Is Your Club Missing This Key Step in Event Planning?

Priming your guests for an event is a valuable and often overlooked step to hosting impactful gatherings.

In the book, The Art of Gathering, author Priya Parker points out that “Before your event starts, it has begun. Your gathering begins at the moment your guests first learn of it.”

Through marketing, guests may learn of an event and register for it by purchasing tickets or otherwise reserving a spot. But that’s usually the last time the host interacts with the guests prior to the gathering. Occasionally, some reminders may be sent, but rarely do most planners do anything extra.

On the other hand, priming is the process of getting people mentally and emotionally prepared to show up in the desired way for your gathering. These could be through communications such as emails, text messages, phone calls, or mailing physical goods. The purpose of each would be to set the tone and mood of the event, so people know what to expect.

As we head into the holiday season, it’s worth looking at how a private club might take advantage of this key step to make holiday events even more magical and memorable for their members.

Priming for Holiday Events

Here are a few ideas for priming guests for holiday events that are lighthearted, whimsical, and nostalgic. This list includes ways to leverage technology by utilizing emails, text messages, and the mobile app to add holiday spice to your events this winter.

• For a gingerbread house contest, create a Pinterest board with inspiring design ideas and add the link to the event page in the mobile app.
• For a cocoa and carols event, send a package in the mail containing a gingerbread man or hot cocoa mix along with the lyrics to some carols.
• For a Christmas Eve dinner, have someone impersonate Santa and call the members to ask them if they are ready for a fun time!
• For any children’s event, make your text message reminders fun by signing them from Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, or Buddy the Elf.

While these ideas are geared towards Christmas, hopefully they can inspire ideas for Hanukkah and any other winter holidays that your club may be celebrating.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Cobalt!