Top 7 Trends In Event Planning, 2023

In the last couple of years, the events industry has seen many significant trends. The post-event landscape looks more focused on changing the way people interact with each other and the world around them.

What’s more?

Let’s find out in our article today.

A. Top 7 Event Planning Trends You Must Watch Out in 2024

Have a look at our picks for top trends in event planning- 

1. In-person events are back with a bang

In-person events are making the biggest comeback after the pandemic scare. People are more eager to interact with others face-to-face creating an excellent opportunity for businesses to promote their brands and engage with customers. In-person event engagement in 2023 is greatly supported by technology that goes beyond traditional start and end dates.

Benefits of in-person events -

• Provides an avenue for networking with potential customers, clients, and partners
• Provides an immersive experience that allows more hands-on learning
• Face-to-face interactions offer a stronger emotional connection and better engagement
• Increased brand awareness by showcasing products or services to a broader audience in an actual event

Best practices of in-person events -

• Consider your audience and what type of audience you want to create
• Focus on aligning the event’s theme and activities with your attendees’ interests and provide them with valuable content and entertainment
• Select a venue that can accommodate your attendees comfortably and provide a safe environment. Ensure that it is easily accessible
• Make use of mobile devices for registration and check-ins
• Consider incorporating interactive elements such as product demonstrations, workshops, or games to keep the attendees engaged
• Make the check-in process easy and quick with contactless ticket validation.
• Use  event planning apps for seamless communication, personalized schedules, real-time updates, and networking opportunities

2. Increasing popularity of hybrid events

After in-person events, the next popular trend in event planning is hybrid events. These events combine online and offline experiences to offer people the choice to watch from the comfort of their homes or attend at their convenience.  Hybrid events require detailed planning and coordination as you are providing two experiences for two audiences.

Benefits of virtual events-

• More attendance counts as it allows  virtual attendees to experience the event even if they are unable to attend an in-person event due to health, money, travel, or other concerns
• According to research published by Markletic, 47% of respondents experienced a positive ROI in 3-6 months and 86% within 6-12 months
• Limiting the number of people attending in-person events can contribute to a reduced carbon footprint minimizing the need for transportation, food, consumption, and energy demands
• Combining virtual and in-person events enables you to connect multiple events occurring simultaneously or at different times or locations offering you more ways to deliver your content and message

Best practices of virtual events-

• Ensure all the event equipment like audio-visuals are integrated seamlessly to deliver a uniform experience
• Engage both audiences equally. Include promotional activities such as competitions, share a video teaser, or set up a pre-event poll
• Focus on building pre-event anticipation online by promoting heavily on social media
• Choose a venue that fits your purpose with all the required equipment and a stable internet connection
• Develop your budget carefully considering important components like venue, catering, travel, speaker fees, technology set-up, audio-visual costs, and so on
• Make sure you use a tool to collect event data accurately. It will help you to evaluate your event performance to measure success

3. More focus on sustainable and green events

One of the emerging trends in event planning that will continue to grow in the future is sustainable and green events. Sustainable events or green events focus on making conscious individual choices to reduce the environmental impact of your event. The 2022 ICE benchmarking report revealed that 59% of event planners see sustainability as a challenge for their businesses.

Benefits of organizing sustainable events-

• If you promote effectively, the fact that you are organizing a sustainable event can help raise the profile of your event, attract eco-conscious participants, and potentially engage the media’s attention
• If implemented carefully, the event can offer social benefits to the region by encouraging local investment, creating jobs, and promoting better working conditions and social inclusion
• This can lead to the development of innovative technologies and techniques leading to more efficient use of resources
• Excellent opportunity to raise awareness among participants, staff, service providers, and the local community

Best practices for organizing sustainable events-

• Prioritize the choices of spaces that offer natural light. This can considerably reduce electricity consumption
• If you are providing accommodation for the guests, choose it as close as possible to the venue of the event
• Choose sustainable catering by opting for fair-trade and green products
• Opt for recyclable materials that are not single-use or that have been produced with certification systems such as FSC or PEFC
• Manage waste effectively. Choose containers classified by colors that have clear information about where to deposit which waste

4. Personalizing the event experience

Event personalization plays a key role in creating a memorable experience for attendees. That is why it is one of the most important trends in event planning where organizers tailor individual experiences by taking into account their preferences and interests. With the use of technology, event planners can capture valuable information on attendee behavior and interests to more personalized attendee experiences.

Benefits of event personalization-

• A personalized experience can lead to more satisfaction, positive feedback, and word-of-promotion by the attendees
• Personalized events can offer a higher return on investment (ROI) for event organizers by retaining attendees, securing sponsorships, and generating buzz
• A personalized experience will allow participants to connect around topics related to your brand ultimately leading to enhanced brand loyalty
• Personalization can make your event and brand stand out from your competition if you successfully deliver unique and customized experiences

Best practices of event personalization-

• Send personalized invitations or emails. This includes addressing the attendees by their names and mentioning their specific interests
• Consider your audience’s preferences and interests while creating the event agenda or schedule. You can also utilize surveys or feedback forms to gather information about their likes and interests
• Offer individualized recommendations and advice that can help them find sessions and activities that are most relevant to their needs and interests
• Offer personalized goodies if your budget allows. This can include customized bags with the attendee’s name and company logo, branded water bottles, t-shirts, or mugs with a personalized message
• Tailor your follow-up activities by segmenting your attendees based on their interests, job roles, or other relevant criteria

5. Leveraging AI to provide more immersive experiences

From planning to execution, AI has emerged as a game changer in the event industry. It offers a myriad of use-cases that are revolutionizing the event industry urging more and more organizers to include AI in their planning and execution schedule.

AI involves the creation of algorithms and models that allow machines to process information, learn from data, and make decisions to replicate human cognitive abilities. They help make the event planning process more efficient, personalized, and impactful.

Benefits of using AI in event planning-

• AI can analyze attendee data to recommend sessions, booths, or networking opportunities based on individual preferences making it easier to offer a personalized experience
• AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can seamlessly handle attendee registration, and queries, and provide real-time information
• AI can predict trends and attendance numbers enabling organizers to allocate resources more effectively and make data-driven decisions
• AI can effortlessly generate event content such as social media updates, articles, or event summaries
• AI-powered translation services can break language barriers by making international events more accessible

Best practices of AI utilization in events

• Use AI or any event software tool that uses AI to automate the registration and ticketing process to relieve your staff of tedious administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on critical areas of the event management
• Utilize AI to analyze vast amounts of data that can help identifying trends and patterns that often go unnoticed by human analysis
• Use AI to make better decisions about event logistics and marketing. It can help you to identify the best channels for event promotion, the ideal time to send invitations, and so on
• Create personalized welcome messages for attendees by utilizing data such as past attendance, preferences, and professional interests
• Identify potential sponsors and partners by analyzing potential sponsor profiles, industry trends, and even past sponsorship engagements
• Track attendee engagement and satisfaction by monitoring social media mentions, session participation, or app engagement
•  Create targeted marketing campaigns by analyzing data points such as past event attendance, member feedback online interactions

6. Strategic use of data and analytics

Strategic use of data and analytics can help event professionals gather and analyze valuable information about attendee behavior, preferences, and engagement levels. This enables them to make data-driven decisions, create targeted marketing strategies, and drive continuous improvement in their events.

Benefits of utilizing data and analytics -

• Marketers and event organizers can create highly targeted and segmented campaigns
• Tracking attendee experience can help event managers personalize experiences like broadcasting to nearby devices, customized emails, and so on
• Event data analysis can be used to control crowd flow at big events. The data can be used to manage staff and support personnel stations based on crowd density
• The data collected from social media conversations can help in tailoring experiential designs to create experiences that create deeper connections
• The data and insights can be used to improve future experiences by discovering new pain points that can help you improve your event

Best practices of utilizing data and analytics-

• Collect basic attendance statistics for future use. For example, if your attendance is low, find out what caused them to lose interest. What can you do to attract them?
• Compare the registration and attendance trends like the number of tickets sold vs redeemed using your event check-in statistics
• Observe when, how, and where attendees registered or purchased tickets to identify any significant trends
• Analyze attendee experience by gauging all aspects of attendee satisfaction like venue, location, transportation, food, sessions and activities, and overall satisfaction
• Analyze attendee engagement by monitoring crowd behavior. Did visitors visit or skip booths due to overcrowding? 

7. Aggressive social media promotion

Organizers are spending a lot of money and energy on marketing an event on social media. This helps to spread the buzz around and make people aware of your event in creative ways that can boost attendance.

Benefits of social media promotion-

• Can easily reach the target audience
• Increases online brand awareness and visibility
• Can easily attract prospective customers

Best practices of social media promotion

• Create an event page on Facebook including all relevant information like guest details, date and time, venue
• Post a countdown on Instagram stories to let people know when it is time and to keep the buzz alive
• Post teasers with necessary information to help build the event hype while providing useful information to the audience
• Create a hashtag to let users find all the content around your event

Wrapping up 

As technology continues to advance and attendee expectations evolve, the future of event planning holds numerous exciting possibilities. Embracing these trends does not only mean staying ahead of the curve but creating a lasting impact that will shape the future of event planning.

However, the success of event planning needs careful collaboration of multiple sources- one of the most important ones being the event management tool that you will use. 

Ticket Generator is an all-in-one event management platform that helps you with all your ticketing and registration needs. From offering highly secured check-ins to detailed event analytics and insights, Ticket Generator will make sure you are never behind trend.

Get started now to unlock more amazing features to boost sales and increase conversions!