2006 might not feel like that long ago, but a lot has happened in the last 10 years…

Miley Cyrus has gone from Disney princess, starring in her first episode of Hannah Montana, to the twerking, tongue-waggling bad girl of pop we know today.

The England football team has been through five managers since Swede Sven Göran Eriksson, England’s first foreign manager, stepped down.

It’s also been 10 years since three entrepreneurs – Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz and Renaud Visage – were inspired to democratise the world of ticketing and registration to make it easy for any event planner around the globe to sell-out and promote their events. Over £2 billion in ticket sales later, Eventbrite has come a long way too!

But what else changed in the world of event management over the last decade? We wanted to know the biggest differences between planning an event in 2006 compared with staging one today, so we asked a number of experienced event managers to let us know…

Related: Here the event tech organisers will be investing in this year

Chris McConville, Founder & Events Director, Venyou UK

Chris McConville

We plan, promote and event manage our own events and all three areas have changed drastically in the past 10 years.

In 2006 we were using endless excel documents and sending countless emails in the planning stage which were often overlooked. In 2016 we use a project management app called Asana so all the team and suppliers are on the same page.

Marketing, in particular the online side of things, has also seen huge change. Search engine optimisation, pay per click, retargeting, social media, conversion rate optimisation and analytics are now key areas of focus.

They require constant attention and personally I try and stay on the pulse of all the latest developments and new ways to create awareness, increase attendance and monitor performance.

Mavis Amankwah, Founder, Rich Visions

Mavis Amankwah

Mavis Amankwah

The most significant change that I’ve seen is how instrumental social media is in attracting people to events. Marketers are no longer as reliant on blogs and magazines for listing their events. Instead, you can reach a very targeted audience through Facebook adverts, Instagram and Twitter.

Facebook is evolving constantly, and they work hard at improving their platform and staying relevant. It is so much easier to target your exact audience through well thought through adverts on Facebook and the use of hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.

Additionally, people are using social media to build their own mailing lists, so if you have a list of say, 5,000 targeted people who know and love your brand, they are more willing to attend your events.

This change is for the better, as it has made marketing events a lot easier. I’ve used this strategy a lot as you get a clearer idea on people’s interests, which makes it easier to make the sale.

Richard Dodgson, Founder & Creative Director, Timebased Events

Richard Dodgson

Richard Dodgson

Event management is no longer just about the nuts and bolts of organising an event; it’s about delivering a creative campaign that runs through an event from conception to completion. We must always have at the forefront of our minds the impact of social media and the reach of consumer marketing.

The attention to detail is even greater, which has changed the process and approach to each event, especially with the rise in consumer-facing pop-ups and experiential events.

Social channels and our digital audience become a priority and we have to consider how we will incorporate a digitally interactive and immersive element into our events.

Related: How to Plan Successful Experiential Marketing Campaigns

Annabel Bradford, Marketing & Events Manager, Redgate Software

Annabel Bradford

Annabel Bradford

Event management used to be about Gant charts and annual calendars. Event managers produced 12-month event schedules, and stuck to them. This approach didn’t give #eventprofs the opportunity to continually improve or react to situational changes.

Times have changed and traditional event planning methods are no longer fit-for-purpose. Your attendees are the most important part of event management, so making sure you gather insights into their needs is paramount.

In the old days you’d be restricted to doing event research just once a year. If you want to satisfy attendees’ needs, you need to gather insights regularly.

I now use an Agile approach to guide my event management. Three key principles, which were inspired by the Agile Manifesto (for software development), will help you succeed:

  1. User feedback
  2. Collaboration
  3. Continuous improvement

These principles guide my event management. They allow me to focus on the attendee, whilst taking on board insights from others, and of course making the time to continually improve.

Related: The Complete 52-week Communications Plan 

Lucy Meehan, Senior Events Manager, Natural History Museum

Lucy Meehan

Lucy Meehan

Technology has played a massive part in the development of how event managers are able to transform a venue to suit an ever-increasing range of audiences and event styles. With the likes of projection mapping and technically impressive lighting displays, a blank canvas space can be transformed to fit any client creative brief.

Over the years working alongside our incredible team of accredited suppliers, we have developed a thorough understanding of how to utilise multiple spaces in this iconic building to accommodate more ambitious productions.

Equally, people are always hoping to be the first to experience something or discover a new space so we’ve made more of our smaller, but equally fascinating, spaces available to cater for these bespoke and niche showcase events.

Will Poole, Events & Compliance Manager, Troxy

Will Poole

Will Poole

The events industry has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, both in terms of the types of events available to consumers and how organisers actually engage with their audiences.

Social media has brought big benefits, meaning it’s now much easier to communicate with potential event-goers, quickly share information and promote your event to people all over the world.

Live events are now a huge part of our society and organisers are now using social media to create traction and buzz in a very competitive marketplace.

In terms of the type of events, we’ve seen a huge increase in experiential, immersive shows which offer a complete experience for guests. It’s no longer just about what’s on stage; it’s about the food, the venue and even the ticket.

Take Secret Cinema for example; the ticket is part of your experience, acting as a gateway to a secret world of information such as what to wear, bring or what you’ll actually experience.

We’ve also seen a dramatic change in the way tickets are bought; the internet has made the ticket buying process quicker, easier and much more equal, which is a far cry from the days of queuing at a Box Office.

Maria Schuett, Head of Marketing, Central Hall Westminster

Maria Shutt

Maria Schuett

There’s no denying that technology has transformed the events industry over the past 10 years. For me, this has been the single biggest change to how we organise, experience and measure event success, as well as changing the nature and format of events themselves.

As early adopters of event technology at Central Hall Westminster, we created Meet the Future back in 2013, the first UK conference fully dedicated to the ‘live-experience’ of new event technology. We created an immersive event experience by allowing attendees to get hands-on with the latest event technology, including interactive 3D holographic projection and showcased the latest iBeacon technology.

The advances in technology since then have been huge, with the introduction of virtual reality and audience interaction tools which we showcased from the outset, such as Sli.do and Crowdmics, which have now become standard practice at events.

One of the most exciting advances in technology for me is the introduction of virtual reality as it allows clients to conceptualise their ideas within an event space even before they visit a venue. We have only just started to touch on its capabilities as a tool to connect our venue to countries all over the world but the possibilities for event organisers are huge, as our beta-tests of the live 360 video with Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO of Google, talking live on stage at CentralHall vividly shows.

Related: 10 Event Technology Trends You Need to Know in 2016 (and Beyond)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8UTtBslt4M

Sam Trevenna, Director, Goose Live Events

Sam Trevenna

Sam Trevenna

The impact of technology on the way we live our lives is now huge. Ten years ago, no one could have anticipated the pressure of the “on-demand” world in which we now live. The events industry has embraced this opportunity to provide experiences which are shared, in-the-moment, to friends, colleagues, and followers the world over, but with that comes the added pressure to deliver a seamless, responsive experience which surprises and delights.

Understanding our clients’ needs, their clients’ wants and expectations, having a keen eye for attention to detail, and the ability to overcome challenges quickly and efficiently has never been more important; there is no margin for error with the spotlight now cast 24/7. At Goose Live Events, this plays to our strengths!

Another area where there has been a seismic shift, is in the importance placed on delivering events in the most sustainable way possible. We take this very seriously and are constantly adapting our business processes to ensure we are running our business and events in a way that preserves the planet and ensuring our suppliers are like-minded and compelled to do the same too. It’s important that we leave a positive legacy in everything we do.

Robin Carlisle, MD, Mobile Promotions

Robin Carlisle

Robin Carlisle

Our industry is now driven and enabled by technology with one of the most significant developments being the rise and fast-paced development of the internet and social media. Both of these enable real time, instant communications and the opportunity for event managers to speak to their audience more closely and more personally than ever before.

With so many moments from a live event now being digitised and people actively seeking content to share, this means a lot more thought has to go into that content as people are looking in more depth for those hidden gems to share and special moments to capture.

This has contributed to the rise of the pop-up, as audiences can be generated instantly, changing the nature of venues in some cases by diversifying from conventional locations and breaking free of long lead times.

We also demand a lot more from suppliers, expecting more from venues for example in the way of high speed internet connections and AV systems that we and our audiences can instantly tap into. Every facet of our industry now has to be driven by new, improved, often faster and more innovative solutions.

Related: 2116 – The event experience of the future

Conclusion

Changes in technology have made events, on the one hand, easier to stage and promote and, on the other, more challenging when it comes to meeting our insatiable appetite for innovation and connectivity.

Where will the next 10 years take us? Is the future bright? Share your thoughts below!