Keep Track of Event Technology Industry Trends

As we prepare to embark on a new year full of exciting event opportunities, we’re taking a moment to evaluate current event industry trends that inspire event planners to innovate their efforts. 

If you haven’t explored the event technology advancements that shook up the industry, post-pandemic, consider the following on your cheat sheet.

We’ll get you caught up in no time so you can empower your events with cutting-edge solutions next year and beyond.

After all, time is of the essence as business leaders predict that the events industry — and the business itself — will make a full return to pre-pandemic numbers in 2023. 

Let’s dive into an overview of the event industry trends and technologies you should incorporate into your 2023 event plans ASAP… 

Event industry trends: An overview

By now, you’ve heard a million times that the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the events industry. It also accelerated the pace of change and innovation needed to host meaningful and memorable events. 

That acceleration created these current trends, as well as the expectation that event planners must keep pace. This can prove challenging for any event manager who isn’t leveraging event technology, and here’s why.

The consumer demands created during the past few years haven’t really changed, nor are they expected to, which brings us to our first trend.

Control room capacity through access control.

Track capacity and attendance by managing session entrance and exits with self-service badge scans. Attendees can use a barcode on their badge to scan themselves in before entering a session or networking event.

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Trend #1 — Hybrid reigns supreme

As we know, hybrid is here to stay, and for that reason, event planners need to bridge the gap between virtual and in-person audiences better and stronger than ever before. Attempting to do this without the assistance of event technology is not advised. Especially, as we consider the following additional trends that continue to shape the current landscape.  

Trend #2 — Data collection that gets things done

The push for stronger lead generation and better data about event attendees is a priority for event managers who have been paying close attention to recent industry shifts. Why? Better information means more targeted leads, which is really all that your sponsors and exhibitors care about. Not unlike old-school matchmaking, you need to pair up attendees with event sponsors and exhibitors in such a way that you ensure all stakeholders realize value from attending. This leads us to our third trend.

Trend #3 — Stronger, more strategic networking

In line with data that actually makes a difference, the ability to network in a more streamlined and supported way aligns with current event stakeholder expectations. In other words, no one is excited to pack stacks of business cards or collect them from their colleagues once on the ground. Also, let’s not forget — many of your attendees will not be on the ground, but attending from behind their home or office screens. A better system for networking that saves time, ensures accuracy, and supports connections is fast becoming a baseline expectation of event attendees.

Trend #4 — Green is all the rage

Seriously, sustainability is something that many consumers are increasingly concerned about. Whether that means reducing their personal carbon footprint or supporting those businesses and organizations that have committed to combating climate change, eliminating event waste is trending. By investing in event technology your organization can cut down on paper products, plastic pens, and other resources that a simple app can replace entirely. By doing this you signal a commitment to sustainability while saving money in the process. Helping the environment and protecting your budget in the process? Win-win.  

Trend #5 — Events are meant for marketing

While event planning always had an element of marketing and PR associated with it, the real push was always to drive revenue. Once again, we’re witnessing another change to the purpose and promise of events. Today, the event industry is valued for its mass communication potential. Again, with hybrid events holding firm, organizations are recognizing a limitless potential to the number of people they can reach — without necessarily investing much money to do so. This means that event planners need to sharpen their marketing skills and develop savvy strategies in support of their sponsors and exhibitors. 

Trend #6 — Safety standards stay center-stage

Supporting public health and safety at events is a major task facing event planners. While many attendees are eager to — and have returned to — in-person events, most do so with the expectation that health and safety will be prioritized. This might not mean social distancing or masking, but it does encompass event technology features like contactless capabilities. By providing contactless capabilities, your organization signals how seriously it takes the health and comfort of its attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. Getting back to sustainability, going contactless also supports the green initiative by eliminating traditional check-in materials like badges, paper lists, lanyards, pens, etc. Once again, you’ll cut costs on these items, as well as the staffing required to manage registration processes. Another way to save even more green.

Trend #7 — Event managers are eager to up their game

Naturally, when you consider the shift in attendee outlook outlined above, it’s not hard to imagine that event managers are anxious. They wish to hone their skills in order to meet, if not exceed, these expectations. Early 2020 forced event planners to pivot their efforts without warning. Now, that need to evolve and be flexible in their strategy is just part of the event industry’s reality. Increasingly, event managers are looking for better ways to do more. This keeps them ahead of the changes in order to deliver real results. In other words, the industry is embracing ways to work smarter, not harder and that’s where event technology comes in. 

Keep pace with event industry trends by investing in event technology

As an event manager, if you’re not using event technology to your advantage, you’ll be excited to start after reviewing a few key features that will make it easy to keep pace with these event industry trends and shifts. 

With so many event technology options available, our first word of advice is to select a platform that supports your efforts from start to finish. 

For instance, our end-to-end solutions make Expo Logic a trusted leader in the event management space. 

Our expo management software features key capabilities that will minimize your efforts while maximizing results for your event stakeholders, such as: 

• Online event registration: Make a better first impression by providing a user-friendly registration platform that simplifies the entire registration process for both your attendees and staff. With this registration data at your fingertips, you’ll quickly be able to review real-time analytics. You can also review reports in order to access actionable insights about your attendees. 
• Event check-in software:Remember that push for public health? Event check-in software supports contactless capabilities. It also allows attendees to print their own badges, rather than wait in a long line to collect them. Badge in hand, they can quickly scan themselves into event sessions with ExpressPass. 
• Attendee tracking: Once you’ve gotten everyone registered and through the door in a quick and contactless fashion, you’ll be able to analyze how your attendees experience and interact with your event (including with event stakeholders like sponsors and exhibitors) in order to more strategically plan and manage future offerings. 
• Lead retrieval: In line with attendee tracking, collecting leads has never been easier or more meaningful to your exhibitors and sponsors. Innovative lead retrieval solutions empower your organization to maximize exhibitor ROI and offer more value to your sponsors.