Educate

Tips & Trends

<p>You want your meetings to touch your attendees’ lives. One way to do that? Have them touch the world around them.</p>
<p>Adding tactile activities to your meetings can help make the event indelible in your attendees’ minds. The sense of touch is one of the first sensory systems that evolved in humans, so it’s hardwired to our memory banks in a way that other activities—say, reading a bunch of materials—aren’t.</p>
<p>It’s also just plain fun to touch things. (Are attendees at promotional events ever more engaged than when they have a chance to hold a new, long-awaited product in their hands?) Read on for actionable ways to bring a touch of the tactile to your events.</p>
<p><em>For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual"><em>sight</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic"><em>sound</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful"><em>taste</em></a><em>, and </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events"><em>smell</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<h3><strong>Make your swag touch-friendly</strong></h3>
<p>By its nature, swag bags are tactile—you’re asking attendees to carry around something physical when they pick up a gift bag. Make that more useful to attendees by including “please touch” gifts, such as a notebook with a fuzzy or textured cover or a fidget toy. You can take it a step further by including a small card explaining why you chose those items: Taking notes by hand helps with memory retention because of its physical nature, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fidget-toys-arent-just-hype/">fidget toys can help people harness attention</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Enable haptics</strong></h3>
<p>Know that feeling when your phone buzzes in your pocket? Use that sensation in your favor to guide attendees within your venue. If your audience is tech-savvy, or demographically likely to have embraced the Apple Watch, they may be willing to download apps or enable features that issue haptic reminders when certain events happen—say, when they approach a meeting spot with a particularly cool offering.</p>

<h3><strong>Create an immersive experience—literally</strong></h3>
<p>The draw of “immersive experiences” is that they create a wholly different environment for attendees. But you can take it literally and physically immerse your attendees in a sensation shift. Start by playing with temperature, as found at an August promotional event that deployed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/article/22418964/three-activations-at-btc-2022">snow machines and an ice bar</a>. Too much hassle? Even “immersing” your guests’ hands in a temperature shift can evoke the same shift in sensation—one liquor brand had attendees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/beverages/article/22366676/how-3-spirits-companies-tickled-taste-buds">reach through vapor to grab an ice-cold drink</a>. Not enough<em> </em>for ambitious planners? Ball pits don’t have to be just for kids.</p>

<h3><strong>Give attendees a tactile experience</strong></h3>
<p>Most of the sensory tips here are about your attendees touching something—but humans crave <em>being</em> touched too. Small luxuries are one place to start, such as chair massages, reflexology stations, and manicure booths. Depending on the vibe of the event, you could even have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/article/22366861/inside-shake-shacks-miami-event">“braid bar”</a> for hair braiding, or a head massage booth for a touch of tactile ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response, aka “the tingles”). Remember that it’s not just about having a spa service; being touched is about human connection. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/corporate-meetings-events/experience-design-cmi-25/gallery?slide=1">Folk dance</a> usually involves holding hands or linking arms, and can create a memorable opening or closing event. Just make sure to keep any hands-on events optional and particularly professional in nature, and to have hand sanitizer at the ready.</p>
<h3><strong>Break the ice</strong></h3>
<p>A good icebreaker can go a long way toward cementing groups. Having an activity that involves the hands can be helpful for shy attendees, allowing them to participate without fearing that they’ll be put on the spot. You can have people get their hands dirty with a <a target="_blank" href="https://gardenuity.com/pages/corporate-partners">group gardening workshop</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kinetic-sand-and-artist-dan-lam-encourage-you-to-touch-the-art-this-november-301423150.html">kinetic sand sculptures</a>, or group decoration of an item that serves as a centerpiece for the event (like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/media-gallery/22471427/cool-event-ideas-from-september-2022?utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=10/3/2022_EN.1003BizBash&amp;utm_source=">this oversized shoe</a>). Or just set up a crafts event, such as a booth for making <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/event-production-fabrication/media-gallery/22353760/miami-swim-week-2022-recap">cellphone straps</a> like a recent beauty event did. Bonus points for tying the hands-on activity to the purpose of your meeting, as with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/event-production-fabrication/media-gallery/22432201/a-look-inside-nycs-new-hiphop-museum">DIY graffiti wall</a> for the opening of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York City. Another option that’s more explicitly geared to prime tactile sensations is to set up a guessing game, where participants are blindfolded and then handle various objects, both common (an orange, grains of rice) and uncommon (windup chattering teeth, wooden shoes), and guess what they are.</p>

Global

Tickle Your Guests’ Delight by Adding Tactile Activities to Your Events.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Make Your Meetings More Tactile

<p>Even the simplest of meetings has something you can taste, even if it’s as humble as a cup of coffee. That ubiquity means that taste is already a part of every meeting you’re planning. Why not use the gustatory senses to level up your meetings?</p>
<p>Having delicious food and drinks on hand is part of the equation (and it won’t earn you any complaints). But leveraging the morsels you offer to maximize your meeting’s impact will make your event all the sweeter. Here are five ways to get started.</p>
<p><em>For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual"><em>sight</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic"><em>sound</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile"><em>touch</em></a><em>, and </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events"><em>smell</em></a><em>.</em></p>

<h3><strong>Test your taste buds</strong></h3>
<p>A taste test requires participants to focus their senses so they can discern one variety of whatever they’re tasting from another—making it a great exercise for priming people to truly pay attention to the moment. An expert-led tasting educates attendees on the treat in question, but it’s not your only option. Try setting up stations, each hosting a different variety of the featured item, and let guests draw their own conclusions. (You can also up the ante and make it a blind taste test, then give out prizes to the people who guess the most ingestibles correctly.) As for what to taste: Wine and chocolate tastings are perennial favorites, but you can get creative. Tasting the differences in everyday items—honey, salt—can reveal exactly how attuned we are to subtle variations in flavor.</p>
<h3><strong>Make standard snacks sensational</strong></h3>
<p>Sometimes it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Let that guide a taste voyage, by offering a relatively simple snack that’s served or prepared in an interesting fashion. Try a station using liquid nitrogen to make popcorn or ice cream, for example. Even just serving food in a heightened manner can make your event more memorable, whether that’s serving meals under cloches, using edible presentations, or deploying bento boxes.</p>

<h3><strong>Get attendees’ hands dirty</strong></h3>
<p>Who doesn’t love a sundae bar? True, everybody loves a sundae, but the joy of a sundae bar is getting a chance to build your own dessert without the effort of gathering ingredients. You can extend that thinking to pretty much any otherwise standard menu offering, elevating it beyond the item itself. Hot dogs with all the toppings, lemonades with a choice of herbal infusions, and, sure, sundaes—the point is to let guests build it themselves, not just serve it to them as is.</p>
<h3><strong>Withhold taste</strong></h3>
<p>Preventing people from tasting can call attention to the gustatory senses just as much as feeding them. At a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/event-design-decor/media-gallery/22144139/event-decor-inspiration-from-diffa-by-design-2022">2022 fundraiser for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS</a>, the New York School of Interior Design built a tiered faux serving structure with expensive foods stationed at the top, literally untouchable. This particular execution was designed to call attention to food inequality, and the concept could apply to any meeting with a theme centering on scarcity—or, on the opposite end, desire. (Just make sure you eventually feed your attendees, even if you play tricks with priming their palates.)</p>
<h3><strong>Match your menu to your meaning</strong></h3>
<p>Catering offers you the opportunity to underscore your meeting’s mission in a visceral way. Hosting an event marking an anniversary milestone—say, an association’s 50th anniversary? Plan around foods popular in the 1970s, such as Watergate salad and fondue. Want to call attention to your host city’s history? Plan a menu around that city’s heritage. If other menu considerations limit your ability to go off the grid, get creative with naming. For the <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/inspirational-stories/article/405/ask-the-right-questions-get-the-right-answers">Florida Dental Association’s 2022 convention</a>, the “Sea Vibes” theme meant there was plenty of seafood on offer. But simply renaming the salad bar “Poseidon’s Power Greens Salad Bar” kept seafood-averse folks sated while remaining on theme.</p>

Think Beyond Standard Catering to Make Your Meeting More Memorable.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Make Your Event More Tasteful

Promote

<p>If it were as easy as it sounds to “stay in the moment,” the mindfulness-app industry might be worth $1 million—not $1 billion. Fact is, in a world with distractions pinging us from every angle, it can be difficult to be truly present—which detracts from the attendee experience.</p>
<p>How can planners fight this battle for their attendees’ undivided attention? Use tools to help keep attendees’ minds in the moment and resist getting swept up into the rapids of distractions. Some of those tools are even digital—yes, tech can be a distraction in and of itself, but there are ways to harness it to stay present.</p>

<h3><strong>1) Go retro with instant cameras.</strong></h3>
<p>Yes, cameras are ubiquitous, but we’re not talking about the camera on your smartphone here. Remember Polaroids? Part of their charm lies in the one-and-done factor. Planners can activate this sentiment by supplying instant cameras at in-person gatherings.</p>
<p>You can’t top the convenience of digital cameras, but instant cameras are nostalgic and produce tangible photos that you can hold in your hand, <a target="_blank" href="https://dailytitan.com/opinion/physical-items-are-more-valuable-than-digital-ones/article_41f8716e-b90c-11ec-b87e-e3e633282f8e.html">which engage people more deeply</a> compared with their digital counterparts. And something tangible is probably what your attendees are looking for after two years in front of screens. It’s no wonder that <a target="_blank" href="https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/polaroid-instant-film/">Polaroids are making a comeback</a> in the age of smartphones.</p>
<h3><strong>2) Use apps to help attendees focus on the now.</strong></h3>
<p>Another thing about photography: When people take photos on their phones, they tend to immediately look at how the picture came out. Problem is, while attendees have their eyes on their phones, they’re no longer in the moment, missing parts of the event experience. But some photo-sharing apps can remedy this by delaying the payoff. <a target="_blank" href="https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/dispo-digital-disposable-cam/id1491684197">Dispo</a>, for example, acts as a digital disposable camera, building in time for photos to “develop” before anyone can see or share them—eliminating the tendency to look at photos while actually doing the activities being photographed.</p>
<p>Apps’ here-and-now potential goes beyond photos. Since many attendees are going to have their smartphones in their hands no matter what, planners can help attendees use their phones as a tool to stay in the know, in the moment. Some conference apps—such as <a target="_blank" href="https://whova.com/">Whova</a>—let attendees submit questions to live Q&amp;As, participate in polls and quizzes, access resources for more information on sessions and speakers, and interact with other attendees. On most of these apps, the event manager can also send push notifications to attendees about schedule changes and other updates.</p>
<h3><strong>3) Make it interactive.</strong></h3>
<p>Tech-enabled options to deploy during sessions include polls and quizzes—but there are non-tech options too, such as handheld signs distributed to participants, that allow them to express their sentiments during sessions.</p>
<p>You could also simply give attendees a quick task and have them split into groups to complete it—perhaps brainstorming an idea based on a creative prompt, which is then shared with the other groups. Virtual or in person, the goal remains the same: Get people involved. If you give attendees something to do instead of just information to process, chances are better that they’ll stay locked in.</p>

Tech Can Redirect Attention. Here’s How to Use That to Your Advantage.

Three Tools to Keep Your Attendees in the Moment

<p>Of all the five senses, scent might be the greatest challenge to incorporate into an event. Sure, you can have an aromatherapy booth or look for a fragrance sponsor for your swag bags, but why limit yourself?</p>
<p>Scent has a particular power to trigger memories, so if your goal is to create memorable events, fragrance gives you a leg up. Just make sure that when you incorporate scent into a session, you let people know ahead of time and have a fragrance-free zone so that people who are hypersensitive to scents can have a safe haven.</p>
<p><em>For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual"><em>sight</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic"><em>sound</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful"><em>taste</em></a><em>, and </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile"><em>touch</em></a><em>.</em></p>

<h3><strong>Offer a signature scent…</strong></h3>
<p>Your venue might already be a step ahead of you on this front, as with the bespoke fragrances found in many of Marriott Bonvoy's distinct hotels. That’s for good reason: Because of the unique connection between scent, memory, and emotion, a one-of-a-kind scent can immediately transport guests back to the moment they first smelled a particular scent. Creating a signature scent for your event, dispersed either as a low-grade air freshener or at specific stations, can add a whiff of luxury—and if you send attendees home with a small vial or sachet of the scent, they’ll be able to “revisit” your meeting in a visceral way.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h3><strong>…Or have attendees create their own</strong></h3>
<p>Let guests try their own hand at perfumery in a session geared toward networking, team-building, or recreation. You can bring in a professional guide, or simply have essential oils on hand for people to mix and match. Some planners have found success by having attendees create fragrances that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.themeetingmagazines.com/acf/entertainment/">align with their goals for attending the meeting at large</a>. Custom scents were key to the success of an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartmeetings.com/news/144816/scented-supper-made-meeting-memories">Incentive Research Foundation conference at JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort</a>. Fragrance giant Jo Malone began the event with a scent-blending bar, then progressed through a dinner featuring flavors paired with scents.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h3><strong>Sniff out the right flora</strong></h3>
<p>Heady blooms such as roses fit the bill, but you don’t have to have a flower show to offer pockets of natural aroma as a respite for your attendees. Try surrounding indoor topiaries with gently scented ground cover such as sweet woodruff, or create backdrops with clusters of jasmine or gardenia. You could also create a miniature herb garden, encouraging people to pluck leaves to carry the scent with them.</p>

<h3><strong>Play with perception</strong></h3>
<p>Aromatherapy booths have their place at events for a reason—a whiff of peppermint can be energizing, while the scent of lavender is associated with relaxation. But canny meeting planners have an unexpected trick up their sleeves: making a space seem larger than it is. Researchers have found that the scent of apple and cucumber makes people perceive a room as being bigger. If infusing an unexpectedly small space with fragrance is out of the question, a station offering cucumber water can step in.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h3><strong>Get a whiff of this icebreaker</strong></h3>
<p>While scents can trigger powerful memories, it’s not always easy to identify what exactly goes into a particular fragrance. Use that to your advantage with an icebreaker guessing game: Gather a mixture of strongly scented items, essential oils, and premade fragrances. Place them in opaque containers at different stations, and have people open and smell what’s inside. Aim for a mix of the easily guessable (apple, grapefruit, soil) to the familiar yet esoteric (salt, ozone, Champagne) to keep people talking and comparing notes.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h3><strong>Create a scent lounge</strong></h3>
<p>One liquor company had its work cut out for it when it created <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/beverages/article/22366676/how-3-spirits-companies-tickled-taste-buds">stations featuring the concentrated aroma of the ingredients</a> in the liquor being promoted. If your meeting is focused on food, beverage, or a destination, this is easy enough to mimic. But the principles can apply to any field or theme. An arts conference could have stations featuring the scents of paint, chalk, and clay. Chalk could come in handy again in a meeting for educators, along with the aromas of ballpoint ink, fingerpaint, and apples.</p>

Give Your Event the Smell of Success With These Tips.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Incorporate Scent Into Your Events

Celebrate

<p>Life is but a game—or at least, it can be if you incorporate play into your meetings from the ground up. Here are a couple of ways to make the gaming life a part of your next event.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h3><strong>Gamify Engagement, Hybrid-Style.</strong></h3>
<p>One of the challenges of hybrid meetings is making sure that virtual attendees and in-room attendees both stay engaged with the goal of the meeting. Introducing a gamification element that is rooted in the event’s virtual capacity can bring both sets of attendees together.</p>
<p>While there are plenty of apps and services available for gamifying sessions, your basic platforms probably already enable gaming to a degree. A Zoom poll turns into a game when the prompt is trivia or an icebreaker question; collaborative whiteboards allow participants to, say, solve a challenge together.</p>
<p>Another fun option: social media. Set up a scavenger hunt or photo challenge, and ask attendees to participate using a custom <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/tips-and-trends/article/422/perfect-the-art-of-the-hashtag">hashtag</a>.</p>

<h3><strong>Design the Meeting Around a Purpose-Built Game Space.</strong></h3>
<p>Bringing games into a space is one thing—but bringing participants into a game space is another. When looking at venues, consider the value-add of venues that have built-in game rooms. They’re an obvious choice for icebreaker events, but imagine what a small group session at an in-house bowling alley could turn into!</p>
<p>A few spots that set a playful example:</p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Harbor Social at </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/wasgn-gaylord-national-resort-and-convention-center/overview/"><strong>Gaylord National Resort &amp; Convention Center</strong></a><strong>, National Harbor, Maryland:</strong> Shuffleboard? Check. Air hockey? Check. Duckpin bowling, 10,000-square-foot sports bar, bocce court? Check, check, and check. That’s in addition to 94 event rooms, 101 breakout rooms, and nearly 550,000 square feet of event space. This space was purpose-built for networking after an evaluation of what people missed most about in-person gatherings: being together and networking with others.</li>
  <li><strong>Rampart Casino at</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/lasjw-jw-marriott-las-vegas-resort-and-spa/overview/"><strong> JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort &amp; Spa</strong></a><strong>:</strong> The on-site team is experienced in coordinating with meeting planners who want to give attendees a taste of the Vegas experience without spending valuable convention time roaming the Strip. A meeting-branded casino night would be a hit—but if that doesn’t fit the tone of your attendees, take advantage of on-site lessons.</li>
  <li><strong>10K Alley at </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mrkfl-jw-marriott-marco-island-beach-resort/overview/"><strong>JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort</strong></a><strong>:</strong> The <a target="_blank" href="https://10kalleyatjwmarco.com/">bowling alley</a> isn’t the only game on tap here—arcade games and mini golf round out the offerings. (And games aren’t the only thing on tap either; the bar hosts more than 50 Florida-brewed craft beers.) With state-of-the-art facilities (virtual reality, anyone?), it’s well-equipped for events.</li>
</ul>

North America

Let’s Talk About How to Gamify Your Next Event.

Push “Play” on Your Next Meeting With Games

<p>Your schedules are printed. Your slides are ready. Now it’s time to think about taking your event to the next level. After all, <a target="_blank" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=587201">65% of people self-report as being visual learners</a>, which means appealing to their sense of sight will help make your meeting one to remember.</p>
<p>If you want to create an engaging experience that attendees won’t soon forget, focus on incorporating iconic visuals that go beyond the usual meeting media. Here’s some inspiration for your next eye-catching event.</p>
<p><em>For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile"><em>touch</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic"><em>sound</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful"><em>taste</em></a><em>, and </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events"><em>smell</em></a><em> .</em></p>
<h3><strong>Set the tone on social media</strong></h3>
<p>Before your event even begins, ramp up the visual excitement with posts on social media. Try a color-block feed like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/thecollecteur/">The Collecteur</a>, bright multicolor shots like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/katespadeny/">Kate Spade New York</a>, or graphic quotes like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/britandco/">Brit + Co</a>. You can even dedicate all 12 squares of your grid to <a target="_blank" href="https://designshack.net/articles/inspiration/instagram-grid-template/">one big image</a> that simply can’t be ignored.</p>
<h3><strong>Go bold with bright visuals</strong></h3>
<p>Take a cue from a conference made for design professionals. The <a target="_blank" href="https://mindsparklemag.com/design/aiga-design-conference/">schedules, notebooks, and wayfinding signs</a> from AIGA’s annual design conference a few years ago were so unapologetically attention-grabbing, with vivid colors and bold type, that attendees were more likely to keep them for inspiration than toss them in the trash at the end of the day.</p>
<h3><strong>Get graphic with note-taking</strong></h3>
<p>During a presentation, it can be difficult to strike a balance between paying attention to the speaker and taking notes on the useful information they share. Chicago Ideas Week brought in a <a target="_blank" href="https://inkfactorystudio.com/visual-notes/chicago-ideas-week/">visual note-taker</a> to capture key information and quotable moments in graphic form. The artwork was then displayed for attendees to peruse. These notes can also be sent to eventgoers in PDF form or printed as a booklet.</p>
<h3><strong>Color on the walls</strong></h3>
<p>During spring break campus events, the University of Texas at Austin encouraged students to leave their mark on a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fancyfeatures.com/blogs/interactive-art-blog/texan-coloring-wall-at-ut-austin">giant Texas-inspired coloring wall</a>—essentially a huge coloring page. At your next event, invite participants to get creative and decompress between sessions as they fill in the blanks on a themed wall with paint pens.</p>
<h3><strong>Create a shareable backdrop</strong></h3>
<p>Veuve Cliquot had not one, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.shawnayamamoto.com/blog/2021/11/16/sy-amp-co-attends-las-hottest-event-veuve-polo-classic-2021">three backdrops</a> at a 2021 polo party, which set the stage for the event and provided a fun spot for selfies and photos. Opt for a branded, snap-worthy backdrop—think florals, balloons, or neon—and attendees won’t be able to resist posting about your event on social media.</p>
<h3><strong>Entice attendees with interactive film</strong></h3>
<p>HP encouraged data scientists to hone their skills with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/industries/data-science/unlocked-with-z.html">an interactive film</a> that promoted their Z by HP line. Participants watched a four-part film, then analyzed and worked through a dataset to try to solve the film’s mystery. While an interactive film may not be in your budget, consider kicking off your event with an engaging video that touts a new product or service.</p>
<h3><strong>Identify attendees at a glance</strong></h3>
<p>Target used <a target="_blank" href="https://dribbble.com/shots/6577559-Target-Incubator-Badges">colored badges</a> to differentiate corporate employees, speakers, and attendees at an event for their incubator program. If your event involves people from various companies or industries, try going visual with badges. Think red for sales professionals and blue for product managers, or green for vendors and orange for attendees.</p>

Look no further: Here are seven ideas to make your next event a sight to behold.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Make Your Meetings More Visual

<p>Mic check? Done. AV setup? Done. Music selected? Done.</p>
<p>Your sonic setup can begin and end there—but it doesn’t have to. Music helps set the tone for an event, but the auditory world goes beyond music. Sound is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.livescience.com/8426-brain-link-sounds-smells-memory-revealed.html">just as powerful as sight and smell</a> when it comes to triggering emotions and forming memories, and using it in ways other than the expected can help you shape your meetings. Here are some ideas to inspire the audio at your next event.</p>
<p><em>For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual"><em>sight</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile"><em>touch</em></a><em>, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful"><em>taste</em></a><em>, and </em><a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events"><em>smell</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<h3><strong>Pairing sound with visuals</strong></h3>
<p>GE and The New York Times Magazine partnered to <a target="_blank" href="https://giantspoon.com/work/general-electric">create an aural experience</a> to go with a special issue of the magazine. They aimed to help readers match <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/tips-and-trends/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual">images</a> with vivid, engaging sounds, such as the glass-breaking crackle of a lava flow from Kilauea and honking horns and shouting street vendors in Lagos, Nigeria. If you’re introducing new machinery or tech at a conference, try pairing images with the sounds it makes when operating.</p>
<h3><strong>Take a bath</strong></h3>
<p>Sound baths have gained popularity as a meditative aural experience. You can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/style/self-care/sound-baths.html">do the real thing</a>—Toronto General Hospital recently held a sound bath performance as part of its Music Can Heal concert series. Or borrow from the phenomenon by creating a sound loop that you can stream throughout the meeting. For a tourism event, try evoking the feeling of travel with the sound of jet engines, church bells, taxis, and a street festival.</p>
<h3><strong>Branding with sound</strong></h3>
<p>Beyond commercial jingles, brands are experimenting with sound—BMW, for example, <a target="_blank" href="https://qz.com/1655649/interstellar-composer-filling-the-silence-of-bmw-electric-cars/">partnered with Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer</a> to craft sounds for its notably mute electric cars. A sonic brand can be as simple as a few notes that, over time, become associated with a company through marketing. (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mastercard-sonic-branding-timbaland-priceless-album/625808/?utm_campaign=mkb&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_source=morning_brew">Mastercard recently took the plunge</a> into sonic branding with an album featuring tracks inspired by the Mastercard melody, familiar to us through their commercials.) Give your meeting a sonic brand by choosing a special sound to indicate the start of a meeting or end of a break period. Think: the sound of clinking glass for a meeting of beverage professionals, or chirping crickets for a gathering of conservationists.</p>
<h3><strong>An audio adventure</strong></h3>
<p>Sound has the power to transform a space and transport listeners to another dimension. Take a cue from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.darkfield.org/seance/">Séance</a>, the “intense sonic performance” that was a hit at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Guests sat in a small, dark space and listened to an immersive audio experience that had them believe a séance was happening in their midst. In a meeting, try giving guests headphones and streaming sounds related to the meeting’s purpose to set the tone—a medical conference might use a soundscape that incorporates sounds health professionals hear through a stethoscope, for example.</p>
<h3><strong>ASMR in person</strong></h3>
<p>ASMR—or autonomous sensory meridian response—is a physiological response to sensory cues. In recent years, it has gained popularity through “whisper videos” online, but <a target="_blank" href="https://whisperlodge.nyc/">it’s a hit at events, too</a>. Try holding a live ASMR performance at your event that immerses guests in the experience, like the sound of rustling pages and clicking keys at a literary event.</p>
<h3><strong>Incite virtual conversations</strong></h3>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.clubhouse.com/">Clubhouse</a> is a virtual water cooler, where users can wander “hallways” and step in on meeting rooms to engage in audio-only conversations. Professionals tout it as a networking hub. For virtual meetings, the app can be a great way to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartmeetings.com/tips-tools/technology/131412/meeting-planners-clubhouse">keep the conversation going</a> outside of videoconferences and breakout sessions.</p>

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