One of the main goals of large conferences is to encourage networking and engagement throughout the entire event, not just during specifically sponsored moments or keynotes. Here are a few ways to get attendees excited and involved throughout smaller moments.
1. Wellness Rooms
Attendees are always looking for a quiet place to rest and recharge. A designated wellness room with soft partitions, calming music, peaceful video imagery and subtle aromatherapy creates a true retreat from the conference bustle. With just a few thoughtful touches, a standard lounge can become a true rest-and-relaxation zone.
2. Fitness Booths
TikTok-style dance tutorials are everywhere these days, and they’re a fun way to get people moving. A fitness booth can capture attendees’ attention and keep the energy high. Set up colorful lighting, add a tripod with a ring light for phone records, and teach simple, easy-to-follow dance routines. Attendees can post their videos on personal or company social media, giving the conference some simple cross promotion along the way incorporating hashtags and tags.
3. DIY Swag
Standard swag is often forgotten, but Do-it-Yourself swag gets kept. Consider offering customized lanyards with buttons, charms, and branded trinkets or make fun beaded bracelets in conference colors with branded beads. It is a fun, creative activity that results in something they’re more likely to keep, all while extending your event’s branding beyond the usual giveaway items.
4. Pop-Up Market
Attendees love getting hands-on with the products they are being marketed, and what better way to offer that than by creating an immersive shopping market for them to explore. Guests can pop through different “stores” to experience each product, such as sipping a beer from a beer garden, touching various handbag materials, or doing a blind smell test of the different baked goods. By making it a full sensory experience, participants get to engage with each product in a new and exciting way and will leave them with a lasting memory of the experience.
5. Video Projection and Mapping
Projection mapping transforms any surface into a storytelling canvas, elevating rooms into immersive environments. Brands can project content onto stages, walls, or custom-built structures to create dramatic reveals or highlight key messages. Projection mapping also allows brands to add a sense of spectacle elsewhere at the conference. By welcoming guests through animated entrances, guiding them through a themed space that tells a brands story, or creating interactive moments that can respond to movement or touch. Through these high-impact visuals, audiences have a memorable, share-worthy experience that can deepen their engagement.
Whether through personalized, interactive activities, or small moments of relaxation, there are endless ways to create meaningful micro-experiences throughout your event. These memorable touchpoints stick with attendees long after the conference ends and help build the deeper connections that keep them returning year after year. Whether through personalized, interactive activities, or small moments of relaxation, there are endless ways to create meaningful micro-experiences throughout your event. Attendees want to come away with stories from attending an event, and a lot of that happens through activities that they end up being able to participate in. These memorable touchpoints stick with attendees long after the conference ends and help build the deeper connections that keep them returning year after year.
