Authentic and Inclusive: How the New Wave of In-Person Events is Meeting Corporate Reputation Goals.

For some corporations, it’s been a five-year hiatus since they held a large customer conference, internal sales kick-off, or some kind of brand activation event or roadshow, but IRL (In Real Life) or in-person events are finally surging back. Has this break caused a reset in the objectives and style of these events? Canary & Shield blogged recently on strategies to make events safer, and to dig a bit deeper, we sat down with global events agency Opus Agency’s new London-based Director, Matt Culverhouse.

Culverhouse has many years of experience building large-scale global brand events and has helped his clients make their events more effective by introducing authenticity, inclusivity, and a large element of fun -  

“What I love about the events industry is simple: success and impact start at the human level, a person connecting with another person. However, the way we do that today is changing dramatically.”

Smaller event types such as CPD (continuing professional development) or skills training are likely to continue to be delivered locally/virtually going forward because of the popularity amongst attendees of remote and on-demand events. That has forced companies to refocus their objectives for in-person events towards those with experiences that cannot be reproduced online, coupled with trackable ROI (return on investment).

Larger events or conferences are where ROI bites deepest, and external events don’t come cheap, so they need to deliver even more to the bottom line. To deliver these stretch goals, organizations can use three dimensions to drive their event strategy: authenticity, inclusivity and reputation building.

Authenticity

Authenticity expresses itself at events both in the behavior of the hosting company and that of the attending companies. Sponsoring companies are carefully selecting events, and where they might have sponsored 10 events in the past, they might only sponsor five now. More attention is being paid to sending the right people to have the right conversations. Authenticity then becomes a two-way street where just being present is less important than measurable ROI.

Pre-pandemic, attendees were generally drawn to events for an opportunity to acquire knowledge and to network, but since 2020 new virtual meeting and conferencing tools have proved that these objectives can be achieved cost-effectively online.

 Post-pandemic, IRL meet-ups demand innovation in delivering experiences that demonstrate the authenticity of the brand and a chance to build or reinforce trust with brand values. Surprisingly, the rise of AI is raising the value of IRL events – given that generative AI tools may be weakening the establishment of trust online between organizations and customers in a world of complex simulations and deep fakes.

Inclusivity

Inclusivity means using speaking platforms to get the right people on stage to talk in a timely way about something with purpose and creating a brand showcase that also resonates with the audience. The days of placing a C-Suite representative on stage because of their job title have gone. This is also true of keynote speakers, where the slot filled by a celebrity as an attendance draw has now been replaced by a voice with something authentic, inclusive, and relevant to say regardless of their job title. A much more diverse audience demands a much more diverse speaker panel.  

If the right attendee is investing their valuable time, organizers need to be very clear about the payoff; are they going to meet different people they haven't met before? Or learn from thought leaders bringing perspective and challenges to the subject? The proposition for an event then becomes a two-sided coin - It's not just who's on stage, but who's attending as well.

For example, in the 2010’s, it was commonplace (but not acceptable) for tech industry events to have “manels,” i.e., men only speaker panels. But the last few years have really moved things on.  A great example of this is Apple’s announcement broadcasts which now showcase the authentic talents of the product managers who are a lot more junior and diverse in the hierarchy but have first-hand knowledge of the products they are launching --- because they were directly involved in bringing them to market!

 Similarly, tech industry conferences are being disrupted by the rise of new generation events like Google Cloud’s Accelerate23. Over two days, Googlers and global partners experienced featured programming, learning journeys, and networking in the Beyondverse, an immersive digital environment designed for inspiration, learning, and fun.

Culverhouse notes-

“DEI, sustainability, and giveback efforts guided content and talent selection for Accelerate23. The event shared stories of real people “going beyond,” and attendees participated in a tree-planting game that made a charitable contribution in the real world.”

Accelerate23 built beyond Google Cloud’s past successful hybrid events and compelled the audience in new ways. The event featured diverse speakers and prioritized sustainability and social good. As a result, attendees were deeply engaged across all spaces within the Beyondverse and rated the experience very highly in post-event surveys.

Reputation Building

Event risk is also a very hot topic. Bacchanalian launches, or midnight raves, are deemed by many companies to be too high risk from a safety and brand reputation perspective. What happens at an event no longer stays at the event.

Culverhouse recommends a soft command and control approach where certain responsibilities lie with the client, some with the event manager and others with the venue. Brand owner clients should take first line responsibility for the behavior of their employees and guests.  

“We review their health and safety documents in advance and check insurances. At a pre-conference meeting, policies and procedures are discussed in forensic detail. We discuss what will happen should an incident arise.”

“In the event of operational issues, such as attendee misbehavior, the event manager will take the lead. However, it’s essential to recognize that the ultimate decision, especially concerning matters like alcohol licensing, often rests with the venue. Clearly defining responsibilities helps mitigate confusion and promotes a collaborative and secure event environment.”

Conclusion: Leadership notes for de-risking events

From an executive’s perspective, getting involved in the event strategy and planning stages will pay off, and giving clear feedback early will pay off in droves – here are some useful areas to discuss with your team:

Business goals – ROI, intended outcomes, supporting what longer term goals?

Physical safety – has there been a full safety review of the venue, the programmed events, and all the people and equipment involved?

ESG - How can your event help you deliver on your ESG goals?

o      Can you use local small business vendors?

o      Hire local event staff from different demographic groups?

Optics – step back from the details and think about what this all ‘looks like’. Are you communicating in a way that is inclusive for your audience? Will the audience see a spectrum of speakers who speak with authority from first-hand expertise?

Culverhouse makes the final comment on the future of events: –  

“In the future of events, success hinges on intentional planning and the courage to take bold creative risks.”

Many thanks to Matt Culverhouse and the Opus Agency team.