Welcome to the first in a series of articles where I look into the experience elements of the events I either attend or plan.
In the perfect world, we would include all of the elements needed to design the perfect experience (see the article “Back to school: Experience Management”)…but most of us live in the real world, not the perfect world, so it might not always be possible to include all these elements in your event.
This is why I am making this new series, ExEl – short for Experience Element – where I point out ways I myself or other event designers have included experience elements in an event. It will probably be about how, where and how many elements are included. Only time will tell.
‘The Tower’ at IDA Conference
This first article in the series is about an event I attended last week – a client evening at IDA Conference, which is part of the organization that I work for (though not the same part as the one I work at), and I will focus on the experience space this time.
At IDA Conference, which is located right on the water front of Copenhagen Harbor, there is a beautiful meeting space called ‘The Tower’ where the event took place, and they had this event to show clients the endless possibilities for the room, the delicious food, and the fantastic ambience there.
The event began with a super-delicious drink invented by one of the waiters there, which we had while listening to a talk by the Danish musician, Jimmy Jørgensen. He talked about his tough life and sang a few songs for us. Very intimate and touching.
After this, we had the most delicious dinner – the chefs at IDA Conference are really, really fantastic!
This 360 degree picture shows the view from ‘The Tower’ – I apologize for the quality of the photo.
The space
What I would like to focus on in regard to this event is the experience space, and as you might remember, the experience space is not only the room itself but also the coherence of the room together with the other attendees and the hosts.
The room
First of all, the view is BEAUTIFUL. It was a nice evening, and you have a 180-degree view of the inner harbor of Copenhagen with the calm waters and the buildings on the other side of the harbor sparkling in the sunset.
Second, the room itself is cozy and elegant with glass and steel trimmings – I understand why so many people have their wedding there – and decorated with great furniture.
The other attendees
We were about 20 people at the event, and we did a lot of great networking since we all had meeting planning in common.
The hosts
Last but not least, the two hosts were entertaining, including, and supportive of the networking part of the event: They made sure we all got to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
All in all, a great evening at a fantastic venue. What’s not to like!
