Common traits among popular events

Mark Chew is a media guy, which means he sees stuff, such as events that people like. If you’d like people to like your event, this report is for you:

There is plenty of appetite for participation if you get your offer right and are a few common denominators that seem to crop up in the events that do well. This is my personal list of EIGHT PRINCIPLES to make your event a success. I don’t think you need them all but the more the better:

RULE 1 – Be Inclusive at Every Opportunity
Too often potential competitors feel unwelcome. They don’t know how the system works, they don’t feel part of “the club” and they are afraid of looking foolish. In every engagement throw a metaphorical arm around their shoulders and welcome them in.

RULE 2 – Take it Seriously (and don’t)
Confusing I know, but run the event well. Get back to people when they contact you, make the guidelines and expectations clear. Encourage people to try hard. Work on safety. But don’t make winning the only goal. At the end of the day it’s just a boat race.

RULE 3 – Build a History
This is easier said than done, but always run events remembering that you are creating a legacy. Celebrate the eccentricities and make them into maker points for next year. And be persistent. As Steve Jobs observed… “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.”

RULE 4 – Simplify the Format
I’ll give you two words. America’s Cup. No one outside the inner coterie understands the way the boats work. No one really wants to understand the way the competition is structured. And fewer and fewer people care. So keep the rules simple, keep the format understandable, and don’t obsess about “fairness”

RULE 5 – Celebrate Participation as much as Victory
Most people don’t win, (that’s the nature of winning), but you want them to come back next year. So congratulate the participants more than the place getters.

RULE 6 – Make the Event Hard (but not too hard)
One of the overly simplistic mantras that I refer back to regularly is “happiness comes from achievement”. So it follows that the bigger the achievement, the more the happiness. The event needs to be big enough challenge that crossing the finish line delivers a sense of accomplishment. And acknowledge that in itself will be different for everyone.

RULE 7 – Avoid Technology Where Possible
At its core, sailing is an analogue activity. It’s about wind on the face and judgement calls made from intuition. The moment we start degrading this, by allowing machines and algorithms to make the decisions for us, we are forgetting why we stepped aboard in the first place

RULE 8 – Communicate with Clarity and Humor
Have another read of the advise from the Race to Alaska team above. Its clear, informative, blunt and funny. It makes me want to be involved. Avoid the po-faced jargon coming out of Yacht Clubs (mostly with an R in their acronym) and say it like you mean it.