Future-proof your events with these key trends

Event planners discussed how to ensure that attendees are fully engaged with your events at a recent Cvent webinar, while the events software business also revealed its latest findings on venue sourcing trends.

Virtual events continue to be a learning journey.Approach virtual events as a fluid process and a learning exercise. Sometimes people are more engaged and want to interact online, at other times they want to attend in person.

“The benefit of this approach, where we are always testing, is that we’ve been able to try out a range of products, including our own webinar product,” says Amelia Brown, marketing and communications at Evcom, the membership association for the event and visual communications sector. “We’re reshaping our business all the time and we’re able to do this by incorporating lots of user feedback so it works on all levels and for all stakeholders.”

Be flexible and open-minded. Latest Cvent source data indicates that hotels are taking longer to respond to requests for proposals – 23% longer than they did in 2019 (pre-pandemic), which Cvent says impacts the planner experience and their ability to work efficiently.

“One of the things suppliers can take advantage of is building in flexibility and submitting alternative proposals, for example availability for different dates – small things like that make our ecosystem better both for planners and suppliers,” says Sanny Payal, associate vice president of analytics at Cvent.

There is a renewed focus on content. Felicia Asiedu, senior marketing manager, Europe at Cvent said that there had been a trend post-pandemic to question whether delegates were attending events for the content or for the networking opportunities. “With in-person events returning post-pandemic, delegates were focused on networking and reconnecting with others,” she said. “We started to build more networking time – while we’re not taking this away [in future events], with live events firmly back on the agenda, the attention is now on producing compelling content.”

Evcom’s Brown concurred, saying the organisation is trying to understand what its attendees want to learn and be inspired by. “We want to be able to address the important issues they are facing,” she says. “People respond to moments of inspiration, to something they can take back and share.”

Bleisure is becoming much more significant. Latest Cvent source data indicates that planners are sourcing venues in terms of what they offer from a blended (business and leisure point of view). According to Cvent’s Payal, executives in the hotel and airline industry are talking about the impact of bleisure in their earnings call, as part of their strategy to deliver product innovation for their customers.

“What makes this trend important and interesting for suppliers is that during the [event] day attendees are going to be in a business mindset,” says Payal. “And they're also going to be shifting to a leisure mode which could be an important factor from an upsell standpoint. You can adjust and align your act of sales and marketing accordingly, while delivering on the expectations of the attendees in such a scenario.”