Why brands need events: A lesson from Helen Mirren

The Media Group MD, Jon Gordon, shares some thoughts on why events play such a vital role in making a brand stick in a consumer’s mind and why we need them to create memorable, life-long loyalty.

Have I seen this before?

I heard an interview over the summer with Helen Mirren, talking about the importance of theatre. She said something which stuck with me. More than once, she’d found herself halfway through watching a movie and realised she’d watched it before – but had forgotten all about it. She then compared this to going to a live theatre performance – although she’d been to many plays, musicals and performances to count, she could remember every single one.

It made me smile as I realised Helen had summed up exactly why I love making events and why we’ve built a company that gets paid to make them for our clients. It’s because events count, they matter, they change things – and because they stick with the people who attend them.

Why? I think it’s because live experiences are so memorable, so immersive, that you never really forget them. Think about it. Having a person right in front of you, performing for your attention is an unusual, unforgettable experience.

Real-life vs Zoom

Our team have enjoyed making video conferencing part of our new everyday. I love video. As an online, screen-based option there is no better way than video to grab attention, to raise awareness and inspire confidence.

We’ve had some real success with video conferencing, streaming and seminars too – because while the world is virtually normal, providing well run, professional delivery still means we can give people the best experiences possible. And the numbers you can hit are, in some cases, mind blowing.

But, when it comes to engaging with someone, to making them remember, to making them care about you, the physical event wins every time. People committing their time to your event is important. Being in a venue, experiencing the sights, sounds, smells is special. And it always will be. Live performance is unforgettable. Whether you are interviewing for a new job, or you’re one of a 1000 seats in a conference venue, or one 90,000 in a stadium, the feeling that another person is there live, performing for you, is unforgettable.

Yep – Teams, Hangout and Zoom are all great in their own way. But nothing, absolutely nothing beats the real thing. I can’t wait to see the event industry open up again – and I know that, when the time’s right, we’ll be ready to get back out there.

Looking to the future

When events do come back, they will look different than before. But that’s where we get creative. We call upon experience in making things happen to create safe, memorable moments. And I can’t wait to explore the possibilities of connecting events audiences and speakers through the now familiar virtual platforms. These hybrid virtual/normal events will be our future – and they will be huge!

So if you’re starting to think about planning your events for 2021, 2022 and beyond and fancy a chat about what they might look like, then drop us a line.