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Some Magic and Some Glue

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make an event great?  Us too.  You see, after producing and hosting hundreds of events over the past eleven years, we’ve come...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make an event great? 


Us too. 


You see, after producing and hosting hundreds of events over the past eleven years, we’ve come to learn that there’s a LOT that goes into making an event, well more than an event. 


Because we believe an event is something people go to - and an experience is something that people will REMEMBER. And that’s what we all want, right? People to remember the event we put on? 


Back to what makes events and experiences great…


While there are about a million things that could go on such a list - Being a Fantastic Question Asker (which you can read about in a recent blog post, linked here) is at the very top of ours! 


But something interesting happened recently…


Back in February, we had the opportunity to partner with our friends at Red Hawt Creative to produce an experience for their client, Wolters Kluwer. And while we have been fortunate to work with these two great companies on previous events, there were a few new faces in the mix of planning the event. 


Here’s the interesting part (because we know you’re on pins and needles)...


During an initial planning meeting, Red Hawt Creative Producer Heather introduced Elevate to the Wolters Kluwer team in a way that has officially become our new favorite. 


She said, “This is Elevate Experiences, and they provide the magic and the glue.” 


Of course, she went on to explain what she meant by this, and we elaborated as she did. And that’s exactly what we want to share with you today.


1 - Because again, it’s our favorite analogy we’ve ever heard. And 2 - Because magic and glue are EXACTLY what it takes to produce a remarkable event that people will be talking about for years to come. 


So let’s dig in!




THE MAGIC…

Listen, we’re all about magic around here. So much so, our Founder & President is not only an avid Disney World go-er, but he also spent several months in 2022 taking online magic classes (yes, that’s really a thing)! 


So naturally, our eyes open and our ears perk up when we think about how we can add a SPARK of magic to any situation. 


When it comes to producing remarkable experiences, that’s exactly what the magic is - the remarkability! The “wow” factor. 


The magic in events is everything that makes attendees walk away feeling excited, invigorated, refreshed, or whatever it is you (the event planner) want them to feel. It’s the things that they get back to the office saying “Remember ______?” 


In super simple terms, the magic is what keeps the crowd engaged, participating, and actually enjoying the event they’re attending. 



Let’s talk about how we were able to bring the magic specifically at the event we mentioned earlier. This multi-day event included an evening award show with over 500 attendees. That’s a lot of folks to engage with, right!? If you’ve ever been to an event this size, you probably know that it can be a challenge to truly connect with this many people at once. 


So – how did we do it!? 


Well, by incorporating a simple yet intentional interactive game called “Name That Tune”, we were able to get almost everyone in the crowd laughing, participating, and having a whole lot of fun! And yes - there were even people OUT of their seats showing off their best dance moves. Not your average corporate event, right!? 😎That’s the magic. 


And to up-level this experience, we even selected songs that were aligned with the overall event theme. A sneaky little way to add some magic and keep attendees’ minds focused on the purpose of the gathering.


While this is a perfect example of just one piece of magic added to a specific experience, it also leads us to the next topic - THE GLUE! 


As the interactive game, hosted by our very own Billy Boughey came to an end, he was prepped and ready to welcome the next speaker to the stage in what we lovingly call a smooth transition. And that, friends, is the glue! 


By no surprise, THE GLUE is what holds everything together. It’s thinking through every single detail on behalf of our partners so that when it comes time for their event to go live, they can actually show up and participate (believe it or not, this rarely happens in the event world). 


Again, a specific example that pertains to the event we’ve been sharing is planning for every transition. Because no one likes an awkward transition, right? 


The glue also includes things like playing the right song at the right time, understanding exactly what time each piece of the event is happening, communicating clearly to both attendees and event leaders/speakers, making sure that table settings and chairs are perfectly aligned - and so much more.


The glue is what makes the event FEEL good and smooth to everyone and attendance, and what alleviates the stress from company/event leadership. 


IN SUMMARY: 


THE MAGIC: 

  • Crowd engagement
  • The WOW Factor 
  • Making people actually enjoy what they’re doing
  • Fun 
  • Leaving people with a “how’d they pull that off?” vibe

THE GLUE:

  • ALL the details
  • Transitions
  • Run of Show/Timing
  • Clear communication
  • Nothing slips through the cracks 

The magic and the glue have been what we offer to our clients and partners since day 1. But this new way of explaining and defining it has us fired up like never before! 


The coolest part about this concept? You can probably apply this to whatever it is that you do, as well. SO give it some thought! What is your magic? What is your glue?


Let us know in the comments below!


And if you’re ready to take your next event to the next level, we’d love to help. Give us a shout by clicking here! 

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