Event Trends: Catering to the Individual

Local events are one thing, but when you step back and look at the US Event Industry as a whole, there is a significant amount of change happening in an extraordinarily short time frame. In researching the changing trends over time, there seems to be a prevailing theme.

Based on an article written by vFairs (an event management platform), here are the trends we saw in 2023…

An Explosion of AI, In-Person Events as Table Stakes, Rise of Virtual Events as a Driver for People Operations (in recruitment, onboarding and training, benefits, and retention), Increased Flexibility in Attendee Experiences, Event Sites Optimized for Registrations, Heightened Demand for Speaker Management

and the ones we’re seeing in 2024….

Expansion of AI Use Cases, Higher Demand for Self-Serve Event Platforms, Events as a Reliable Source of First-Party Data, Hosts Creating New Ways for Attendees to Network, Events as a Driver of Community, Event Content as a Key Revenue Driver for Businesses, Increased need for Modular Event Tech, Hosts Opting for More Tech-Friendly Venues, and Inclusivity is Top-Of-Mind for Event Hosts.

If your head is spinning, you’re not alone. That’s an awful lot to digest when you consider the wide variety of event options, attendee demographics, and event objectives. While applying each of these to a single event may not be realistic, we can gather an even higher arching theme in these trends which is finding a way to cater to the individual attending these events, rather than satisfying the masses.

Here’s what that means:

Let the attendee craft their own experience.

Let them choose how they want to attend: virtually, in-person, or hybrid.

Let them choose their own ticket bundles, offerings, and inclusions so that they get exactly what they want out of the event.

Consider all angles of an offering (i.e. food allergies/sensitivities) when drafting the event logistics with your vendors.

(As if we, as event planners, don’t have enough on our plates already, sheesh!)

No more one-size-fits-all approach.

As we move into the future of events, event managers are being forced to expand their scope and view of each event, a broader spectrum of offers and inclusions to bring in the most attendees and actualize success. Ultimately, that makes events more accessible and inclusive and isn’t that the ultimate goal?