The Hague anticipates the Next Generation with immersive multi-venue event explains The Hague & Partners (the official marketing organisation for the promotion of the city): At the NxG International Summit of Family Business Network (FBN), hosted in The Hague this summer, it was key to manage and captivate the younger audience by creating a meaningful immersive multi-venue event. Based on the idea that once the Next Generation decides to travel abroad it should be for a good reason.
Creating meaningful immersive multi-venue events is a topic that every event planner seems to be talking about. Yet, we often fall back on the well-known set up of single location that facilitates the networking, programme, drinks and dinners. The risk? Not making enough use of your actual surroundings and leaving no lasting impact on your participants.
Going home after sitting in an uninspiring conference room for eight hours, seems to belong more and more to the past. Jeroen Mann, national programme manager at FBNed | Familiebedrijven Nederland, the Dutch chapter of FBN, explained: “We know people make the event, not just the venue. You can create the best experience for your event by combining the different venues. In The Hague we made this happen together with the help of The Hague & Partners.”
Family Business Network, FBNed | Familiebedrijven Nederland and The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau evaluated their multivenue approach in a showcase and they have created 5 conclusions how to engage with NextGen participants. They can be summarised as:
Experience a fun icebreaker like fun beach games.Within the event planning a teambuilding always lays a proper foundation and allows participants to connect faster.
Experience the ‘energy of a city’. Like taking the ‘city bike’ and experience various locations from a different perspective. The Hague is the ‘City by the sea’, so the beach and the dunes need to be experienced.
Break routines and take on a multi-venue approach. In order to spark the interest of the Next Gen, switching between locations keeps up the energy.
Let the visitor use all their sensesand integrate it in a visit. Let them taste the local delicacies, tell the story behind it, let them smell the fresh breeze from the sea and integrate it to a city tour. Show them a taste of the local cuisine or a cultural experience like Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with the pearl’.
Choose sustainability. The Next Generation values accessibilityand sustainability. Travelling green, sleeping in a hotel with a green key certificate and connecting them to local impactful entrepreneurs are appreciated. They like to experience that they have ‘given something back for the city’ they have visited. A good example is a beach or canal clean-up.
Bas Schot, head of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau stated: “By taking this multi-venue approach we have seen a significant difference. The participants paid more attention to the topics, the city experience is much intense, and it definitely creates more legacy for the participant as well as The Hague as a city.”
The Family Business Network (FBN) is a leading organisation of business families. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Lausanne, FBN is a federation of Member Associations spanning 65 countries and bringing together 4,000 business families
Photo: During NxG International Summit of Family Business Network (FBN) hosted in The Hague an interactive program was key to create engagement with the Next Generation.
