a little bit out of my comfort zone
because I’m a philosopher and I have a
master’s degree in philosophy so I’m
used to talking for hours and hours and
bore people to death but I called the
organizers and they said in several
times Peter you know you only have 18
minutes like among guys it’s miss I need
18 hours or something you know 18
minutes Peter that’s it then you have a
timer there’s a timer and you check the
time and that’s it end of discussion
so lucky you and only have 18 minutes
and I’m out of my comfort zone but
anyway thank you very much for inviting
me here and granting me those 18 minutes
to say something had to at this
excellently organised event and as a
matter of fact I am going to talk about
events I’m going to talk about Holy
Trinity events for those who know
something about the religious completion
of the Holy Trinity you know that I’m
going to say something about God and
about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit
hallelujah praise the Lord
oh my god I can feel your energy and
your enthusiasm and really to do
something more about this exciting topic
but don’t panic don’t don’t panic I must
confess I have a a minor a mild panic
attack right here now on stage
enthusiasm but don’t you panic I will
convert this religious model and
metaphor into a more secular model and
moreover a very easily applicable
marketing model growing beyond events
I will talk about God experiences me
experiences and how to add even more
valuable re-experiencing because that’s
what innovative Holy Trinity thinking is
about it’s about God it’s about Jesus
and it’s about the Holy Spirit so let’s
see what God has to offer and the good
news is that you’re all quite familiar
with in with those God experiences
within events think of David Guetta God
is a DJ my arms white hands raised I’m
God I’m a DJ think of Bono he’s a rock
and roll God in the name of love God
Bono is preaching his message of love so
it’s not simple you know those guys
standing on a stage performing on a huge
stage on altars of Fame and adoration
those are those gods think of Adele
Rihanna goddesses and it’s not only
about rock and roll stars pop stars and
DJs it’s also about our sportsmen think
of Messi think of much for stopping I’m
a winner I’m God come on worship me give
me some applause so you know what those
God experiences are about within events
then again if if you would have any God
experiences outside of events I think
it’s time to go to a shrink but so I’m
talking about God experiences within
events asking that question
how about God and those God experiences
reveals two major issues and the first
one I’m sure it will all agree upon that
one is that we have too many gods too
many DJ’s too many artists and to prove
my point
just think of a well established
festivals such as prosecute Glastonbury
ping pop vector material Belgium
take the poster of the very first
edition it’s somewhere late 70s
beginning 80s you will see that all
those festivals started as a one-day
festival one stage and about seven or
eight God’s coming to your festival and
take a poster of this year’s edition you
will see that all those festivals cover
more days two days for three days four
days five days festivals numerous stages
and about twenty thirty God’s coming
every day so you have about a hundred
God’s coming to that festival too many
gods too many DJ’s too many artists and
we want more brink of Tomorrowland you
know how many teachers are coming to
Tomorrowland an astonishing 400 God’s
tjs are coming to Tomorrowland and now
it’s a kind of double festival it’s two
weekends in a row so it’s about 800
guards coming in less than two weeks too
many guards too many DJ’s too many
artists and marketing and economic terms
too many equals commodification so we
have too much commodification and
commodities commodities are
interchangeable so those gods have
become commodities we still need those
gods don’t get me wrong but if you add
one God or ten guards 200 God lineup or
to a foreign the TV lineup it doesn’t
make that much difference what
difference does it make that’s quoting
Smith’s what difference does it make to
many gods to many DJ’s to many artists
that’s the first problem
too much commodification the second
issue revealed and answering that
question
how about God is about the customer
experience and moreover more precisely
it’s about the customer expression the
degree of customer expression within
that customer experience customer
is about adding value by doing something
within your customer experience what is
the customer expression within those God
experience it’s very limited
it’s very confined it’s restricted
you’re sitting right here I’m gonn State
you’re having a girl experience and the
only thing that you can do at the end of
my performance is giving us give me some
applause
or you can either give me some applause
or you can boo me but that’s it
give me some applause that’s the
customer expression within that customer
experiences it’s limited and if max
Verstappen
is praying around some champagne maybe
you will catch a drop of that champagne
that’s your customer expression so God
offers us too much commodification and
too little customer expression let’s see
if Jesus can match or even top that
offer how about Jesus for those who
don’t know the story Jesus is just
another appearance of the Divine within
Holy Trinity Jesus the difference with
God
is that Jesus he has a body God is
something for your mind
Jesus has a body he’s human amongst the
humans Jesus wants to have a good time
he has a body and he’s equal he’s human
amongst all the human so who’s Jesus
wouldn’t Holy Trinity events that you
the visitors of an event you have a body
and you want to enjoy yourself you want
to eat something any one two three and
you want to drink something you want to
learn you want to have a good time you
Jesus is about me myself and I enjoying
myself at an event me experiences so
what we have to do as event managers is
make Jesus happy
let’s make Jesus happy let’s make sure
that Jesus has a wonderful time at an
event and we’re rather cool at it you
know
when you go to Tomorrowland you have a
Michelin star rated cooking chef set you
helman coming to prepare your dishes and
you have decent vegetarians the food and
you have called coconut cocktails and
you have delicious smoothies so we’re
all good at making Jesus Jesus happy
Jesus is about me experiences God is
about God experiences something for your
mind
Jesus is something for my body but also
within those me experiences those
services lurks the trap of
commodification why we managers event
managers we love communication that’s
what we learn in schools we have to
standardize we have to commodify because
then standardized standardization helps
us save money that’s right you save
money but you lose value how can we
avoid that trap of communication within
those me experiences well there are
several ways but as I’m confined in time
I will give you a very simple way this
by adding so make it mine – your me
experience make it mine is about adding
some self expression within your me
experience and I will give you a simple
example if we go to festival what’s
what’s what’s your name Michel your
merit or you have a boyfriend
don’t get me wrong it’s four so it’s a
it’s for the topic and what’s what’s
what’s his name journey so if Michelle
and journey go to a festival and you and
I want to drink something and thereby to
Fantas I don’t think you will feel the
urge of having a sip of your journeys
Fanta why well this Fantas are just
commodities fund those to Fantas just
taste and look the same nothing special
about that Fanta
now if we go to another festival and you
can buy a smoothie over there can a
smoothie and to have a smoothie you have
to pick your own ingredients and you
have to choose it yourself that’s adding
some make it mine to the smoothie to let
me experience you add you choose some
self-expression in that smoothie I think
there’s a good chance that journey will
ask to you ask you to have a sip of his
unique looking and unique tasting
smoothie that smoothie is everything but
the commodity I will give you another
example think of a photo booth fruit the
Buddha at the festival sometimes you
have some boards with some printed
messages on it and a photo booth a take
aboard hey I’m having tons of fun
athletics
great party that’s some kind of week
make it mine element added to let me
experience now you put a whiteboard
amongst those printed messages a
whiteboard and you give to Michelle a
whiteboard marker so she can write
something a personal self expressed
message on that board so he can write
hey Jenny
wish you were here miss you that’s it
hey journey I met such a nice boy I’m
leaving you so that’s where’s Johnny
Jenny you and Johnny yeah that’s one of
so but that’s adding some you know that
smoothie and that photo booth that that
whiteboard shows how you can add some
maked mind some self-expression to me
experience and we can extract one simple
principle to avoid a trap of
commodification and that’s give me an
excuse for self-expression give me an
excuse for self-expression and you will
avoid the trap of comedy
vacation and add some customer
expression at the same time so Jesus
offices less commodification and more
customer expression let’s see what the
Holy Spirit can offer us how about the
Holy Spirit for those who don’t know the
story the Holy Spirit is yet another
appearance of the divine the Holy Spirit
is about inspiring people to do
something together you know Jesus died
he was crucified the posters were
panicking God sent the Holy Spirit to go
amongst the posters and to inspire them
to do something together to build a
community by working together that’s
what the Holy Spirit is about it’s about
valuable viii experiences and there’s
one event that’s really exemplary for
the Holy Spirit and you all know it I
think it’s Burning Man happening in the
desert and in desert it’s happening as a
festival no it’s not a festival it’s a
gathering in the desert and there’s
nothing there are no God’s provided by
the promoters at Burning Man there are
almost no services me experience is
provided by the promoters some eyes what
are some coffee but that’s it
there’s nothing and Burning Man is built
upon 10 principles 10 commandments
principles such as deeper modification
principles such as radical
self-expression principles such as
gifting it’s about giving so someone
comes to Burning Man and you bring some
food and you give it away somebody else
brings drinks and you give it to a
somebody else bring smoothies and you
give it away and then there’s someone
coming with a power generator somebody
else brings a DJ boot and hey I’m a DJ
and that’s the we experience that’s
people doing something together that’s
creating value by getting the value out
of the visitors of your event but
Burning Man
we don’t have deserts over here what’s
in it for me Peter well there’s also a
very simple principle that we can
extract out of Burning Man and that’s if
the people an excuse to connect if the
people an excuse to connect and the holy
spirit will shine on your event I will
give you two very simple examples just
think of a simple swing at your event if
you go on a swing that’s a me experience
that’s me just sitting on a swing having
a good time
Jesus is having a good time now turn
that simple swing into a double swing
and you’ll get an excuse to connect
Michelle can go with Johnny on that
double swing you know double swinging
can result in two babies you know oh
maybe I can you can go with your new
boyfriend I don’t know but all that
swinging can result in two babies now
I’m just phrasing I think okay a double
swing that’s an excuse to connect and
we’ll give you another example just put
a ping-pong table somewhere at an event
and people start playing ping-pong
that’s an excuse to connect playing
ping-pong is not about competing I don’t
know how it comes but people want to
show off their skills it’s not about
competing it’s about doing something
together you look at each other playing
ping-pong you pick up that little ball
and you give it to your opponent it’s
not your opponent it’s a really really a
ting it’s doing something together so
for all the brand managers over here
stop with those stupid activations where
people who fight each other where people
are competing and at the end of the
activation you have one happy one happy
Jesus and a bunch of losers
one winner and all the rest of
frustrated Jesus’s give the people an
excuse to connect and we’ll give you so
I think that this that the ping-pong
table the double swing proves what the
Holy Spirit can do it’s about creating
value I find it rather exhilarating that
you can add value to your event by
activating value within you within you
doing things together that’s the good
news about the Holy Spirit is that there
is no commodification within within
those three experiences there are made
out of pure customer expression no one
can force you to get on a swing with
someone no one can force you to play
ping pong with someone that’s what the
whole is been that’s what the Holy
Spirit is about I’m at the end of my
talk 18 minutes and 50 seconds and I
will give you my takeaways and it’s
rather simple I think there are two
guiding principles that’s less
communication and more customer
expression principles that guide you was
answering three simple questions
how about God and the God experiences
how about Jesus and the me experiences
give me an excuse for self expression
and how about the Holy Spirit we
experiences give the people an excuse to
connect that’s what the Holy Trinity thinking is about thank you very much