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by Anna Mazareanu, Event Ambassador
The new year has arrived faster than many of us would have expected, so now is a more than appropriate time to update our trends to follow in 2018 in event management. In order to remain a relevant element on the market, it is necessary to constantly improve the experience of the participants at the organized events and to reach new target groups, taking into account the level of competitiveness.
Same as in 2016 and 2017, and for this year I have prepared a list of the most important trends regarding the organization of events that you should keep in mind 🙂
The year 2017 was definitely an innovative one for the event industry, considering the multitude of trends with a technological twist used in their organization, this aspect still being equally valid for 2018. Most of the trends in 2017 focused in particular on the interweaving of reality with virtual elements, an element that left its definitive mark on the events. Crowdsourcing has become a rule, and locations have moved away from traditionality, events becoming more and more fluid.
So, in 2018 the events industry is about:
Involvement of advanced technology
Artificial Intelligence has become part of our everyday life with the help of digital assistants such as Siri or Bixby. Using AI through chatbots, event organizers can answer participants’ questions more quickly through a specially dedicated application for events. It is also obvious that a combination of AI with facial recognition will dramatically change the events industry. Also, with the help of the mix between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), participants can be transported to completely different destinations than the already chosen location where the event takes place. The organizers can bring special guests or speakers who are not physically present, but who through VR manage to break the barriers of time and space.
Enhanced experiences through a high level of customization
More and more people put a higher price on experiences than on material things. When it comes to choosing an event to participate in, customers do not lack options at all, but they have begun to look more for unique experiences; therefore, the more you customize the concept for the client, the more successful you will be. Obviously, the core of an event is represented by the message that wants to be transmitted; everything depends on the level of engagement with the participants to ensure the delivery of the message.
Non-traditional locations
Providing a unique customer experience starts with choosing the right location. The event becomes a memorable one also through the prism of the special space in which it takes place. For 2018, it would be good to keep the classic projects for conferences or courses and add a special distribution of seats in the event halls. Also, the new trends suggest the alignment of the space with the values and personality of the clients, as well as with what is wanted to be transmitted through the concept and the purpose of the event itself. The techy elements brought to the chosen location provide the right means of customizing the space, so that a personalized experience can be ensured, in a special setting and which will have a major impact through its unique appearance.
Big Data & Crowdshaping
The last year has seen an increasing emphasis on the analysis and interpretation of data regarding event management, as well as on Crowdshaping – directing customers to specific spaces or experiences in within an event, with the aim of influencing their experience as a whole, during the participation. The first step is to collect the necessary information, through questionnaires and specific statistics. Then, the information is processed through typical Big Data algorithms, being transformed into perspectives and trends. But the difficult part is not the analysis of these results, but rather their effective implementation.
Sustainable events
Sustainability has also been an increasingly important trend in the industry. Sponsors and brands adopt social responsibility practices that they implement in their events. The initiatives of a corporation in terms of social responsibility help to increase the degree of awareness of the effects produced on the environment and on social well-being.
So here are the trends that will help the events industry evolve in 2018.
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