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Tips & Trends

You want your meetings to touch your attendees’ lives. One way to do that? Have them touch the world around them.
Adding tactile activities to your meetings can help make the event indelible in your attendees’ minds. The sense of touch is one of the first sensory systems that evolved in humans, so it’s hardwired to our memory banks in a way that other activities—say, reading a bunch of materials—aren’t.
It’s also just plain fun to touch things. (Are attendees at promotional events ever more engaged than when they have a chance to hold a new, long-awaited product in their hands?) Read on for actionable ways to bring a touch of the tactile to your events.
For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual">sight</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic">sound</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful">taste</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events">smell</a>.
<h3>Make your swag touch-friendly</h3>
By its nature, swag bags are tactile—you’re asking attendees to carry around something physical when they pick up a gift bag. Make that more useful to attendees by including “please touch” gifts, such as a notebook with a fuzzy or textured cover or a fidget toy. You can take it a step further by including a small card explaining why you chose those items: Taking notes by hand helps with memory retention because of its physical nature, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fidget-toys-arent-just-hype/">fidget toys can help people harness attention</a>.
<h3>Enable haptics</h3>
Know that feeling when your phone buzzes in your pocket? Use that sensation in your favor to guide attendees within your venue. If your audience is tech-savvy, or demographically likely to have embraced the Apple Watch, they may be willing to download apps or enable features that issue haptic reminders when certain events happen—say, when they approach a meeting spot with a particularly cool offering.

<h3>Create an immersive experience—literally</h3>
The draw of “immersive experiences” is that they create a wholly different environment for attendees. But you can take it literally and physically immerse your attendees in a sensation shift. Start by playing with temperature, as found at an August promotional event that deployed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/article/22418964/three-activations-at-btc-2022">snow machines and an ice bar</a>. Too much hassle? Even “immersing” your guests’ hands in a temperature shift can evoke the same shift in sensation—one liquor brand had attendees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/beverages/article/22366676/how-3-spirits-companies-tickled-taste-buds">reach through vapor to grab an ice-cold drink</a>. Not enough for ambitious planners? Ball pits don’t have to be just for kids.

<h3>Give attendees a tactile experience</h3>
Most of the sensory tips here are about your attendees touching something—but humans crave being touched too. Small luxuries are one place to start, such as chair massages, reflexology stations, and manicure booths. Depending on the vibe of the event, you could even have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/article/22366861/inside-shake-shacks-miami-event">“braid bar”</a> for hair braiding, or a head massage booth for a touch of tactile ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response, aka “the tingles”). Remember that it’s not just about having a spa service; being touched is about human connection. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/corporate-meetings-events/experience-design-cmi-25/gallery?slide=1">Folk dance</a> usually involves holding hands or linking arms, and can create a memorable opening or closing event. Just make sure to keep any hands-on events optional and particularly professional in nature, and to have hand sanitizer at the ready.
<h3>Break the ice</h3>
A good icebreaker can go a long way toward cementing groups. Having an activity that involves the hands can be helpful for shy attendees, allowing them to participate without fearing that they’ll be put on the spot. You can have people get their hands dirty with a <a target="_blank" href="https://gardenuity.com/pages/corporate-partners">group gardening workshop</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kinetic-sand-and-artist-dan-lam-encourage-you-to-touch-the-art-this-november-301423150.html">kinetic sand sculptures</a>, or group decoration of an item that serves as a centerpiece for the event (like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/media-gallery/22471427/cool-event-ideas-from-september-2022?utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=10/3/2022_EN.1003BizBash&amp;utm_source=">this oversized shoe</a>). Or just set up a crafts event, such as a booth for making <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/event-production-fabrication/media-gallery/22353760/miami-swim-week-2022-recap">cellphone straps</a> like a recent beauty event did. Bonus points for tying the hands-on activity to the purpose of your meeting, as with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/event-production-fabrication/media-gallery/22432201/a-look-inside-nycs-new-hiphop-museum">DIY graffiti wall</a> for the opening of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York City. Another option that’s more explicitly geared to prime tactile sensations is to set up a guessing game, where participants are blindfolded and then handle various objects, both common (an orange, grains of rice) and uncommon (windup chattering teeth, wooden shoes), and guess what they are.

Global

Tickle Your Guests’ Delight by Adding Tactile Activities to Your Events.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Make Your Meetings More Tactile

Of all the five senses, scent might be the greatest challenge to incorporate into an event. Sure, you can have an aromatherapy booth or look for a fragrance sponsor for your swag bags, but why limit yourself?
Scent has a particular power to trigger memories, so if your goal is to create memorable events, fragrance gives you a leg up. Just make sure that when you incorporate scent into a session, you let people know ahead of time and have a fragrance-free zone so that people who are hypersensitive to scents can have a safe haven.
For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual">sight</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/429/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meeting-super-sonic">sound</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful">taste</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile">touch</a>.

<h3>Offer a signature scent…</h3>
Your venue might already be a step ahead of you on this front, as with the bespoke fragrances found in many of Marriott Bonvoy's distinct hotels. That’s for good reason: Because of the unique connection between scent, memory, and emotion, a one-of-a-kind scent can immediately transport guests back to the moment they first smelled a particular scent. Creating a signature scent for your event, dispersed either as a low-grade air freshener or at specific stations, can add a whiff of luxury—and if you send attendees home with a small vial or sachet of the scent, they’ll be able to “revisit” your meeting in a visceral way.
 
<h3>…Or have attendees create their own</h3>
Let guests try their own hand at perfumery in a session geared toward networking, team-building, or recreation. You can bring in a professional guide, or simply have essential oils on hand for people to mix and match. Some planners have found success by having attendees create fragrances that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.themeetingmagazines.com/acf/entertainment/">align with their goals for attending the meeting at large</a>. Custom scents were key to the success of an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartmeetings.com/news/144816/scented-supper-made-meeting-memories">Incentive Research Foundation conference at JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort</a>. Fragrance giant Jo Malone began the event with a scent-blending bar, then progressed through a dinner featuring flavors paired with scents.
 
<h3>Sniff out the right flora</h3>
Heady blooms such as roses fit the bill, but you don’t have to have a flower show to offer pockets of natural aroma as a respite for your attendees. Try surrounding indoor topiaries with gently scented ground cover such as sweet woodruff, or create backdrops with clusters of jasmine or gardenia. You could also create a miniature herb garden, encouraging people to pluck leaves to carry the scent with them.

<h3>Play with perception</h3>
Aromatherapy booths have their place at events for a reason—a whiff of peppermint can be energizing, while the scent of lavender is associated with relaxation. But canny meeting planners have an unexpected trick up their sleeves: making a space seem larger than it is. Researchers have found that the scent of apple and cucumber makes people perceive a room as being bigger. If infusing an unexpectedly small space with fragrance is out of the question, a station offering cucumber water can step in.
 
<h3>Get a whiff of this icebreaker</h3>
While scents can trigger powerful memories, it’s not always easy to identify what exactly goes into a particular fragrance. Use that to your advantage with an icebreaker guessing game: Gather a mixture of strongly scented items, essential oils, and premade fragrances. Place them in opaque containers at different stations, and have people open and smell what’s inside. Aim for a mix of the easily guessable (apple, grapefruit, soil) to the familiar yet esoteric (salt, ozone, Champagne) to keep people talking and comparing notes.
 
<h3>Create a scent lounge</h3>
One liquor company had its work cut out for it when it created <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/beverages/article/22366676/how-3-spirits-companies-tickled-taste-buds">stations featuring the concentrated aroma of the ingredients</a> in the liquor being promoted. If your meeting is focused on food, beverage, or a destination, this is easy enough to mimic. But the principles can apply to any field or theme. An arts conference could have stations featuring the scents of paint, chalk, and clay. Chalk could come in handy again in a meeting for educators, along with the aromas of ballpoint ink, fingerpaint, and apples.

Give Your Event the Smell of Success With These Tips.

The Five Senses of Meetings: Incorporate Scent Into Your Events

Network

Coffee might not make the world go round—but it sure makes meetings happen. Morning wake-up call, afternoon pick-me-up, setup for an organic networking session, the stuff that keeps planners engaged during the height of the frenzy: Coffee serves all of these functions, and more. No wonder most meeting planners can rattle off coffee arithmetic like seasoned mathematicians. (“If 1 gallon serves 10 mugs but half of the attendees are going off-site for the afternoon…”)
But just because coffee is ubiquitous doesn’t mean it can’t be stepped up a bit. Here are four ways to stir up your coffee service without giving you the jitters.
 
<h3>Go international.</h3>
Sweet, thick Cuban coffee. Milky, smooth Vietnamese coffee. Viscous, perfumed Turkish coffee; whipped dalgona coffee from South Korea; foamy, bracing Greek frappes. While the plain old American-style coffee dispenser may win points for efficiency (which is why it’s popular outside of North America), it lags behind its international competitors in intrigue.
Investing in an international offering, even if for one type of coffee only, can make the afternoon perk more memorable. If your budget allows, a “coffees of the world” setup lends itself well to a networking session. Be sure to serve miniature versions (yes, even of miniature coffees such as Italian espresso) to allow people to sample various types of joe without getting too amped.

<h3>Let people DIY.</h3>
A coffee bar with milk and sugar? Of course. Oat milk and agave? Getting a little more interesting. But to add a dash of whimsy to your coffee service, get even more playful. Try any (or all!) of these options:
<ul>
 <li>Candies: chocolate shavings, crushed peppermint candies, citrus lollipops</li>
 <li>Spices: cayenne pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, clove, star anise</li>
 <li>Flavored syrups: homemade herbal simple syrups (lavender, rosemary), an assortment of commercial syrups</li>
</ul>
Round it out with cookies meant for dipping, such as biscotti, and skip the dessert tray if your budget is tight.
 
<h3>Host brew stations.</h3>
A coffee tasting, also known as a cupping, can be a networking activity as well as a pick-me-up. But it’s not just about trying different types of coffee beans; it’s also about how your cups are brewed.
Percolated coffee is what your guests are probably used to at events, thanks to its ease of large-batch brewing. But the same beans that make for a robust cup of percolated coffee will result in a more delicate flavor if brewed in the drip style. French press java results in a heavier, oilier, more flavorful cup; cold brew gives a silky mouthfeel. Try setting up different stations with different brewing methods for a low-fuss taste test.
 
<h3>Go alternative.</h3>
We’re not just talking about decaf and tea, either. A growing crop of functional beverages promises the same elevating effects as coffee, but with added benefits and less chance of a caffeine crash. Try <a target="_blank" href="https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2022/03/27/Coffee-alternatives-We-see-a-pronounced-trend-away-from-caffeine-as-people-want-more-healthy-energy">alternative beverages</a> such as those made with yerba mate, MCT oil, adaptogenic mushrooms, rooibos chai, and guarana.

Coffee Is a Must—But There’s Still Room to Play.

Four Ways to Perk Up Your Coffee Service

Celebrate

Life is but a game—or at least, it can be if you incorporate play into your meetings from the ground up. Here are a couple of ways to make the gaming life a part of your next event.
 
<h3>Gamify Engagement, Hybrid-Style.</h3>
One of the challenges of hybrid meetings is making sure that virtual attendees and in-room attendees both stay engaged with the goal of the meeting. Introducing a gamification element that is rooted in the event’s virtual capacity can bring both sets of attendees together.
While there are plenty of apps and services available for gamifying sessions, your basic platforms probably already enable gaming to a degree. A Zoom poll turns into a game when the prompt is trivia or an icebreaker question; collaborative whiteboards allow participants to, say, solve a challenge together.
Another fun option: social media. Set up a scavenger hunt or photo challenge, and ask attendees to participate using a custom <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/tips-and-trends/article/422/perfect-the-art-of-the-hashtag">hashtag</a>.

<h3>Design the Meeting Around a Purpose-Built Game Space.</h3>
Bringing games into a space is one thing—but bringing participants into a game space is another. When looking at venues, consider the value-add of venues that have built-in game rooms. They’re an obvious choice for icebreaker events, but imagine what a small group session at an in-house bowling alley could turn into!
A few spots that set a playful example:
<ul>
 <li>Harbor Social at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/wasgn-gaylord-national-resort-and-convention-center/overview/">Gaylord National Resort &amp; Convention Center</a>, National Harbor, Maryland: Shuffleboard? Check. Air hockey? Check. Duckpin bowling, 10,000-square-foot sports bar, bocce court? Check, check, and check. That’s in addition to 94 event rooms, 101 breakout rooms, and nearly 550,000 square feet of event space. This space was purpose-built for networking after an evaluation of what people missed most about in-person gatherings: being together and networking with others.</li>
 <li>Rampart Casino at<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/lasjw-jw-marriott-las-vegas-resort-and-spa/overview/"> JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort &amp; Spa</a>: The on-site team is experienced in coordinating with meeting planners who want to give attendees a taste of the Vegas experience without spending valuable convention time roaming the Strip. A meeting-branded casino night would be a hit—but if that doesn’t fit the tone of your attendees, take advantage of on-site lessons.</li>
 <li>10K Alley at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mrkfl-jw-marriott-marco-island-beach-resort/overview/">JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort</a>: The <a target="_blank" href="https://10kalleyatjwmarco.com/">bowling alley</a> isn’t the only game on tap here—arcade games and mini golf round out the offerings. (And games aren’t the only thing on tap either; the bar hosts more than 50 Florida-brewed craft beers.) With state-of-the-art facilities (virtual reality, anyone?), it’s well-equipped for events.</li>
</ul>

North America

Let’s Talk About How to Gamify Your Next Event.

Push “Play” on Your Next Meeting With Games

Audience participation is one of the most tech-forward meeting developments today, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iacconline.org/iacc-meeting-room-of-the-future">research from IACC</a>. In-session polling offers a particular benefit to presenters and planners: By giving attendees a real-time, active presence in programming, in-session polling can drive engagement and focus.
But there’s a difference between throwing a single question on the screen as a gimmick and truly leveraging the possibilities of live polling technology. Here are three tips for deploying polls in sessions, for you to use directly or to pass on to presenters.

<h2>Power Poll Tactic #1: Choose Your Own Adventure</h2>
Let the poll dictate the direction of a session by allowing attendees to choose at the start what they’d like to learn about. Give two options—or more if presenters are OK with it—and kick it off with the question to the audience.
This requires presenters or panelists to be on board with the plan, but the possibilities for an energetic, spontaneous session may be worth it to the right team. Written agendas should communicate the “choose your own adventure” aspect to attendees, which both builds anticipation for the structure of the session and sets expectations that attendees should be prepared to go with the flow.
This style of engagement works particularly well with panelists who are dynamic and have presented together before, or who otherwise have a strong rapport.

<h2>Power Poll Tactic #2: Repeat Yourself</h2>
Most sessions are meant to change or open attendees’ perspectives in some way, whether that’s through education, persuasion, or promotion. You can get real-time insight into a session’s effectiveness by posing the same question at the beginning and end of a session to gauge whether attendees have changed their mind in any way.
Launch a session by asking a question that’s central to the presentation’s message. Aim for a question that’s slightly provocative to generate intrigue, or simply ask a matter-of-fact question that leans into the possibility of someone changing their mind in-session, such as, “Do you believe that [topic] has the potential to significantly better our industry?”
Yes/no or multiple-choice questions can have a dramatic payoff, but they run the risk of indicating that the presenter has failed to change anyone’s perspective. Depending on the session, eliciting open-ended responses such as “What word comes to your mind when you think about [topic]?” can be effective. Some polling tools have word cloud generators built in; using these to do a before-and-after word cloud can show how an audience has evolved during the session.

Power Poll Tactic #3: Play With Contrast
Solemn topics may call for solemn poll questions to avoid seeming flippant. But a gently amusing question can also serve as an icebreaker—not to get attendees to mingle with each other, but to get attendees to engage more deeply with a topic. In fact, it can help the audience weather any stresses that might arise as a result of a sensitive topic: A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8012602/">2021 study</a> showed that humor lessened levels of the stress hormone cortisol when study participants were faced with a stressful task.
Ideally, a humorous poll question adds both levity and meaning. But if that bar is too high, a playful question with only tangential relevance to the session can still relax attendees. A session on developments for auto safety might, for example, begin by asking a trivia question about a well-known road-trip movie; a presentation about cybersecurity might begin by asking people to vote on what they think is the most commonly used password (<a target="_blank" href="https://nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list/">it’s 123456</a>, for the record).
Asking questions during a session is more than an engagement gimmick. It can give presenters valuable information that they’ll carry into their future research, help anchor the session, and create a unified experience. And if your presenters are still having trouble getting on board, remind them that <a target="_blank" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-18566-001">asking questions makes people appear more likable</a>. Who doesn’t want that?&nbsp;

Level Up Your In-Session Polls, Level Up Your Session.

Survey Says! Three Ways to Add Polling to the Program

Promote

Roughly half of business travelers say they want local cultural experiences to be a part of their meeting experience, according to research from Mintel. To meet this demand, it’s easy enough for planners to throw some information about the destination into orientation materials—museum this, Restaurant Row that.
But to make these cultural experiences more meaningful, planners can look for ways to incorporate local experiences into their overall agenda. We’ve rounded up ideas from the experts, including North American destination marketing organizations and convention and visitors bureaus, along with Marriott Bonvoy properties.
<ul>
 <li>Start the relationship from Day 1. “During familiarization trips, we’ve coordinated event safety and security training with Tampa Police Department representatives hosted in their downtown command center,” says Adam DePiro, vice president of convention sales at Visit Tampa Bay. Planting seeds for programming ideas on familiarization trips can help you get ahead of the game.</li>
 <li>Let the destination lead your team-building activities. “We partner with Mardi Gras World, the local company that designs and produces all the big Mardi Gras floats, to incorporate Mardi Gras experiences for groups,” says Emily Liuzza, complex director of marketing at New Orleans Marriott, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, and New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District. “This can include hosting events in their den around all the big floats to groups renting floats and having their own Mardi Gras parade downtown. We can also close off streets, and groups can ‘second-line’ [parade] with a live jazz band leading the way to an off-site venue in the French Quarter or someplace within walking distance downtown.” Making a destination-specific activity part of your kickoff can root the entire event in both time and place.</li>
 <li>Contribute to the community. “Many native plants that have been added are varieties that once thrived in our region but have declined due to development and the introduction of foreign plants,” says Jaydene Kanekoa, senior marketing manager at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort &amp; Spa. “In 2022, our Activities and Culture team activated the Ho’okupu Initiative. In Hawaiian, Ho’okupu translates to an offering, a tribute, or to cause growth. This program is aimed toward planting endangered, endemic Hawaiian plants across our beachfront location while removing invasive species.” Getting attendees to jump into the community with a joint activity—in this example, weeding and planting to preserve natural habitats—builds team bonds and adds meaning to multiday events.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>Location-hop, topic-hop. “New Orleans is known for its cuisine,” Liuzza says. “Groups will frequently do dine-arounds one night at the various restaurants around the two hotels. Sometimes they will do a second line out of the hotel to start the dine-arounds.” Add variety to round-robin discussions by adding a change of location to each new topic of discussion: At the first location, attendees focus on breaking the ice. At the second, they focus on dissecting a shared problem that unites the attendees. At the third, they focus on finding solutions.</li>
 <li>Let the location anchor group goals. “We offer groups the opportunity to ‘adopt a native plant or tree,’” Kanekoa says. “Working with our experts, groups can purchase a native plant or tree from our local nursery, and we curate a special planting ceremony where attendees may witness or assist with planting the seedling on property. This is typically accompanied by an ‘oli [Hawaiian chant].” Planting native flora during a goal-setting session can add a sense of responsibility to goals. When attendees waver in their action plans toward goal achievement, they’ll have a place on terra firma to think about, anchoring goals that might otherwise seem abstract.</li>
 <li>Bring in local experts. Take a cue from your peers: When JW Marriott Tampa Water Street hosted the 2021 Meeting Professionals International Thought Leaders Summit, Tampa Bay itself played a critical role. “Aligned with MPI’s five critical conversation topics, Visit Tampa Bay identified and secured local subject matter experts,” DePiro says. In 2022, the Homegrown: Marriott Hawai’i &amp; French Polynesia’s Operations Conference brought in knowledgeable experts to participate in panel discussions, including farmers, distributors, and cultural practitioners.</li>
 <li>Follow the locals’ lead in collaboration. “Chef Jayson has been with the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort &amp; Spa for 37 years,” Kanekoa says. “His decades-long tenure at the resort reflects his commitment to his craft and strong bond with local growers.” Meetings are all about collaboration—asking a venue coordinator to share how collaboration played a critical behind-the-scenes role in the evolution of the event (say, by talking with the chef about their relationships with local growers) can drive that point home.</li>
 <li>Get local personalities involved. Aligning your meeting’s values with the values of local stars adds a punch to your event. For example, Tampa Bay is known for its inclusive mindset, as evidenced by the election of Mayor Jane Castor, the first openly gay mayor of Tampa—and a mayor who greets various conventioneers in person. Turning to local makers can serve a similar purpose: Portland, Oregon’s My People’s Market hosts the sale of goods of more than 100 diverse local entrepreneurs. “One service our organization can offer to planners meeting in Portland is the opportunity to create a mini My People’s Market as a part of the meetings and convention experience, offering the chance to engage directly with our creative community right on the conference room floor,” says Angela Nelson, vice president of equity, diversity, and inclusion at Travel Portland.</li>
</ul>

Icebreaker

Icebreaker

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