Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll fi

But before jumping into the water, consider the factors upon which this seemingly no-brainer of a recommendation is based as many event planners have found themselves with the greatest sounding theme yet a small turnout or, possibly worse, a great crowd finding themselves bored and wondering what to do next.

There are a number of elements that when incorporated into an event help to make it a winner from the point of publicity through that very late hour when the last guests are finally told they really have to leave. These elements are the same whether it’s a casino night, clambake, or barnyard ho-down. These are the elements that will often make or break your event.

To a large extent, these elements are the same when planning for exhibitions when your success is dependent on making folks stop at your exhibit out of the scores of others competing for their attention. After all, we all know the feeling of manning a booth in which the only people in it are the spillover from the adjacent booth, don’t we?

Give ‘Em A Theme!

An event without a strong theme is nothing more than a function. Not all bad, but hardly the thing that makes memories. The road to excitement starts when your event is one people are curious or downright excited about and appealing themes will play a big part in establishing that level of interest! So where do you start?

Give ‘Em Something Exotic!

The folks in Boise, Idaho, might not get too excited about a Midwestern Barbeque Night but those of us here in the islands who’ve never ridden a cart filled with hay would delight at corn on the cob and pulled-pork off the spit in between throwing horseshoes and cow dung chips.

At the same time, offer our Midwestern friends an opportunity to enter a big wave surfing contest while their lei-decked friends with Mai-tais in hand cheer them on and you’ve got the first element of a successful event – a taste of the exotic!

Exotic is really anything that’s attractively different than that which we’re accustomed. Our ability to deliver something to our guests that puts them into another time or place for those few hours they’re with us will determine the excitement and appeal the event holds for them.

Give ‘Em A Challenge!

Horseshoes, cook-your-own, surfing contests, craps, poker, blackjack, and dance lessons all offer one thing in common – the opportunity for your guests to engage themselves in a challenge… not so much between themselves but with the activity. This is a key element to instant camaraderie allowing your guests a common and exciting subject to talk about.

Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll fin

To a large extent, these elements are the same when planning for exhibitions when your success is dependent on making folks stop at your exhibit out of the scores of others competing for their attention. After all, we all know the feeling of manning a booth in which the only people in it are the spillover from the adjacent booth, don’t we?

Give ‘Em A Theme!

An event without a strong theme is nothing more than a function. Not all bad, but hardly the thing that makes memories. The road to excitement starts when your event is one people are curious or downright excited about and appealing themes will play a big part in establishing that level of interest! So where do you start?

Give ‘Em Something Exotic!

The folks in Boise, Idaho, might not get too excited about a Midwestern Barbeque Night but those of us here in the islands who’ve never ridden a cart filled with hay would delight at corn on the cob and pulled-pork off the spit in between throwing horseshoes and cow dung chips.

At the same time, offer our Midwestern friends an opportunity to enter a big wave surfing contest while their lei-decked friends with Mai-tais in hand cheer them on and you’ve got the first element of a successful event – a taste of the exotic!

Exotic is really anything that’s attractively different than that which we’re accustomed. Our ability to deliver something to our guests that puts them into another time or place for those few hours they’re with us will determine the excitement and appeal the event holds for them.

Give ‘Em A Challenge!

Horseshoes, cook-your-own, surfing contests, craps, poker, blackjack, and dance lessons all offer one thing in common – the opportunity for your guests to engage themselves in a challenge… not so much between themselves but with the activity. This is a key element to instant camaraderie allowing your guests a common and exciting subject to talk about.

Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll fi

Give ‘Em Something Exotic!

The folks in Boise, Idaho, might not get too excited about a Midwestern Barbeque Night but those of us here in the islands who’ve never ridden a cart filled with hay would delight at corn on the cob and pulled-pork off the spit in between throwing horseshoes and cow dung chips.

At the same time, offer our Midwestern friends an opportunity to enter a big wave surfing contest while their lei-decked friends with Mai-tais in hand cheer them on and you’ve got the first element of a successful event – a taste of the exotic!

Exotic is really anything that’s attractively different than that which we’re accustomed. Our ability to deliver something to our guests that puts them into another time or place for those few hours they’re with us will determine the excitement and appeal the event holds for them.

Give ‘Em A Challenge!

Horseshoes, cook-your-own, surfing contests, craps, poker, blackjack, and dance lessons all offer one thing in common – the opportunity for your guests to engage themselves in a challenge… not so much between themselves but with the activity. This is a key element to instant camaraderie allowing your guests a common and exciting subject to talk about.

Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll fi

Exotic is really anything that’s attractively different than that which we’re accustomed. Our ability to deliver something to our guests that puts them into another time or place for those few hours they’re with us will determine the excitement and appeal the event holds for them.

Give ‘Em A Challenge!

Horseshoes, cook-your-own, surfing contests, craps, poker, blackjack, and dance lessons all offer one thing in common – the opportunity for your guests to engage themselves in a challenge… not so much between themselves but with the activity. This is a key element to instant camaraderie allowing your guests a common and exciting subject to talk about.

Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll fi

Selecting the activities is key and the best ones are those that are as fun to watch as they are to do! Consider walking into a large convention hall and hearing folks screaming and laughing as opposed to the drone of muted talk reflective of your high-classed cocktail parties and you have the difference between an activity and an event!

Give ‘Em A Setting They’ll Talk About!

Imagine walking into the site of your event and finding hay all over the floor… or sand… or discarded peanut shells. The setting you create is what allows you to take your guests to somewhere they’ll find enchanting---simply because it’s so different than the setting they left when coming into the room. Elements like coconut trees, hay lofts, and real live barbeque pits are all worth they’re weight in gold when combined with food, activities, and entertainment that tie in with the theme!

Settings which provide for photo-opportunities… the seven-foot tiki, Paul Bunyan’s stool, or a blackjack dealer’s uniform and table are all elements that encourage your guests to pose for pictures within your event. This is your best advertising for future event-planning contracts and will delight your guests at the same time.

Give ‘Em Food & Drink With A Flair!

While everyone knows to serve Mai-Tais and Pineapple Smoothies at a Hawaiian-Themed event, you can also get by with some pretty ordinary fare given a dose of creativity. Hot dogs with Hawaiian garnishes, tropical flavored snow cones, and some coconut-crusted fried shrimp are not at all Hawaiian food but will draw raves from your guests all the same!

Here again, the rule is simple. You might call it disruptive positioning, a strategy in which you present your guests with something close enough to familiar so they’ll like it yet different enough to take them out of that same zone of familiarity.

Give ‘Em Something To Take Home!

Events are more memorable when a take-home item is offered… especially when your guests are unlikely to have one already! How many do you know with their own tiki key-chain, shark’s tooth necklace, or Tahitian pareu? The more different your event is, the easier it will be to find something unique as a giveaway.

For those events with good photo-opportunities due to settings or attractions, photos are a good a give-away as anything. And, exhibitors will also appreciate the opportunity to exchange interesting giveaways for leads, too!

Write ‘Em Up!

After the event, take advantage of whatever additional publicity you can generate like in-house news releases or photos you can share with the company or online venues available to you. Chances are slim that any of the media will pick up on your event but the sponsors would probably be all too happy to publicize anything you can share chronicling the event—winners, candid photos, messages from guests, etc. After all, the success of the event you planned is their success, too!

Surfing Anyone?

So now, perhaps you’re ready to jump into the water with a Hawaiian surfing-themed event. For those of us living in Hawaii, pulling off an exciting Hawaii theme event is like trying to sell a fish saltwater. However, by adding a unique device like the video surf simulator,