Three Reasons to Implement Design Thinking for Event Transformation... And One Reason Not To
Written by Katie K Riggs
Even as the world grows increasingly digital, events are still opportunities for organizations to cut through the noise and capture the attention and engagement of attendees. We rely on events to inspire, motivate, educate, network, and inform. It's no wonder that if these events are not designed properly, they can leave attendees drained of energy and disappointed – And that ultimately hurts your ROI. We're sharing three reasons why you should implement the Event Design Canvas(EDC) and one reason why you shouldn't.
Reason #1 - You want more ROI
In this evolving business landscape, event organizers need change, and event teams face the challenge of implementing those changes. We are often asked to do more with less, and events are no different. It is time to reimagine your event to gain better ROI. That includes staff time, resource investments, and attendee satisfaction. Events drive leads for sales and are a powerful networking tool that enables companies and brands to connect with their audiences and clients face to face. They are looking at the ROI of attending events just as you should be looking at the ROI of hosting events.
The EDC helps identify key elements that events need to create value through behavior change. Well-designed events increase attendee perception, trust, and loyalty. The process forces you to look at the event's elements and determine if they are valuable or necessary. Sometimes it is hard to part ways with a legacy program, but it's time to think of new, resourceful ways to create value when designing events in our new normal and driving more ROI simultaneously.
Reason #2 - You are a strategy-led organization
While many organizations concentrate heavily on the look or feel of an event, smart event owners know that the real selling point is an event's outcome — and how it shapes ideas, habits, and satisfaction for those who attend. During the EDC process, an organization takes a strategic look at their attendees and visualizes what they might say, think, feel and do in relation to your event. It allows you to map out what is important to your stakeholders, what influences them, and how they present themselves. The goal is to improve your understanding and empathy of your stakeholders.
The EDC process is a strategy first, logistics second approach. This strategic thinking allows you to build the logistics around the needs of your most influential and powerful attendees. It is the combination and interplay of experiential and instructional. Your deep understanding of the nuances of the event and the stakeholders, in conjunction with potential tactical ideas, should allow you to create the orchestration of your event.
Reason #3 - Your events are stale, dated, or boring
Changing the way you do things doesn't have to be scary. Shaking things up shows growth and the ability to be flexible and evolve with your audience. Just because you have always done it doesn't mean you have to continue doing it. With the return of live events in full force, now is the time to make changes and revive your stale, boring events.
The EDC process essentially highlights the most important aspects of your event so that you can build upon them. It also bubbles up the gaps in your event strategy to incorporate new programs and features that better align with your attendees and engagement. Your event becomes an audience-specific and unique event that recharges and invigorates attendees.
One reason why you shouldn't implement design thinking
If you aren't willing to change or try new ideas, then the EDC process isn't for you. If you want to continue doing what you've always done, the EDC process will be a waste of your time. If you aren't seeking more ROI or higher attendee satisfaction rates, you should keep doing what you are doing.
The EDC process is a strategic management template for developing new or improving existing events and conference models. Whether upgrading a stale event or launching a new one, this strategic process can help you make the tough decisions required to design an event with purpose and success. It isn't as simple as it sounds to take an idea and make it shine on stage. But by understanding your event's promise and how it helps attendees to get their jobs done, resolve pains, and create gains within a set framework, you can design an event that will lead to greater ROI and attendee satisfaction.
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The good news is that this process can apply to any event, from in-person to virtual events. You are not limited by size or location. Design thinking can help any organization create an event for themselves or host an event for others in a way that achieves ROI and behavior change.
While you could lead yourself through this process, a Certified Event Designer (CED) has the full scope of skills and techniques needed to understand and apply the Event Canvas™ methodology. Katie Riggs of Riggs and Co., a CED, puts the methodology to work and guides you through the ten steps of the Event Canvas methodology. She facilitates the process and gains leadership alignment around stakeholder analysis, prototyping, and developing your event narrative.
Want to learn more about the Event Canvas Design process? Download our free eBook to understand the three phases better and prepare to gain more ROI on your events.
Want to get started? Contact us today for a free consultation.