Experienced planners know the challenge. Attendees have seen it all, and executives are rarely eager to gamble on untested formats. Yet, evolving event design is crucial to creating memorable experiences that justify the investment of time and money.
In the latest Skift Meetings Backstage Briefing webinar, Liz Lathan, co-founder of Club Ichi, and Sven Boelhouwer, co-founder of Experience Experts, shared strategies for breaking out of regular event design constraints and using engaging, memorable formats, without compromising trust.
Based on that conversation, here are nine tips to help planners push the boundaries of event design.
1. Keep Objectives Front and Center
Clarity of purpose helps planners push back when event owners and sponsors request misaligned elements.
Creative formats only work if they serve the event’s goals. Boelhouwer said, “It really comes down to asking why. What do you want attendees to take home?”
He warned against ego-driven programming and encouraged planners to clarify the core objective with everyone involved.
2. Start With the Ridiculous, Scale to Reality
Brainstorming without limits helps planners land fresh, practical ideas, so start with bold ones before considering feasibility.
Lathan suggested starting the idea generation with something like, “What would be really fun is if the CEO was wearing a sequined suit and jumped out of an airplane and the parachute was branded?”
While unlikely, those extreme ideas often lead to scaled-down versions that feel fresh. Lathan added, “Just start with the ridiculous and then hone it down into something.”
Boelhouwer echoed her advice: Begin with “what if,” then refine until budget and reality align.
3. Focus Engagement Beyond Networking
Not all engagement is equal. For Lathan, true engagement comes from conversation and connection, not just what is happening on stage.
“If your whole event could have been watched on YouTube, why did I fly all the way there?”
She says planners should design formats that create interactions instead of passive consumption.
4. Consider Allowing Attendees to Shape Their Agenda
If you let attendees set the agenda, you ensure the focus is on their interests, and you don’t need to make assumptions about what they value. You just need to be comfortable with attendees choosing the topics and running their own sessions.
Lathan’s team developed Spontaneous Think Tanks, a peer-led format with sticky notes and volunteer facilitators to surface common challenges and create small group discussions.
These sessions can be insightful and don’t need big budgets or exotic venues. Removing barriers lets introverts step into leadership roles. The result is an event where the audience becomes the content.
“The coolest part was introverts telling us, ‘I never would have stood on stage, but I ended up leading a session.’”
5. Balance Innovation With Familiar Structure
Executives rarely sign off on a completely free-form event. Lathan advised integrating new elements alongside established formats.
“You don’t take over the entire event and say, ‘It’s an unconference.’ You pair keynotes and roundtables with a 90-minute curated session.”
Small steps lower resistance and let attendees test the waters without losing confidence.
6. Market the Promise, Not the Agenda
Unconventional formats can be a tough sell, so messaging matters. Event marketers will find it challenging to sell “an unscripted session,” while budget holders will likely see these as distractions rather than features that provide high ROI.
Boelhouwer advised focusing on outcomes, not agendas. He suggested making a clear attendee promise, e.g., “after the event, you will have met at least seven new people who will pick up the phone if you call them.”
That’s the kind of guarantee that convinces both attendees and budget holders.
7. Consider How the Setting Supports the Content
Comparing office politics with primate social behavior is a fascinating concept. How about doing so at a zoo while observing gorillas, bonobos, and monkeys? Now that’s memorable.
What about sitting in an orchestra pit where you can only hear the closest instruments and rely on the conductor — their leader — to bring the musical experience together?
These are two examples of sessions at the 2019 MPI European Meetings and Events Conference, which replaced traditional breakouts with “learning journeys.” Instead of listening to panels in ballrooms, attendees did the learning and networking outside traditional venues, but in spaces specifically suited to the topic.
Every learning journey took attendees outside of their comfort zone for good reason. From the primate enclosures of Rotterdam Zoo to the orchestra pit in Leiden, every topic was matched with an unusual but intentionally selected venue.
Boelhouwer shared the thinking behind creating eight concurrent experiences. “One of the design principles was that people would still talk about it years later.”
8. Look Behind the Scenes for Value
Powerful experiences often hide in plain sight. Lathan has turned behind-the-scenes access at convention and special event venues into an engagement strategy. She’s done it all, from aquariums in the Bahamas to bomb-sniffing dogs at a resort.
“All it takes is asking. They can only say no.” Venues are full of unseen stories that can transform the guest experience if planners are willing to explore.
9. Measure Success by Time Well Spent
Financial return doesn’t always capture the true value of events. Boelhouwer prefers a different lens. “It’s the return on time for the attendees,” he said. “Was it worth spending their time with you?” If participants leave feeling their hours were well spent, the event has succeeded.
Lathan added that time well spent equals engagement, measurable cognitively, behaviorally, or emotionally, depending on the objective. Defining the most important metric ensures planners can prove value without relying on vague satisfaction scores.
Event design doesn’t evolve through gimmicks. It evolves when planners blend boldness with intention, grounding creative risks in what attendees and stakeholders need. As Boelhouwer said, “An event is just a tool. It’s not a goal on its own.” The challenge is wielding that tool to surprise, connect, and create lasting moments.
