The event experience journey

12 moments of impact in any event campaign journey

We’ve been talking lately about the necessity to create a more active world, for brands to embrace the experience economy, with the power of experiences.

And we know there are thousands of moments in any experience.

In our work to create meaningful real life active experiences we believe it is important to understand journeys, to focus our efforts on the most influential moments, to create optimal experiences.

We know these journeys are not consistent in timing, or are they linear. However, we do know that there is a pattern of phases which our participants go through, and that we can create moments of impact towards those ‘zero moments’ of decision making, and ultimately positively influence the attitude and behaviour of a participant.

The following are the phases and 12 moments of impact for you to consider, taken from industry insights, working with millions of participants, leading brands and organisations.

The inspire & commit phase

1. ‘the trigger’

The moment of inspiration, the trigger that ignites the interest in someone’s mind to explore this experience further. It most often comes from ‘word of mouth’, and will always involve some influence from others.

Knowing what creates this word of mouth, and the channels that ignite that communication is critical, and is something we understand deeply at Limelight.

Being able to create this moment of impact is where the journey begins.

2. ‘the consider’

Being able to influence in these moments is even more critical. Where that emotional trigger is met with some rationale decision making.

The potential barriers and the pains in life, that functional evaluation. We aim to minimise these impacts, and enhance the drivers, the gains that will meet your needs and desires.

3. ‘the deal breaker’

As a typical storyline goes, the ‘hero’ sets out on a journey, but always encounters conflict as they go. And we all experience this — the many reasons NOT do do it. Events are somewhat distinct to other products or services, in that they require ACTIVE investment of self, of commitment and energy, which in turn is what sets them apart, and makes them so engaging.

4. ‘the reconsider’

If we are doing our jobs well, the functional, emotional and social criteria will swing in our favour. Our hero continues on their journey with us. We offer ‘spurs’ which enhance the motivation, or combat the challenges, whether in ability, accessibility, or information.

5. ‘the commit’

Moving from the awareness to registration phase the event concepts moment of truth. For the participant / experiencer, and for the event creator. The more we can create positive touch points, eliminate pains and unnecessary touchpoints at this phase is crucial.

Registering formalises the commitment to the event experience. It needs to be as seamless and inspiring, as much as it is functional.

6. ‘the prep’

We see this as a crucial part of the journey with us.

An opportunity to engage across a period of time much greater than the event itself, and often the most rewarding phase of a journey. The training, learning, and growth is at the core of any experience.

Moments 7–12. from ‘the eve’ to ‘the experience’, ‘reflection & sharing’.

In my next blog we will go through the remaining 6 moments of impact on a event experiencers journey.

I hope you can see how these moments should influence your ‘back of house’ decisions, and create influential ‘touchpoints’ in your experience design thinking.

In our work we use ‘consumer journey maps’ to focus our design efforts and delivery decisions on how we can best influence each participants journey. We believe it is crucial in our experience design work that we understand the ‘user’ experience, or in our case the ‘experiencers’, as deeply as possible. This may come from internal knowledge, market observations, research and/or data. Have a think about the experience you are designing, and what insights you have on the best ways to influence these moments.

For more experience design thinking please visit www.limelightsports.com and all 12 moments of impact at www.activeworld.online.

CLICK for Part 2 …