Jul 29.21

Notions on Networking

Each year, the Corporate Event Marketer Association hosts a summit for senior level event marketers to talk shop about the latest strategies and connect with like-minded peers. This year’s CEMA Summit was focused on lighting the path back to live events, but take it from us when we say there was another dominant theme in the room – #sociallyawkward.

Agency and brands recognized, as much as we are eager to be in the same space again, we may be a little rusty on our social etiquette. If we, the experts, are feeling that pressure, how can we expect our audiences to feel any different? Across multiple sessions, it was agreed – we need to unlock a new world of networking. We urged each other to explore pre-surveys, asking your audiences how they would like to network and respect the varying levels of individual comfort. Identify an algorithm that pairs company weaknesses with vendor strengths – untangle the complexity of finding partners who meet your needs. Set a coffee date – and rather than having Starbucks write your name on that cup, let’s pick topics that identify as easy icebreakers. We can all agree, a little help to make that hello more enjoyable takes us one step closer to being together again.

 

To learn how The XD Agency can develop award-winning – and more importantly, results-driven – experience design for your brand, email us at hello@xdagency.com.