November 7, 2023
We have all heard the phrase and have seen even more iterations of this. As wellness means different things to different people, we thought we would give an example and a case study to help you understand the “Why Behind Wellness” and how it can impact your events ROI.
We recently planned a Sales Kick Off in Las Vegas for ~ 400 global attendees. This seemed like it could be a daunting task, yet we took it on by leveraging our starting point of the 3 M’s Mindfulness, Movement, and Meals. Here’s what that looked like. Mindfulness:
You may think this means meditation or the like, yet it’s so much bigger than that. We list this one first as everything is centered around your mind.
Agenda Design: No session lasted more than 30 minutes in order to ensure the attendees are not overwhelmed with information. The studies are all there that post Covid attention spans have shrunk, so should your keynotes.
Breaks: Breaks happened frequently and often in order to let attendees help process the information delivered as well as compare notes with their peers. Not everyone takes away the same things so this helped people have a better overall comprehension of the presentations.
10:00 AM Start time. WHAT!? Yes, and do you know what happened? People were extra attentive when they arrived at their sessions. They weren’t preoccupied with checking email or keeping deals moving through the pipeline. They had the time in the morning to check their emails and do whatever urgent tasks needed to be addressed. When they arrived they were fully present.
10:00 PM END Time. All company sponsored functions were finished by 10:00 PM. This empowered people to be able to get a great night's sleep while not experiencing FOMO or missing that precious time to build relationships with their teammates.
Movement:
Movement is going to be VERY different for everyone. Providing variety and a welcome atmosphere is mission critical here to drive participation. Here is how we did it:
Workouts: We offered multiple workouts each day including a bodyweight bootcamp, yoga, breathwork, and because the CRO likes to run, he led a run group each day. This was a special group as he did the run PRIOR to when the bootcamp was so he could do both!
While this was still a workout, this one is a little different. We asked the hotel to open the gym early! This event was in Las Vegas and their gyms are notorious for not opening until 7 or even 8 am. We had not only attendees from the west coast but Europe so I knew they would be up early. So, we asked for the gym to be open at 5 AM each day. We offered to cover the cost of the staff extended hours, which wasn’t much and VIOLA! People had the choice to do their own workouts as well!
Meeting Spaces: This is an unexpected, but welcome opportunity. We used a variety of seating options for people and encouraged them to change where they were seated between every session. We offered low soft seating at the front of the room, classroom style seating in the center, and standing tables at the back of the room. This gave people the opportunity to avoid being sedentary and keep their mind focused.
Meals: This is a big one, yet can be summarized in a simple way that an attendee shared with us on their feedback form: “Whenever I went to eat, it wasn’t just a sea of beige, there was color and it made me happy!”
Inclusion: There are a number of things that impact the way people select their food. Medical restrictions, religious reasons, and personal goals. Providing people with options to meet all those criteria help ensure your attendees feel welcome, seen, and cared for. Why do you think our parents always want to cook for us? It’s a way to show love.
Performance: There are a number of foods that will LITERALLY impact your attendee's ability to learn! Yes, what you feed your attendees can either support or undermine their ability to retain the information delivered from the stage.
Connections: We all have a memory around a shared meal with someone special. “Breaking Bread” together is a way to help people connect with each other over something that is a basic requirement for human life. So, try extending your meal breaks to 90 minutes to let those connections flourish!
None of this is rocket science but it made this 3-day conference with awards and parties feel energizing instead of draining. All this is seemingly well and good, but what did the attendees think? Here are their thoughts:
Attendance Size: 400
Average Overall NPS from 1 - 10: 9.4
Survey Participation Rate: 85%
If you are looking to make this kind of impact on your next meeting, event or conference, please feel free to reach out to us at OlympianMeeting.com or contact: david@EventMarketingAuthority.com
