Trends for the Event Industry 2021

Emergent trends might sound like hard work, but they are the key to maintaining the industry on its feet.

The world has gone through many changes after this unprecedented outburst of the COVID-19 and many other variants that have come out, meaning we find ourselves on a constant recreation process. The event industry like many other industries has it a bit hard on reinventing itself due to the lack of limitless activities. Nevertheless, many major trends have been emerging favoring all aspects of the event industry. The following trends are important to take in consideration in order to be updated with what is going on in the industry.

Trends Nowadays

Virtual Events

Virtual events are not the same as a face to face interaction but it includes many benefits such as accessibility, budget, and sometimes there’s no other option than to do it virtual. They are considered as value-added, engagement-driven experiences, where you can create an impactful experience well-beyond a screen.

Hybrid Events

Hybrid events are the perfect solution for those programs that can effectively be held both physically and virtually. They are also extremely useful solutions when many of your attendees who would normally attend in person can’t. With hybrid events, you get the advantages of both in-person events and their virtual aspects.

Health and Safety First

Taking health and safety measures in consideration, will help you manage your employees, suppliers and attendees and ensure that they are not at risk during all stages of the event. To keep everyone on the same page, you can provide relevant information during the site induction and ensure suppliers do the same for their employees. This way, during the events you can create a safe environment, where people will feel completely comfortable and secure to assist.

Sustainability is The New Normal

Sustainable events are becoming more popular. There are many opportunities, from switching to digital ticketing systems to replacing materials with biodegradable alternatives, using local products in catering, and donating leftover food to anyone. Event planners can reduce this impact by planning more localized events, or even abandon physical events with a high impact altogether in favor of online events. As consumers demand more sustainable practices, they will also want to plan activities in a way that has the least impact on the environment which is a great opportunity for event planners.

Augmented Reality

Nowadays, many event marketers are using AR to create experiences that are both fun and provide a return on investment. For many event organizers, AR technology is a more attractive and practical option because it is more affordable and easy to use. This tool can be used for interactive product demonstrations to help participants learn more about each other and the network, create interactive venue maps, provide entertainment and participation opportunities and many other options.

Mindfulness and Wellness

It is expected for event planners to include more mindfulness and wellness activities due to the daily life that everyone is carrying out. Working long hours and putting work over personal life is becoming increasingly unpopular because people are noticing that mental and physical health comes first. For the Event Industry, activities relative to this will be done as a type of workshop or even seminars to promote wellness overall.

Enhanced Personalization

Nowadays, consumers expect to have a more personalized communication with brands. Big data and artificial intelligence are creating more personalization opportunities, such as being able to create a unique event schedule for each attendee, or even just providing a personalized map of venue locations with nearby points of interest. Companies that use events for marketing can also use the collected data about the behavior of event participants to create personalized follow-up events and more targeted and optimized marketing information after the event.

Many trends will keep coming up as time passes. The Event Industry is constantly evolving, so it's necessary to keep yourself updated with the latest news, trends, and topics to get the most out of it by keeping your consumers satisfied.

#theupscalevenue #luxvenue #upscalewithus #majortends #eventindustry #COVID19

Photo by Jakob Dalbjörn on Unsplash

Resources:

Linthicum, A., Anna Linthicum A recent graduate of Washington and Lee University, A recent graduate of Washington and Lee University, & Guest, C. (2021, July 27). Hybrid events IN 2021: What you need to know. Hybrid Events: The 2021 Guide | Cvent Blog. https://www.cvent.com/en/blog/events/virtual-events.

https://www.cvent.com/en/blog/events/hybrid-events-what-you-need-know.

Brenner, M. (2021, June 29). The biggest event trends for 2021. Marketing Insider Group. https://marketinginsidergroup.com/event-marketing/biggest-event-trends/.

(2021, June 18). A starting guide to health and safety management for events. Eventbrite UK. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/blog/guide-health-and-safety-for-events-ds00/