Beth Cavanaugh – Principal
A memorable event may stick with someone for days or even months, but an impactful event does something different: it inspires someone to act.
At TiER1, we call this Performance Experience Design—the intentional design of experiences that changes behaviors to drive results. To design an impactful event that inspires action, focus on what the audience should feel, think, and do during every phase of the event—from the initial invitation to post-event follow-ups.
Our 5Es Framework considers the audience’s mindsets, emotions, and actions across five key phases: Entice, Enter, Engage, Exit, and Extend. The goal is to guide audience members through a comprehensive journey of engagement, reflection, realization, and personal growth.
The next time you’re planning a learning event, product launch, or strategy session, use the 5Es framework to ensure the design inspires your team and drives the desired outcomes. Before applying the framework, align on three important factors first:
- The event’s purpose and desired outcomes
- The format that will best suit the audience and maximize impact
- Methods for evaluating and applying insights to ensure continuous improvement and success
1. Start with purpose
To determine the event’s purpose, capture the desired outcomes and audience needs. What specific behaviors, learnings, or actions should the event drive? What are the key takeaways for participants? Gaining a deep understanding of what success looks like for both the event and its participants will enable you to imagine what’s possible before putting plans in place.
Event objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. Established objectives will help provide insight into what’s needed to bring the right experience to life, including the format and measurement methods.
2. Consider the event format
Choosing the right format—whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid—will depend on both the event’s desired outcomes and the audience’s needs.
Host an in-person live event to:
- Build connections. Leverage in-person experiences to ramp up culture and feelings of belonging; these critical psychological and self-fulfillment needs are best achieved in person.
- Introduce new products and tools. While you could introduce new products online, an in-person event makes hands-on demonstration possible and allows participants to ask specific follow-up questions in real time.
- Provide hands-on experience. Team building, role-playing, and networking can be done virtually, but in-person engagement provides attendees the opportunity to have deeper dialogue and learn from one another.
Host a virtual event to:
- Ensure flexibility. A virtual event is flexible by design; there are options for fluidity of language, timing, level of interaction, monetization, and more.
- Manage costs. With virtual events, you save on the costs of venue, travel, hotel, food, and other in-person overheads. However, there should be an increased investment in technology to ensure an engaging and successful virtual experience for attendees.
- Track results and feedback. Online events provide the ability to quickly track metrics such as level of participant interactions, audience engagement by speaker or topic, views by presentation or content type, and more. Use this data to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of your event.
Host a hybrid event to:
- Increase reach across multiple locations. In-person events have limits on the number of participants for logistical or geographical reasons. A hybrid event can increase your reach by attracting attendees who want to participate but can’t attend in person. Coordinate shared experiences during the event through technology such as roaming cameras in the event space or virtual breakout sessions.
- Ensure greater safety. Hybrid events offer all participants more safety, comfort, and flexibility. Guests have the option of attending virtually if health concerns or travel restrictions prevent in-person attendance.
- Offer the best of both worlds. By combining “live” in-person events with virtual components, hybrid events connect audiences who could not otherwise. Doing this successfully means designing moments that bring value to both in-person and virtual attendees.
3. Measure for Success
To define the right measurement methods, return to your desired event outcomes and set specific criteria to measure against each outcome.
Consider including the following standard event measurements in your evaluation set:
- Total number of registrations and check-ins. Registration count is one of the most visible measures of event success, but it’s also important to compare that against the total number of check-ins. If there’s a significant gap between the two, investigate why people registered but didn’t attend.
- Engagement levels. Measure participation through Q&A, polls, and survey responses to assess attendees’ engagement and interest in the content.
- Speaker and activity ratings. Measure attendee satisfaction by assessing speaking and event activity survey ratings. The higher the ratings, the more relevant the speaker or activity was in addressing attendee needs and interests.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS). In your post-event survey, always include a question that assesses the likelihood of audience recommendations to friends or colleagues.
- Website traffic and online content engagement. Whether it’s downloading slides, accessing additional content, or reviewing on-demand content, assessing traffic and content engagement is another smart measurement of an event’s success.
Get started: Apply the 5Es Framework
Now that the event’s desired outcomes, format, and measurement methods are clear, apply the 5Es framework to intentionally plan every phase. Download the 5Es Event Design Canvas to start planning an impactful event that keeps people at the center.
Entice
Attract participants with intentional invitations and build anticipation.
Examples: Teaser videos, pre-event mailers, themed itineraries, and pre-meeting assignments
Enter
Set the stage by providing context, goals, and objectives early on.
Examples: Lobbies with music, greeters, fun polls, welcome messages, and guiding principles for participation
Engage
Create an engaging and interactive experience that energizes and inspires.
Examples: Multiple perspectives, surprise elements, group and independent activities, breakout sessions, and gamification
Exit
Make the conclusion memorable and build momentum for the future.
Examples: Voting apps, survey apps, summary drawing exercises, group photos, and virtual boards for follow-up thoughts
Extend
Sustain the engagement and make insights actionable post-event.
Examples: Peer pairings, 1:1 scheduled check-ins, post-event emails, and a microsite with follow-up content
Looking for a thought partner to help plan your next impactful experience? Fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch.
