Cooking in the experiential lab

Here’s the thing – B2B events can no longer just be about putting a pop up banner in front of a table and expecting prospects to be lured in by the dead-eyed stare of your sales people. Just like any other piece of marketing you need to engage, excite and inspire your audience.

And with 48% of people saying face-to-face events are more valuable than two years ago and the average event marketing budget increasing by 6.8% – now is the time for businesses to make their events a real experience that people want to engage with.

That’s why last week we hosted ‘Experiential Lab’ at our offices – showing off some of the most exciting and innovative technologies and experiences in the events space.

Here’s how the day panned out… 

After being greeted by Oscar the Robot and receiving their personalised name Polaroid badges, our guests were invited to explore five ‘zones’ in the Earnest office – each run by a supplier in the events and experiential industry.

The first zone, run by our friends The Gastromony Guys, gave attendees a new kind of tasting experience. In the morning miracle berries were used to change sour lemons into sweet treats and in the afternoon we saw how the taste of wine can be changed by the power of music.

In zone two Surround Vision took us into another world with their VR headsets – a particular favourite being the immersive experience used to gain investment for the Great Green Wall from the UN.

Zone three showed off another 3D immersive experience – this time using the power of audio. Mixed Immersion demonstrated how how sound can take you to another place in your mind – a church, a forest, even the moon. There is huge potential for brands to use ‘immersive sound’ as part of their experiential activity and one to keep an eye on. –

In the penultimate zone, attendees were introduced to Pavegen – the company who are changing the face of energy. While Pavegen tiles are helping change the planet, they handily also can be used at events – inviting people to walk, jump, and run on the tiles as part of a game. –

Finally guests were introduced to Blippar, the augmented reality app that can bring print alive. With mobile being so prevalent at events today – apps like Blippar and Event Wallet that were used on the day are key to bridging to gap between digital and face to face.

The day finished off with a round of nitro ice creams and a wrap up on how marketers can look forward to the future of their events, complete with lots of feisty debate.

There is clearly a huge opportunity for brands to use experiential at events and our Lab event was just a teaser. To find out more about how you can give your events a kick speak to our queen of events and experiential, Miss Chloe Payne on events@earnest-agency.com