Skift Take
A new generation of event-goers is hungry for events that are meaningful, memorable, and shareable. They want events to deliver the collaboration and face-to-face connection they can’t get online, and they want it in a personalized package.
Download this report to discover the trends shaping event experiences in 2020.
A number of major challenges are impacting the way businesses operate, and it’s time to look to new models for successful events.
Participants now expect unique and personalized experiences with a clear focus on lasting, impactful memories and more interactivity, engagement, and collaboration. Planners and hospitality actors will need to collaborate on new formats for future-proof events.
This report, written by Skift and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), offers a curated selection of the trends and strategies for creating experiences to attract new customers and build engagement.
Highlights
Here are 5 of our favorite tips from the report:
Festivalization
Leveraging consumer preferences to attract attendees with events that are engaging, personalized, and memorable rather than dry, obligatory, and perfunctory.
Giving Back
The creation of shared value for both the organization and society as a whole is transforming the way events engage in marketing, sourcing, and collaboration with host destination communities.
Concentrated Events
We are already witnessing the rise of smaller events that drive better engagement and collaboration, with 80% of meetings representing groups of 50 guests or fewer.
Commercially Viable Safety and Security
Hospitality companies are also focusing on improving the buying experience and building trust with their customers while responding to safety and security concerns.
Redefining Sustainability
Going beyond single-use plastics and efficient lighting to create initiatives that are tenable from an environmental, social, and cultural perspective as well as being good for business.
While the future seems bright for the meetings and events sector, the industry’s ability to address new trends while tackling the risks will ultimately mean the difference between growing a sustainable business or failing. IHG, with nearly 884,000 rooms worldwide and a very diversified portfolio, is ideally positioned to implement these new tactics at scale and share their experience with the broader events and hospitality industry.
This report is worth 1 CE credit. To acquire credit through this or other content from EventMB (a Skift brand), please see here.
This content was created collaboratively by IHG, Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX, and EventMB.
