4 Things Keeping Event Profs Up at Night…Other than AI

As the year winds down, we brace ourselves for the inevitable deluge of “Trends for 2024 in the ______ Industry” articles. While I suppose you could put this post into that category, I prefer to call it “Four Things Keeping Event Profs Up At Night…Other Than AI”

I spend most of my time speaking and meeting with event marketers and these topics come up again and again.

Content/Format

There is a genuine interest in re-thinking what is being communicated and how it is delivered. Brands understand that audience demands have changed, and we’re excited to see a willingness to take risks. Attendees are even accepting of some missteps if they are made in an effort to deliver compelling content in an engaging (often shorter) format. Leaning on “what we did last year” is a dangerous strategy. Looking ahead, we’ll be tasked with finding the optimal way to deliver content to our audience from event to event and session to session.

Data

Anecdotes from the sales organization just don’t cut it today. Events make up a higher percentage of marketing budgets than ever before and with that comes increased scrutiny.  Management expectations are direct: either demonstrate value or that event spend will be allocated elsewhere. Consider this a shift from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’.

One of my colleagues often asks a great question as we kick-off event planning – what needs to change in the attendee from pre-event to post-event?  And if we’re going to move that needle, what metrics are we going to use?

Access to the right data is critical to establishing a credible link between budget and return. If you don’t have a plan for data capture, analysis and delivery for every engagement, cue the insomnia.

Sustainability

Corporate governance is pushing sustainability initiatives, and events are an easy target. Up to this point, we’ve seen a lot of lip service paid to sustainability in our industry, only to be quietly walked back if those measures negatively impact the budget.

Increasingly though, we’re seeing decisions made up and down the supply chain with sustainability as a meaningful criterion. Recently a global marketing leader at a tech firm confided improvements in sustainability standards are part of her performance metrics. If this isn’t yet on your priority list, it’s coming.

Community

Once upon a time, an event was a singular engagement where the brand told the audience what it wanted them to know. Today, an event is just one touchpoint in the ongoing conversation between a brand and its customers (or prospective customers). It’s also where attendees connect and engage with each other.

Survey after survey, we consistently hear that peer-to-peer networking is a primary driver for event participation. And like it or not, people are going to talk about your brand and your products. In the absence of a curated community, there are plenty of forums to fill the void, but probably not in the way you would prefer. Event agendas with ample space for networking and sessions that facilitate meaningful connections within your audience have become essential.

Events are now widely considered one of, if not the, most powerful marketing tools in a company’s arsenal. The key to success in 2024 and beyond will be a willingness to evolve our strategies and a relentless drive to provide the utmost value to our attendees.

Greg Beach is the VP of Business Development at Event Strategy Group, an event marketing agency specializing in strategy and production of B2B events programs.