A real "event" differs from a simple meeting or conference in one very important factor: the experience value. That’s why every business event needs a specific wow! factor. A great location, a delicious catering, a creative decoration – all these can increase the experience factor of a business or corporate event. In essence, however, it is always the program highlights that primarily boost the experience value.
Program highlights do not always have to take place frontally on the big stage. They can also be smaller performances in the midst of the audience or "hands-on" activities in which every visitor can actively participate. Perfect for this are exciting challenges that the event organizer sets for the attendees. A World Record attempt is one of the most exciting challenges in the context of customer or employee events.
A current example was provided by the luxury hotel resort Atlantis, The Palm (Dubai), and the well-known champagne brand Moët & Chandon, on New Year’s Eve. As a joint project, they built the largest drinking glass pyramid in the world (see the article at marketingScout.com). The media attention for the World Record Event was huge, the guests on site were excited and both brands, Atlantis, The Palm, as well as Moët & Chandon, were able to create a new, emotional experience for their target groups.
However, a world record challenge is not only a perfect event highlight from the point of view of the visitors, but also for the Event Organizer, due to the following reasons:
- Visitor magnet: World Record challenges usually activate a large number of people who want to be a part of the project (including social media influencers).
- Unique visitor experience: The organizer offers the audience an (unforgettable) opportunity to be part of something great / unique. This has a positive effect on the impact of the event and increases sympathy for the organizer’s company or brand.
- Doing good: If the organizer ties the world record project to charity (collecting donations), this helps the company/brand achieve its CSR goals.
- Attention booster for new products: When a product launch is combined with an official record attempt, the new product receives significantly more attention than if it is only presented (virtually or in real life) or advertised in a commercial.
- Cross-media storytelling: A record attempt always offers the opportunity to tell an interesting story – across all communication channels. Who came up with the idea? Why is this particular record being attempted? How does the record attempt work? When? Where? What obstacles must be overcome? The story can be prepared for different media, e.g. as a social media video clip, a podcast interview, a report in a customer magazine, a blog post series in advance of the event, etc.
- Follow-up events (series capability): An exciting world record challenge can be continued year after year – the company / brand can try to break its own record or set itself a similar task. This creates early anticipation for the follow-up event.
However, in order to turn a world record challenge into a real event highlight, the organizer must prepare the project well in advance. Because in order to become a real event highlight, the record attempt should be officially monitored and certified. The Guinness World Records Ltd., which also publishes the "Guinness World Records Book," is definitely the right place to start.
Anyone who wants to start a world record challenge and wants to have it confirmed by the Guinness World Records Team must apply online in good time before the record attempt. But not all applications are accepted. Among other things, there is a catalog of topics that are not suitable for a record attempt. e.g. records with an impact on the environment, such as releasing as many party balloons as possible. There is also a time/capacity limit on the part of Guinness World Records Ltd. Approximately 60,000 new project requests are received every year. These cannot all be processed within the available time budget. However, those who fall outside the deadline are given a new time slot in which a new application is possible.
Image: New world record – The world’s largest drinking glass pyramid – Atlantis, The Palm (Dubai) and Moët & Chandon X Guinness World Records 2022 (Source: marketingScout.com)
Related topics:
Event, event ideas, business event, corporate event, event highlight, wow factor, experience factor, brand experience, enthusiasm factor, visitor integration, visitor involvement, visitor activation, team event, team challenge, challenge, record, record attempt, world record, Guinness World Records, Guinness World Records book
Author (Copyrights): eventmasterbook.com editorial team (Jan 10, 2022)
(This article was translated from the German language. Please excuse any errors. The original text can be found at: eventmasterbook.de/magazin)
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