Fact: When it comes to marketing budgets, the budget for events tends to be the first to get shuffled around. Don’t be disheartened, it’s the perfect time to get a bit more creative, think differently and prove the value of an engaging, interactive and successful event, no matter what budget is allocated.

1. Capture the attention of your event attendees

Nothing puts a smile on the face of your boss more than his/her event attendees looking in awe and excitement at the scene in front of them. Yet when you think of creating that sensational event experience, you automatically hear the ring of a cash register.

If you have a limited budget, your choice of AV can make all the difference. Well positioned lighting can set the scene and add drama to any event through programmed lighting stings.

Combine lighting with vision or multimedia content and you can make a real impact, without stretching the budget. Transform a stale event environment into something special with the clever use of projection, strategically placed screens, plasmas and LED displays plus the latest in playback and edge blending technology. How about using multimedia content projected onto the stage instead of building a stage set from scratch. The opportunities are endless.

Multimedia content truly brings an idea to life, whether it is aliens circling your audience, cars racing by on the walls of the venue, or snow falling from the sky. Consider the impact that technology could have on your event next time you’re handed the event budget.

2. Returning the investment for everyone

Events now need to achieve more than yours or your client’s bottom line – an event has to create a return on investment for those who have dedicated the time to attend and be more than a stand-alone entity but an integrated branded experience for the attendee.

At the earliest stage of idea generation, think about what does the person attending the event want to get out of the event experience? What’s in it for them?

Placing the attendee’s desire at the top and getting their buy-in at the event will inevitably meet the event’s objectives for sales, customer retention, or employee engagement making the end goal more easily achievable.

Be audience focused from the very beginning.

3. Think differently and think bigger – an integrated brand experience

Be creative with your event design and ideas – think differently about the experience you want your attendee to have and how the brand message can not only be integrated into the event but also how you can use this opportunity to create an interactive and memorable experience that translates into a stronger more beneficial relationship with attendees.

Do a walk-through in your mind and make a list of what the attendee will see, hear, touch or feel from start to finish at the event. At each audience touch-point from the entrance, to the table setting, entire event space or the stage, think differently about how to make the experience personal and interactive.

Try creating an illuminated centrepiece using your logo or hero image; utilise intelligent lighting and projection carrying the theme, product or brand imagery throughout the event space and use motion graphics and projection mapping to design a stage set that gives the audience the sense of being in a completely different location.

Imagery projection can transform a room into a living space – think more than the traditional lighting – you can take your attendee on a visual journey using moving imagery, video or photography projected 360 degrees around a room creating the illusion that they are within an experience and not just an event.

Motion graphics and multimedia technology is developing all the time and can be combined with projection for vision or lighting that reacts to touch – letting the attendee drive and direct their experience.

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