GATHER: The Business of Coming Together
My new book is out, celebrating the fascinating work that goes into creating events for business audiences. In equal parts how-to, manifesto and memoir, the book provides inspiration and strategies for successful design of corporate events, informed by the human needs behind any gathering, whether with family and colleagues, friends and lovers.
Gather: The Business of Coming Together delves into myriad aspects of an event, from experiential design and storytelling to audience interaction and production management. It paints a complete picture of the how events are engineered to affect audiences, inspire change and drive strategic business outcomes.
A few choice nuggets:
“Think about how you’ve arrived at personal gatherings: walking into a vast stadium alive with 50,000 roaring fans, taking the first steps down the flower-lined aisle toward the altar, bringing a beer to your dad in his workshop out back. How can you translate these visceral experiences into your business event? What will be an attendee’s first interaction with your environment?”
“In designing experiences for humans, imagine that your brand or happening exhibits human qualities. Ask yourself a few questions to better understand how and why attendees will fall in love. And then, whenever possible, let your brand breathe with those traits, consistently.”
“The room took on the air of a prison riot. Stunned, I turned to the executive producer: ‘We gotta call security!’ He didn’t flinch. I said it again. He looked at me like, ‘What, you want to arrest our client?’”
Binderama 