I listened to a presentation by Victoria Loomes of Trendwatching a couple weeks ago and one of the trends she brought up is something called "Blanding."
Many AirBnB homes are using a nondescript design aesthetic that helps people feel consistency wherever they go.
BUT This neglects any potential local cultural character or uniqueness in the home.
Mega brands are simplifying their quirky, fun, unique logos and brands in favor of clean lines, sans serif fonts, and limited color palettes.
BUT This makes all brands start to feel the same and forgettable, not memorable.
Ads are being created with AI imagery and copy for speed to market.
BUT this means you can swap any logo for any ad and it's basically all the same.
Are events having the same problem?
We've been pretty formulaic about our event programs for decades. Keynote, Panel, Breakouts, Expo, Concert. It's not that the formula doesn't work, it's just that they all blur together. I can't remember which event had Will Ferrell and which event had Sheryl Sandberg... Or which one had Imagine Dragons versus The Black Eyed Peas... and does it really matter anyway?
You know what I do remember?
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
When a group of 80 event people went on a secret business trip to Tuscany on a chartered plane.
When Oracle Open World rented out Treasure Island and hosted a festival and I won a big flopsy purple dog at one of the carnival booths.
When CEMA brought in a teambuilding company to a Summit event and we had to make boats out of cardboard and pool noodles and race it across the pool at the resort.
Those moments were:
Shocking
Surprising
Personal
Hilarious
They were not bland.
They stood out.
How can you design your next event to weave in at least one of these NON-BLAND moments for your attendees so something about it stands out to them 20 years later?
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