Designing an Event Around Attendee Personas

One important way to ensure success at your next event is to design it around the personas of attendees. These attendee personas are hypothetical representations of your ideal attendees, based on demographics, behavior patterns, and motivations. These “mock-ups” of your attendees allow you to plan your experiences around the expectations of each type of person, thus increasing engagement and ensuring better attendance.

“Designing with empathy around personas keeps attendees engaged and motivated while allowing you to refine your marketing message for each consumer,” reports the Bizzabo blog.

In this article, we’ll look at the three main types of event attendee personas, who they are, and what they expect to get out of the event. We’ll also offer practical guidance on how to develop experiences based on these personas. This is the first article in a series and, in future blogs, we’ll break down the three attendee personas even further and explain how to design event experiences for each particular persona.

Corporate events of all sizes bring a diverse group of attendees together, and each person has different interests and needs. Breaking down your attendees into personas can help you understand the different types of attendees and tailor the event experience to meet those specific needs.

Bizzabo offers advice on how to determine the attendee personas at your events:

• Do your research: Start by gathering information about your target audience, including their demographics, interests, and motivations. Utilize social media, industry blogs, and forums, as well as surveys and questionnaires, to gather information about your target audience.
• Analyze the data: Identify patterns and common characteristics among your target audience from the data you’ve gathered. Look for similarities in age, job title, interests, and motivation for attending the event.
• Create your personas: Based on the patterns and common characteristics you have identified, create a few different attendee personas. Give each persona a name, age, job title, interests, and motivations for attending the event.

Once you have identified your target audience, you can create attendee personas that represent different segments of this audience. Here are three examples of some of the most common types of corporate event attendee personas:

• The Networker
• The Decision-Maker
• The Learner

Next, we’re going to examine each of these three personas in more detail.

True to the title, this attendee is primarily interested in networking and building relationships with other industry professionals. The Networker is often a business professional looking to expand their network and establish new relationships.

“This persona requires interaction to keep their attention — panels or sessions that allow the audience to be involved work best here,” notes Bizzabo. “Keep them engaged with polling, a chat feature, or asking for feedback. In terms of event formats for networkers, the Bizzabo blog suggests “short and sweet content that’s easy to digest” and “longer networking breaks between sessions.”

Here is what the Networker expects from an event:

• Networking opportunities: They go to events looking for opportunities to meet and connect with a large number of people from the same industry. The Networker will look for events that offer both structured opportunities, such as networking breaks or receptions, and informal networking like open spaces for mingling and conversation.
• Quality attendees: The Networker looks for events that attract decision-makers and influencers from similar areas of business, along with other professionals who are well-respected in that field. They value attending events where they can meet and connect with high-quality attendees from their industry.
• Relevant content: They want to attend events that offer content that’s relevant and practical and that aligns with their interests and goals. The Networker seeks events that offer sessions, presentations, and panels that inspire thought and from which they can learn from and use to advance their career.
• Access to information: They want to have access to the latest information and discover the newest trends in their industry. The Networker will look for events that offer insights into the latest developments and trends in their field.

Typically a high-level executive or other decision-maker within a company, the Decision-Maker attends corporate events to make important business decisions, learn about new products or services, and network with other industry leaders. Decision-Makers seek high-level information that will aid them in upper management of the company.

The Decision-Maker may expect the following types of experiences at an event:

High-level content: They are interested in high-level, thought-provoking content that is relevant to their role and industry and wants to hear from experts in the same field. The Decision-Maker seeks to learn about the latest trends and developments in that particular line of business.
Access to thought leaders: They value the opportunity to network with other high-level executives and thought leaders in their industry. Decision-Makers look for events that offer opportunities for informal networking and one-on-one conversations with industry leaders — but this is different from the type of networking that The Networker is interested in.
Relevant product and service demonstrations: They want to discover and learn about new products and services that are relevant to their business. They will look for events that offer information sessions alongside product demonstrations that can help them make informed decisions about new products and services.
Business opportunities: The Decision-Maker is interested in attending events that offer opportunities to make new business connections, attend business-focused sessions, or watch or even participate in roundtable discussions.

This type of attendee is focused on gaining new knowledge and skills. The Learner attends corporate events to hear from experts in a given field and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments.

“This persona wants to walk away with real action items,” notes the Bizzabo blog. “Provide more than surface-level insights during sessions and offer physical items to take away like downloadable workbooks, or action plans.” Bizzabo also suggests formats like “plenary sessions” and “content focused on action items” for Learners.

The Learner may expect experiences like these from an event:

• Relevant and engaging content: The Learner wants to attend events that offer relevant, engaging, and thought-provoking content from which they can gain new knowledge. Learners are interested in attending sessions, workshops, and presentations that are aligned with their professional interests and goals.
• Interactive learning opportunities: They value the opportunity to participate in experiences that allow them to engage with the content directly and put their new skills and knowledge into practice. The Learner will look for events that offer hands-on workshops, interactive sessions, and other opportunities for active learning.
• Access to experts: They want to attend events where they can learn from experts in their field. The Learner values the opportunity to hear from thought leaders and industry experts who can provide them with valuable insights and advice.
• Networking opportunities: The Learner also values the opportunity to network with other professionals in their field. They will look for events that offer informal networking and chances to connect with other attendees who share the same interests and goals.

Today, we’ve looked at the three main types of attendee personas, but there are more corporate event personas, and you may find that the people attending your next event fit into more than one persona.

If you’re concerned that trying to cater to certain personas is oversimplifying the process, remember that distilling your attendees down to the most common personas will help you tailor the experiences of the event to fit their needs and desires, resulting in a more engaging and effective event.

CORT Events can help you maximize the experiences for your events. From the furniture and decor that gives your event an exciting and engaging look to creative ideas, CORT has you covered with plenty of options and support.

You can also take advantage of CORT’s innovative suite of event space planning tools - featuring AllSeated - that allow you to visualize spaces and make the most of every area of your event location. You’re preparing for more than just an event — you’re creating experiences, and CORT can help you make those experiences happen.