It’s the topic on every planner’s mind: How do we create more engaging and immersive events? Lucky for you, we have two experts who craft irresistible stories that boost immersion and leave attendees with memories and connections that will last a lifetime!
Expo Pass held a webinar on Creating immersive events through storytelling. The webinar featured Anthony Vade (event experience strategy director at Encore and change agent for clients who want to maximize audience connections) and Devon Pasha (Director of North America for Event Design Collective and provider of speaking services focusing on empathy). Together, we discussed the practical magic behind immersive events.
How do you define immersive event planning?
“(An event) is a gathering of two or more people or groups of people that changes behavior” – Devon Pasha.
The most important part of that definition is “…that changes behavior.” Immersive event planning aims to achieve this goal by sharing knowledge, facilitating skill development, and forging connections in a unique format. Event storytelling weaves these elements into a cohesive, impactful narrative that affects attendee behavior.
Odds are, you’ve already planned or attended an immersive event. Think of popular experiences like Immersive Van Gogh or Meow Wolf exhibits that welcome attendees into a new and fantastical world. It can be intimidating to look at the scope first, so start with simple questions—How do you put attendees at the center of the experience? How do we elicit emotional responses?
Immersive storytelling is the most impactful (and affordable) tool for creating emotional connections. It doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag, either. It can be as simple as changing the names of your staff, like Disney does, calling its workers “cast members,” which immediately welcomes you into a cinematic world of infinite possibilities.
Lack of time is a challenge worth looking at. Often, planning an immersive event requires more time than basic event planning. However, if you have a roadmap and delegate tasks efficiently, you can achieve more than you expect.
How does storytelling serve as the foundation for an immersive experience?
“When we tell each other stories, we release the same chemicals in our brains that get released as experiencing that moment.” – Anthony Vade.
When we look at storytelling from a human-centric perspective, we see that storytelling is the primary mechanism for sharing history and connecting over shared experiences, values, interests, and needs. Storytelling is ingrained in who we are, and from a neuroscience perspective (yes, we got nerdy), it’s the best way to create an emotional response, which is the key to building a stronger and more lasting impact (i.e., changed behavior).
Think of the event experience as a “micro-community,” a bubble where attendees exist, connect, and engage in activities. Event storytelling keeps the magic of that bubble alive, encompassing attendees in a consistent narrative that communicates and reinforces the changed behavior you’re trying to elicit.
As the above quote states, storytelling allows attendees to “practice” another person’s experience in their minds. This not only fosters connection but also prepares attendees for that experience in the future. Think of a keynote on sustainable event planning that leverages a personal success story. Attendees who connect with that story will have an emotional “simulation” of that experience, which sets them up for success when they have to plan a sustainable event. It increases retention and self-confidence in one’s ability to face that experience. THAT’S the power of storytelling.
Good news, planners! You don’t have to be Martin Scorsese to tell a phenomenal event story. There are many tried and true narrative structures that you can leverage to shape your event story, like the Hero’s Journey, which you’ve seen in films like Star Wars. For extra help, Anthony recommended the Storytelling Tactics from Pip Deck. Pick the narrative structure that works for your event!
What strategies do you use to engage attendees deeply?
“It’s all about senses. We live and breathe and survive based on these tactile things that we have.” – Devon Pasha.
Anthony gave an incredible example! IMEX Las Vegas 2022—which Devon and our moderator attended. The goal was to challenge and inspire attendees to take action around sustainability. They achieved this by structuring it after the Hero’s Journey.
Hero’s Journey: act one
- Beginning (“normal” world)
- Inciting Incident (or “call to adventure”)
- Crossing the threshold (enter “magic” world)
Following this “act one” structure, Anthony and team ensured that every attendee was greeted personally, establishing an immediate and reassuring human connection. They encouraged them to share stories, centering the narrative on them. Then, the first group was ushered into the first room, a black box filled with a purposeful soundscape: unpleasant traffic noises, graphics of trash, and “icky” green and purple lighting. It emphasized the challenges of event planning around sustainability—the inciting incident.
Then, a drape fell and revealed the next room with a projection saying, “You’re the Heroes Here,” calling them to join in a shared experience. They “crossed the threshold” and entered the world of the event, primed to engage with its narrative.
Immersive event strategies
As Devon pointed out, this story illustrates the multi-sensory approach to immersive events. While it included a more expensive setup, you can make a similar impact with less. It’s all about being strategic with what you already (likely) have.
If you’re already paying for audio and video, use that in a more targeted way to tell your story. Include a soundtrack that transports attendees or strong visuals that go beyond simple signage. Leverage color theory to inspire calm, excitement, passion, curiosity, and even concern (for a topic like the environment) in your attendees.
Don’t be afraid to create negative emotions in attendees. While you don’t want them running for the exits, you can use negative emotional cues to set them up for a motivational payoff. This is what Anthony did at IMEX Las Vegas 2022. They fostered discomfort around sustainability before offering them an empowering avenue to solve it.
Ask yourself how each experience fits into the context of the broader narrative. Consider how the puzzle pieces fit together, building on each other to tell a wider story. Do you allow white space for attendees to absorb and unwind from the previous session? These “empty” moments are crucial for retention and avoiding burnout.
How can you take advantage of a non-traditional location?
“We’ve fallen into a bit of a pattern of what an event should look like, and when we have the opportunity to deviate from that, it’s a really powerful opportunity to bring in some experimentation.” — Anthony Vade.
Your venue or event destination is the “set” for the narrative experience. Ask yourself how the venue fits into the story. It’s easy to settle for the ballroom, but many exciting alternatives exist. If you feel obligated to accommodate thousands, ask yourself whether this story needs to be told to thousands or if it would be more impactful told to hundreds.
One fun example of a narrative-specific event venue is a ballpark for an experience focusing on teamwork. The ballpark emphasizes team values through its association with baseball, a famous team sport. It’ll inspire attendees to strive for collective achievement. Here’s a wild idea! Bathroom activations. Everyone visits the bathroom multiple times, making it an ideal place to include story-specific activations.
Create unique spaces within your venue dedicated to specific activities or immersive experiences (while always considering their role in the broader narrative). These could include quiet spaces where attendees sit after a keynote and silently contemplate what they just heard. In our busy world, it’s hard to find time for stillness. Enforcing silence creates an impact all by itself, and the sessions that precede it will make it even more impactful.
As our esteemed guests pointed out, we talk A LOT about “event goals,” but events don’t have goals; people do. Put yourself in your attendees’ shoes and ask how each activity, session, and immersive space will help them achieve their goals. This approach encourages personalized event planning and intentional design.
How can tech enhance immersive experiences?
“The key to all successful technology deployment is putting that user at the center.” – Anthony Vade.
We’re immersed in “tech worlds” every day, from our phones to our favorite Netflix shows. Attendees are used to technology being a natural part of everyday experiences, from the most mundane to the most insane. There are many event tech trends that take immersive event planning to the next level. However, before you dive in, you should ask how these tools elevate your storytelling.
It doesn’t matter how cool a piece of tech is if it breaks the immersion. Consider the “friction points” that might limit attendees’ participation, like required knowledge or Wi-Fi outages. If it isn’t a seamless experience, it’s a distraction. Map out our key “story points” and what they need to achieve to ensure that any “experiments” with technology serve a purpose. You’ll mitigate the innovation risk, giving yourself more space to expand your narrative.
When discussing event technology, we often think about the big hitters like projection mapping—which is still cool! However, one of the most helpful tech tools everybody has is their smartphone. You’re not going to convince attendees to put their phones away successfully, so you might as well leverage that real estate to further your story. This win-win strategy engages attendees while providing useful data for future experiences.
We’ve often discussed AR and VR (augmented reality; virtual reality). While VR offers unprecedented immersion in virtual worlds, it’s become a bit of a non-starter due to the high price tag and a headset “ick” factor. On the other hand, AR is having its 15 minutes of fame! This storytelling super tool allows you to project products, blueprints, and anything else you can imagine onto the physical space using—you guessed it—smartphones.
Second screen technology is finally being used purposefully. Don’t just mirror the mainstage screen; provide additional content that enriches the keynote, discussion, or mainstage information. This strategy gives the geeks in the room more information about a subject, enhancing their experience and nurturing their curiosity.
QnA
How can we enhance sustainable events with immersive event planning strategies?
One word: Biophilia. This fancy vocabulary term describes the human desire to connect with nature. Leveraging biophilia looks like incorporating plant life throughout your venue or creating dedicated spaces for attendees to connect with nature. These immersive spaces help attendees relax and connect with the beauty they’ll be asked to protect. It’s one thing to show photos or videos of nature. It’s another to immerse attendees in natural splendor!
How can I do something like the IMEX example but with a lower budget?
Anthony’s event benefitted from a larger budget, but you can create the same sensation for less. Break it down. They started by creating a sense of psychological safety as their attendees arrived. You can do this simply by personally greeting each attendee. Then, they introduce slight discomfort with imagery and sound. It’s about finding a unique way to induce these feelings, and that doesn’t have to cost money. The most important aspect of successful event storytelling is the writing. If you have a compelling “script,” a low event budget won’t get in the way.
Where can we learn more about the science behind storytelling?
You can find resources on the neurological impact of storytelling at your local bookstore or Amazon. You can also take a trip to your local University to find up-to-date resources on the science of storytelling. You don’t have to get a Masters, but understanding why stories influence our minds and behavior will help you shape event narratives that deeply engage attendees.
