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Certainly not – the show must (always) go on. The pandemic has taken its toll on assembly and the impact may not yet be fully behind us. But the fundamental human need to gather is surging everywhere you look; dinning-out (and in), sports, concerts. Traditional 'performing arts' have been slower to rebound due mostly to demographics and higher-density seating. With a financial model that nominally requires 55% - 60% capacity to break-even, the road back to prosperity for them will likely have some potholes.

For those utilizing 'special events' as part of their marketing mix, precise timing is the only real issue. Too early could be perceived as insensitive, too late risks losing a considerable 'first-mover' advantage. Generally, events have an advantage over most other group activities – more space. Unlike restaurants, arenas and concert venues, events allow patrons to maintain reasonable social distance. And, at time of writing, there are no known cases of outdoor transmission (according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Little was known about COVID in the early stages of the pandemic, leading to a good deal of fear and considerable misinformation, much of which stubbornly persists. However, in this context facts and relevance are of little importance. People act and re-act based on their beliefs, whether true or otherwise.

It would be foolhardy attempting to offer a timeline for the resumption normalcy, or at least a 'new normal'. The virus and the public psyche move at their own pace. But over the last few weeks there has been a decided mood-shift; perhaps because of immunization, PPE, herd immunity or possibly even fatigue. Whatever the reason, people seem ready to immerge from the malaise and begin looking forward.

Economist and Nobel Laureate the late Milton Friedman once said, “only a crisis - actual or perceived - produces real change..." For most, COVID was and is just such a crisis. He went on to say "the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around". To paraphrase, the future favours the prepared.

As we emerge from the depths of gloom and uncertainty, considerable shifts in public perception are possible, even probable. The experts cannot agree on what will happen next, or when, but the unmistakable ether of change is in the air. Collective belief is a very potent force. It can make the unremarkable, famous, create enormous wealth and foment seismic social change. We are certainly not qualified to offer any scientific analysis of the contagion but the current 'winds of change', plus years of experience, suggest that now is the time for planning.

By definition, attraction (noun) is "the action or power of evoking interest in or liking for someone or something" and (verb) "causing one to come to a place or participate in an activity by offering something of interest and/or benefit". The meanings are fairly straightforward; successfully implementing them can be anything but. Attractions are for people, and the wants, needs and desires of people are complex. Planning an attraction that strives to appeal to everybody, in effect, is planning for no one.

The halcyon days of 'mass appeal' are long gone. It's not clear if they ever really existed, or if earlier successes were simply the result of limited choice. Today, consumer expectations are high, very high, and the range of targeted leisure options extensive. Designing successful attractions requires one to utilize available resources in the most strategic way possible, in order to create the highest possible impact without breaking the bank. The best attractions are the result of creative thinking and continually challenging ones preconceptions, the latter being the work of a lifetime for designers.

In that regard, we (Aubrum) are occasionally accused of harboring a pessimistic perspective. But given the complexity of the task at hand, realism is a prerequisite. People can talk themselves into many strange things. One need only look at the Quaker/Snapple acquisition or the Target Canada launch to see group-think run wildly amuck. Extreme examples, certainly, but it is always prudent to assume that people are not desperate to attend your event.

The fundamental starting point, always, is defining your audience demographic; who are they, where are they, are there enough of them and why will they care? The value of any offering is audience-dependent. The more unique, the greater the chance of overcoming innate inertia. That's not to suggest that many things do not enjoy broad appeal but, from an event perspective, specialty features represent a higher draw.

In general terms, things that are unique ― that can't be seen or experienced elsewhere top the attractions list. That can mean many things, from depth of selection to an unusual exhibit or group of exhibits to and unusual location or setting. An example might be a boat show on the water, or a boat show featuring only one type of craft, or a boat show that includes a very unusual craft the few would typically be able to see in person. All of the examples add particular appeal for a certain demographic.

The most successful attractions aren't 'like' something else. Their appeal is typically in a category of their own. Be bold, be audacious, but be logical. People are always attracted to things that are truly 'unique', provided the distinction does not violate their schema.

The 'buzz' words that currently dominate web development are UI/UX – User Interface and User Experience. But when you stop to think about it, those same two considerations are the basis of all consumer satisfaction, whether the product is a good, a service, or even a leisure experience.

Online behavior is the most exhaustively and accurately studied activity in history. Every keystroke, click, sequence and millisecond of time is captured, compared and analyzed. Google, indeed all of our 'smart' devices, know us better that we know ourselves. And does anyone really believe that Siri and Alexa ever stop listening? Time will tell if unfettered access is good or bad.

The terrestrial plane is more opaque. There are many options and exigencies, but because accurate data gathering is more cumbersome and costly, there is a higher potential for misinterpretation. Through experience, a good user interface, the layout of components and their ease of operations, should be relatively simple to achieve. But a memorable user experience, customer satisfaction for want of a better term, is both perceptual and subjective.

The challenge intrigued no less a thinker than Princeton psychologist and economist, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. He and colleagues Barbara Fredrickson, Charles Schreiber and Donald Redelmeier wanted to know how people remember 'destination' experiences. The research model was based on vacations. Their 1993 study provided groundbreaking evidence for what came to be known as the Peak–End Rule, a psychological heuristic in which people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (the intense point) and at its end, rather than a sum or average of the moments throughout. While most events have a lower 'threshold of expectation' than vacation expenditures, 'Peak-End' does provide some useful clues.

In most cases, the largest costs for event organizers are infrastructure items; power, water, data, signage, transportation and labour. Many of these are statutory requirements and most are all but invisible to patrons. As these elements are common to most events (and for the most part indiscernible) how does one stand out from the ordinary? The answer is both simple and complex - exceed expectations. Not necessarily across the board (valiant but also punishingly expensive) but rather the things with which patrons have direct interaction - the ticketing process (if any), entrance portals, wayfinding, staff, washrooms, even trash.

Like most top-tier theme park operators the inventor of the category, Disney Corporation, offer an outstanding product. Where they tower over the competition is their zeal for customer service and cleanliness. They rigorously train their staff to always put patrons first. Twenty-five people may ask the exact same question within the space of two minutes but each asked only once. At the same time, picking up litter or cleaning up a spill is everyone's responsibility, from the president to the actual cleaners. Customer service is everyone's job, regardless of title.

This level of commitment is admittedly harder to achieve with temporary staff. However, front-line workers are the human face of any event and must be inculcated into the bigger picture. Even temporary staff do a good job once the requirements are explained and they become aware of how integral they are to the success of the event. However, they can't know what management did not tell them.

Though far from exciting, cleanliness too is fundamental, and yet it's shocking how often good housekeeping is given short shrift. People demand a clean environment, particularly post pandemic. Litter and overflowing trash containers undermine confidence, tainting the visitor experience. Handled well, trash is all but invisible; handled poorly, it becomes 'the' lasting memory.

The ultimate in cringe-worth are portable toilets, indeed, most public washrooms. If you want to know how clean the kitchen is at your favorite restaurant, go to the washroom. Restrooms are a fundamental requirement. In the digital age, it is astounding that the best we can come up with is an odiferous plastic holding tank. Porta-potty are not the only solution available, of course, but they are the cheapest. Virtually all sanitation suppliers have better equipment but few organizers see the upgrade as a budget priority. That is exceedingly shortsighted.

Proper washroom facilities have become a bit of an obsession for us. Our consulting side even has a PDF, 'The Elephant In The Room', dedicated solely to the topic. It is geared more to those building or retrofitting event sites but it examines the factors in more detail.

User experience should be the single most important focus of every event. Engagement promotes spending, extends length-of-stay and increases positive social media mentions. Typically, much effort goes into event planning and execution. It is unfortunate to let sloppy infrastructure hijack the 'peak' message.

Economists tell us that decisions are logical and reasoned, based on needs and the best available options at the time. Certainly, that's how you make choices, right? If that is true, why do some people pay more than $40,000 for a Rolex when an electronic Seiko or even a Swatch watch keeps infinitely more accurate time? And studies consistently show that, for example, a full priced energy drink packs more wallop than a discounted one and a name brand analgesic has more effect than a generic one, even if both came from the same respective package.

What does any of this have to do with events? The answer is simple. Events are all about people and understanding people, the audience, is fundamental to success. In 'Predictably Irrational', Duke University professor and author Dan Ariely explores "rationality" though a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments. He shows how expectation, emotion, social norms and other invisible and seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning. Turns out we are remarkably complicated creatures and some very insignificant things can have a big impact on choice.

Author and motivation researcher Poco Underhill moves the discussion directly to the "point of sale" in his book 'Why We Buy'. He shows how fragile transactional moments are, in our context even the decision to attend the event or not, and the myriad influences that shape those perceptions. We live in an ultra-competitive environment and the struggle just to be noticed has become intense. Mainstream marketers have realized that "knowing" their customers, at least in the sense of demographic(s) and expectations, is the only reasonable way to establish and maintain a connection. For the most part these books do not provide specific answers but they do help illustrate the complexities involved and probably where one should be looking.