" concept was grounded in a heartfelt reception from a true family, an unforgettable experience.
Develop An Immediate Sense Of Belonging
When participants feel valued and develop a sense of belonging, they feel more at ease and are more willing to share their ideas and personalities.
Using first-name-only name tags ensures everyone is on the same level and there's no expectation of title or hierarchy. Status is irrelevant when the focus of an event is to make connections. This can remove a pretentious vibe that's present at some traditional events, where attendees can be scanning the room for people they've researched on LinkedIn beforehand and avoid talking to anyone else.
Final Thoughts
Immersive experiences provide a fantastic opportunity to create shared experiences amongst attendees. Unique environments and a focus on building bonds can be a powerful way to learn together and create better personal and professional relationships.
