Event experiences that are worth the investment

Indigo Slate teamed up with Dell Technologies and VMware to create an interactive smart wall experience centered around the city of the future. Users can touch different city scenarios to learn how Dell Technologies and VMware provide edge solutions for different industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, digital cities, and retail. When a solution is activated, the wall brings these scenarios to life, showing how the technologies can be used in a smart city.

Transforming an event into an immersive, interactive experience gives customers and partners an opportunity to engage with your brand in a new way. These experiences combine digital technology, print elements, and the transformation of a physical space to connect visitors with your story, letting them explore and become part of the narrative at their own pace, no longer just a casual observer.

To deliver impact, focus on how the digital and physical interact to engage the senses. Digital touch experiences, sound installations, light rooms, and AR/VR interactions can help you tell your brand’s story in a novel way. As the technology gets better, the bridge between the physical and digital gets smaller and smaller. Visitors can move their body to control a lightboard or explore augmented reality while livestreaming it to friends. The secret to creating these experiences? Treat every event like it’s a Beyoncé concert.

Event experiences aren’t simple to put together—from planning, to design, to execution and promotion—this isn’t another tote bag giveaway. With proper execution, you and your customers will see the rewards immediately and in the months to come. But how do you ensure that the experience will resonate with your audience? Here are a few things to remember.

• The lead up is key: Create buzz before the event starts, motivating attendees to seek you out before they even arrive. Use your pre-event communications to hype your experience piece by piece. Engage social media followers through photos and videos or send vouchers for swag to bring people straight to you when they arrive.

• Know your audience: Create a welcoming space that draws people in and makes them say, “I want to be involved in that.” An inviting space means that each person will feel comfortable at your event, whether they’re alone or in a group. That way, you will build an authentic, memorable connection between the viewer and your brand.

• Go above and beyond: Create a space that is unexpected, but not unwelcoming. Understand your audience and focus on the journey that you want them to take through the space—from their first look, to exploration, to reaching out and telling others. Then work to create every detail so that it’s in tune with what your audience wants and the authentic story of your brand. The event should feel produced, polished—even over the top—but it should never lose sight of the audience experience.