Creative Problem-Solving Skills for Event Hosts

Gianna’s Gem: 5 Ways to Transform Your Events from Basic to Best in Class I’ve gotten several requests from clients this week about how to to make their events stand out in a crowded space. Having also just presented on Experiential Events and their ROI at a tech summit hosted by The Four Seasons, it felt timely to share a few key strategies and frameworks for what it takes to move a basic event to the best in class gold standard. Here's the thing: your event can be flawlessly executed down to the last cent of your budget, but if your audience is bored, disengaged, or worse—disappointed—then a real opportunity has been missed. So: Don’t make your event just another meeting! Lead with The Why through every touch point from pre-event to finish, and make sure you’re taking your attendees from → to a better place as a result of attending your event. I like to say - your attendees should experience a range of emotions at your event, and ideal experience catharsis and/or transformation by the end. That is true experiential excellence! Gianna's Gem: You have all the creativity you need to become a standout in an industry that thrives on originality. The difference between good and legendary is the willingness to surprise and delight attendees rather than settle for safe and ordinary. Pro tip 1. Master the Art of Surprise and Delight I want to challenge you: for every event you plan, from the smallest birthday party to the biggest corporate conference, try to surprise and delight your attendees at least once. The most memorable experiences are novel, different, surprising - In fact, I learned a stat just today that attendees are 3X more likely to remember a hotel when it incorporates fun / delight rather than nice amenities. That's why you never forget your first visit to your favorite city, but you probably can't distinguish your fifth and sixth trips. The element of surprise and novelty gives your events that prized place in people's memories. An example from my Google days: When Google's self-driving cars were brand new, I negotiated with the team to offer test drives at an event. But we only had a few cars and limited time. The solution? Golden tickets hidden under random seats, Willy Wonka-style. Nobody got upset because it was completely random, and for those lucky riders, it was unforgettable. For the Google Home Mini launch, we created a pop-up where people could ask questions to showcase the product features. When they left, they'd receive a box containing either a delicious donut OR a Google Home Mini. The slogan was "size of a donut, power of a superhero," and we made countless brand advocates that day plus the campaign went viral. Pro Tip 2. Eliminate Pain Points Like a Pro Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs? If you eliminate pain points by replacing them with delight, you can create brand evangelists for life and retain attendees at your event and beyond. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/gswyPK2i

If you want to burn through your budget and get poor results, just do things the way everyone else does. (This applies to every industry, every category, and every vertical.) Here’s a perfect example: Most people planning an event: 🏨 Book a hotel 🎤 Hire a celebrity headliner 👥 Form a committee What happens next? 💸 The hotel charges $10k for WiFi. 🍱 Boxed lunches cost $100 per head. 💰 The headliner takes $200k off the top. ⏳ Your committee bombards you with questions, requests, and conflicting opinions, eating up your team’s time. At the end, you don’t even want to look at the margins—because all you have left is the “validation” of pulling off another event. Now, let’s compare this to the Catholic Creatives summit my team threw in 2018. 🙌 We used volunteers (they got jobs and free tickets, not opinions). 🏛️ We hosted the event at a local church and rented a nearby retreat center for $5,000. 🍽️ A Filipino family catered the banquet—finger food, served on banana leaves, $30 per plate, no rentals for silverware or centerpieces. 🚫 No celebrity speakers. Literally the best speaker of the event David Kang called in on a phone. Instead, we spent our money on experiences we knew would surprise and delight every attendee. For example: ☎️ We placed an old phone in the event space. When picked up, it rang up a volunteer who arrived in a top hat and tuxedo to serve the attendee's favorite popsicle flavor. 🎶 We hired the best musicians, lighting, and decor money could buy. 💃 We even paid dancers to choreograph and perform a dance based on the event’s theme. And more. The result? We kept ticket prices low, sold out, delighted every attendee, and met or revenue goals while doing it. The lesson? Do things differently. It’s how you win. 👊 Photo: One of the most moving performances I've ever witnessed, choreographed by Kate Caputo. Photo cred: Bradley Santos. #catholiccreatives #eventplanning #creativity #thinkdifferent

Networking doesn’t have to suck. Most events start with awkward silences, stiff intros, and people clinging to the nearest cheese platter. Not this one. Thursday night, we kicked off INSEAD Elevate ’25—the new alumni mentoring program. I didn’t plan on leading it. I said yes to helping promote it. Next thing I know, I’m co-leading it with Olivier van Grembergen —who’s all structure and process, while I bring the storytelling and games (and just enough chaos to keep things interesting). Our goal? Make mentoring meaningful—not just matching people, but building a community that supports growth. So we interviewed everyone who applied (yes, really). And one thing kept coming up: 👉 “Networking feels like a chore.” 👉 “I never know how to start a conversation.” So I created a little hack: Name. Same. Game. Each person shares: 🟢 Their name 🟢 Something relatable (same) 🟢 A surprising fact or twist (game) 1 minute. Then switch. Doing it across 18 pairs? Controlled chaos. But fun chaos. At first, energy was low. People were quiet. By round three, the room was buzzing. We didn’t get through all 18 rounds. We didn’t have to. People were laughing. Mingling. Actually enjoying the conversation. 💡If you run events—try this: • Give people a simple format to connect • Model vulnerability with humour • Use structure to spark spontaneity Be interested. That’s what makes you interesting. And yes—play helps. #whatsyourstory #storytelling #inseadmoments #mentoring

No matter how much you plan, there will always be things that happen that you didn't anticipate. This really happened at our client's conference on Day 2! The venue pipes suddenly burst out and water sprayed everywhere on the expo floor, on furniture, and attendees #eventprofs, HOW would you respond? Our team was in shock. How did we solve the problem? -- We evacuated everyone from the show floor and quickly pivoted the sessions to outdoors. -- Called the fire station to help shut down the sprinklers -- Quickly called all the vendors to relocate the evening reception to outside. -- Send out mobile notifications a part of the expo floor was closed and redirect guests to other areas -- Held a meeting with the venue to discuss damages, insurance, etc. -- By the end of the day, file a report and claim to capture all of the damages and costs incurred (including loss of opportunities) with the venue's insurance. Can an event planner be prepared for something like this? Yes! 💯 Here's some recommendations: -- Ask the venue to conduct maintenance checks (of all the water systems, pipes, and elevators) before the show starts. -- Review insurance clauses to make sure the venue's insurance will cover damages -- Meet with the hotel and their maintenance crew to discuss possible scenarios and contingency plans. Did you have a similar experience? I'd love to hear your stories. Story time! #eventmarketing #b2bconferences #b2bevents #b2bmarketing #eventmanagement

Think you’re not creative? Here’s a framework to prove yourself wrong: I used to think that being creative was binary. You either are creative... or you're not. An old boss of mine (shout out Corey Brown) changed my perspective when he taught me about "creativity frameworks." They're essentially structured ways to approach creative thinking, making it easier to generate innovative ideas. One of his favorite creative frameworks is the Celebrity Challenge. Here's how it works: 1. Imagine you’re planning a big launch event for your brand. 2. Instead of going with “the usual” ideas, you pick 3-5 celebrities you'd love to partner with. Maybe Oprah or Miley or The Rock... 3. Then, instead of hiring them (unless that’s in your budget 😉), brainstorm how each celebrity might host the event based on their personality or brand. For example: Oprah might do a segment with her favorite chef and give away a new sample and branded swag under everyone's seat. Miley would host a music festival in the woods and have her brand as the leading sponsor. The Rock might introduce this new product at a workout class or gym with a view. And there you have it... A million new perspectives to think about your event. ✨ P.S. Do you think creativity is a learned skill? --- Follow Ali Kaltman for brand marketing ideas and case studies. 💙