Katie Meitiner
Katie Meitiner is a Senior Producer at FreemanXP, where she is responsible for executing memorable and visionary events on budget, on time, and always flawlessly. View more like this on the FreemanXP blog.
How to Create Memorable Content for Attendees
September 10, 2016
We live in a world of instant gratification, where consumers want targeted information, and they want it fast.
This trend permeates almost every aspect of our lives. Consider our social media accounts – Facebook displays ads in users’ news feeds based on their recent Google searches, and recommendations on who to follow constantly pop up on Twitter.
We consume personalized content on a daily basis (even if we don’t realize it), so it comes as no surprise that the trend is also coming into play at live events. People increasingly expect the events they attend to include carefully curated content programs that are tailored to their wants and needs.
Pre-lanning the Content for Maximum Effectiveness
To ensure they have a much better shot at delivering relevant and useful content, many event organizers analyze the registration information that attendees provide in the lead-up to the big day. By taking this strategic approach, event organizers are able to develop content that is more relevant to their audience.
Look at who the attendees are–their job titles, industry (if the event is not industry specific), where they are based and even age. Secondly, consider what it is that they want to get out of the event.
Before the event kicks off, assign someone to measure the effectiveness of different sessions over the course of the event, by analyzing things such as how many people are going to a particular breakout, or their engagement levels when responding to live surveys. It will help you to determine which sessions were well received, and which ones were not so popular, so you can make improvements for next time.
Changing Up the Program
Many brands are opting to reduce the focus on general ‘one size fits all’ sessions and instead create a multitude of more focused breakout sessions or workshops.
Smaller, more intimate sessions often delve into specifically-requested topics, or attendees might be invited to vote on, or suggest particular topics that they would like to discuss.
This approach encourages delegates to openly share their thoughts and ideas, which can then be recorded with the help of graphic facilitation on a whiteboard or similar. When content is recorded in this way, it can be shared with attendees’ post-event, acting as a memento of their event experience.
Content That Extends Beyond the Physical
With technology becoming more and more advanced, opportunities to tune into an event’s people are content program remotely are on the rise.
This means event professionals need to create content that will engage not only people in the room, but those who are tuning in from afar.
Be sure to provide a platform where both audiences can interact, and employ tools such as second screen technology, so that both audiences can engage with, and respond to the content at hand in real time, while delivering deep insights into what delegates are most interested in.
Content, as they say, is king. However, audiences’ content needs are changing, and now is the time for event organizers and their clients to embrace the multitude of tools available to them, to continue to deliver tailored and therefore interesting and engaging content at events.
Partner Voices
Located in beautiful North Carolina, Harrah’s Cherokee is the perfect mountain getaway with breathtaking views of the Great Smoky Mountains and new additions to its resort and conference spaces sure to elevate any meetings or event.
Completed in 2021, Harrah’s Cherokee’s latest $330 million expansion project introduced an entirely new fourth hotel tower, The Cherokee, as well as an additional 83,000 square feet of meeting space with the Cherokee Convention Center. The Cherokee tower brings with it 725 rooms and 70 luxurious suites spread out over 19 floors for a grand total of 1,800 rooms across the entire resort. The new rooms feature a sleek design with an earth-toned color palette and modern amenities. In addition to the new rooms, the expansion also brought with it a luxurious new lobby and lobby bar, a fitness center, a coffee & pastry bar, and a second pool.
Conventions, trade shows, banquets, receptions, and even the smallest, most intimate gatherings can find the perfect arrangement at Harrah’s Cherokee with its 130,000 square feet of flexible meeting space – including the Cherokee Convention Center. The resort offers a myriad of different spaces and configuration options for events, but the largest spaces include the following:
32,000-sq-ft Cherokee Convention Center ballroom with 22 meeting spaces
11,100-sq-ft Cherokee Convention Center ballroom pre-function space
33,000-sq-ft Cherokee Exhibit Hall
6,000-sq-ft Cherokee Exhibit Hall Pre-Function
13,801-sq-ft Council Fire Ballroom able to be reconfigured into as many as four ballrooms from 3,100 to 3,529-sq-ft each
16,815-sq-ft Event Center able to be configured in six different ways to accommodate 100 to 1,500 guests and offers four VIP suites, box seating, and more than 1,100 balcony seats.
In addition to the new accommodations and meeting space, Harrah’s Cherokee has also opened several new restaurants as part of the expansion including Guy Fieri’s Cherokee Kitchen + Bar which includes the chef’s award-winning burgers and barbeque on the menu. Another celebrity chef has also made their mark on the resort with the opening of Gordon Ramsay Food Market which features eight dining concepts ranging from sushi to New York-style deli sandwiches and classic fine-dining fare. Longtime Asheville favorite, Wicked Weed Brewing Pub has also debuted a new location next to Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center creating the perfect after-event center with its bright and bold design, over thirty different beers, and live music on weekends.
An easy drive from many of the largest cities in the Southeast, Harrah’s Cherokee provides the perfect blend of majestic mountainscapes, luxurious new accommodations, and authentic Native American culture.
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