The first often unspoken priority in event management is to break the ice. In fact marketers spare no effort to crack through the audience’s icy barrier. The reason is simple: the success of an event hinges on engaging its audience, and a coolly sluggish audience is hardly a receptive one.
Fortunately, with increasing number of digital solutions available in the market, ice breaker activity planning is not something to be dreaded for. Here are some popular options for breaking the ice and getting audiences connected:
Instagram hashtags
Instagram is already a popular tool for marketers, and can be a powerfully personal one in the hands of event management professionals. Hashtags can be used to encourage event participants to share their feelings about an event – and in the process, get to know one another and get into conversation. To foster emotional personalisation, some events even feature digital displays showing participants’ photos and contents via hashtags on Instagram.
Photo booths
Photos are widely considered the fastest and easiest way to personalise an event. Personal photos speak volumes of individual experience. In many of our events, delegates can add unique stamp messages to photos and share them via social media, giving the images (and the event) a further personal touch.
An edited version of this insight appeared in CEI Asia magazine on October 2017.
