Marketing & Events Leaders Share Industry Predictions and Trends for 2024

Last year we gathered marketing and events experts from Adobe, L'Oréal, Zendesk, and more to discuss what they thought 2023 might have in store for events. From an emphasis on mental health, accessibility, diversity and inclusion, as well as growing interest in sustainability and emerging tech—pretty much everyone featured was right on the money. This is why we’re excited to round up a new group of thought leaders to see what predictions they have for 2024! Here’s what they had to say…

Gianna Gaudini , Head of Events at Airtable

2024 is going to be an exciting year for events and a busy one for event and hospitality professionals. In-person events and the appetite for experiences and travel will grow to pre-2019 levels. Below are a few of my predictions for 2024:

AI is now ubiquitous - it’s hard to imagine that just a year ago we were explaining it to our moms at Thanksgiving and now there are fewer companies that don’t have or promote some type of AI-washing or integration. It will become more rare to attend an event that doesn’t use AI than ones that do leverage it in some capacity (seen or unseen). With so many people now using AI, companies will need to be more discreet about how they arousing it and leverage it in interesting ways that are truly helpful, not generic. Using Chat GPT to write an event script or invite no longer cuts it. Best use cases will be data synthesis and analysis that will help save planners loads of time rather than “doing their job” for them, and helpful ways of enhancing the attendee experience so they get more personalization and meet more of the people they want to meet rather than wasting time at events listening to session or meeting with people that aren’t relevant to them.

Virtual event platforms will need to specialise and find their niche in order to thrive. Whether that’s focusing on becoming a webinar content-generating machine (like Hubilo ) or focusing on community (like Gradual ), marketing very specific use cases will help the winning platforms focus and rise to the top. There will be consolidation in the industry and some key players will be able to be full-service platforms, and also succeed for planners who want to reduce their tech stack and onboarding time for vendors. Virtual events will be hyper-targeted to top-of-funnel events that are more about brand exposure and lead gen than deep middle and bottom-of-the-funnel engagement and deal-making.?

People crave in-person experiences and are willing to travel to them, especially if they are in a location that promotes other activities of leisure. “Bleisure” travel is surging and continues to motivate people to travel further to events that promise more experiences than just content. People who just want content will do that from their own homes or travel locally, but those who want experiences and to truly engage with others are willing to do so in unconventional formats and locations. Wellness is another key activity that is helping attendees maintain their health (or restore it) while travelling including everything from ice baths to meditation to healthier foods and group exercise programming. Many want to leverage events as a way to rejuvenate so we will see a lot more health-focused activities and inspiration and less of the unhealthy activities and food/beverages of former events.

People are craving more experiential activations rather than the standard corporate conference format in a ballroom or convention centre. People have been starved of experiences during the pandemic and this combined with the explosion of social media has people craving experiences that they can remember, share, and revisit after they invest in attending them. Everyone is “press” at events now since there are so many influencers and social sharing is ubiquitous and must be built into the event experience before, during, and after the event.?

ROI must be proven for everything we do. There is never an excuse these days to not have benchmarks in place for success. Planners must be able to justify every aspect of their event/experience and how it supports their business goals. Planners are getting smarter by reducing more of the “fluff” and focusing on fewer key experiences that will really drive the ROI they need to prove success and ensure marketing budgets are maintained. Teams are relying on consultants like myself and freelancers more and more to support their teams and help with everything from strategy to budgeting to execution. Many corporate planners have either left the market and turned to contracting or have lost their jobs due to downsizing so event teams are being tasked to do more with much smaller teams. Thus many are budgeting sizable amounts for external event support. AI is helping, but event portfolios are exploding since events are proving more and more ROI, so teams can’t keep up. Events are finally starting to sell out again as companies are willing to host larger and larger events in new regions.

Meisha P. , Digital Content Marketing Program Manager at VMware

Events will be a driver for year-round content. Marketers and event teams pour countless hours into producing amazing event experiences for their audience… And then what?

Many companies are starting to appreciate the long-term value of the content produced at events and are embracing a year-round, media-centric approach. Event sessions offer endless opportunities for meaningful repurposing and redistribution. The content from a single session can be turned into several individual video clips, several blog posts, and even audio clips where it makes sense. And this is just the beginning—the obvious derivatives that can fuel content well after an event.

Building on this, events also offer a natural place to create new content not directly pulled from a session. For example, some companies run live shows or record podcast episodes from the show floor. Others have “man on the street” coverage and capture live interviews with attendees, speakers, and more.

These efforts not only engage attendees during and after the event but also give your broader audience a taste of FOMO. Show folks what they missed and why they should join you next time!

There are so many opportunities to create and capture content at events, and I predict that more companies will invest more time and energy in event content repurposing and building a true sense of community through events and content.

Kris Ivanov , Senior Events Specialist at Adobe

Technology Innovations

Advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology may continue to drive innovation in events, industries and trends.

Climate Action

Efforts to combat climate change, including the transition to renewable energy and sustainable practices, are likely to remain in focus, likely to see more COP-type events in 2024

Space Exploration

Continued missions to explore space, including those to the Moon and Mars, as well as advancements in satellite technology, could shape trends in aerospace and astronomy and more events might be done in this field.

Digital Transformation

The integration of digital technologies into various aspects of society, including education, healthcare, and business, is expected to continue evolving in 2024 which we already can see at events and trade shows in terms of displays and stand designs

Social and Cultural Shifts

Events advocating for social justice, diversity, and inclusion may continue to influence public discourse next year.

Kathryn Frankson , Global Director of Marketing at Money20/20

What got you here, won’t get you there!

With the competitive event landscape expanding and audiences mindful of both budgets and time, innovation in events is absolutely critical for relevance and growth.?

Events that win in 2024 will consider and enhance innovation in 3 key areas:

Team Resourcing?

Who you are hiring and how you structure teams to work to their strengths is one of the most important aspects of leadership. The best, fastest and most creative teams don’t just happen - they are by design.?

So, it’s essential that you think about how you enable innovation, at all levels, within your teams and partners. Are you hiring from outside of the events industry to propel new ways of thinking? Are you creating and facilitating a culture where new ideas in all areas of the business can flourish? Are you building for innovation and thus measuring the right things??

Event Design

With information and experiences being so ubiquitous, it’s essential to think about why your audience attends, sponsors, partners and partakes in your event. That core is what you then innovate from. The key is to find a way to create competitive differentiation that gives your audience a reason to say yes to giving up their time and/or budget. This can be rethinking location, speakers, stage design, surprises and delights. A great way to do so is to do an innovation audit. Walk through your event, start to finish, and allow for blue sky thinking about how you build in unexpected or interesting ways. There are always ways to innovate and many are budget-friendly - the unlock is allowing this space within the team and not automatically shifting into execution.?

Marketing Channels and Messaging?

Events are almost always tasked with growing every single year, which can be a tall order. Strong marketing is the lever that you have to pull to achieve this. So, the question becomes - where and how??

The best marketing is a combination of subject matter expertise in the market with a real sense of how to capture and convert attention. And that’s fundamentally important because marketing owns all channels; website, email, PR, partners, social, paid - but without an understanding of what will stop audiences in their tracks to pay attention, wheels are just spinning and teams are just burning out. Do your research, make big bets on new or interesting channels and find brand messaging that allows you to stand out. Even with the advent of AI, real copywriting is alive and well and can be a tremendous opportunity for you to gain market share.

Vivi Forny , Global Digital Strategy and Transformation at Okta

Refocusing In-Person Moments

Events are equal parts brand and sales plays and gathering in person is still a critical piece of amplifying a brand while closing and accelerating deals. But with the current complexities of a post-pandemic world of mixed feelings around getting back together in large gatherings, and a macro environment of tighter budgets and resources, events teams will have to refocus their work, and their external narrative on why they should still bring people together.?

Back to Basics on Brand

It’s no surprise that budgets continue to get tighter and resources less available so teams are being pushed to go back to basics when creating onsite experiences that take advantage of those moments in time to showcase their brand. Brand purpose, pillars, and portfolio differentiators will become crisper, and therefore more powerful, when pressed to be materialised in more succinct, leaner ways. Couple that with a much-needed continued focus on ensuring events don’t become environmental nightmares with endless useless giveaways, I think we’re going to see much more focused brand activations that touch on the values and purpose of each brand, delivered in the form of digital assets that can be reused from location to location as well as repurposed for online consumption. With the inevitable percolation of AI across everything we do, I think we will see some really fun and interesting brand moments dipping harder into personalization to not only wow audiences, but help with wayfinding and content consumption outside of our classic sessions, booths, etc.

Sales as a Production Strategy Stakeholder?

Beyond the usual goal setting around portfolio and individual event KPI decisions on deal movement, top accounts invited, etc, I believe event leaders will foster new relationships with Sales leaders to garner earlier input on how the physical space can really contribute to moving deals as desired. Tighter budgets usually mean smaller venue spaces and getting to the bottom of what you want that moment in time to result in, from a Sales KPI perspective, means getting really focused on how to use that space. Balancing the space usage between practitioner content and experience consumption, with spaces that cleverly help direct deal movement, requires the input of those ultimately present to move those deals. I’ve seen a bit of this done but I believe we’re just scratching the surface of what that relationship could be.

Unlocking the Growth Potential of Online Events

Time is a construct. At least for online events. Time and time again teams spend all their energy prepping for and delivering an online event to then immediately after shelf all that amazing content, essentially robbing themselves of the impact potential of that work and investment. I believe this is the year when teams will start building a plan that includes a clear path for that content to be plugged into the strategy of their counterparts in campaign marketing and digital strategy, to ensure revenue potential is maximised.

I’m starting to see a move away from a perception of online events as a mere extension of an in-person experience to more of a campaign that should be integrated into the marketing mix like any other. But I don’t recommend stripping away the “moment in time” element of it as it helps focus audience acquisition efforts to drive what is usually (most) companies' biggest influx of leads and contacts in one go.?

We’re starting to see some really exciting movement from online event tools helping create functionality that seamlessly connects the content to the rest of the campaign mix and, with the inevitable rise of AI, and a race to deliver usable functionality from it, we’re going to see some incredible acceleration of ways to amplify the consumption of, and ultimate the monetary impact of serving online even content during and post those moments in time.

Katie Wengenroth, CMP , Director of Event Marketing, Outreach

2023 will be known as "the first time we were back in person post-COVID" for many amazing conferences and events.

While we were uncertain if the registration numbers would come in 2023 (Surprise! They did... after the hotel cut-off and very close to the food and beverage deadline!) I predict that we will see more last-minute registrations as travel budgets continue to be tight.

That being said, planners have to make it easier to travel. We need to be more creative and predictive of the value that our events hold for the attendees; Who will they get to engage with? What new skills will they walk away with?

Leaving home is harder than it was before, so give folks MANY reasons to make the trip and include the details in your promotions. Think intentional bespoke meetups and networking, hands-on training, and executive roundtables. Content and experiences that will help attendees be better in their roles AND better at managing the everyday stresses of life and work.

Nick Bennett , Co-Founder at TACK

What’s up, everyone? Let's dive into an often-neglected aspect of event management - effective post-event follow-up. We've all been there, haven't we? Returning from a conference or trade show only to be bombarded by countless emails that we promptly discard.? But why is this the case?

The issue lies in the fact that post-event communication frequently devolves into nothing more than another sales pitch. The dreaded follow-up email was crammed with offers and calls to action. We’ve all been there? I don’t know why salespeople think this is a good tactic. However, it's worth noting that people don't remember sales pitches - they remember experiences. So here lies our golden opportunity. Post-event follow-up represents an incredible chance to extend the experience you crafted at your event, truly engaging your attendees rather than merely selling to them. How can we do this? By shifting the focus of post-event communication onto your attendees. Encourage dialogue by asking questions, seeking feedback, sharing highlights from the event, and making your attendees feel valued. This isn't about you; it's about them.

Sharing memories is another fantastic way to keep the post-event engagement alive. Post videos, photos, quotes, and stories from the event. Assist attendees in reliving and reminiscing about the experience you created for them. Provide them with something valuable, such as access to a free tool or guide, instead of pushing for a demo offer.

But let's take it a step further. Surprise and delight your attendees with personalised gifts, handwritten notes, or unexpected surprises. These small gestures can make a big impact, making select attendees feel special and appreciated.

Finally, use the post-event phase to evaluate and improve. Ask for feedback, survey attendees, analyse data, and learn from it. Use these insights to enhance future events. Remember, follow-up isn't just about the attendee's experience. It's about yours too. Done right, post-event follow-up has the potential to build relationships, foster loyalty, and create advocates for your brand. It's far more than just another sales opportunity - it's a chance to make your event truly memorable.

And one last thing: always remember that these experiences come from a real person, not a robot or a faceless marketing email alias. People respond to people. Making this simple, people-first change could be one of the easiest and most impactful adjustments you make.

Bethany Murphy, CMP , Senior Director of Events at 6sense ?

The Dreaded “Do More With Less”

I couldn't pen down this piece without venting about the phrase that makes my planner soul shudder: "Do More With Less." It drags me back to the rollercoaster ride of 2020 and the ominous "pivot!". As corporate maestros, we bear the weighty responsibility of wrangling budgets and squeezing every last drop of value from them. In an era where costs have skyrocketed across the board—food, transportation, airfare, hotel rates—this is no venture for the faint-hearted. How, as planners, do we conjure the same magical experiences in 2024 as we did in 2022 with the exact SAME stash of cash?! The bottom line hits hard: we can't. What we can do, however, is lay it all out for our internal stakeholders, presenting strategic trade-offs like a high-stakes poker game. It's the art of saying, "We can swing A or B, but not both." Moreover, we're tasked with unleashing our creativity to maximise event revenue—perhaps by upping ticket prices or customising unique sponsorship opportunities. We need to become meticulous stewards of our budget, making sure every dime is spent where it truly matters. Why? Because, at the end of the day, prioritising the attendee experience reigns supreme. It's the secret sauce that keeps them coming back, year after glorious year.

Customization is Key

Personalization and customization have become key components of marketing. Buyers are looking for personalization throughout their buying journey (think targeted ads on Instagram that are so hard to resist!). Event attendees are no different – they come to an event expecting to customise their experience. At our 6sense Breakthrough conference, we worked hard to carry this theme throughout the event. Not only could attendees customise their agendas in the event app (with sessions ranging from beginner to expert level), but they could also customise their lanyards. We offered over 30 button options ranging from “Customer Advisory Board Member” to hobbies like “reading, biking, DIY” and even funny sayings like “Talk Data to Me.” We also had a water bottle customization station where attendees could choose from 10 sticker options to customise their Owala water bottles. By providing these customization options, we ensured that attendees felt empowered and engaged throughout the conference. It's all about creating a personalised and memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression on your event and your brand.

Lean Into Your Destination

We all know that for large meetings, there are only a few cities within the US that have large enough hotels/venues to accommodate them (I see you, Las Vegas and Orlando!). In order to make your event stand out, planners should really lean into their destination. At 6sense, we just hosted our annual user conference in the lovely Frisco, TX. We went ALL IN on the Texas theme – busting out cowboy hats, bandanas, and bolo ties – and our attendees came with us on the journey! We provided a “lookbook” in advance of the event, themed each evening event, and the feedback we received from attendees was incredible (and so were their outfits!). We took what was a relatively simple welcome reception and enhanced it by adding local musicians and a “Texas hat” photo opportunity and gifting activation. We provided cowboy hats and even trucker hats with the phrase “cowboy hat” on them. These additions truly elevated the event and created a memorable experience for our attendees. Thankfully, our attendees rode along with us every step of the way!

Josh King , VP of Growth at emc3 | Certified B Corp

The Rise and Fall of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still in its infancy. However, it’s clear it’s going to have a huge impact on businesses. The global AI market size is expected to grow 37% every year from 2023 to 2030. With an expected compound annual growth rate of 37.7%, it's clear that the AI market is growing exponentially, signalling the technology's growing importance across all industries. Many people see it as a threat, but I believe we should see the increasing AI adoption rates as an opportunity.

With Artificial Intelligence becoming further engrained in our everyday lives, audiences are going to crave the power of human connection. As marketers, we can reap the benefits of AI to help with tasks such as content creation, communication, automation and data analysis and harness the connection void that Artificial Intelligence will create to reinforce the value and importance of events.?

Strategic Experience Design

Competition for audiences' attention is higher than ever before. And audience expectations are constantly evolving. Event planners and marketers will have to think of more strategic and creative ways to engage their target audience. You have to carefully curate your content and reimagine your event format and session designs to drive engagement. As Simon Sinek would say, "What’s your why?". How are you positioning your event to be different to others in the market? What’s your value proposition for your attendees? We always recommend our partners focus on solving, not selling.

At emc3 | Certified B Corp , we focus on strategic experience design, an integrated framework for event curation, and applying detailed analysis and outcome-driven planning to optimise alignment and drive long-term business success. And as ever, cross-departmental alignment remains the key to success.?

Sustainable Event Solutions

We need to act now to stop climate change. Our planet is warmer now than it has been in 800,000 years - and we’re using up more of the world’s resources than it can regenerate. The events industry is a huge contributor to the problem and must become part of the solution. Many of us want to do more but may not know how to - and small differences can make a big impact.

We’re seeing some incredible sustainability consultancies like From Now emerge to help provide event planners, venues and organisations with the tools and frameworks they need to host events in a way that is more sustainable. A sustainability-first approach should consider People, Planet and Process (many say Profit, but we prefer Process) and should include DEI, Accessibility and CSR when creating a holistic sustainability strategy.?

As a Certified B Corporation, for us, the future of events has to be a sustainable one. And to do our bit to help, we launched The Sustainable Events Community earlier this year - a platform where you can get access to all the latest venues, suppliers, news, tips and sustainability insights shaping the future of events.?

The Burnout Breakthrough

Burnout has been commonplace in the events industry for as long as I can remember and that needs to change. A recent survey conducted by EventMB found that 90% of event professionals surveyed had suffered from work-related stress or burnout. We are driving away so much incredible talent, and we can’t survive or thrive if we maintain this archaic way of working.?

2024 will see The Burnout Breakthrough, where organisations will start to champion mental health and well-being and people over profits.?

Budget Maximisation

Macroeconomic uncertainty has led to many companies reducing their events spend. And when budgets are smaller, you have to learn how to do more with less. 2024 will see an increasing number of co-hosted events from brands that target the same ICP helping to reduce costs. Highly targeted micro-events and roadshows are also set to increase as there is a heavier emphasis than ever before on community-led growth.

Activations and ancillary events are also set to rise. According to Gartner’s 2023 Tech Marketing Benchmarks Survey, third-party events are a key growth driver, ranking as the second-highest source of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) at 11%, just behind the web at 16%. We will also see an increased focus on data, reporting and analytics to quantify the return on investment and experience. Driving engagement across the full lifecycle of your event and repurposing content to drive maximum value is an absolute must. I'd recommend checking out some of the exciting updates from RingCentral events if you're looking to maximise your events budget in 2024.

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Thank you so much to all of the amazing folks who shared their insights with us for this article!

How do you think the events industry will change in 2024?