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Summertime brings a vibrant array of festivals, outdoor events, fairs, concerts and more. This means hosting a successful event during this lively season requires careful planning and attention to detail to make it stand out.
Here, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share the factors that contribute to a flourishing summertime event, from engaging activities to a focus on the attendee experience, and the steps you’ll need to take to create one. By understanding the importance of these components and incorporating them into the planning process, event organizers can create an unforgettable experience that leaves attendees thrilled, satisfied and eagerly looking forward to the next one.
Incorporate Cutting-Edge Technology
Create a magical experience by incorporating futuristic, breakthrough technology. Festival-goers want to be amazed, shocked and surprised. Add an augmented reality stage, AI robot assistants, a drone aerial show, hologram artists or dynamic NFT tickets. You’ll leave an indelible impression, solidify your reputation as a trailblazer and build a devoted fan base that will keep coming back for more. – Shiv Madan, Moonwalk
Put Sustainability First
Make it as green as possible! Nobody likes wading through single-use plastic water bottles or hearing and smelling the pollution from generators. It’s incumbent on the organizers now more than ever to make sure they model sustainability so we can keep going to events well into the future and feel good about it. – Zena Harris, Green Spark Group
Have a Great Theme
If you are the organizer, create a fun and interesting theme and carry it throughout the event both visually and contextually. If you are an exhibitor, find ways to play on that theme, background or any engaging activities. This makes the event, or your part of it, feel cohesive. It demonstrates that you put thought into attendees’ experiences. – Sheila Dedenbach, Heavenly Sweet
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Create a Consistent, Shareable Message
Design the message you want your audience to share! For this, you need to carefully plan the events and the messaging that you want to deliver. Don’t throw the message at your attendees. Create a unified experience for all attendees and let them participate. This helps to build anticipation and hype for your event, and it also gets the attendees excited to be there. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day
Curate a Fun, Comfortable Environment
In the current trend of festivals nearly every weekend, it’s all about the community and culture of the festival versus having the biggest-name headliners. Give your audience a comfortable atmosphere that they can grow to trust instead of relying solely on the music. Pair that with great food and beverages and you have yourself a win! – Chris Bianchi, CB Entertainment
Use as Many Marketing Tools as Possible
Social media advertising, email campaigns, influencer collaborations and focused outreach to local media sources are some marketing methods you can use. By properly advertising, you can generate buzz and excitement, attract a bigger audience and ultimately drive higher income and success for your event. – Theo Sastre-Garau, NFTevening
Host Interactive Activities
Host an event where people can actually meet in person. Networking, speed rounds or niche experiences with a max cap would work well. All those in that experience will have similar interests. You could also try “show up and pair up” — i.e. a listening wall where two random people are paired to listen and then talk to each other about what they listened to. – Susan Johnston, New Media Film Festival®
Sell Unique Merch
Make sure there’s compelling and unique merch. You want your guests to return from your event telling their friends, “Look what I got at XYZ!” It’s also a way to keep the brand alive long after the event has ended. I still wish I had my personalized embroidered hat from the World’s Fair in the 60s! – Nancy A Shenker, theONswitch
