Reflecting on our past creative endeavours when ideating an event concept or improving an existing event, we prioritised depth over breadth. Immersing ourselves fully in the theme, industry or target market consistently yielded the most innovative ideas for our events.
Creativity operates within a framework. Below, you'll find steps to assist you in ideating events that are exciting, engaging, and immersive.
Research
Creativity often requires a lot of research for several reasons:
Inspiration: Research exposes your team to new ideas, perspectives, and information that can spark inspiration and ignite the creative process. By exploring diverse sources about your industry, and other events and delving into different topics, your team can uncover unique insights that fuel their creative power for your next event.
Understanding the Subject Matter: To effectively express event ideas or concepts creatively, it's essential to have a deep understanding of your industry. Research will assist your team gain knowledge and insights into the industry they are exploring, enabling them to create more informed and meaningful connections.
Validation: Research helps you validate your event ideas and concepts by providing evidence, data, and examples that support your vision. By conducting thorough research, your team can ensure that their work is grounded in reality and resonates with your target audience.
Refinement: Research enables you to refine your event ideas and concepts through experimentation, iteration, and feedback. By continuously exploring and testing different approaches, your event can evolve and achieve greater levels of innovation.
Orange Juice activation station that we created for an old orchard land and development.
Brainstorm
Brainstorming event ideas is an exciting and collaborative process that requires an open and robust discussion about your event. Looking at some harsh truths to dissect, create and re-build your event.
Brainstorming Session: Gather a diverse group of stakeholders, including event planners, marketers, creatives, and relevant team members, for brainstorming sessions. Encourage open dialogue and creative thinking by setting aside dedicated time to generate and share ideas collectively.
Mind Mapping: Use mind mapping techniques to visually organise and explore different aspects of the event idea. Start with a central theme or concept and branch out to identify related elements, themes, and potential activities. This visual approach can help stimulate creativity and uncover new connections.
SWOT Analysis: Conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to assess the feasibility and viability of potential event idea. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each activity within the event, as well as the opportunities and threats associated with implementing them. This analytical approach can help prioritise ideas based on their potential impact and feasibility.
Mock-ups and Feedback: Develop mock-ups of event concepts to visualise and test different ideas before committing to a final plan. This could involve creating storyboards, sketches, or digital mock-ups to illustrate the event experience and gather feedback from stakeholders.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams within your organisation or partner with external stakeholders, such as vendors, sponsors, or industry experts, to brainstorm event ideas. Drawing on diverse perspectives and expertise can enrich the brainstorming process and lead to more creative and innovative event concepts and activities.
Audience Engagement: If you are an existing event, involve your target audience in the brainstorming process by conducting surveys, focus groups, or interactive workshops to gather insights, preferences, and feedback. Understanding the needs and preferences of your audience can help tailor event ideas to better meet their expectations and interests.
Upside Down House at Pawsitive Steps 2024 - Fundraising Festival for one of our clients
Get Inspired
Getting inspired for a creative brainstorming session for an event involves immersing yourself in diverse sources of inspiration and creating the right environment for creativity to flourish. Here are some tips to help you get inspired:
Immersion: Immerse yourself in experiences that stimulate creativity and ignite your imagination. Attend relevant events, exhibitions, workshops, and performances to observe different approaches, trends, and creative techniques firsthand. Engage with artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and other creative professionals to exchange ideas and perspectives.
Mindfulness: Clear your mind, reduce stress, and enhance your focus and creativity. Practice deep breathing techniques and visualisation. Take regular breaks, go for walks in nature, or spend time in quiet reflection to recharge your creative energy and generate fresh ideas for your event.
Playfulness: Cultivate a playful and experimental mindset by embracing curiosity, exploration, and risk-taking during the brainstorming process. Encourage creative experimentation, unconventional thinking, and idea generation without judgment or limitations.
Environment: Create a conducive environment for creativity by setting up a comfortable and inspiring workspace. Surround yourself with stimulating materials, such as art supplies, mood boards, inspirational quotes, or visual stimuli, to fuel your imagination and trigger creative thinking.
Reflection: Reflect on your own experiences, interests, passions, and values to uncover personal insights and inspirations that can inform your creative brainstorming process. Keep a notebook or digital notebook to capture ideas, observations, and inspirations as they arise, and revisit them regularly for inspiration and guidance.
By incorporating these strategies into the creation and brainstorming process for your next event, you'll ensure an unparalleled experience that enhances all the fantastic elements the event brings to our business, teams, stakeholders, and clients.
To book a brainstorming session with our team, contact us today at info@iconcorpevents.com.