Event concepts should be more seed and less apple

If we want messages to be sticky, they must be specific, detailed and unexpected.

There I was, deep in the razzle-dazzle of a gala dinner, in the bowels of a luxury hotel in New Delhi, India. In my ears: chandeliers masquerading as earrings. In my belly: noise. Running on almost no sleep, having soared through time zones three hours prior, my stomach was growling louder than the plane that delivered me. It was already 9.30pm (#speeches) and I was a ravenous beast.

As I engaged in repartee with a major dignitary (the former director of the Intelligence Bureau of India and the current leader of the National Human Rights Commission), I reached for a green bean. I popped it into my mouth.

Whole.

But this was no green bean. This was India. My first visit to India. And I was trying to chew delicately (at first) through the hottest chilli of all time.

In seconds, my mouth was an inferno, my eyes were waterfalls, and my nose… I don’t want to talk about my nose. It wasn’t pretty. Nor was I: a teary, sniffling spectacle of heat-induced misery, in a profoundly elegant setting.

You need not know what happened next, but the fact is: You’ll remember the green bean. I’ll remember the green bean. My esteemed friend, the dignitary, will certainly remember the green bean.

These are the real, actual, authentic “green beans” in question. My husband says you can clearly see they are chillies. Image source: Tiffany Markman, her mouth a-flame

Specific, detailed, unexpected

Here’s the thing: If we want things to stick in people’s minds, they must be specific, detailed and unexpected. But an idea generation process for event concepts doesn’t seem sexy on the surface. Where’s the magic? The lightning strike? The apple landing on the head?

Well, I think it is pretty sexy when the output is so much better. That’s why I want you to use your own process, someone else’s or a version of mine, as long as you use one.

Good things start with a plan

It often feels like creativity should be all “right brain”: fluffy clouds and tinkling bells and unicorn poeps. It doesn’t just happen, though. Whether or not you’re aware of it, you (and whoever you work with) already have an internal process for generating creative ideas. I use my Micro-Focus Methodology for creative ideation.

I’ve given some examples of this methodology before, in this very column, so you may recall that it has three techniques: start with tiny ideas that you can expand on; delve deep into the research; and reject the first and most obvious associations. My shorthand for these is the Shrink, the Rabbit-Hole and the Leap, respectively.

Or, in this context, the green bean, the India visit, and the snot. That’s the fun stuff. The funny stuff. The stuff that makes the inside of my nose hurt, still, several weeks later. But I begin every creative process with the boring things or ‘seedlings’:

• the desired outcome,
• target attendees, and
• parameters (size, budget, venue, time, style, purpose)

Then, and only then, is it time for ‘harvesting’, by:

• brainstorming (The Shrink)
• researching (The Rabbit Hole)
• interrogating (The Leap)
• collaborating
• refining, paring down, refining again, and so on

Some questions for you

• In defining the DESIRED OUTCOME, answer, “What is the challenge this particular event needs to address? What are the key elements to be included, communicated or implied?”
• When it comes to TARGET ATTENDEES, “Who are they? Why them and why now?”
• As to PURPOSE and STYLE, answer, “How does the host, client or company want attendees to feel? What should they do or think? What action does the host want the attendee to take, if any, after the event?”
• What are the PARAMETERS when it comes to event size, budget, venue, and time?

Once you have all the key elements and messages planted, you can start the fun part.

Want an example?

Let’s say we’re creating a sales event for financial planners, intended to boost prospect conversion and client service levels in 2024. Those are the key objectives. The theme is grit. The company wants attendees to feel driven, equipped, confident. Not excited. Not inspired. Moved to act and capable of acting. The question is: What do we do in the scope of this event to move these financial planners to act and to make them capable of acting? (Spoiler: Not a motivational speaker. Not a team-build. Not jazz and artisan cider.)

It’s brainstorm time. With the Shrink, we zoom in and in and in… What does grit look like, in human form? Who embodies it? Which individuals? How? And why?

With the Rabbit Hole, we research. To convert more prospects and to raise service levels, data might show that planners need to get better at tolerating rejection. How do we use that? Or, is there juicier info out there?

Then, with the Leap, we hop over the obvious things, to the wacky things. We don’t just settle for the first apple that falls from the tree. For this example, we might consider literal grit. Sand. Sandpaper. Friction. Pressure.

You might use some of your ideas, all of them or none of them. A few will be objectively terrible. But believe me when I say that an idea generation process informed by planning is just better. Not less creative. More creative.

And the punch line?

Because I’m such a fan of the Leap, and because it suits my brand and most of my messaging, it made sense to tell you the green bean story as an example of using specific, detailed and unexpected things to create sticky messages. I’m hoping, however, you can also see the two core takeaways here:

1. Use your own creative ideation method, someone else’s or a version of mine. But use a method.
2. When in India, cut the green beans in half and examine them closely before eating them whole.

This article by Tiffany Markman was originally published on marklives.com in her column, #WritersBlock. You’ll find it here.

You’ll find her here.