By Mary Tucker | Senior Communications and Content Manager | IAEE

Every exhibition organizer knows the feeling: you want to build a five-star experience, but the line item next to “experiential design” looks suspiciously thin. The good news is that the gap between “feels expensive” and “is expensive” is smaller than most organizers might think. And it’s almost entirely a matter of creativity, not cash.

This challenge will be explored in IAEE’s upcoming webinar, Bougie On A Budget, built for organizers who want their events to feel polished, intentional and unforgettable – without the budget to match. Rather than chasing bigger spend, this session digs into the resources organizers already have on hand: venue features, destination partners, local creatives and sponsorship activations that perform double duty for both the attendee experience and the bottom line. Expect real case studies, practical frameworks and ideas you can put to work immediately.

Leading the conversation are two experts who’ve spent decades turning “what we have” into “wow!” Ksenija Polla, CMP, CICE, Director of International Development at Talley Management Group, brings more than 30 years of international association experience to the table, much of it spent building destination and partnership relationships across Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Emilie Perkins, CAE, CMP Fellow, CMM, PMP, CED, HMCC, Vice President of Client and Conference Services at Raybourn Group International, has designed, executed and evaluated more than 1,000 meetings in her 25+ year career, with a particular strength in event design and marketing that’s earned her a Certified Event Designer credential.

Between them, they’ve turned modest budgets into outsized impact more times than they can count – and they’re about to hand over the playbook! Here, they offer a taste of the concepts and strategies they will be unpacking in their upcoming webinar.

KSENIJA: You’ve worked on international association meetings across Asia, Latin America and the Middle East – markets with wildly different resources, costs and cultural expectations. How does “bougie on a budget” change shape based on where the event is held?

Geography certainly influences both the cost and the shape of a “wow!” experience. In destinations across Asia and the Middle East, for example, the culture, history and sense of place can become part of the experience without requiring elaborate production. But the same principle applies everywhere: every destination has something distinctive to offer, and almost every venue has assets that can be used more creatively.

The key is to think differently, remain open to ideas and ask better questions.

Rather than simply telling a venue, “I need this number of meeting rooms,” ask whether they have successfully hosted multiple sessions within one larger space and how they made that work. Ask whether they have hosted festivals, concerts or theatrical performances, and whether they have props, staging pieces or other materials in storage that could be repurposed.

In Houston, an astronaut figure became an ideal photo opportunity that attendees could share on social media. In Prague, a set depicting the city’s bridges created a memorable stage entrance for the emcee. Neither idea required building an experience entirely from scratch. They started with something the venue or destination already had.

Of course, sometimes there is a larger budget. At an event in Abu Dhabi, a festival environment was created inside a large exhibition hall, including custom-branded meeting spaces. It was a significant investment, but I encouraged the venue to retain the movable structures, which had been made from sustainable materials, so they could be adapted and offered to future clients. That turned a one-time expense into a reusable venue asset and created greater flexibility for future events.

That is really the essence of “bougie on a budget:” look beyond the traditional inventory, ask what already exists and consider how one investment or partnership can create value more than once.

EMILIE: In your vast experience, have you seen a case – maybe with a smaller or scrappier event – where a creative, low-budget idea ended up outperforming something far more expensive?

Working with several smaller associations, we have most definitely seen big impacts with minimal spend.  The key is to know your stakeholders and always be on the lookout for interesting and impactful experiences. Our meetings team has a repository where we add in activations/experiences that we have seen or participated in that made a lasting impression. We start there when we are looking for something meaningful to add to our events.

A recent example is a state association that was untilizing a “Garden Party” theme. We designed an interactive planting station in their exhibit hall where attendees could plant their own succulents to take home with them. The supplies were inexpensive but the experience will last far beyond the meeting when they look at their plant in their home or office. This would be a great sponsorship opportunity as well – branding the pots or having the sponsor there to assist in the activity. The bonus for this particular event was that it was right before Mother’s Day so several attendees planted an extra succulent for someone special in their lives!

KSENIJA: A lot of your career has centered on association transformation and legacy measurement, which focus on the long-term impact of an event rather than just the moment itself. How do budget-conscious “wow!” moments fit into that bigger picture? Can a low-cost touch actually leave a longer legacy than a high-cost one?

Absolutely. People may not remember every presentation or production element, but they will remember how an experience made them feel and whether they felt part of something meaningful.

One of my favorite examples was a conference we held in Kraków, Poland in November 2022. The war in Ukraine had begun earlier that year, and Kraków was supporting a significant influx of Ukrainian refugees. We knew we could not hold the conference without acknowledging what was happening in the community around us.

We collaborated with local restaurants, and one morning our attendees helped prepare a Ukrainian dish that was packed in glass jars and delivered to refugee support centers the following day. Participants also brought clothing and other needed items. At the close of the conference, a choir of 100 Ukrainian children performed for our attendees. Soon, everyone was on their feet singing together, and there were very few dry eyes in the room.

That experience supported the local community, but it also gave attendees a deeper connection to the destination and to one another. They were not simply watching an impressive performance. They had contributed, participated and understood why the moment mattered.

I do not believe we would have created the same emotional connection by bringing a celebrity singer onto the stage, regardless of the cost. A low-cost touch can absolutely leave a longer legacy than a high-cost one when it is authentic, locally relevant and gives people a meaningful role to play. The real “wow!” is not always what attendees see. Sometimes it is what they helped make possible.

EMILIE: As a Certified Event Designer, you think about experience design in a deliberate, almost architectural way. What’s your process for identifying which low-cost elements of a venue or destination are actually worth building an experience around vs. the ones that just look good on paper?

I probably sound like a broken record, but first you have to truly know your stakeholders. My succulent planting example only works for attendees who are not flying to their destination and who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. I am sure you can already picture certain stakeholders who would roll their eyes at the thought while others would fully embrace the activity.

The second most important question to ask is – why? What is the purpose of this meeting/event/activity? Remember when puppy cuddling was the rage and everyone wanted to add that to their meeting? I personally loved it, but when I was thinking about my associations and their members… it wasn’t really the right fit for their meetings. Just because something is fun, it does not mean you have to add it to your event.

Use that same philosophy when it comes to your destinations. If it has amazing trails but your attendees aren’t the hiking type, maybe you shouldn’t focus on that. Conversely, if they aren’t athletic/outdoorsy (no judgement – that describes me!) but enjoy storytelling, maybe the destination could offer a leisurely walking tour that focuses on the destinations history. Know your audience and do not be swayed by shiny objects!

KSENIJA: You’ve taught organizers through programs like ICCASkills and the Incredible Impacts Programme. When you’re coaching someone who is convinced they need a bigger budget to create a premium experience, what’s the first thing you try to get them to see differently?

The first thing I ask them to revisit is the “why.” Not to sound like Simon Sinek, but it really is the most important place to begin.

Why are people coming together? What should be different for attendees, the organization or the host community because this event took place? That purpose is what makes people willing to travel and leave the comfort of home. Without a compelling reason to be there in person, they can consume content from their computer.

Once the “why” is clear, the experience can be designed around it. That is where creativity becomes more valuable than budget. A premium experience does not have to mean expensive performers, elaborate décor or costly production. It means creating moments that feel intentional, relevant and worth the journey.

You can have the largest budget in the world, but if the purpose is unclear, the event will still feel hollow. When the “why” is strong, even a simple idea can feel meaningful and memorable.

EMILIE: Sponsorship is often where organizers feel the most pressure to either oversell or undersell an opportunity. From your experience, what does a creative sponsorship activation that genuinely elevates the attendee experience look like?

Sponsorship is such a delicate balance, especially when you are thinking about this in terms of attendee experience and the sponsor return on investment. This goes back to our first tenant of experience design – know your stakeholders and understand the why. If your sponsor comes to you with what they think is an amazing experience/activation but your attendees don’t participate or engage, then you have not only fractured that sponsor relationship but you also risk breaking the trust of your attendees.

Succesful sponsorship creation requires you take the time to foster the relationship with that sponsor that allows you to recommend a mutually beneficial opportunity. Puppy cuddling is not a one-size-fits-all option, so be brave enough to provide the feedback and direction your sponsors need to create a winning activation at your next event.

Click here to register for Bougie on a Budget and learn more about upcoming IAEE webinars here.

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