London & Partners (London’s Convention Bureau) launched on April 29 a new business tourism campaign called “Love the Event, Love the Experience.” It is based on the insight that many of the top 50 convention bureaus focus on the rational rather than creative benefits of hosting an event within their destination.
To launch the campaign, over 400 event planners were surveyed on whether the planning of events is dominated by rational left-brained or emotional right-brained thinkers. Under 40 percent of respondents were shown to be right-brain thinkers – despite the majority believing they have a creative approach to their work.
Just 39 percent of event planners are creative thinkers despite the majority believing they have a creative approach to their work, according to new research released by London & Partners, the official convention bureau for London, in partnership with MICEBOOK.com.
The research, which was developed to mark the launch of the London Convention Bureau’s “Love the Event, Love the Experience” campaign, also revealed that while 53 percent of event professionals feel under pressure to deliver innovative and pioneering events, less than a third of respondents said that risk-taking is encouraged by their organization. When questioned about how they foster creativity within their businesses, just 34 percent said that they were allowed free time to think, but only 32 percent agreed that creative excellence is rewarded by their organizations.
The study highlighted that global event planners must push themselves to embed creativity within their workplaces in order to deliver bold, dynamic events.
Tracy Halliwell, Director of Business Tourism & Major Events at London & Partners, underlined the importance of bridging the gap between rational and emotional skill-sets in event-planning.
“Ours is an industry within which logic and in-depth planning are absolutely critical to successful outcomes,” Halliwell remarked. “Creativity and innovation are growing ever more important as clients demand event activations that set them apart from their competitors and deliver enduring memories for consumers. The experience itself is now what drives the event, but it’s only by combining pioneering ideas with concrete solutions that we can truly surprise and delight.”
Leonard Sommer, Chief Creative Officer at SOMMER+SOMMER, the creative agency that developed the 30-Second Brain Test, commented on the importance of creativity to events.
“An event without an extraordinary experience certainly has less impact as memory systems in the brain are not fully activated,” said Sommer. “To ensure an event leaves a lasting brand impression, event planners need to incorporate unique emotional experiences, both to make them memorable and to help overarching messages resonate”.
Focusing on what constrains creativity within the event industry, two-thirds of those surveyed blamed lack of time with another 53 percent blaming budget limitations. However, three-quarters of those surveyed believe that their team members are free to deliver creative ideas and almost half said that within their businesses, ideas are not judged at an early stage.
Inspired by the need for event planners to combine both left and right-brain thinking to do their job effectively, London & Partners’ “Love the Event, Love the Experience” campaign was developed.
“Event planners will always consider the rational factors when organizing an event, but they are also human, so emotion will also influence their choices,” Halliwell added. “’Love the Event, Love the Experience’ uses this insight to provide planners with the tools they need to deliver the logical, rational side of an event, whilst also showcasing the innovation within London which can deliver world-leading events that can really wow audiences.”
London & Partners will host a Creative Thinking session on stand F400 at IMEX Frankfurt on May 19.
Take the 30-Second Brain Test at conventionbureau.london.
