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The past few years have brought some exciting developments in the events industry. And you might be surprised to hear that some of the biggest event trends are here to stay.

By keeping an eye on some of the top event trends expected for next year, you can make sure you plan an event to remember.

Quick Takeaways:

  • Sustainability and corporate responsibility will be key for events run in 2023 and the foreseeable future.
  • Emerging technology, including augmented reality and AI, will continue to offer more opportunities for event planning.
  • Brands must focus on highly personalized events and forging personal connections with attendees.

1. Sustainability

The world is heating up – both figuratively and literally. Concerns around climate change have been one of the major themes of the past decade as an increasing number of individuals and corporations make a commitment to lessen their impact on the environment.

This eco-friendly approach has spilled over into the world of events, which traditionally has been a fairly wasteful industry – just think about all the plastic water bottles and catering waste, not to mention the merchandise and freebies that often get thrown away as soon as the event is over.

Easy ways to shrink your carbon footprint for your next big event.

Now the tide is turning, and sustainable events are becoming the more popular (some would say the only) option.

So how do you make a more sustainable event? There are many opportunities, from switching to digital ticketing systems to replacing plastic bottles and cutlery with biodegradable alternatives, using seasonal, local produce in catering, and donating leftover food to local charities.

However, as you can see from the above chart, travel contributes majorly to the carbon footprint of an event. Event planners can reduce this impact by planning more localized events, and even ditching physical events entirely in favor of online events.

As consumers demand brands to develop more sustainable practices, they will also expect events to be planned in a way that will have a minimal environmental impact. Organizations failing to follow this trend may well find that their audience votes with their feet and finds another, greener event to attend next year. And remember – your event is a representation of your brand as a whole. Make sure it aligns with your core values.

2. Mindfulness and Wellness

Next year may be the year we say goodbye to a culture of “hustle and grind.” Working long hours and putting work over personal life is becoming increasingly unpopular with today’s millennial workforce.

The workers of next year and beyond favor a more balanced approach – working smarter rather than harder, with more importance placed on the value of mental health and general wellness.

What does this have to do with events? Well, packing back-to-back workshops and seminars into an exhausting schedule is definitely considered to be an outdated approach.

Over the coming year, expect to see more events incorporating mindfulness and wellness activities into their schedule, whatever the industry. This may include meditation and yoga workshops, dedicated “brain breaks” designed to inspire creativity, “unplugged” tech-free zones, outdoor activities, massage stations, and other sessions designed around wellness.

Salesforce’s annual event, Dreamforce, has taken this trend to heart by partnering with mindfulness organizations to provide guided meditations and mindfulness sessions during the four-day conference, as well as running yoga sessions and fun runs.

3. Hybrid Events

Hybrid events allow for the flexibility of a virtual event, but the connection and engagement of an in-person option.

As time passes, hybrid events are being refined and it doesn’t look like they’re going away any time soon. Check out some interesting stats:

  • Searches for “hybrid event” have increased 237% in the last 5 years.
  • 97% of event marketers believe that the number of hybrid events will increase beyond over the next few years.
  • 59% of event marketers believe that hybrid events will be crucial for their event marketing strategy moving forward.

More than 59% of event marketers believe that hybrid events will be crucial for their event marketing strategy moving forward.

Hybrid events can be any configuration or breakdown of virtual to in-person. Tread lightly though, because more reach and flexibility doesn’t equate to ease of planning.

Be sure to do extensive research before deciding if this could be the right route for your next event.

4. Smaller, More Intimate Events

Running a big flashy corporate event may be seen as a badge of success by many companies, but demand is actually growing for simpler, smaller events with authentic opportunities to meet face-to-face.

Stop thinking of events purely as a marketing opportunity and consider them more as a chance to engage better with your audience and build trust. Consumers are increasingly demanding authenticity from brands and becoming distrustful of big business. Creating more opportunities to speak with individual customers on a one-on-one basis makes your brand feel more personal and less like a faceless corporation.

Smaller events also open up the possibility of using more unique boutique event spaces that are more appealing to attendees.

Networking opportunities are a big attraction for many event attendees, aside from the event itself, so make sure you schedule in plenty of free social time and provide casual spaces that promote interaction.

A huge plus of planning a smaller event is expanding your location options.

5. Non-traditional Venues Gain Popularity

If you’re about to book the conference room in your local hotel for your next event, stop! Research by Social Tables shows that over 90% of event planners agree that events are more likely to be booked in a non-traditional venue than five years ago.

Thinking outside the box when it comes to your event venue comes with advantages. Choosing a visually appealing venue is more engaging for attendees and encourages them to post images of the event on social media.

Some examples of venues that are becoming more popular for hosting events include warehouses, barns, gardens, museums, art galleries, and co-working spaces.

This doesn’t mean that hotels are out completely though. In line with this trend, more hotels are thinking about how they can meet this need for more inspiring surroundings with non-traditional spaces such as rooftops and outdoor venues, or simply offering more options when it comes to event design and styling.

A cozy, outdoor event space with neutral colors, string lights and a fireplace.

As long as you’ve got an inclement weather alternative at the venue, I’m sure your attendees will appreciate the fresh air and Vitamin D that outdoor spaces provide.

Additionally, the growth of ride-sharing apps has made it more practical to host events outside of the typical downtown venues. More accessible and affordable transportation means that organizations can now take advantage of more varied locations and lower cost event venues.

As more event planners are seeking out new venues for events, this hasn’t gone unnoticed. There’s now a new breed of venue sourcing software available that makes it easier for event planners to find an ideal venue based on several different criteria.

6. Experience-First Events

This should be a no-brainer. Isn’t an event already an experience? What you should think about is how you can flip the script of work conferences being boring and just for work.

The homebodies are still out there and some even prefer hybrid events or virtual conferences still. How can you make your in-person event worthwhile?

Some elements of events are inherently experiential so those might come more naturally. Food trucks and swag bags, VIP sections and photo opportunities.

Other parts of an event could be spiced up a bit. If networking is your only pull to have someone attend live rather than online, think harder.

You can add a digital element, such as a photo booth with fun props or even a hashtag-based photo contest. Share results immediately via a QR code or turn the photos into a social wall to display in break spaces or between speakers.

7. Enhanced Personalization

Advancements in technology mean that consumers are now expecting more personalization in their communications with brands, and this is going beyond digital marketing channels to become a key part of events too.

Big Data and AI are creating more personalization opportunities such as the ability to create a unique event schedule for each attendee, or even just to provide a personalized map of the venue location with nearby points of interest.

Companies using events for marketing can also use data collected about event attendee behavior to create personalized follow-ups and more highly targeted and optimized marketing messages post-event. This practice is commonplace in all the big and popular digital marketing conferences today.

8. Augmented Reality

Augmented and virtual reality technology solutions are becoming more commonplace and affordable. There are many potential uses for them in events for a number of different industries.

The AR and VR industry is forecasted to grow by over 25% over the next two years, with AR leading the pack.

A chart outlining VR and AR users in the U.S. over time.

While VR has already been a bit of an event trend over the last few years, AR is taking over as the most popular technology, mainly because it’s more accessible and offers more flexibility in the real world.

VR can certainly help to engage your event attendees and enhance their experience, but it’s still seen as somewhat of a novelty. VR can transport your event attendees to another world and can be useful for virtual tours and games, but its applications are limited.

While virtual reality creates a completely virtual world, augmented reality adds digital elements to the real world environment.

AR technology is a more attractive and practical option for many event organizers because the technology is more affordable and accessible (AR apps can be used on any smartphone) and it offers a huge range of possibilities.

AR can be used for interactive product demonstrations, to help attendees learn more about each other and network, to create interactive venue maps, provide entertainment and opportunities for engagement, and more.

9. Use of AI in Event Organization and Analysis

Another emerging technology that we’ll see more of in the events industry next year is artificial intelligence.

Event planners can use AI in a number of different ways from event planning to during the event and for post-event analysis.

Just as e-commerce sites use AI to power their recommendations engines, event planning software has started using AI to assist planners by finding potential attendees, speakers, influencers, and topics, and suggesting optimal times and venue locations.

AI-powered Chatbots can be used for pre-event marketing and customer service to answer common questions, automate ticketing and follow up leads.

Facial recognition is another highly useful application of AI that can be used in events for everything from security and streamlining registration to personalizing experiences.

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