With the Olympics now over for another four years, it’s time to look back on the highlights and fondly recall the moments that made it memorable. However, when I try to do that, it’s extremely interesting which moments I recall the most vividly.
Sure, there was incredible sporting prowess on show and those individuals deserve every accolade that came their way – but in a year or so, I will probably struggle to remember their names. A gold medal doesn’t always translate into a household name.
Yes, the Olympics is about being the best of the best, but the moments I recall – the ones that will live in my memories the longest – are the unique ones that provided the unexpected moments of surprise and delight.
The most obvious one was, of course, Raygun; the great Australian breakdancer. Where every other sport is about precision and timing, breaking was instead about creative interpretation. And whether you feel her interpretation was good or bad, you must admit it was unique and memorable. (If she doesn’t turn those fifteen minutes of fame into a million-dollar opportunity, she needs a better manager!)
As comedian Ricky Gervais once said, “It’s better to create something and be criticised than to create nothing and criticise others.” Moving on…
Then there was the Turkish Olympic shooter. He was among the best of the best – he even picked up a silver medal! Yet, I don’t even recall seeing him on the podium (and I have no idea who won gold). What I recall is how unique he was compared to all other competitors. He stood there without all the fancy equipment, glasses and technology, pointed a pistol like a casual gangster in a movie and shot his way to glory.
Think back to previous Olympics… Eric the Eel, Steven Bradbury, the 1968 power salute by two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos… all moments that have embedded in our brains forever, yet none of them for the traditional athleticism that the Olympics are known for.
What does this tell us about moments in life? It’s the uniqueness that makes them memorable. Of course, this phenomenon isn’t unique to the Olympics. In fact, in every aspect of life it’s these extraordinary moments that we carry with us forever. Every experience we enjoy lives or dies in our consciousness based on the things that stood out, forced us to feel something, and made our brains decide to command+s them into our lasting memories.
In our recent experience marketing report, Prepare for Impact, we saw 73% of respondents state that creating a memorable experience is highly important for attendees. That’s almost three quarters of audiences expecting awe-inducing moments at their next event. They want to engage and expand their senses and walk away from unique, attention-grabbing elements that they’ve never experienced before with a new core memory created.
However, there are some clients out there who baulk at the idea of introducing something new, fearful of rocking the boat of a previously successful experience. Why change things for an event that has worked perfectly before? Quite simply because your audience demands more. Boredom will eventually creep in, and numbers will dwindle, as will audience satisfaction.
The other common fear is that a unique element can distract from key messaging or jeopardise the final event delivery. But much like the Turkish shooter, these memory-defining moments don’t have to come at the expense of perfection. The message and focus can still be on target (see what I did there), while still astounding audiences with something unforgettable that either runs in parallel or further punctuates a point that’s being made.
The truth is the most memorable events or experiences in life that you have ever attended all had a unique element that made you feel something new. That’s why you’ll never forget them.
So what can we do?
- Be unafraid to brainstorm… without inhibition. Too often the limitations creep in based budgets, agency capabilities, and worst of all – client expectations. But clients are actually expecting something new – they just don’t know it until they see it, so instead they ask for what they know.
- Be unafraid to scare clients… in the nicest possible way. If you’re not shocking your clients at least once in every presentation, they’ll get bored. You’ll think you’re meeting their needs but you’re actually falling below expectations. Show them something wild.
- Be unafraid to be you… the real you. Stop conforming. Stop trying to fit in with the world around you. No-one unforgettable has ever maintained the status quo.
We all need to dare to be different. Dare to stand out. Dare to be the first and dare to make an impact – because that’s the only way to create those memories that no-one will ever forget.
Troy Graham
Group Creative Director