Planning events: That’s why content production is as important as good food and entertainment
A good content producer combines knowledge in journalistic storytelling, human understanding, and marketing. We become a reliable guide in the preparations for your conference or event. Here I thought I would take the opportunity to share why a skilled content producer is at least as important as good catering and fun entertainment at your next client or employee event.
I started working as a content producer in the event industry at the beginning of the 2000s. Back then, the concept was barely even invented. Slowly but surely, more and more people have become involved in creating effective storytelling in B2B events, and during the pandemic, a breakthrough has occurred that hopefully will continue. The days when the CEO whipped up a makeshift PowerPoint on the plane to the event are now a thing of the past.
”The time when the CEO cobbled together a homemade PowerPoint on the flight to the event there is now Stone Age.”
The content producer presents the content in formats that reach everyone.
What are we contributing? The short answer is that we help you present your content in a format that appeals to the YouTube generation and, of course, everyone who grew up with television. The old way; giving all speakers 45 minutes to speak freely, reading from about 100 PowerPoint slides has actually more similarities with school teaching from the last century than with modern storytelling, so it’s almost a miracle that it still exists in 2022.
The feeling is just as important as the message
We conduct a thorough research into what you want to convey to your customers or employees. Subsequently, we propose a range of different ways to present the message. Should it be a film, an interview, a sketch? It is also very important to help our clients narrow down the content to something that our human brains are actually capable of perceiving within one or two days. Furthermore, we try to let the emotion carry the message. By that we mean that engagement is largely created through the non-verbal. Equally important, or perhaps more important than the words in the message, is the tone and the emotion in what is said. In short, we put the participants’ experience at the center.
The content producer creates a thread of continuity in the narrative
Like the editor at a newsroom, the content producer has the overall responsibility for ensuring that everyone involved conveys the message effectively. We avoid repetition and create a cohesive narrative. With good arguments, we help the speakers understand that ten minutes of well-written and professionally packaged content often say more than 45 minutes of rambling.
Results: Entertaining, team-building event where the message gets across
It is always wonderful to see the reactions of our clients who have dared to add a content producer to the event budget. The participants at the meeting are usually enthusiastic. Suddenly, the conference sessions are also entertaining and team-building. Not only a necessary evil to get through, before there is food and entertainment. Initially skeptical clients usually become recurring customers.
In my case, I usually combine working as a content producer with acting as a moderator. As an outsider, I contribute what I usually call ”an external appreciative eye”. The participants on stage feel freer and more secure in their roles with a reassuring, professional presenter to lean on.
It will be wonderful to meet in person again after two years of digital distance. But oh how much good we have learned these past years. Not least the importance of professionally produced content. Now we are heading towards new heights.
Welcome!
Magnus Fyrfalk
Content Producer & Moderator