Industry leaders make event predictions for 2023

Fleur Chalmers

Project Manager, Event Experiences EMEA, Adobe

Whilst many of us want to believe that the pandemic now exists firmly in the past, the reality is that the impact will continue for a long time to come. There are still so many unknowns within events, and the landscape as to what events look like has forever shifted.

virtual events

Although everyone is very keen to get back to in-person experiences, as nothing can replicate that face-to-face connection, especially for relationships; there will forever be a space for virtual events. Virtual events are a fantastic tool to increase brand awareness and reach potential customers outside of existing networks. The commitment to attend virtually is nominal, so there is a much greater likelihood of attracting people who are at the top of the sales funnel; they don’t really know what your company does and want to get an understanding as to how it may be relevant to them, either as an end user, a decision maker, or an influencer. Virtual events can be executed at any scale with budgets ranging from minimal, to massive and can be a great revenue driver. Recorded content has a long tail and can be utilised across marketing and sales activities throughout a wider campaign.

in-person experiences

Everyone is very keen to get back to in-person experiences, but with uncertainty still existing in terms of attendee turnouts and what may happen with a COVID-19 resurgence, lead times are tighter, and those experiences will be smaller than the huge events that were standard pre-pandemic. Companies are less likely to sign off on massive travel and ticket expenses for their team members to travel to big conferences now when budgets across the board are still recovering and the ROI is potentially negligible. In-person experiences will be far more curated, more targeted, and localised experiences which will be focused on engaging with key customers and accounts to maximise that in-person experience and the networking opportunities that we have missed so much over the last few years.

In general, events will become much more than one-off experiences, they are becoming true campaigns with touch points of live and virtual experiences throughout the year. The way content is delivered has changed and is more flexible to suit the post-pandemic world. There are so many tools at our disposal to engage and captivate our audiences. The pandemic taught us all to be different and face the challenge of being stuck at home. There have been so many lessons learned that, as events industry people, we have the opportunity to tailor our experiences much more to our audience’s needs than we did before.

Mandy Darnell

Director of Event Marketing, Starburst Data

Covid has taught us a lot about events over the past few years. Mostly that virtual events can work, and work well! Virtual events allow event marketers to be extremely targeted with event themes and messaging, save money, and even foster a community feel with the evolution of some great event platforms. However, all that said, I do believe nothing can replace in-person interactions and there is a hunger for live events and getting back in person. But it’s going to take more effort and better content to inspire a potential attendee to join an in-person event.

What we have seen over the past few years at Starburst is people have slowly been coming out for live conferences and numbers are creeping back up to pre-covid times. Our data is showing that while conference numbers are climbing back up the ancillary type events, happy hours, low content/no content events, are garnering little to no attendees. People are not in their offices, they don’t want to grab a drink after work, what they want is educational content, or to meet with an executive they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to speak with, that is worth coming out for!

My predictions are that live events are coming back, but will need to have a virtual component and that hybrid events are the future. I don’t think happy-hour-type events without educational content or inspiring speakers will perform well in the future, people crave content they can take back to the workplace that can create an immediate impact.

Rachel Anne Russell

Field Marketing Manager, ONE. Former Senior Event Planner, Deloitte

The past few years have tested event marketers’ abilities to adapt to change. We have cancelled and renegotiated contracts, switched to a virtual world, and produced hybrid events with the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols. So what’s next?

the roaring twenties

As we resume our “normal lives”, people are grateful to leave behind the fear and isolation of the past. There is an innate need for human connection, and events provide attendees with this unique opportunity to connect. While in-person events were limited in 2022 due to COVID spikes and restrictions on business travel, I believe 2023 will see a resurgence of in-person events—the roaring twenties of events, so to speak. There will be a large influx of event registrations as the public returns in full force.

time is money

Just because you host an event does not guarantee attendees will come. The pandemic emphasised the importance of time. People are prioritising time with loved ones and attempting to work fewer hours for their mental health. What this means for event marketers is that we need to incentivize attendees with experiences in 2023. If an attendee is leaving their family and travelling for a couple of days, they likely won’t be thrilled to sit inside a meeting room for eight hours. Companies need to host events at destinations and incorporate time to get outside and enjoy that city on the agenda. For a recent ONE offsite in San Francisco, we held meetings at an outdoor event space called Spark Social and concluded the day with an Iron Chef competition at BiteUnite, a local café with cooking classes. In Austin, we had armadillo races, leather engraving, live music, and BBQ during an outdoor reception. By incorporating event enhancements and taking advantage of what makes that city great, you can create a memorable experience that leaves attendees wanting more and coming back for future events.

the challenges of returning in-person

Pre-pandemic, event marketers could plan all-day meetings with 1-2 snack breaks in addition to lunch, and that was enough time to rest between presentations. As we return in person, many attendees are finding their attention spans and energy levels have waned. It is much easier to become overwhelmed or tired. Attendees are not yet used to the high levels of engagement and socialisation of pre-pandemic days, so it is imperative to schedule more breaks and shorter days when possible. I have no doubt that event marketers will take on the coming challenges, as they have persevered and adapted throughout the pandemic. Here’s looking at you, 2023!

Tika Woolley

Senior Manager; Shows & Events, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, SalonCentric, L’Oreal USA

One thing that the past 2 years have taught us is that change is inevitable and evolution is necessary to continue forward. The event world has been at the forefront of witnessing shifted behaviour both physically and digitally; with that, we’ve adapted to how information is digested and implemented innovative strategies to connect, inspire, and transform.

mental health is key

Incorporating tranquil spaces that promote wellness and peace is important for event guests. Audiences are now more aware of the positive impact of wellness and appreciate having a space that provides calmness. As planners, intentional breaks need to be woven into event formats so that guests can move, stretch, reflect and recharge. When attendees are energised and focused, there is increased productivity.

data is gold

Knowledge is power. Audience insights, behaviours, and patterns allow us to create tailored experiences and targeted marketing. It is the secret weapon to attendee engagement. Once data is collected and analysed and the context is clear, it can be used for data-driven storytelling. This forms the event messaging, objectives, creative design, and onsite and digital activities.

diversity and inclusion will remain non-negotiable

ALL event guests should feel seen, heard and welcomed. Representation and inclusion of diverse backgrounds and communities provide a wider range of viewpoints, creating a richer experience for the audience. Several ways to achieve this are by curating diverse speaker line-ups, inclusive marketing assets, supplier diversity, utilising inclusive language, and creating diverse event teams. Implementing these strategies opens the door to new audiences and fosters meaningful moments.

digital options are here to stay

The flexibility of live-streaming an event remotely and being able to watch on-demand at the participants’ pace is a value that is still highly utilised and will continue to dominate. Don’t get me wrong, the production cost to stream an event is a significant investment, however, the accessibility to the content both during and post-event expands the reach, builds brand loyalty, and creates momentum and buzz when experiences are played back and shared. The increased event marketing potential and widened guest capacity are valuable ROI. Also, inclusivity is an essential part of event design; virtual access gives more options for neurodiversity and disability inclusion and provides a safe space to learn and grow. It is important to provide an array of options for the attendee, such as assistive technology, closed-captioning, transcription, and visual aid.

Sarah Reed

Senior Director of Global Strategic Events, Zendesk

The lights go down. The host comes on. The CEO is next. Then comes the COO. The product guy. The marketer.

Razzle dazzle with some music. A video! More lights.
How about a panel? Bring on the customers!

Break.
Expo.
Talk, talk, talk.
Breakout.
Drinks.
Talk, talk, talk.
The end.

Is anyone else having flashbacks?
If you’re like me, you’ve been to at least 100 B2B events that follow some version of this format. And yes, like me, you’ve produced one, or two, or twenty just like it. Sure, we threw in a surprise where we could. An unexpected product launch that customers really wanted! An insanely hard-to-book celebrity author that came available at the last minute. Score. Or that moment when you bring your audience to happy tears. It happens.

This was the B2B event playbook that most of us had in hand as we sprinted into 2020. Then Covid. Then pause. There were high hopes for a change this year, and not just from event marketers. Our audience was asking for it too. So, we rewrote our event playbooks. Some of us with digital and hybrid as the cornerstones, and others with in-person at the core. But all of us looked to do things a bit differently. Until reality struck.

I asked one marketing event peer why she dusted off the old event model. “It was our executives. They hadn’t been on stage in three years and they insisted on getting that time back. Before we knew it, our opening keynote was four hours long.” “We couldn’t delay our venue contract any longer,” bemoaned another. “We had this massive space we needed to use and I was pressured to fill it. We basically threw a lacklustre version of the event we cancelled in 2020. What a mistake.”

As we look to the year ahead, here are the five things I predict more event marketers will be doing in 2023:

studying up

Everyone has an opinion, (me included, clearly), so do your research and cut through the noise with the facts. Ask your peers what they are doing, follow trusted companies and leaders, keep a competition deck current, and if possible, survey your audience. Chances are, they will tell you exactly what they want and what they can do. Speaking of, don’t forget to keep a pulse on the macroeconomic climate. Travel is harder and more expensive these days and many companies have slashed their budgets. Don’t create something your audience can’t get to.

going digital-first

Wider reach and lower cost? Yes, please. If you’re unsure of when and how to use digital properly, start with top-of-funnel. Cast a wide net to prospects and customers with your high-level company messaging and your big product announcements. Just don’t get stuck in a rut. Experiment often, evaluate new platforms, and pay close attention to details. Production matters.

gathering purposefully

I see more companies reserving their in-person events for specific segments, personas, and executives. By limiting who is in the room and curating an experience for specific attendees, you’re significantly increasing the value and ensuring they show up and stay engaged.

measuring what matters

As a former contact centre leader, I know all about vanity metrics. As event marketers, we’re often pressured into getting more registrations and attendees. While passive attendees don’t cost anything extra in digital, they are expensive and questionable for in-person. Focus less on having the biggest reg number and more on ROI, pipeline and bookings, sentiment, and influence. Not all attendees are created equal.

wasting less

Events are, by nature, wasteful, so anything we can do to improve the overall sustainability of our industry, the better. While we are all aware of the benefits of using less paper, reducing food waste, and enforcing reusable water bottles, our limited budgets may hinder us from bigger aspirations. So, bring your partners along on the mission! Work with an agency that builds sustainability into the budget from the onset, bring on a sustainability sponsor to offset costs, and contract with a venue that has some baseline initiatives already in place. Win, win, for the world!

Josh King

VP of Growth, emc3

strategic event planning

With macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of us, strategic event planning is more important than ever before. The days of hosting slapdash soirees and events without a clearly defined purpose, KPIs, goals and objectives are behind us. It’s time to start leveraging events as a strategic marketing tool that can help to power your pipeline and drive brand awareness, customer advocacy and growth. When utilised properly event data can give you a powerful competitive advantage. Measure what matters and use data driven insights to craft your strategy.

sustainability

Although greenwashing is rife across the industry right now, there are some great organisations that are trying to inspire real change. We’re seeing sustainable events consultancies like From Now emerge to help provide event planners, venues and organisations with the tools and frameworks they need to host events in a way that is more sustainable. According to a report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Cvent, 89% of survey respondents identified sustainability as a priority with only 14% believing that the industry has made good progress. The industry needs to change. And that change needs to happen now.

diversity and inclusion

One of the best things about virtual and hybrid events is that they’ve democratised the events space. People from around the world are more connected than ever before. We all feel closer. But if we don’t tackle challenges associated with accessibility and inclusivity we will end up with marginalised portions of society. This takes investment, planning and a nuanced approach from event planners – we’ve started to see a shift, and this will become even more of a focus next year.

event technology

The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation across many industries and none more so than the events industry. Virtual and hybrid events are now commonplace within the events sector, and it’s clear that digital is here to stay. Event tech is evolving more rapidly than ever before. The way that we connect and engage with audiences has changed and there’s an exciting future ahead of us. With metaversal technologies, NFT’s and web3 already reshaping and redefining events, 2023 is set to be a game-changing year when it comes to event tech.

community-led growth

This was a big feature at INBOUND 2022. According to HubSpot, community led growth is the process of building an authentic community among a business’s customers, employees, and partners through various types of interaction. It’s how a brand uses opportunities (in person and online) to interact with its audience to create a network in which they can connect, share, and grow. It’s a great way to drive engagement, sales and customer advocacy. We’ve seen a shift away from the traditional sales funnel to the community led growth flywheel which isn’t linear and focuses on extending the CLV. Community is going to be a big focus next year. And if you’re not engaging your audience year-round pre, during and post-event you’re going to get left behind. Listening to, connecting with and mobilising your audience is key. Audience-curated content, user-generated content and community should be at the heart of the events you produce next year.

Belinda Joseph

Head of Events & Community, Goldcast

2022 was the year for bringing back in-person events and testing the waters. We have seen some challenges and some changes. Lower attendance numbers. Less trade show and sponsor engagement. Budget cuts (including travel). We’ve also found that digital events have proven to be a great channel for driving top of funnel engagement and generating new leads.

So where does this exactly leave us? Are virtual events here to stay? Are in-person events back in full swing? The answer – it’s both!

After a year of experimenting, I think 2023 will be the year for digital and in-person to thrive together in harmony. It’s no longer about the what if’s, but the how. How do we create an event strategy that incorporates both digital and in-person that can best meet our business objectives?

The truth is, we are already starting to see a trend form. As we go into 2023, every CMO and event marketer whom we interact with is thinking about digital events to host what was once their large-scale in-person conferences, and using in-person for smaller, more targeted field events/roadshows to help accelerate deals. This way, digital events drive brand awareness for your company at a much lower cost but you use smaller regional in-person events to focus on your target accounts. And as always, event marketers will need to find a way to deliver on exceptional attendee experiences across both formats. And as always, we have shown it can be done irrespective of whatever challenges are thrown at us.