Events are a competitive business these days, and your competition is not who you think it is.
What does your customer not know that they want until they see it? Have you thought about it? We are hearing that association senior staff are starting to think about SXSW or TED or Aspen Ideas Festival as preferable alternatives to industry conferences. Sponsors and suppliers are drawing more attendees than ever to user group or top client events. Kevin Spacey , sharing the success behind House of Cards, gave a brilliant speech in 2013 driving home the point that it is all about content. The delivery mechanism is irrelevant to the consumer if they get the content they want. I urge to you watch it.
Author Rasmus Ankerson tells a story about LEGO CEO, Jorgen Vig Knudstrop, who does not look at toy companies as competitors; LEGO looks at Apple. When a 12 year old decides how to spend his allowance, it is often between LEGO, and a new app. Ankerson advises to embrace “the constant closeness of someone or something that will make you look like a beginner.” Don’t be complacent. Don’t’ trust success.
Have you heard (or said) any of the following?
- Budgets are just tighter, that’s why fewer people come.
- There’s consolidation in our industry so we have less of a base to pull from.
- Millennials just don’t like going to meetings.
- (Blank) is just not a good city for us. We will get our attendance back when we go to… next year.
We work with clients who tell us all the time that they know their event needs to change but the internal politics are tough. Imagine the alternative. The good news is that with a solid design methodology and event plan that looks out 5-10 years from now, you could be the Netflix no one saw coming.