predicting the future of events - ffea 2014

Time Capsule:Events in the Next 20 Years

#FFEA 2014

@danberger

August 2014 @danberger #FFEA

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Audience-Presenter Agreement

Interactive Exercise

Which of these is most important to you and why?

I am an eventgoer.

I am an event planner.

I am an event believer.


1. Identify trends that will profoundly impact our industry.

2. Hear my predictions for what events will look like in 20 years.

3. Be able to execute your own futurist exercise.

Learning Objectives


Current Trends: Industry + Technology

Businesses spend 1% of their revenue on events and meetings.

Meetings and events account for $565 B global spend.

Hotel revenue from meetings and events is $103 B.

“A Survey of Meeting and Event Planning Professionals and Hotel Operators,“ Frost and Sullivan, March 2013

Source: “Internet Trends 2014” by KPCB

Source: “Internet Trends 2013” by KPCB


Futurist (n)a person who studies the future and makes predictions about it based on current trends.

“Corporate America will be excited about meetings.”

“Attendance via virtual holograms.”

“Speakers will be certified in adult education.”“Real-time seat availability.”

“Robots. Lots of robots.”

“Events will never end.”

“There will be more events.”

“Without A/V because we will use our smartphones.”

“100% customizable online on a venue’s site.”

“Attendees will have contextual information about other attendees.”

“No check-in.”


29 Predictions for the Next 20 Years


Categories for Predictions● The Discipline of Event Planning● Marketing● Technology● Logistics● Business Model● Content● Attendees


The Discipline of Event Planning

Special Events Magazine"Lifting the Curtain on Live Events," Think with Google, 2014Brookings Institute

There will be more events.

25% of Corporate Planners expect events in 2015.

Live Nation Concert Revenue was up 29% in Q1 of 2014.

Google search for sport tickets up 32% from 2 years ago.

Oh, and the middle class will grow from 2B to 5B by 2030.

The number of event planners will continue to rise significantly.

Event planners will be more strategic than ever.

Manage

Source

Communicate

Plan

Objectives

Data

Organization’s Mission

TechnologyTech

nolog

y

Project MgtScheduling

Transportation HousingSite Selection

Surveys

Badges, Check-in, etc

Email Marketing

Speaker Mgt Design

Reg Social Media

Reports

Measure

Database

Logistics

The Meeting Planning Process Pyramid

LearningZone

(c) Social Tables, 2014

Event planning will be a more respected and common field.

“Meeting design” and “meeting consolidation” will be commonplace terms.

LearningZone


Event Marketing

Events will be a part of a full-365 marketing plan.

Sponsorships will be integrated into the experience.

LearningZone

“Internet Trends 2014” by KPCB

True ROI will be achievable.


Event Technology

Meeting planning as we know it will be automated.

LearningZone

Virtual audiences will be a basic component of events.

1990s 2010s

Event planning software will be free and integrated.


Fits your workflow

Cloud-based (SaaS)

Open

Device-agnostic

Technology Scorecard

LearningZone

Custom event apps willno longer exists.

Group business will be booked mostly online.


Event Logistics

Event space will be more commoditized than ever.

LearningZone

Everything you will need will be available on-demand.

Event security will face some of its biggest challenges.


Event Business Model

There will be a subscription model for events.

LearningZone

(c) Zoura

There will be no cash at events.

Events will be crowdfunded.

Free and illegal events will put our profession at risk.


Event Content

Education will be the key component at meetings.

Content will be crowdsourced.

Events will be an artist’s dominant source of income.


Event Attendees

Events will be smaller and more intimate.

LearningZone

Discovery will be seamless and perfect.

People will pay more money to experience not attend.

Announcing

How can sponsors help announce the event? Can sponsors be involved in promotion, marketing, distribution? The event branding?

Attracting

Can sponsors be involved in campaigns or offerings to attract attendees? Giveaways, raffles, incentives? Content building up to the event?

Anticipating

Are you using sponsor offers to build anticipation? Can you include them in social media campaigns? How can you get your audience interacting before the event?

Entering

What will each attendees first interaction with your sponsors be? Is it engaging? What would make your attendees aware of the sponsors immediately?

Experiencing

Are sponsors part of the experience? How can they be involved during the event? Consider the entertainment, technology, food, program, etc.

Engaging

How did your sponsors interact with attendees? What can you as an organizer do to inspire these interactions? Was everyone engaged?

Exiting

How could sponsors enhance the exiting of your event? What utility is needed or could be provided? Consider transportation, directions, gifts, etc.

Extending

How was the life of the event prolonged after it officially ended? Consider post-event communication, follow-up, sharing content, etc.

LearningZone

Audiences will be a thing of the past.

Source: eMarketer, April 2014

Face-to-face interactions will be even more coveted.

Events will be more important than ever.


Interactive Exercise:

Question: Which do you believe the most/least?Time: 3 minutesGroup: Pairs

YOUR FACE HERE

Happy 20th Anniversary, FFEA!


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● Contact [email protected]@danberger(917) 359-7757

Questions + Connections

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predicting the future of events - ffea 2014

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