by Victor Georgescu, M.I.C.E Division Manager

The energy of the participants often influences the perceived quality of the event. This energy can be influenced, many times, by the first impression that the participants have upon entering the event space, but it must be maintained during the entire unfolding of the agenda.

From our experience of organizing events with a large and very large number of people, we have identified several areas and key moments when the mood of the participants can be spoiled if their flows are not properly organized. Therefore, we share some of the most important lessons learned over time:

• Registration at the entrance to the event – queues are no longer fashionable

The first impression that participants have when accessing an event is from the registration area. To avoid long queues, which are difficult to move, we can install more registration points, but also limit the number of personal data we ask for.

Following an event with over 700 participants, organized recently, some of the post-event feedback we received was: We were glad that the participants waited less than 15 minutes at check-in in, bearing in mind that in past years the wait was even over an hour. After they were in a bad mood due to the delay of the planes, it was a real pleasure the way they felt once they entered your “hand”. This good mood continued throughout the day and even contributed to the extraordinary success of the welcome party that evening.

• Food and drink are not things you want to wait too long for

Everyone knows that when you’re hungry, the last thing you want is to wait in line to get food. Many times, the installation of several serving lines and several bars is the right solution.

In case of a lack of space (generated by the location of the event, for example) or if the event has an organized agenda with several sessions, in parallel, then we can plan the lunch in several series of participants, and not for everyone at once. Thus, we can also obtain savings from using a smaller amount of furniture (tables, chairs, etc.) On the other hand, care must be taken with the number of people helping to serve/replace food at the buffet, respectively to clear the tables.

• Handover of gifts when the participants leave

More and more events are planned so that the participants receive a “give-away” upon departure. It is a nice gesture of the organizer, and the case where waiting for these small gifts produces frustration cannot be accepted. As with registration, congestion can be avoided by organizing several distribution points.

Whatever the final gift contains, we can find some customization criteria: either by gender or size (in the case of t-shirts), or by the categories into which the participants are divided (for example, IT developers have blue boxes, business managers have green boxes, etc. .) These differences (especially those organized based on personal details) will bring an extra of value to the gift and, at the same time, offers the opportunity to release areas with potential for congestion more quickly.

• On the other hand, at the party everyone will stay together as much as possible

Taking into account all these details, we do not recommend you to fall to the other extreme and to oversize other areas of the event, without a positive effect. For example, at the party, it is advisable to have a space as small as possible (and necessarily unitary) in which all the participants can sit. First of all, because at the dance everyone wants to be together.

The very large number of participants at an event can be seen as a problem, as a threat to the success of the event, but it can also be seen as an opportunity to bring more impact. We have learned to look at such details as opportunities to make the events organized by us stand out even more, to surprise the participants and impress them with their fluency. And all this, starting from the above ideas.

If there is one thing we really like is to “Go BIG, or Go Home”, that is why the answer to the challenge of a hybrid event experience can only be YES.

Below are 6 Aspects that we recommend you take into account every time you want to organize a hybrid event.

Preparation
Event Planning is constantly talked about and we all know its importance in the success of an event. At the same time, we also know that sometimes the calculation at home does not match the one in the fair, but that is why the existence of Plan B, C… D, are present in Event Planning. In the continuation of the article there are points to be taken into account in creating the event plan.

Speakers, Trainers & Facilitators
This category is essential for the smooth running of the event. The speakers who lead your Conference and every item on the agenda are essential for the learning that the participants take. Then, if, for example, we are talking about a business simulation or an activity like Orchesstrate, the trainers play a role essential for the final results of the activity. The energy of the facilitators is important for the success of teambuilding.

Dry Run
One thing we always do in UNIVERSUM is a dry run of the event. We start from point 0 of the event – for example sending the invitation or telephone contact for example – until the final moment. We take step by step, each step that a participant encounters and we make sure that everything is in its place, so we know that we don’t miss anything.

Knowledge of the Audience
For any type of event, the first step we take is to find out as much as possible about the participants, from their average age, their profile and even their preferences.

Voice
A hybrid event comes with a different voice, adapted according to the agenda of the event. For example, a Sales Conference will have a business tone; while a teambuilding activity brings with it lightness and fun, but if we are talking about business simulations, we will have a bit of each.

Dress Code
It is very important and differs from the conference, party or outdoor event. But let’s take them in turn. At conferences, usually, the dress code is business/business casual. In the case of an outdoor teambuilding activity, a sports outfit is required, and in the case of parties, the dress code is given by the chosen theme or if we are thinking of a Picnic… everything is more casual :).

IN CONCLUSION
Hybrid events are becoming more and more popular, from conferences that have a teambuilding component, to a virtual component. How prepared are you for a hybrid event? 🙂

It is too well known that the “word-of-mouth” method is the fastest way to create a buzz around your event. One of the easiest methods is to have an “army” of event ambassadors.

Event Ambassadors have the same role as Brand Ambassadors, their exuberance helps to promote the event through word of mouth. The experience in organizing large-scale events has taught us how important ambassadors are. For example, for Bucharest Technology Week we had a team of 40 Ambassadors who created buzz around the event and they took it to the next level of an event experience.

HUMANIZATION OF THE BRAND
The ambassadors are the ones who humanize the brand of the event. Those who are at the point where they are not sure if they will “join” the event will look at the ambassadors and find their answer, therefore, reinforcing the idea that the ambassadors bring you part of the success of the event.

Even if brand ambassadors are associated, most of the time, with the online, we should not fall prey to Social Media posts, emails or blog articles. We must always keep offline presence in mind, where the essence of human interaction is

I AM PART OF THE TEAM
Event ambassadors are part of your team and should be treated as such. They convey enthusiasm among the participants and promote your event experience because they will live it themselves. Their status as Brand Ambassadors must be marked so that they stand out from the crowd – accessories, personalized badges or t-shirts are just a few ideas. The organization’s relationship with the ambassadors must be mutual, they must believe in your mission, in the event and you must believe in what they can do for you.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Maybe it sounds cliche, but an interesting thing about ambassadors is that they are part of both “worlds”. They are good observers of the engagement process of the participants before and during the event, so a recommendation from our side is to listen to them, they can provide you with very important information and suggestions. And, we say it from our own experience, this is the best way to thank them for everything they do.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it provides the ambassadors with all the information they need, and the success of the event will not be long in coming. The ambassadors will help you to do more, to be in several places at once and to reach as many people as possible. So, choose them carefully, give them what they need and you will definitely have a fantastic event.

The success of an event has a very high percentage in the right location. From a tradeshow to a conference, from a teambuilding to a party, the location ensures a good part of the experience.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOCATION
The representatives of the locations are the ones who always have the answer to them for any concern – they will always know what you can do in their location, from a decoration that is in tune with the theme or the type of event, to solutions related to the experience of the participants in the location.

TECHNICAL TEAM
Another source for new locations or tips & tricks is the community of people from technical production – those who deal with staging, lights and sound or mounting. They constantly implement projects in well-known or lesser-known locations, so they can give you the most useful information you need. Another treasure that is with them in the “boat” is everything that means functionality, they will know how to tell you “what works and what doesn’t work” in relation to the facilities of the location.

ACCESSIBILITY
Another important aspect that we must always keep in mind is accessibility. The experience in creating and implementing events has taught us that the accessibility of the location plays an important role, it gives you the vibe of the event, being the first interaction of the participant with the event experience.

LOCATION BRANDING
Because every complete experience also has a location branding part, one thing you have to consider is how easily the event space can be customized. A first step is an answer from the location coordinator regarding the facilities they provide in this direction, and from there to a branded event, there is only creativity.

FOOD AND DRINK
Most locations offer in-house food and drink facilities. However, make sure that they also accept the possibility of coming with an external catering provider. Communication regarding catering is essential, from discussions about vegetarian menus, possible allergies, how additional requests or even special diets will be handled.

IN CONCLUSION
Finding the perfect location is a long game and requires a lot of meticulous detective work. It starts with the creation and sedimentation of human relations at the local and national level.

It is hard to imagine that at the beginning of the 20th century innovation had a negative connotation for business, being seen as an element of novelty without a purpose. Today, the concept of innovation is ubiquitous, becoming even desirable for any strategy. Practically, innovation has become part of everyone’s job.

But despite all the talk around innovation, how can a company actively maintain a culture of innovation?

Through… THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Hire people who are excited about your products or services, this aspect being the most important for encouraging innovation. If the team feels connected by the brand, finding solutions, improving relations with suppliers and customers and creating the strongest relationships between team members are just a few aspects that will only have to win. A positive organizational culture is acquired through the energy, passion, enthusiasm and a critical eye of each team member.

Through… ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Innovation is backed by a strong organizational culture. The creative process can be killed very easily by stress, fear of failure and constant workload. In order to cultivate the fruits of an internal strategy based on innovation, the organizational culture must draw some directions in which the employees enjoy flexibility regarding the schedule, space to create and even assume mistakes without feeling pressure.

Through… DIVERSITY
Part of the recruitment process for innovation is also recruitment for diversity. Creativity is achieved when a diverse group works in an ideation process, when ideas pass to each of the team members and still remain standing. It may seem more productive a place where everyone agrees with everyone, but a healthy debate can bring an impulse to the innovation process.

By… ENCOURAGING CHANGE
Taking the experience of your colleagues beyond the barriers of the Job description can be a way to bring a refresh. Encouraging them to analyze what other players or other industries are doing, and then implementing it, can be a great addition to the business.

Through… THE LEARNING PROCESS
The learning process is essential for the innovation strategy of a business and here we are talking about learning techniques such as lateral thinking, mind-mapping or trainings in which it is encouraged out-of-the-box thinking. At the same time, don’t forget to support the ideation process, every idea deserves to be heard and taken into account.

Starting from the fear of the 20th century, innovation must be seen in results. Allocate time and resources to develop and implement those ideas that deserve action, otherwise not only will the innovation process directly affect your colleagues but also the business.

If you want to create an active innovation plan for your team, our team of Innovators is at your disposal >>

In recent years, Team, Engl. [teem] has turned into a buzz-word. Numerous researches, articles, works written around this word and still the question remains: what is a team and why does the whole business world emphasize it?

When a group of individuals with similar interests, attitudes and preferences work together for a common goal, a team takes shape. If there is no common goal, there is no team.

Because we like to increase the energy and passion in organizations, we strongly believe that the idea of teambuilding in the office can be used at any moment in the life of an organization:

BEAT THE BOX

A team work that leads to deciphering a code. One of the most important aspects during the activity is the combination of the different abilities of each participant and the discovery of creative solutions.

BEATSWORKS

A super energizer that involves each individual participant. It is the perfect example for teamwork, the rhythm of each person perfectly aligns with the rhythm of the team!

BIG PICTURE

We know how important it is to take a step back and look at the big picture. How does this sound transposed into a huge painting made of several smaller canvases that convey the image of the company outlined by its vision and values? It will definitely leave you speechless.

CHAIN REACTION

Develop excellent teamwork, project management, creativity and innovation. Chain Reaction challenges all participants to create a chain reaction using recycled materials. Find out who wins the duel ambition vs. capacity.

CSI

112, Crime Solvers International! Your team turns into detectives ready to solve the mystery of a crime with the help of several details: the 112 call, interviews with suspects, images from the crime scene or autopsy reports.

ESSENCE OF EXCELLENCE

Your team dons the alchemist’s robe and enters the Universum labs to prepare the essence of a great team!

FRESH BIZ

A very catchy business simulation, with the aim of improving the degree of awareness and communication about resources, so as to bring added value to the team and organization.

NEED FOR SPEED

Enjoy the Need 4 Speed adventure! The participants will receive the components of the mixed machines and will have the mission to assemble them.

PUSH IT

Push It! brings the atmosphere of the classic Trivia game in a techy form. It can include several categories of questions: general knowledge, sports or questions specific to your company.

RAT TRAP

A bigger and better replica of the traditional “Mouse Trap” game challenges participants to achieve a common goal: catching Mickey! How? By creating large constructions that create a chain reaction.
Imagine your team creating an amazing atmosphere in a “toy store”.

TALENT SCOUT

A great teambuilding activity that focuses on project management in the form of “earn as much money as possible”. Test your negotiation skills and complete your project, but at the same time participate in the projects of other colleagues.

WHISKEY WISDOM

Explore the tradition and elegant art of whiskey drinking. It is an activity suitable for the evenings, continuing with a themed party.

WIN IT IN A MINUTE

An activity full of emotions and lots of laughs, as the teams compete in different trials, each having 60 seconds. During the activity, the facilitators display the score of each team, so that they know where they are in the ranking. However, there are other ways to collect points, which motivates the participants and gives them energy throughout the game.

There must be synergy in a team to achieve excellence, hence the acronym: T.EA.M. Together Everyone Achieves More.

by Victor Georgescu, M.I.C.E. Division Manager

Corporate events, especially conferences and functional meetings, are important moments in the “life” of a company, either because they mark the achievement of some of the company’s objectives, or because they outline the new challenges of the next period. A successful event is one that allows the fulfillment of business objectives while creating, at the same time, an exciting experience for the participants, so that they understand and assimilate the messages, congratulations and challenges from the stage.

Attention: these two goals can become competing if they are not handled with experience. Also, any solutions we find under the force of these two pressures must respond to another one, exerted by the event’s budget. We see many companies that, from the (positive) desire to provide as much information as possible to the participants, reach (negative) effects that block the openness of the participants to the messages sent.

For example, we see many cases in which extremely busy agendas are proposed, with few breaks and a monotonous rhythm. We still see PowerPoint presentations written in small font size or speakers who are not open to questions from the audience. Even though apparently, all these are methods of delivering the information in an exhaustive way (out of the desire to be understood), in reality, these proposals can inhibit the participants, bore them and, finally, reduce their ability to understand these messages .

We meet these types of intentions by promoting ideas such as those exemplified below:

• The event space “speaks” to the participants, and a special setting will help create a memorable experience!

The arrangement of the conference space in a unified way, starting from a central concept that is implemented in: signage, decorations, stage, presentation design, not only impresses the participants, but acts as a mental anchor that can be easily used as a later reference between colleagues, helping them (collaterally) to retain the messages of the event.

• Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand!

This old Chinese proverb also applies in the universe of events. Adults take on new information, consciously, only after they understand and internalize it. The inclusion of some well-thought-out activities, which reinforce the messages and objectives of the conference, help the participants to assimilate the information coming from the stage .

• Ga-mi fi… How?

Gamification is no longer just an abstract concept – it is a concrete system that can be used to build the participant’s experience within an event. Every time we think about gamification for a conference, we take into account the existence of several types of personalities. The inclusion of well-thought-out gamification elements will exponentially increase the number of participants for whom the event will make sense.

I was talking at the beginning of the article about the three forces that exert pressure on the organizer: the company’s objectives, the experience of the participants and the limited budget. Even if organize the event with an agency or with an internal team, each entity tends to take part more to one of the parties: procurement “defends” the budget, the agency “keeps with” the participants, the internal manager “protects” the objectives.

Even if apparently these three forces act in contrast, we discover more and more often that it is not quite so. On the contrary, we demonstrate that you can make the most appropriate decisions if you look carefully from all three perspectives. In the end, all that matters when choosing or rejecting an idea are the arguments used!

We do not believe (and do not recommend) arguments such as:

• No, because I’ve never done it that way! (It’s never a bad idea to try something good for the first time);
• My colleagues don’t like to play! (Nobody knows if they like something they don’t know yet);
• We must invest the budget in what is important, not in windfalls! (The link between the central and marginal elements of an event is the same as the link between the directly productive and support departments in a company – the latter help to multiply the effect of the former).

What we learned is that events are complex, and for a memorable staging you need a complex, multi-dimensional thinking, adapted to the culture of the participants, to the realities of the company and closely linked to the present moment. Moreover, taking risks in decision-making is only harmful if the arguments are superficial, if they represent assumptions or if they are anchored only in habit.

When you use solid arguments and implement with experience, risks become inspired decisions!

How much do you think colors influence the entire state of an event? Well… So much! From lights, to flowers, decorations and food, all these being in the right color palette can lead to the creation of the desired mood in the event.

Kate Smith, President Sensational Color – “Colors and color combinations create moods and feelings, consciously and unconsciously. “

By linking the psychological effects of colors to the desired impact of the event, you can increase the degree of involvement and satisfaction of the event participants. What is the first color that comes to mind when you think of passion? Red, isn’t it? What do I associate white with? Purely, right?

Think how easily you can link the theme of the event or the desired post-event results with just a simple thematic color. But let’s take them one by one:

• We all know that red is associated with love and passion, but it also activates adrenaline in our body, increasing our energy level and the intensity of emotion. Red is also associated with anger, let’s not forget the well-known bullfight.
• On the other hand, blue will bring you calmness and peace. Used to be associated with trust, intelligence and dependability.
• Orange is a vibrant color, which will be immediately associated with fun, warmth, trust and friendship.
• Yellow is the one that conveys optimism, energy, positivity and cheerfulness. So, if you want an event where you want positivity to prevail, think about the color yellow.
• When we think of green the first thing that comes to mind is nature, health, but it is also associated with harmony, growth, and renewal.
• Violet makes us think of royalty, luxury, creativity, spirituality and wealth. If you have purple in mind for your next event, think about the touch of velvet and you will know exactly what you will convey to the participants.
• White has always been associated with purity and innocence. The image of goodness is given by white, empowerment and cleanliness are also associated with white.
• Besides power, black is associated with authority, mystery, drama and even sophistication. [Think about the impact a party Black & White!]

Our recommendation is to pay as much attention as possible to your next event in terms of the message you want to convey. Associate it with a suitable color palette and you will see how easy it is to have a complete (event) experience. Kate Smith also mentions the fact that “when you are creating an event you create something that you want to be memorable, and the color will help cement the message in guest’s minds.“

by Victor Georgescu, M.I.C.E. Division Manager

Organizing conferences within your company is a repetitive challenge for the management team and for the division managers involved in this process. We stand out among the main arguments that we collected from the market to present the most important ones:

– At each edition, new methods and activities must be found to involve the participants in the agenda and objectives of the conference. Exposure to repetitive agendas, long speeches, etc. it bores the participants by reducing their ability to acquire learning points themselves. In a previous article I mentioned the importance of creating an experience.

– Participants demand more and more from the event. As people get used to a level of quality, they will demand more and more – it’s human nature! I learned this from the results of the Deloitte research on human capital.

– Budgets tend to remain (at best) constant. From year to year, companies observe the fulfillment of the objectives of a conference using a specific budget. The logical thinking of companies prevents them from increasing this budget.

Therefore, the challenge is to create different experiences, suitable for the participating people and continuously updated to the company’s context, in a budget that cannot grow gradually. Thus, we end up using tools from the sphere of creativity, technology or even team building, applying concrete knowledge about the social and economic environment of the employee and the company. This challenge is a complex one, for any team that undertakes to solve it!

If you choose to organize conferences with a specialized agency, you can start from the premise that the organizer is aware of trends in the events industry, has several partnership relationships in the market and bases its proposed solutions on previously demonstrated experiences.

If you choose to organize conferences with an internal team, it will connect more easily to the needs of the participants, they will know better the current status of the company and it will be easier for them to connect the atmosphere of the conference to the organizational culture (assuming that this culture is strong and known by to employees).

On the other hand, organizing with an internal team involves displacing those people from their main role and recalibrating daily priorities. For the employee, it can be either a welcome change or the opposite, depending on the personality, but also on how this opportunity is presented to him.

Finally, as you noticed, I did not address the subject of the budget. The reason is simple: I have seen very varied cases – often organizing an event with an agency does not increase the budget, because the organizer’s margin is counterbalanced by the better prices he obtains. In the same way, there are many cases in which an internal team ends up giving up with greater ease certain quality elements of the event, with the aim of fitting into the budget.

What have we learned? Each case is different and should be treated as such, but the healthiest is to get at least an approved opinion of an event agency when making the decision about who is the perfect organizer for this edition of your event!

We often get the question “What exactly is this gamification?” A game, a game or fun?”. The answer we give every time is the same: it is the applicability of a game mechanic (from filling in empty spaces, using event badges, points or any other mechanism) to encourage behavior change. This is where the assumption that it is something “fun” started, but it brings results because it is connected to our intrinsic motivations.

Why does it motivate us?
There are so many reasons why Gamification motivates people. Richard Bartle created the “Bartle Test of Psychology”, a research on motivating factors, from which 4 distinct personalities emerged.
1. Achievers
They play to win, and the ranking represents their inspiration. For example, if you make a top with the results of their activity, those who are close to the first places will work harder tomorrow to surpass themselves, and those who are not in the top will do their best to enter the top. Achievers want to have a goal in front of them and aim for it.
2. Explorers
They are motivated by unexpected gains during the “race”. They are not interested in being number one but rather in exploring to get something different. They don’t care about the ranking, but they do care about an unexpected gain for their effort, for example a coffee because they checked in to the event.
3. Socializers
The friendliest category, as the name suggests, they participate in competitions for the sake of the connections that are created. They are a weighty category in a conference, being the ones who encourage socialization through gamification.
4. Killers
Opposite to the category above, the Killers are this very small group who want to be number one in any way possible. They will get involved and play in the traditional form the challenges launched during a conference, therefore you will have to consider this aspect as well. The bright side of things is that they represent a small percentage of the entire group.

Spice Up your Conference
After you have decided what exactly you want from your participants, find the right methods. Below you will find a list of 5 fresh ideas to do this:
Catchbox
Catchbox is the first microphone in the world that was used by throwing it around the room. It’s a nice and colorful way to keep everyone active, asking questions and participating in the discussions launched by the speaker. Also, Crowdmics is a mobile phone application that turns your phone into a microphone that can be synchronized with the sound system in the hall.
Presentations
Gone are the days when a presentation lasted 90 minutes and kept the participants motionless from their seats. Today we meet more and more speakers who use technology to present their points of view and to create interactivity among the participants.
Speaker
I also mentioned in a previous article how important is the role of a Speaker in a conference. The interactivity of the participants depends a lot on the way the speaker presents his presentation and the way he can follow up during the event. The ball starts from him, that’s why he has the challenge to launch it as creatively and original as possible to the participants.
Badges
Organizers of an IT conference in Brooklyn challenged attendees to provide their parents’ contact information. They gave them a short Bio about the participants, everything turned into a fantastic energy and discussions based on “What did your family say about you?”. Another hack used was for each participant to turn their badge from front to back, so that those sitting on the back row knew the name of the person in front of them.
Social Media
Selfies, check-ins and quotes present in the event are elements that are part of the entire experience of an event. There is nothing new in this. That’s why most of the time the events have their own hashtag, thus creating online communities of people. Take advantage of this and encourage constant posting on social networks, collect all these posts with the help of a platform and turn them into a LIVE wall.

We invite you in the comments section to discuss more about the challenges of keeping participants active with the help of the gamification method.