the agenda
Expert Insight: Sharon Bonner
Planning Outside the Box
Staying ahead of trends and wowing at events are key, but how much is too much? What
is the balance of having innovative
programming while still keeping the
agenda and objectives of the event
on track? Eagle’s Flight, which has
been facilitating and developing
corporate events since 1988, used its
years of experience to help answer
these questions.
“Many of the event professionals
we partner with want to break the
mold of the same old corporate
event,” explained Sue Wigston, COO,
Eagle’s Flight. “However, when trying
a new approach, it can be riskier than
sticking to the tried-and-true meth-
ods. We compiled this infographic
to support event professionals in the
decision to try something new.”
The complete infographic can be
found here:
www.eaglesflight.com/
blog
Sharon Bonner, president and CEO of Van- couver, B.C.-based Bright Ideas Events, has been producing events for three decades, so when it comes to design and themes,
she’s seen fads come
and go and knows how
a theme can transform
an event.
Bonner published
The Bright Ideas
Adventure– 25 Years of
Event Excellence on her
website, which chronicles her event planning
career. As the company
turns 30 this year, a new
division specializing in
Event Consulting will launch in July 2018. www.
brightideasevents.com
Meetings Today: What are some of your most
popular and most-used themes for events?
Sharon Bonner: Believe it or not my most
popular theme is Viva Las Vegas. People really
seem to love the glitz and glam of Vegas, and
we go all out with the giant dice, ostrich feathers, flashing dice necklaces and customized
play money.
My second most popular theme is Around
the World. With the technology nowadays, the
world is a global network and I’m getting multiple requests to design events that showcases
a certain theme globally.
MT: What new trends are you seeing with
themes and design? And what has changed in
the past five years?
SB: Metals and natural products such as wood
are making a comeback. For the longest time
the more bling the better, but I have been seeing a real softening in event decor to include
more subtle tones and colors.
I would have to say that social media has
really changed the way I produce events.
When we structure our event plan in the initial
phases, we now address the social media
aspect into
the activity
and decor.
Guests want
to share their
experience,
so we need to
give them an
opportunity
to do so. Plus,
it offers the
client a tremendous branding
opportunity.
MT: How can
groups put a
new spin on
themes that
have been used
over time?
SB: A client of mine wanted a tropical theme
and mentioned a Hawaiian theme. I suggested we explore a tropical exotic destination in
Africa or India. This way we could bring the
same tropical elements but we could layer
that with unique theme decor, cuisine and
entertainment.
Meetings industry veteran and SPIN (Senior Planners Industry Network) founder Shawna Suckow released her third book,
Don’t Become Extinct. The book is based on the latest
research on buyer behavior and shares tools and
practices to be successful in the ever-changing world
of sales. The book is available on Amazon.com.
SOURCE: EAGLE’S FLIGHT
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TRADITIONAL CORPORATE EVENT IDEAS OUTSIDE-THE-BOX IDEAS
Easy to plan
Simple to set up
Can reuse old
agendas
Easy to sell to
decision-makers
Keynote
speeches
Experiential
learningLectures
Themed and
immersive
teambuilding
Slide
presentations
Interactive
education
Predictable for
attendees
Difficult to
measure impact/
calculate ROI
Low retention
rate
Not really
memorable
Difficult to
ensure quality
of speakers
A memorable
new experience
for attendees
Greater
employee
engagement
Higher retention
rate of the
conference
message
High on the
job impact
Promotes
collaboration
and team
building
Risky to try
something new
Advanced
planning
required
Must carefully
estimate costs
the first time
Convincing
decision-makers
is harder
More set-up time
