VERTIGO LIVE, LASTMAN MUSIC & KALEO
Experience
Culture / Insight
By Andrew Kennard
21st Oct 2024
With Halloween just round the corner, and Christmas fast approaching – event preparation is more important now than ever. The holiday period is prime time when it comes to creating experiences that resonate with wide demographics – families, friends, colleagues. These events are fundamentally rooted in emotion, a well tested path to building and preserving brand loyalty. Here’s how to amplify your seasonal events, and create memory making experiences.
Halloween events tap into a unique aspect of celebration. Whether it’s fright nights, haunted houses, or trick or treating, Halloween is a spectacle like no other, providing great opportunities for building connections with others in unusual ways. Take corporate gatherings – what are the aims? Employee engagement? Networking opportunities? Community building? Regardless, there are much better ways to achieve these goals than in a run of the mill corporate setting. Seasonal events allow authentic connections to be crafted, through enjoyable, real life experiences. Break the ice organically by attending a fright night, accessing emotions not stereotypically tied to the office setting. Theming your event around seasonal holidays such as Halloween can elevate it to the next level.
Halloween offers more than just a corporate alternative however. Brands can increase their outreach and engagement through utilising typical activities associated with Halloween. Organised, ticketed trick or treatings with prizes for the highest collections, costume competitions, and haunted houses can attract diverse demographics. Branded decorations and sustainably sourced goodie bags on exit can enhance brand exposure, provide purpose, and heighten your seasonal event.
Some memorable Halloween events of the past have included Universal Studios’ Horror Nights. Incorporating themed haunted houses with familiar storytelling elements, Universal Studios launched the Stranger Things Horror House in 2023, a nod to the popular Netflix series – in itself attracting a large fanbase. However, Halloween events don’t always need to be scary. Disney provided an alternative approach, targeting younger children and families with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, with a tamer firework display, hosted by a loveable Disney character. Seasonal events that tailor towards diverse audiences improve accessibility for a wider range of guests to attend.
It’s never too early to start playing Christmas songs in the event industry. With Christmas right around the corner, it’s essential to appropriately plan out your festive event. Christmas provides opportunities for people to come together and celebrate, but it is easy to fall into the trap of a stereotypical Christmas party. Instead, it is important for brands to immerse their guests in an exciting experience. Think giant Christmas trees with branded baubles, candy cane creation workshops, Christmas carol versions of your favourite songs playing in the background. The Christmas event industry is a space for innovation, and a successful event needs to go above and beyond expectations.
Some top Christmas events in recent years include Enchant Christmas in California, which featured an incredible light maze, while others such as Thursford Christmas Spectacular in Norfolk blended musical performances with light shows and variety acts. Events such as these stand out and leave their mark on guests, sparking a desire to return year after year.
Regardless of the season – events need to attract guests. Seasonal events enable brands to evoke creativity in their outreach methods. Email campaigns, paid ads, event pages – these are all vital aspects of hosting an immersive seasonal experience. Don’t be afraid to break the restrictions of the norms for event advertising. Integrate AI into your planning and collaborate with programs to enhance your creative capabilities. So how do you attract the audience? You need to stand out from the crowd. Provide concept imagery for the event online, encourage guest participation by letting attendees vote for their favourite Christmas carols, or host costume competitions. Creating an engaging experience will draw in all kinds of guests, and when such an experience is memorable – you spark an emotional connection, and bring brand loyalty to the forefront of the imagination. High production events are infamous for waste, so pair creativity with a planet considerate mindset and plan ahead for a zero-waste experience. Sustainability is key in ensuring large scale events leave a positive impact and an impression on the world.
Seasonal events provide an opportunity for brands to express themselves in different ways – engaging with different demographics, providing alternative bonding experiences, and creating emotional connections. So next time you’re hosting one – think about neglecting the norm, and innovating with immersion.
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