Synch-Up: The GetSynchronicity Blog

At the beginning of the year, I posted three trends that I expect to shape events over the coming year. The first was the requirement for exhibitors and event sponsors to provide personally relevant information for their guests and visitors.

Last week I read an article in 1to1Media that cited some interesting out-takes from Oracle’s report, “Global Insights on Succeeding in the Customer Experience Era.” It makes some similar conclusions to my emphasis on the need to provide personally relevant experiences. Enjoy!

RIM made headlines this week with the introduction of two new smart phones. Unfortunately, the launch seems to have generated more questions about the brand than it answered. Are the new phones great? Are they merely good? Is good “good-enough” to save the brand?

It’s a question that all marketers need to ask on a regular basis.

Can we move a prospect from indifferent to adoption with a marketing program that is merely good? If we hope to move an entire market from loyalty to advocacy does a brand strategy need to be great? At what point does the tried and true (i.e., good marketing) just become plain old tired (i.e., not good enough)?

Conventional wisdom says that perfect is the enemy of good. In today’s ultra-connected, trend-sensitive global market maybe “good enough” is the enemy of great.

Thoughts?

Does this ever happen to you?

The client delays. Deadlines loom. Tension escalates. Finally, the project is green-lighted. Everyone shifts into hyper speed.  Me? I get so wrapped up in execution that I annoy the team by making decisions that should be left to someone else. Let’s change that background to orange. While you’re at it, try a bolder font.

Not this year. This year I’m getting out of the way. Instead of meddling with details, I’m going to ask questions. Tough questions that none of us can answer. Questions that make us all think. Wicked questions that, when we find the answer, will produce inspiring results for our clients and their brands.

Isn’t that really why clients hire agencies?

To think strategically on their behalf.

It’s the season for making lists. Here are my top three trends that will shape event marketing in 2013:
1. Instant Information. Digital has re-shaped expectations. Consumers now seek the same immediacy in the live event arena that they currently enjoy from on-line experiences. Delivering on-demand data that’s personally relevant to each individual is now the gold standard for live events.
2. Aggressive Indecision. Everyone waits till the last possible minute to make a decision. Time compression narrows to the nth degree. All of which makes the ability to deliver personally relevant, on-demand information (see trend #1, above) doubly difficult. Sure, it’s a Catch-22 but isn’t that why marketers are paid the big bucks?
3. Brand Advocacy. As social platforms continue to gain prominence, consumers increasingly trust other consumers for purchasing recommendations and decision-making. Events will continue to gain prominence as the primary vehicles to build brand awareness, preference and loyalty.

In an October posting on Successful Meetings, Arthur Backal of Apella, the event space in New York City’s Alexandria Center, notes a trend that “Clients are looking for unique, creative, and inexpensive ways to customize event spaces.”

How right he is.

Take a look at NextGen Healthcare. At UGM 2012, NextGen hosted 4,700 attendees in a general session and then re-configured the space into twenty breakout rooms in under thirty minutes. NextGen’s creative solution featured wide format, fabric panels that doubled as projection screens and scenic backgrounds for the plenary session. Smaller, offset panels removed easily to allow air walls to close during the room turn. The larger panels remained to provide projection and scenic continuity for the new, smaller breakout rooms.

Creative thinking and flexible re-purposing. Two smart trends that spelled success for NextGen.

We would like to thank all of our partners and customers for your support, business and relationships. We wish you an Happy Thanksgiving and hope you and yours enjoy abundance and good health this holiday.

From the entire team at GetSynchronicity

You’ve just come back from a conference. You’ve listened to case studies by the big marketers. You’re all fired up to implement change and boost the performance of your company’s event marketing program. Unfortunately, you don’t have the budget dollars of those big marketers. Or perhaps your management isn’t fully on board. Maybe you lack the staff to get the job done.

How do you become an agent for change without any resources?

Embrace the concept of small wins.

No budget? Look for one thing you can change that doesn’t require money. Fix it. Then publicize your results internally.

Management not on board? Don’t try to win approval for a big, system-wide overhaul. Find one aspect of your program that you have the authority to change. Make the adjustment. Then start sharing the outcomes with the leadership team.

No staff? Look for something that you can handle on your own. Make the shift and then communicate the benefits in an internal report.

Then repeat. Month after month. Quarter after quarter. Year after year.

By itself, one small win may seem inconsequential. A series of small wins, however, may attract allies, deter opponents and lower resistance to subsequent change.

Small wins change inertia.