What Producers Can Learn From "Occupy Wall Street"

I’ve always made an effort to remain as apolitical as possible on this blog. Not only are politics irrelevant to my chosen subject, I’ve learned that there’s no quicker way of turning off half of your readership than interjecting political opinions where they don’t belong. It’s with this in mind that I’ve remained silent thusfar on the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Despite being billed as a “non-partisan” event, it’s been reviled, ridiculed, and/or co-opted by the entire political spectrum, to the point where the mere mention of it elicits some measure of passionate response.

However, there’s one aspect of these protests that I find particularly relevant to the event industry, one that challenges a notion many producers (including myself) have been indoctrinated with for the entirety of our careers.

If you want your event to be successful, fostering an organic emotional cohesion is more important than establishing consistent message, theme, or branding cohesion. In layman’s terms, just shut up and get out of your audience’s way.

Beyond its populist appeal, what has allowed the Occupy Wall Street movement to continually expand its ranks has been a reluctance (or refusal) to define the movement by establishing a unified set of grievances and demands. In fact, a walk through any OWS encampment throughout the country will provide you with nearly as many grievances as there are protesters. Unless their beliefs are exceedingly hateful or disruptive, everyone has been welcomed into the fold. The end result may seem chaotic and directionless, (and may be in some respects), but there’s no doubt that this has resulted in a larger, more impassioned base. Although this openness may prevent the movement from gaining larger political traction, there’s no doubt that it has gotten the attention of the entire world, and sewn the seeds of a larger movement that will outlast these first few protests.

As producers, we spend a lot of time and energy worrying about controlling our event’s “image” - whether our branding is completely consistent, our messaging aimed with the utmost of accuracy, even down to the emotions the color of our lighting is meant to evoke in our guests. I certainly won’t discount this level of attention, especially since that’s precisely what our clients hire us to do. But what I believe OWS shows us is that such careful scripting may actually hinder our events prospects to grow and connect with a wider audience. Every little thing doesn’t need to be planned, cohesive, and slick to be effective. We shouldn’t always feel the need to guide our audience to what we believe they should think or feel. Sometimes, it may be better to leave the talk of concepts and strategies at home, and simply create a welcoming environment that invites your audience to define their own experience.