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Retail marketers \u2013 and those operating beyond the sector \u2013 often fall into the trap of thinking too transactionally when using events to drive brand awareness or lead generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s really about building a community around your brand and creating engaged audiences,\u201d says Elinor Honigstein. In a post-Covid landscape crowded with channels competing for attention, getting in-person events right matters more than ever. As Honigstein puts it, \u201cpeople forget and move on very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Honigstein, the head of international marketing events at WeWork, has spent her career designing experiences that deliver genuine value and connect audiences worldwide. For the UK government, she created events that attracted international startups to the British market.<\/p>\n
At LinkedIn, she led the event product strategy, partnering with global brands to help marketers use the platform to expand reach and increase event impact. Now at WeWork, she develops global experiences that build brand awareness and deepen engagement. It is fair to say she knows a thing or two about creating events that actually benefit audiences and brands.<\/p>\n
We sat down with Honegstein to find out what retail marketers can learn from her expertise and success.<\/p>\n
Understanding the audience to build loyalty and connection<\/strong><\/p>\n While Honigstein recognises a growing enthusiasm for face-to-face events, she notes that people are increasingly drawn to smaller, more intimate gatherings \u2013 and, crucially, to experiences that offer clear value. \u201cPeople are coming together more around shared purposes and shared interests,\u201d she says. \u201cPost-pandemic, audiences are also more selective about what\u2019s worth showing up for.\u201d<\/p>\n For Honigstein, three factors drive people to attend events: the opportunity to connect with others, the chance to have a genuinely memorable experience, and the opportunity to learn. Understanding these motivations \u2013 and the deeper human need to connect, be heard and feel involved \u2013 is what ultimately drives loyalty, attendance and meaningful brand connection.<\/p>\n \u201cEvents work best when they make the audience an active participant rather than just a passive observer. Having lots of opportunities to engage \u2013 whether it\u2019s interacting with the product, playing a game or contributing ideas \u2013 really shows that a brand\u2019s listening to its audience and that they\u2019re part of the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n In the events Honigstein and her team design, they always consider engaging people on-site in some way, whether it be a craft activity or something personalised for the audience. \u201cIt makes people feel special and part of the experience,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n To truly understand the \u201caudience\u201d \u2013 a term Honigstein admits can feel broad \u2013 brands need to segment and tailor experiences accordingly. \u201cThe more value you can give to a specific sub-segment, whether through relevant content or carefully curating who\u2019s in the room, the better,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes a targeted dinner for 20 people is far more valuable than a huge expo. Tailoring experiences and thinking from an audience-first perspective really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Gen Z and millennials, especially, expect personalisation as much as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re living in a world where Amazon teaches us that anything can be at our doorstep in less than a day, and Spotify or Netflix teaches us that everything is tailored to us \u2013 that we\u2019re special, that we\u2019re at the centre of everything. So in that respect, the new generation expects the same from the experiences brands design.\u201d<\/p>\n Honigstein recognises that people now expect speed and relevance from their first interaction with a brand. Once that initial engagement happens, brands need to quickly guide people towards what they\u2019re trying to achieve \u2013 whether that\u2019s making a sale, deepening engagement or inviting them to the next touchpoint.<\/p>\n Otherwise, she warns, people will move on and forget. \u201cWhile personalisation isn\u2019t a magic bullet, it\u2019s ultimately what I\u2019m seeing in terms of what people expect now.\u201d<\/p>\n Brands also need to consider the cultural and contextual differences shaping how people gather today.<\/p>\n As Honigstein explains, location and industry have a huge influence on behaviour \u2013 not just in terms of preferences, but in the practical decisions that shape turnout. \u201cWhere you\u2019re actually doing the event, and the industry you\u2019re operating in, makes a huge difference,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n These nuances matter because they shape not only attendance, but also the atmosphere and expectations surrounding an event. The same applies to data: \u201cHow much people are willing to share, how comfortable they are giving details about themselves,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, an event is also there to generate leads, so you need to be mindful of the data you\u2019re collecting. That\u2019s another cultural layer.\u201d<\/p>\n What to avoid when designing events<\/strong><\/p>\n Bigger and flashier does not always equal a better event, Honigstein admits. \u201cIn reality, over-the-top activations \u2013 especially when they\u2019re not relevant to the brand or the audience \u2013 can really fall flat.\u201d<\/p>\n A guiding principle she often returns to is this: if any other company could put their logo on your event, something has gone wrong. Events should tell the story of the brand, feeling unique, distinctive and grounded in the needs of the audience \u2013 not driven by spectacle for spectacle\u2019s sake. The strongest experiences, Honigstein argues, favour intimacy over excess and avoid feeling transactional.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to understand who your audience is and what will actually add value for them. For example, there\u2019s a tendency for some brands to rely heavily on high-tech AR experiences. But if your audience isn\u2019t comfortable with that tech, then you\u2019re missing the mark. So you need to understand the audience first, rather than leaning on glitzy, big-scale experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n For Honigstein, events that fail to captivate attention \u2013 despite the best intentions and significant investment \u2013 are often those where the audience does not clearly benefit. Clear communication is critical as people need to understand exactly what to expect.<\/p>\n \u201cI might come to a brand event thinking it\u2019s directed at marketers, but in fact it\u2019s targeting engineers or data professionals within a tech platform rather than marketers. If that\u2019s not clear, you create mismatched expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually very simple to fix: be explicit. Say, \u2018This event is for X, Y and Z. This is what you\u2019re going to get from it.\u2019 It prevents misunderstandings.\u201d<\/p>\n Consumer events, Honigstein admits, have left her feeling \u201ca bit tired\u201d recently \u2013 and she sees the space as one that\u2019s crying out for disruption. \u201cWhen it\u2019s all about booths, sellers and buyers, trying to match them and forcing the selling, that\u2019s when I don\u2019t feel inspired,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it works simply because the numbers are so big that a percentage of it works. But a lot of the time, it\u2019s just really samey.\u201d<\/p>\n When experiences feel dry, speaker selection and content curation are often part of the problem. Selecting, briefing and curating the right speakers \u2013 in a way that consistently puts the audience first \u2013 is pivotal.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can choose the best speakers, but you can\u2019t have a panel of three or four people all end up saying the same thing,\u201d Honigstein says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always need a diversity of voices, and you need to brief speakers again and again about who the audience is and what they expect to learn. Speakers can be great speakers, but if they\u2019re not saying anything relevant for that audience, then that\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n It is also about balance. Honigstein aims to mix well-known speakers \u2013 or speakers from well-known brands who can attract an audience \u2013 with up-and-coming voices or specialists who may not be famous but bring depth and expertise to the conversation.<\/p>\n Events that stood out to Honigstein<\/strong><\/p>\n One event in particular that struck Honigstein was a Vogue and Snapchat collaboration that brought an AR fashion experience to life. The in-person exhibit invited visitors to move between different stations and try on high-fashion designs using Snapchat lenses.<\/p>\n Whether it was Balenciaga, Dior or Gucci, attendees left with high-fashion images of themselves \u2013 and even a personalised Vogue magazine cover.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of brand awareness and brand connection, it did wonders,\u201d Honigstein says. \u201cYou could really see the personalisation, the snappiness of trying the brand and getting results instantly, and how interactive the whole experience was.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s research showing that around 85% of people who attend events where they actively engage with a brand go on to use it or like it afterwards. I downloaded Snapchat straight after \u2013 and I didn\u2019t have it before. It gave me real insight into the product, and the collaboration between Vogue and Snapchat was very clever.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond large-scale brand moments, Honigstein also values interest-based meetups that prioritise originality and community.<\/p>\n \u201cI recently saw an event in my neighbourhood, a big brand doing supper clubs and cooking lessons in their shops. It brought loads of clients in.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports brands, she adds, often do this particularly well. \u201cThey build communities around running groups or yoga. Alo Yoga, for example, has dedicated studio spaces within many of its stores, running yoga sessions that work really effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n For Honigstein, all of these successful examples come back to the same principle: \u201cReally thinking about what your brand stands for, who your audience is, and how you can bring them together.\u201d<\/p>\n In an increasingly crowded events landscape, it is that audience-first mindset \u2013 not scale or spectacle \u2013 that makes experiences resonate.<\/p>\n