Creating the "WOW" Moment through Non-traditional Venue Scouting

iDEKO Education Series: Event Production

By David Knee, VP of Business Development

It is no secret that the experiential landscape has become content competitive. To stay relevant in this industry, event professionals must continuously seek to challenge the norm. One of the most underutilized ways of accomplishing this is through finding non-traditional venues that contest the notion of "normal" and open the minds of those both experiencing and producing these unique activations. When the organization chooses the right, thought-provoking venue, the benefits can be endless. From increased ROI to enhanced consumer engagements – it pays to invest in the perfect space.Over the past decade, I have worked with clients who have challenged the status quo by producing groundbreaking events in some of the most unique, non-traditional spaces out there. Some of my favorites include a fitness event at the former NYPD mounted unit training facility at Pier 76, an unforgettable Super Bowl activation in the old San Francisco Mint, and the production of a private New Year's Eve Party for Ninja in an abandoned commercial real estate space overlooking Times Square. These are just a select few of the "WOW" moments that one can create through finding the right non-traditional venue for an event.

The right non-traditional venue makes all the difference...

If there is one thing clients strive for, it is innovation. A new, fresh, and exciting location can draw an audience in on a personal level and more importantly, have them talking about it even after the event has concluded. The exclusivity of a space alone is enchanting enough to make you long for more. Finding that right location can make all the difference in creating the "in-crowd" experience that participants want to interact with, share, and relive. It's about creativity; it's the beginning of something new. It's the fleeting moment we long for as an audience and want to hold onto because it will never be experienced the same way twice.It all begins with a client ask. Here's an ask we received; "Can we do an event in a train station somewhere in NYC"? One might assume that the immediate answer would be "no, that's not possible," but this is where marketers need to push their partners. iDEKO saw this "impossible" task as an opportunity to deliver an unforgettable moment driven by the location itself. After a few phone calls (more like 100), we tapped into a "never used before" location, an abandoned Harlem train mezzanine that hadn't seen the light of day in over 60 years. While this was a hidden gem close to home, spaces like this are located throughout the country just waiting to be rediscovered. As long as the client is committed to going down the path of something new the opportunities and outcomes are unimaginable. It indeed IS about who you know!It's always exciting entering a unique space that has endless potential. One memory that comes to mind is stepping into the American Stock Exchange building for the first time a few years ago. When I first entered, the building looked as though it had been abandoned for decades and was still being set up. This memory stands out because as people look at the American Stock Exchange today with the naked eye, they could never imagine what it once had looked like previously or the potential that the space held. As a result of my consultancy, people now use the American Stock Exchange building for live events.Another exciting example of a unique space includes going below ground to a forgotten relic from over 75 years ago. We went to a seemly standard NYC hotel, but once we went two floors below ground, we found ourselves stepping back in time. There was an abandoned underground pool that hadn't been used in almost a century and dates to the facility that was created before it became a hotel. This underground location turned into an ideal venue for a unique party for one of our clients. I implore everyone to take a step back and look around because you never know where your next great space may emerge. Who knows, it may even be above a 75-year-old pool.If you're hosting a private party, a corporate event or an experiential activation, odds are we can help you find a space that will "wow" both consumers and industry professionals alike.