I attended two events recently — one in sports and the other in culture — but while I tip my hat to the organisers, given the clear effort and resources that were invested, there were some missed opportunities.

They were opportunities that, if taken, would have made for a much-improved experience for the audience, who should be top of mind for any event planner, public speaker, and/or marketing campaign organiser.

Audience experience is, in fact, a key success measure for any event and, as such, event managers should pull out all the stops to ensure that the audience gets good value for money and would attend their event again.

It begins with taking the time to know your audience — a key strategy I preach to my students as they develop their marketing strategy, which should include event management and planning.

Individuals often assume that marketing and event execution is just a big expenditure and is done haphazardly, but really there ought to be a strategy, which requires research.

Data types

As part of my weekly marketing discourse we delve into audience research, as well as cultural considerations, as we plan towards our endgame — which is to develop an effective marketing strategy for any event, programme, or other type of activation.

When researching our audience we must view them from various perspectives. Usually we look at their demographic information; notably their age, income, and location. However, we must also consider the lens of psychographic data, among them hobbies, taste in music, and religious persuasion. The third data type that we look at when conducting audience research is their click behaviour — website visits, social media preferences, shopping, and product adoption.

Once we can effectively conduct the audience research along these three dimensions then we are able to gain useful insights that will move them along the buyer’s journey to not only carry out the action marketers/organisers/planners intend them to take (conversion), but also repeat it (retention).

Preparation

I am called on periodically to do public speaking workshops and lectures and, again, central to any successful public presentation is the audience consideration in the embryonic stages of the presentation.

Such considerations help us to understand and to choose the language, tone, and approach to take when making a public presentation — scripted or unscripted, no matter the size of the audience.

Once the audience is considered, the speaker can then determine, for example, the appropriateness of a joke or note an alarming statistic to win over the audience at the start of the presentation. A common mistake speakers make is to think that s/he needs to use ‘big words’, as we say in Jamaica, so that our audience thinks we are smart. However, that is self-promotion and does nothing for the audience who may not understand, and therefore find the presentation less than useful.

The speaker’s aim should be to deliver in such a way as to have the content/product/experience resonate with the audience.

Culture is another significant consideration for successful campaigns and events. Culture is defined along various lines, including geographic location, language, history, and beliefs.

Attending last weekend’s events made it clear to me that the ‘know your audience’ concept was not seriously considered, based on how the events were executed. For instance, the sporting event needed to be more ‘Jamaicanised’. Although there are international standards, practices, and expectations, it needed to have been customised to fit the local culture. Some of the main cultural mishaps included the start time, parking logistics, and the duration of the event.

Further, the local entertainment value was missing; there were novel interactions with cameos and photo opportunities and giveaways, but even the choice of music to fit our local fabric could not be found. In this instance, the music was very foreign and so it was neither attractive nor enjoyable, in my opinion. It could have taken more cues from the culture to make it a more effective, more enjoyable experience.

The same observation was made for the cultural event, where an up-and-coming act was booked to perform his original songs. Of course, the audience did not appreciate this. Neither did they appreciate the opera performer, who was brought in as part of the entertainment package. While these performers are good at their craft, the audience did not connect with them, given the time of day, place, and the type of event.

It was clear to me that the organisers of the two events put a lot of sweat equity into their planning and execution — not to mention the financial backing from sponsors, who want bang for their buck. Still, their failure to ‘read the room’, through audience research, resulted in a less-than-impressive audience experience.

Stephen Davidson is a marketing communications specialist and a digital marketing trainer. You can contact him at swmdavidson@gmail.com.

STEPHEN DAVIDSON