Objectives, Audience and Making Events That Work [Pt. 1]
A colleague recently challenged me to solve an interesting problem: how do you attract the “knowledge workers” of the Internets to a place where they can learn, share and grow with peers. I want to share some of my recent thought-crumbs; if not only to clear my head, but also raise a flag with hopes to find some more friends who are thinking about solving the same problem. Before introducing where I am at in terms of next steps—will run through some of the [blanket] observations I’ve made recently.
Here’s the thing: Interactive/Digital/Web events and their value-add back to the community are turning to mush. With previous heavy hitters beginning to suck and Toronto events becoming less accessible we are experiencing some market fluxes that need readjusting. What’s challenging is event designers are under real pressure to make it work while also avoiding losing their shirt.
Objectives are Paramount
There is a fine balance between financing an event, filling the room and exploring great content. Getting that balance right will decide an event’s fate, ultimately. What I am questioning is: ‘participant’ objectives. And if the participants are increasingly dictating event session topics, pricing floors, etc—without complimenting objectives—we’re all screwed.
Working Your Audience
From an audience perspective, it has been really cool to watch the tech/digital community in Toronto (and abroad) grow substantially. The explosion of social media has opened our doors to a whole lot of new people; some of which are looking to bring value to the community, while others are only looking to take away. What’s scary are these diverging objectives and their inherent impact on event quality. However, having all audiences in the community attend and take part at some level is valuable.
So what does the audience fine-balance look like? Not sure. However, all event organizers need to find creative ways at financing an event and ensuring relevant audience members are in attendance and able to add value to the conversation.
