Opinion
Why innovation needs emotion to be really satisfying.
Adding value to audiences should supersede getting wooed by the newest shiny tech, says Grant Ireland, Head of Digital at Stagestruck.
Each month brings with it a new shiny piece of innovation set to disrupt the global events industry. But sometimes there’s a risk of getting sucked into the hype at the expense of genuine added value for audiences. So, what’s a better approach?
When the iPad first launched in 2010, everyone wanted a piece of the action at their next event. They wanted presentations distributed to each attendee, real-time feedback surveys and interactive Q&As all shared via a 9.7-inch touchscreen. Much the same happened when VR first made its way into the industry, companies shelling out huge sums on immersive experiences. And then came virtual presenters, speakers broadcast onto stages everywhere as hi-tech holograms.
The right technology used in the right way can help deliver exceptional outcomes.
The trouble was, in each case, organisations didn’t necessarily know how or why they wanted to use the technology. Everybody else was doing it, so they wanted to as well. The consequence was audiences staring down at screens rather than engaging with fellow attendees, lacklustre VR experiences and great speakers that missed the chance to look people in the eye.
In other words, there was a tonne of enthusiasm for integrating the latest tech but sometimes without the understanding of how it worked, how expensive it could be, the potential risks of failure and – most critically – whether it would actually enhance the experience for their attendees.
We love innovation at Stagestruck and we’re always exploring how it could bring something new and exciting to experiences we deliver for our clients. The right technology used in the right way can help deliver exceptional outcomes. It can help brands transcend distance and bring together a global audience. It can automate mundane tasks, freeing up team members to focus on building relationships and sharing their insights with attendees. And it can add that ‘wow’ factor to leave audiences walking away feeling inspired.
But what’s so important is that it never comes at the expense of the fundamentals of a memorable experience – the storytelling, the spectacle and the ‘in-real life’ connection.
Push boundaries, but let’s elevate the core purpose.
So yes, let’s push boundaries, but let’s always make sure that in doing so we’re elevating the core purpose behind an event, and that the innovative tool or technology we’re deploying is fundamental to that cause.
After all, audiences won’t thank you for spending eyewatering sums on the latest shiny thing if it doesn’t deliver. Though the embrace of new technologies is increasing exponentially, there’s a parallel scepticism and tech-fatigue that runs alongside it. There’s a reason that digital detoxes and unplugged events are gaining traction. People want freedom from screens. They recognise that technology cannot replace the spontaneous connections and interactions they experience at in-person events.
With an audience-first approach, technology can help create truly memorable brand experiences
That’s why we always start with the question: How is the technology going to enhance the overall experience? We work with clients to clarify the story and the ‘why’ behind the event from the outset. We talk about the concept, the theme, the way we want attendees to feel or the insight we want them to gain and the change we are looking to affect. Then – and only then – do we talk about the role of innovation in the context of executing that plan, positioning tech as a tool to complement the overarching strategy.
Take another example: the use of polling and audience engagement apps. Often these are included automatically with a real lack of forethought and populated with lightweight or vague questions that don’t deliver any meaningful insight. But audiences are bored of this approach. That means organisations lose half an hour out of an agenda for, well, nothing.
If instead they asked at the outset, how could this tech add value to the audience, they could either take the time to come up with a set of far more targeted questions on genuine audience challenges and thought-provoking topics or realise the tech doesn’t add much at all and take back a valuable slice of time in the schedule.
Much the same applies to VR. There can be big technical risks (as well as costs) in creating immersive or gamified experiences which have been all the rage in the events industry. Even Meta couldn’t avoid the pitfalls when it planned a metaverse-fuelled concert experience alongside the Foo Fighters in 2022. But by starting with that same question – how this can enhance the experience for audiences – there are examples where the rewards from the right application of VR can balance out these risks.
In working with one major automotive brand at the launch of their latest vehicle, for example, we used VR to seamlessly provide an orientation to all the car’s capabilities, in multiple languages, to some 4,500 people – a feat that simply couldn’t have been done without deploying the technology.
This strategic approach also means we rarely work with ‘off the shelf’ solutions. To ensure technology truly enhances the audience experience, we believe it’s important to adapt, embellish, enhance and sometimes break it and put it back together to create something that is truly impactful.
Using Microsoft's HoloLens, we overcame a logistical hurdle for a client. Their product couldn't be physically transported to an industry event halfway across the globe. Our solution: a virtual demonstration using HoloLens. This enabled the CEO to deliver an immersive, real-time walk-around to showcase to the assembled audience a product that was in situ 5,000 miles away.
As these examples show, used with an audience-first approach, technology can help create truly memorable brand experiences.
But there does need to be a subtle shift in the industry’s approach. We need to make sure we aren’t letting our enthusiasm for the newest, shiniest thing distract us from the fundamentals of what makes for a great experience. We need to be rigorously asking ourselves: What’s the added value? What are the risks vs. rewards? How does it bring the vision or narrative underpinning the experience to life, and could it just as easily be achieved via a lower cost, lower risk medium?
Because innovation without emotion doesn’t last. And the best experiences always do.
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