When you’re planning a challenge event, you want it to be the best it can be, right?
Whilst it’s easy to get distracted by the logistics and planning, considering what the value of the challenge event is to the attendees is the first thing you should be thinking about.
Usually, an event is created to help bring people together to either motivate, educate, network, exchange ideas, formulate new strategies or to simply have fun. A challenge event, however, is held as a competition, with a celebration of participants and winner.
Challenge participants are key – so if you want to run a successful challenge that stands out in a noisy industry, you need to really exceed their expectations – especially when it comes to the celebration of everyone who took part.
As your event attendees are there to take part in a challenge, or to support someone taking part, a lot of emotions will have been put into their own personal preparation for the event. Whether they’re running a marathon, taking part in a talent show or showcasing something that means a lot to them – it’s personal.
But how do you really stand out and exceed expectations?
Here are 10 of our top tips:
- Ensure You Have Consistent Branding Throughout
Before you host your challenge event, a lot of work will have to go into marketing and advertising to ensure you gain enough interest and demand – whether it’s from attendees or participants.
Throughout all of your marketing efforts, you need to ensure that your branding is consistent so that it is easily recognizable. This can then be carried through to the branding of the event for the day, creating consistency throughout.
- Advertise Your Event On Social Media
A great way to create a buzz before, during and after is to ensure you’re incredibly active on social media. Not only can it gain you attendees and participants, but it is a great low-cost way to create noise on the day of the event.
- Hire A Professional Photographer
If this is the first time you’re hosting a challenge event, or even if you’re seasoned pros, hiring a a photographer is a great way to spend part of your budget. Whilst it’s great to get professional photographs of participants that they can treasure themselves, it’s also a great way to get quality photographs for any future events’ marketing materials.
- Invest In Challenge Memorabilia
When people take part in a challenge they love having something to take home with them afterwards to remember it by, even if they’re not a winner. Consider investing in some challenge memorabilia that participants can treasure for years to come, whether it be a medal, trophy, challenge coin or a certificate. For examples, view here.
- Invite Celebrity Guests Or Local Influential People
Another way to create a buzz or to get people talking at your event is to invite celebrity guests or local influential people. Not only will they post on their own social media about being in attendance, but it will also get your attendees talking. If you advertise it in advance, it may also encourage people to attend.
- Book A Live Act To Follow The Challenge
If you’re planning on holding a celebration after your challenge has taken place, booking a live act is a perfect way to get everybody on their feet having a good time – making your event stand out against competitors. Even if it’s just a few local bands, encouraging the event to continue after the challenge gives you a chance to make further food and drink sales, increasing your overall profit.
- Add A Social Element To Your Event
Adding a social media element to your event gives your attendees and participants a chance to get involved and do something fun. Whether it’s a selfie wall, a social media competition or an interactive augmented reality element – people love a good reason to take a photo and share it! For ways to incorporate social media into your event, you can visit the CVENT blog here.
- Serve Incredible Food and Drink
Whilst it is not essential, serving food and drinks at your event is a great way to get people talking and for your event to stand out. People often associate particular memories with the food that they ate, so serving something incredible could be the way to get people thinking about your event for years to come. Even if you hire a few local food trucks to attend, great food makes for a great event.
- Hold It An Amazing Venue
Sometimes, your choice of venue could make or break an event. Ensuring you have a venue that can withhold your challenge (whether it’s indoor or outdoor) can be difficult, without having to think about whether or not it is fun, friendly and accessible.
Trying to find a venue that is easy to get to, has incredible facilities and will fit within in your budget is hard – but it’s not impossible. Shop around and visit as many different potentials and you can, then your perfect venue will soon become obvious. Besides, if it doesn’t work well there’s always the opportunity to change it for future events.
- Follow Up With Attendees After The Event
A lot of event organizers forget to follow up with their attendees after their event has taken place. Whether it’s getting in touch to thank them for attending, announce competition winners or simple to ask for feedback on what they did and didn’t like – contacting your attendee’s post-event can make a huge difference in whether or not they attend next year. Post-event follow-ups can be done however you wish, but email has been proven to be the most effective.
Whether you’re new to hosting events or a seasoned pro, making your event stand out in a busy industry can be incredibly difficult. We, however, hope we have proven it’s not impossible.
Are you hosting a challenge event? Get in touch to find out how we could help you, or comment below with your top tips.
