Let’s start with an uncomfortable truth.
Most events are very good at happening – they are far less good at meaning anything.
The lights work. The coffee is hot. The speakers turn up. Everyone claps at roughly the right moments. Then everyone goes home and struggles to explain what the event was actually about.
This is not a logistical problem.
It is a story problem.
An event without a story is just a room full of people at the same time. Pleasant enough. Entirely forgettable.
Events do not speak for themselves
There is a common belief in events that if the rationale behind hosting it is strong enough, people will simply get it. They will understand why it matters, who it is for, and what they are meant to take away.
They will not.
People arrive busy, distracted, and mildly sceptical. They need context, framing, and a reason to care that goes beyond a speaker list and a schedule that starts at 9am sharp.
This is where content and communications stop being a nice extra and start being the difference between impact and polite applause.
A good event tells people a story before they arrive.
A great event makes them feel part of it while they are there.
The best events give them something to take away afterwards that still makes sense on a random Tuesday morning in 6 months time.
Before the event, you are not promoting. You are setting expectations
Most pre-event comms say a lot without saying very much.
The date. The time. Names. Logos. Early bird deadlines that feel mildly threatening. But what they often forget to answer is a far more important question. Why should anyone give this their time?
Good content answers that question early. It sets the tone. It makes a promise. It quietly signals who this event is really for and who might be happier elsewhere.
This is not about building hype with exclamation points and the lure of free accommodation, it is about clarity.
If people arrive knowing what kind of experience they are walking into, they engage faster and complain less. A small but but mighty win.
During the event, the content shapes the experience
Event content and communications are often treated like documentation. Photos. Videos. Employee quotes hastily collected between sessions. All useful, all slightly reactive.
Content is not just there to record what happened. It actively shapes how the event feels.
The words on the screens. The way speakers are introduced. The tone of the stage copy. The social posts that make people look up from their phones and think, yes, this is worth sharing.
These things create rhythm and momentum, they help people understand where they sit in the wider story, not just the agenda for the day.
When content is planned properly, it stops being background noise and starts becoming part of the atmosphere. The event feels intentional rather than assembled.
After the event is where impact crescendos, or disappears
You can always tell which events took content seriously by what happens next. Some vanish entirely, leaving behind a lonely hashtag and a vague memory of having enjoyed the pastries.
Others keep going.
They follow up with purpose, connect the dots, and remind people why the event mattered and what they are meant to do now.
This is where the story earns its keep.
It turns a one day experience into ongoing value.
Without this, even the best events quietly fade into the mental drawer labelled ‘nice day out’.
Content and comms are not decoration
The mistake is thinking content and communications sit around the event. In reality, they hold it together.
They influence who shows up, how people behave, and what they remember. They shape perception long before the first keynote and long after the chairs are stacked away.
When content is brought in late, it can only describe the event.
When it is involved early, it can help design it.
That is a very different role, and a far more powerful one.
A simple test to take away
If someone asks an attendee what your event was about, could they answer in one sentence without mentioning the venue or the catering?
If not, the story was never clear.
Events with impact are not louder, bigger, or more complicated. They are clearer. They know what they are trying to say and they say it consistently, in human language, with a bit of personality.
Because if your event has no story, it has no impact.
It just has a start time.
