IMEX America speaker Paul Zak shares a sneak peek at his upcoming session, “The Neuroscience of WOW at Events.”
What do you mean by a wow experience?
A wow experienced by event attendees is measured by real-time brain responses that objectively show that the experience is valuable to them, second by second. Valuable experiences are enjoyable, remembered and create a craving to repeat them. In 20 years of academic research, my group discovered the brain’s valuation network for social-emotional experiences that I named “Immersion” and I’ll be sharing a free app at IMEX America so anyone can measure wow during events.
Is there a specific technological development in neuroscience that you’re following more than others? What implications could that have for event professionals?
There is a giant chasm between wanting to produce wow and actually doing it, which is where granular, objective measurement comes in. My group pioneered “distributed neuroscience” in which neurologic Immersion—the indicator of WOW—is measurable by applying algorithms to common smartwatches. The brain and body talk to each other and one of the things said is, “How ‘wow’ is this experience?” We figured out how to measure this neural signal at scale. You don’t have to believe me; I’ll share the app live on stage and show the data. Every event attendee wants to have an extraordinary experience—measuring Immersion is how planners ensure this occurs.
Are there benefits of wowing attendees that you suspect some event professionals may overlook?
My religion is CLV: customer lifetime value. When events create wow, it is easy to renew and expand relationships with clients. Minute-by-minute data are also honest—by showing clients which parts of an event fell flat, event organizers have a chance to [identify and] discuss why they will make changes next year that will create more wow.
“Every event attendee wants to have an extraordinary experience—measuring Immersion is how planners ensure this occurs.”
Can you share an event “wow” experience you’ve personally had that really made an impact?
I gave a talk at TED Global in 2011 that produced a standing ovation and audience bedlam after I finished. I’ll never forget that experience!
