Celebration Nation

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Creating a compelling large corporate event is more challenging than ever. When unlimited entertainment choices are only an app-click away and a clever selfie can ignite an instant meme on social media, is it any wonder that FOMO—fear of missing out—is increasingly driving our behavior? With so much external stimuli competing for our time and attention, pity the beleaguered conference planner, who strives to break through all the noise.

But for Storey Pryor, senior director of events at Isagenix, a direct-selling health and nutrition company, FOMO is a strategy to embrace as she plans its annual Global Celebration event. Last year’s affair brought together 15,000 people for a bespoke affair at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas in August. Another 20,000 Isagenix customer-entrepreneurs took part via live video feed. And while Pryor wants those people to experience the proceedings vicariously, she also wants them to see the fun they’re missing. “When someone is putting our show on Facebook Live,” she says, “we love to create that fear of missing out for the people who aren’t in the room.”

The team at The Venetian worked with Pryor to create an experience facilitating meaningful connections and lasting bonds. That was especially important for an event like Global Celebration, which has ballooned from the 2,500 who attended one of the first events in 2010. Since then, the company’s annual sales have catapulted from $200 million to nearly $1 billion, and attendance at the event has risen accordingly. The challenge now is providing each attendee with the same sense of community and personal commitment as at that first get-together—no small feat for a massive event.