Dan Walker leads the team of content producers and production managers at Ashfield Meetings and Events, an event organizer and producer specializing in the healthcare industry. Today we talk about how creativity is key to creating unforgettable events.
May 31, 2019
We understand the power of play, and how a structured game can be used to entertain and educate – changing behaviours, creating a closer bond between colleagues, and teaching new skills or refining existing ones.
The creative car park was fun; maximising every inch of space available to us in the venue to create a more immersive event experience for all who attended. It created a sense of empowerment so that each of the client’s individual business units were given the autonomy to design and run breakout sessions independently. These sessions gave the different units an opportunity to present their work and highlight their contribution to the five strategic priorities to their colleagues through non-traditional formats.
So whether we’re designing an escape room activity, developing a strategic game to enhance communication skills, aligning a team challenge with strategic business objectives, planning a destination-based get-together or simply arranging a fun and memorable exercise, we aim to involve participants with intent – immersing, engaging and exciting them throughout.
Fun, pleasure, excitement – call it what you will, the essential ingredient in any team-building endeavour is engagement. Fun has a positive effect on motivation levels, determining what we learn and how much we retain. Learning isn’t a one-off event. It requires repetition and dedication. If the experience is fun, learners will stay curious and keep coming back for more. If the learning isn’t fun, it’s less likely the session will be memorable and therefore effective.
If the learning isn’t fun, it’s less likely the session will be memorable and therefore effective.
Research. We need to get under the skin of the problem / sector / client to really understand the purpose behind the brief and then establish what our response may be. Einstein once said (paraphrased), ‘ If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.’ Five minutes is rarely enough, but premise is correct.
To kick things off, we’ll dig in and find out what’s important to you, then add a dash of our creative flair to the mix. Loaded with ideas and energy, we’ll start to cultivate and craft our concepts. We use our wealth of event history and knowhow to pin down the most impactful and absorbing ideas to ensure every piece of the puzzle locks in place.
Outside influence and a culture that’s open to creativity is the key to fresh thinking.
A healthy workplace that pays attention to staff wellbeing is the key to positive energy and we place great emphasis on how we inspire our teams and encourage collaboration amongst staff, between teams and inter-division. Our spaces provide an inspirational and motivating environment for individuals to grow and develop, whilst retaining the fun, laid-back vibes of a modern, progressive agency.
A collaborative culture can be formed by building strong ties with long-standing partners; turning them from passive suppliers into engaged contributors.
Understanding the culture of the company you are working with, and the dynamic of the team with whom you are developing the content is vital. Our culture, and approach is rooted in the work which we deliver but any session, activity or event needs to reflect that of the audience. There is nothing wrong with asking people to step outside of their comfort zone but you want the end results to connect with the company values they represent in order to get them on board.
