5 Event Trends To Look Out For in 2023

As event industry experts, it’s our pleasure and duty to keep you updated with all the latest trends and developments in our area. Some have been in the works for a while, while others have taken prominence over the past couple of months. Either way, read through our five hottest picks and get in touch to see how best to implement them in your events in the future!

Experiential Events

While the rest of this list is in no particular order, experiential events lead the way in 2023 trends and beyond. The name might sound kind of fancy, but it is another way of describing live event marketing that focuses on the experience attendees feel at that moment and how it will continue to affect them once they’ve left the event sphere.

Experiential events are already a highly successful way of getting your existing audience to participate and engage with your brand. Moreover, it’s a trend that will continue growing for the foreseeable future. This is especially true since experience-first events are the next best way to attract new customers.

We took a bit of a deep dive into the subject to pick out our favourite case studies, which you can read all about here.

Sustainability as a priority

Sustainability and climate change have long been items people talk about as objectives for governments and major corporations to tackle. However, the idea is that everyone at any level can make a difference. That extends to the event industry, where many aim to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible.

It’s a trend that will continue growing, including items at events and conferences. From food waste to materials used at the event and during the promotional phases, sustainability is no longer something that will be nice to have at an event. Instead, it is a priority and a must-have to ensure positive event coverage.

Bleisure Travel

Hybrid work and conferences have reshaped the business world as we know it. During COVID lockdowns, this meant working from home and attending online meetings. Tech improvements then meant that conferences adopted this notion, allowing people to attend and participate in events from all corners of the globe, even if they were seated in the corner of their living room.

The next trend of hybrid working has produced the concept of bleisure travel; yes, you’ve read that correctly. It’s leisure, with a “b” for “business” in front of it. It’s the next significant disruption to the hospitality industry. Surveys indicate that almost 90% of business travellers plan to add vacation time to their business trips. It’s a figure that will overtake traditional business travel very soon.

In summary, the days of “business or leisure” are over; the bleisure traveller is here and here to stay.

Increased tech capabilities

When we talk about tech at events, two branches need discussing. One is the tech that attendees experience. Whether it’s event registration, check-in, meeting participation or networking, we want every step of the process to run smoothly. After all, the tech in place at these events is there to facilitate human interaction.

Therefore, that tech is there to increase and improve engagement, networking, and the overall event experience.

The other tech branch to discuss is what event professionals use to assess the event’s success, even in real time. Shawn McCoy, senior vice president at JRA of RWS Entertainment Group, said that information-based tech, especially artificial intelligence, “will continue to have a major impact on how events and experiences are conceptualised, marketed, designed, experienced and priced”.

AI-based design platforms already exist that help analyse guest movement and behaviour within experience sectors. That means that event organisers can create more efficient (read: profitable) traffic streams. Therefore, it’s safe to say that the most successful events will be the ones that make the best use of tech, whether it’s attendee-facing or event surveillance.

In-person events & inclusivity

Probably the most recent addition to the list in terms of inclusivity, a topic that’s become hotter over the past months. As in-person events become the norm again, the industry seems to be taking a good look at itself as it seeks to be as inclusive as possible.

This branches out to different areas, such as live translation to cater to other languages, diversity in terms of panel speakers and making the venue accessible for wheelchair users. There are many different roads to explore when maximising the event experience for attendees. It’s a good idea to speak with an expert team who’ve done it all and can guide you accordingly.

Give us a shout

Now that you know what to include in your event planning for your next big showdown, how about getting in touch with industry leaders who can do more than point you in the right direction? Speak with a member of our team, and we’ll be more than happy to set up a meeting to discuss your options and how to create the perfect event that maximises the attendee experience while reaching all of your targets!