Event Professionals Unite for the Greater Good

Event professionals are quick thinkers, problem solvers, and work amazingly well under pressure.  Give them a blank slate and they can turn it into a functional and liveable space complete with lighting, plumbing, HVAC, and flooring in a matter of days.  When the events industry came to screeching halt amid COVID-19, event profs put their heads together to come up with immediate structural and logistical solutions for the healthcare industry.  In this week’s Happy Hour roundup, we’ll take a look at how the event industry has stepped up to help hospitals and healthcare workers in cities across the nation.  We also discuss steps that experiential marketers can take to ensure that brand activations are consumer-centric, and lastly, we take a look back at some of the hottest activations from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Event Professionals Unite for the Greater Good

“An increasing number of tenting companies, lighting vendors, fabrication studios, and event venues are offering their services to hard-hit areas in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.” ~Claire Hoffman, BizBash

If anything is clear during this uncertain time, it’s that event professionals are some of the most innovative and resilient people on earth.  During this crisis, they have redirected their creative talents to come up with immediate solutions to help those in need, oftentimes within a matter of days.  Across the country, there are countless stories about event companies shifting gears from planning and producing events to helping those on the front lines and beyond.  From temporary triage and testing sites to converting spaces into temporary hospitals, see what the event industry is doing to assist hospitals and healthcare workers.

• Related:  Live for Life – Live Event Industry COVID 

4 Steps to Take to Ensure that Your Brand Activation is Consumer-Centric

“Too many marketers forget that the experience needs to be meaningful to attendees, not just to the brand.” ~Sara Sozeman

With each passing year, experiential marketing activations get bigger, more high-tech, and sometimes even a little “noisier.” Cramming in too many elements can get in the way of a brand’s message which results in consumers walking away with a memory, but not the one that was intended. Hence, marketers should focus on cultivating activations that revolve around the consumers’ experience, from the first interaction to the last one.  The author of this article shares a brilliant four-step virtual walk-through process that allows marketers to experience an activation from the consumer’s vantage point which will ensure that the flow makes sense and that engagement is on point. 

Coachella Flashback:  A Look Back at the Best Brand Activations Through the Years

“The annual music festival has been postponed until October, but you can still feel the desert vibes with this roundup of ideas from years past.” ~Michele Laufik, BizBash

Coachella is something that experiential marketers, brand ambassadors, celebs, and fans look forward to every April.  However, this year we’ll have to wait until the fall to relish in all of the goodness of the annual festival (curse you coronavirus).  If you’re craving the sights and sounds of Coachella, you’ll definitely want to check out YouTube’s “Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert,” on April 10^th, as well as this BizBash roundup of some the most notable brand activations from the desert.

Thanks for joining us for the week’s Happy Hour.  Join us again next week as we bring you the latest news from the experiential and event marketing industry.  Cheers!

ATN is an event staffing company that serves the experiential and event marketing industry.  For almost two decades, we have been the go-to leader in the event staffing industry and we know what it takes and more importantly, who it takes to make your event shine. To learn more about ATN and our staffing solutions, please click below.