Elements like projection mapping and colored lighting, among others, were implemented to engage attendees during Housing First Minnesota’s Big Night awards event. Courtesy of Nicole Coon

Walk into any association meeting or event and you’re bound to see a diverse group of individuals — from suit-donning executives carrying leather-bound bags, to sandal wearing Gen-Zers with iPads in hand, to 40-year-old millennials lugging their laptops from session to session. You are also likely to see something else. Various creative visuals that deliver powerful messages that both motivate and excite this diverse group of attendees. In fact, finding the ideal visuals to engage attendees is part art, part science and requires due diligence on the part of today’s meeting planners.

Through her extensive meeting planning career and work with organizations, Amy-Marie Lemanski, owner and senior meeting and event manager at AML Events, has long recognized that today’s attendees respond well to event tools that provide unique visuals. She also recognizes how today’s diverse audience members respond to visuals in various ways.

“This next generation of attendees come from an environment of screens and much shorter attention spans so they need a constant ‘wow-effect’ in order to keep them interested and engaged,” Lemanski said. “They are in a perpetual mode of ‘what’s next.’”

As a result, today’s planners are trying to encourage stakeholders at associations to move away from the talking head at the podium. They recognize that it’s no longer an effective format when it comes to conferences.

“More TED-talk style format or using LED walls versus regular screens are more impactful as well,” Lemanski said. LED walls and the advancement of projection capabilities allow for the ability to go beyond the good ‘ole PowerPoint presentation. Digideck, Prezi or Canva have been used to create more animated presentations, but even they will eventually be overtaken by newer platforms.

As a meeting producer and event planner with over 25 years of experience in meetings, incentive programs, tradeshows, fundraisers, team-building events, holiday parties and other special events, Dana Ellis, president & CEO of Ellis International, is well versed in all phases of meeting and event management and production services. As such, Ellis often engages production companies to help her team create an overall theme for an event and include color and visuals along with the messaging.

“We feel like creating a ‘wow’ moment when you walk in the ballroom, along with a theme to the messaging, helps attendees remember the content and feel like it’s more of an experience rather than just another meeting,” Ellis said.

There are definitely trends that association meeting planners are embracing when using visuals in unique and interesting ways. For example, Ellis is using LED walls instead of screens and LCD projectors in main stage productions and she and her team at Ellis International are working on using more visuals and story-telling in their general sessions rather than “death by PowerPoint.”

“One example last year was a high-level executive who told the story about how he made it through basic training in the Marine Corps, which was a tough challenge that not all can complete. Instead of showing graphs and charts about their own sales goals, we showed only images on the screen,” Ellis said. “He used story-telling to draw a parallel between them and to let them know that anything is achievable. The same room totally transformed for the awards night using lighting, color, images on the LED walls and room décor to look like a Peruvian village. It was an experience!”

Using LED walls rather than screen/projectors means that Ellis has to work out the content for the meeting in advance and figure out what all of the visuals are well in advance since they are not just showing a PowerPoint on these walls.

“It means we are using the software Millumin to build content for the LED walls, which makes all of the content essentially into video content,” Ellis said. “It’s something we have to really work with the meeting owners and speakers to get them on board in advance of the meeting, but when they jump on board with the idea, it really uplevels the entire event.”

For the past nine years, Jumi Aluko, event planner and owner of Jumi Aluko Consulting, had produced high-quality events by conceptualizing and executing each client’s vision, including incorporating innovative visuals to capture attendees’ attention.

“Attendees respond well to event tools that provide unique visuals because they contribute to the essence of what draws people to events — environments that are dynamic, engaging and memorable,” Aluko said. “No one is going to get excited about an event that presents itself in a boring way. They’ll skip it, or if they do attend, they likely won’t return the next year.”

From the moment an attendee sees an event promotion or invitation, a first impression is made. Attendees automatically assume that the event will be engaging, forward thinking, fun, and with high energy, which leads to anticipation building for the additional visual experiences the event is likely to have. And this is what motivates people to leave their homes and attend an event. They want to know that it’s going to be worthwhile, and that starts from their first interaction with anything related to that event.

Live illustration is something Aluko has seen recently that she found absolutely captivating. This particular company specializes in visual note-taking, transforming conversations like keynotes, panels and Q&As into real-time drawings.

“I really love this approach because it’s innovative and not only helps people retain information, but also helps attendees process and remember details for later use, ultimately forming a positive association with the event,” Aluko said. “Implementing this visual experience during events is so much more dynamic than just watching slides, taking notes and potentially missing key information. With live illustration, you’re not only bringing a unique visual demonstration to the event  but you’re also ensuring the attendees remain fully engaged in the moment.”

Aluko recently attended a creator conference where the speaker discussed topics such as generative art, AI techniques and the future of immersive events. The highlight was a live visual installation that demonstrated how art can be created through sound and movement. This showcase illustrated how different visual presentations can be integrated into events – whether as a standalone activation or as a full immersive experience.

“Incorporating visual presentations like this is beneficial for companies whose audiences value immersive and innovative experiences,” Aluko said. It lends itself to accomplishing the ultimate goal of capturing attendee attention and generating excitement about both the ongoing event and future events.

Nicole Coon, CMP is the founder of Greet, LLC and the associate executive director at Global Management Partners, where she manages the day-to-day operations of the association, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

During her decades long experience as a meeting planner, Coon recognizes that attendees respond well to event tools that provide unique visuals in that many individuals are visual learners — it helps reinforce the content/messaging and provides better retention later. Also, as Coon explained, unique visuals evoke an emotion; if the audience is connected emotionally, they will resonate on a deeper level with the message and brand.

“A few ways I’m seeing association meeting planners (and planners in general) use visuals in unique and interesting ways include:

• Projection mapping – large-scale screens/video walls for a seamless display versus multiple screens and utilizing picture-in-picture when showing different content.
• Motion backgrounds
• Lighting – darker general sessions and breakouts with more colored lighting around the room. Some tools that Coons and others in the industry have used to create key visual presentations to truly engage attendees include:
• Canva – Online graphic design tool. Used to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.
• Mentimeter – Unique presentations with interactive feedback.
• Kahoot – A game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work and home.
• Slido – The ultimate Q&A and polling platform for live and virtual meetings and events.
• Capcut – Easy-to-use video editor.
• QR Codes
• WebAIM guidelines – To help prepare and present accessible slides.

A Continuous Evolution

The advancement and evolution of the technological tools used within the meetings environment continues,  especially in the area of visuals. As Ellis points out, there are so many options outside of PowerPoint now. Mac users love Keynote, some people love Prezi and many more love LED.

“LED signage is also great, and I love to use that where possible,” Ellis said. There are a few stumbling blocks to evolving meeting content creation. One is the availability of free high-speed internet at the venue where you are holding your meeting. This can compromise the use of Prezi, for example, which works best when online (an offline version is available). The other issue is that not all clients are willing to ask for help creating or updating their content and just assume that they have to do their own PowerPoint and bring it with them, or they want to control their own content,” said Ellis.

For example, event producers can’t build Millumin video content two minutes before someone is supposed to go on stage, it needs to be done before the meeting, and maybe tweak only if needed on site. Ellis has been up all night during a meeting with an executive and a content manager to build content for the executive who wouldn’t meet with Ellis and her team in advance of the event because they didn’t see the point.

“Once they saw what we had been talking about in person and the amount of work it took to build it on site, he apologized to us,” Ellis said. “Now he is the first one to get us his ideas.”

Aluko pointed out that in today’s landscape, today’s association planners have so many tools at their disposal, many of which are a nice mix of familiar tools that now have enhanced features, as well as new cutting-edge tools with dramatic capabilities that can transport an individual to an alternate reality. Aluko is personally a fan of those tech tools that have stood the test of time but now have advanced features that are keeping up-to-speed with the evolving need for engaging visuals.

“Together, with newer groundbreaking tech, they are allowing us to create experiences that have lasting positive impacts on our attendees,” Aluko said.

Exciting Progression

Looking ahead, visuals and meeting content are intertwined and will continue to evolve but at a slow rate. The reasons are varied. They rely on meeting managers and speakers to be willing to try something new and venues to upgrade their systems; for AV companies to update their gear and for clients to consider upgrading their budgets for the professionals to help them with these things.

“I don’t think we will go back from the idea of creating more of an experience for everyone who attends our meetings,” Ellis said. “I also see more of a want and need for interactivity and connection. People want to be part of the conversation and be heard. They want to meet and network with others in their company/association. Our job is to find ways to help them feel good about spending time away from their normal job and from their home when they attend our events. And using visuals, themes and being very intentional about the meeting content helps us to do this.”

And Aluko believes that, while the sky’s the limit for the future of visuals in the meeting and event process, what’s going to be important is personalizing the visuals for an event’s respective audiences. And it’s going to be critical to focus on this personalization aspect.

“As planners, we have to read the room — we have to know who is attending the event and their level of tolerance for the style of visuals they want to see,” Aluko said. “An audience of younger, tech-forward attendees are different from an audience of older generation educators, so we have to cater to each respective audience and make sure the visuals align with their preferences.”

Coon also envisions the increased use and adoption of AI within the visual elements of association meetings and events. Another upcoming trends is the greater advancement of VR, AR and holograms, and seeing those types of visuals become mainstream at meetings and events.

“With the rise of additional technology and tools, I think more robust data and analytics will be demanded from those tools. The average attention span continues to decrease, presenters will continually have to adjust focus and attention-grabbing tactics in their presentations as they also compete with audiences multitasking on other devices,” Coon said. “Along with this, audiences will also crave the opportunity to be given a break from the stimulation and presenters will need to incorporate other avenues to convey their content.” | AC&F |