San Diego, CA, January 8, 2024 – LIVE at PCMA Convening Leaders 2024 – LIVE at PCMA Convening Leaders 2024, Encore is sharing key research insights that meeting professionals need to know.
- Hotel expectations for event growth in 2024
- How experts tweaking this year’s budget stack up
- How meeting professionals think about measuring the impact of events on their organizations
- How the industry defines “immersive” and “engagement” events
Encore is also sharing select insights from an exclusive study on how the event industry can adapt to the changing expectations of event professionals to ensure greater event impact.
Interview opportunity with Ben Erwin :
- Leadership Learning: Partnerships Great Place to Work™
- People strategy: 12,000+ team members in front of growth and stories with a putting purpose
Budget outlook: Things look good for most organizations
- For association planners, 44% expect their budgets to increase year-over-year, while 44% expect them to stay flat and 12% expect them to only decrease. Corporate and third-party planners are less likely than association planners to reduce AV spending on other budget items.
- Props
- Entertainment
- Offsite events
- Indoor AV technology
- Food and drink
They field ROI data as the most useful tool to justify AV technology/production spending.
“When struggling to show the value of certain investments, we aim to work with all of our clients on solutions and event design to align those choices with the organization’s event goals,” says Annette Moody, SVP of Encore.
How do meeting planners define immersive and engaging? Core technology plays a big role
Key insights from Encore’s exclusive research on immersive technology are a key priority for planners this year. Elements that foster emotional connection, passion, collaboration, and active engagement can increase focus, enhance concentration, and create lasting impressions from events. Immersive technology and impactful content-driven engagement add value to organizations.
- 93% of planners will use immersive technology to engage attendees
- 85% of planners believe immersive experiences drive greater attendee engagement.
- 83% believe that technology that delivers immersive experiences will improve event ROI.
When asked about the best technology and production factors, planners find the most value in creating an engaging environment. Here’s what we’ve shared.
- Basic lighting elements, including stage lights, gobos, and LED uplights – 61%.
- LED wall, monitor, or totem – 52%.
- Scenic Decoration – 50
- Background music, jingles, or sound effects – 48%.
Association planners rate basic lighting, music, unique scenery, and upgraded audio/microphones as the top choices for a more engaging experience.
“These insights show that simple production additions can dramatically change the event experience. Some may think that an immersive or engaging event requires only the most cutting-edge technological innovations or the biggest budgets. “Encore’s focus this year is to support meeting professionals in their mission to create more meaningful and impactful events through their technology choices.”
Interview opportunity with Annette Moody :
- The value proposition of event technology
- Training on event technology costs: content of history, business models, pricing and pricing structure for event technology, internet, rigging and power distribution
- Tips and solutions for budgeting on a tight budget
- New and not-so-new technologies that can enhance your event
- Scaling immersive and engaging experiences for small meetings to big events
More association planners are measuring ROE against their companies.
- 2 out of 3 event planners are tasked with measuring ROI.
- More than half of planners should measure ROE (return on experience)
- More association planners are tasked with measuring ROE compared to their company and 3.Rd party opponents
Most association planners who gave in-depth responses in our survey reported that they were primarily measuring attendee feedback and event awareness, but others noted that they were measuring retention of training sessions along with landing page clicks, social media clicks, returning attendee rates, and year-round sponsorship revenue.
“Measurable outcomes have always been the backbone of a successful event. Where we have an opportunity as an industry to grow is in identifying more specific KPIs to increase organizational impact – if we’re attracting valuable learning about content with social programming, greater attention to the event itself, how can we grow and understand how we can grow beyond overall satisfaction,” says Hargrove.
Adapting to the Zeitgeist: Designing Events for Impact in 2024 and Beyond Insights that will drive events in 2024 and beyond
There’s a lot of recent discussion in the events community that our world has changed at an unprecedented pace, and we need to revolutionize how we create impactful events. That premise led Angkor to conduct in-depth research with Kantar, the world’s leading research firm, to analyze the priorities and challenges facing event owners. What we found were powerful insights into the human experience at events. From economists and anthropologists to futurists and CEOs, this research tracks measurable and lasting macro shifts in culture and validates broader trends in the events industry. The research was based on ‘Streetscape’ interviews with professionals around the world to understand their attitudes, values, priorities and needs, along with direct customer insights from meetings professionals.
From long-standing consumer expectations to have a customizable and personalized experience, we underpin our insights with value systems on social well-being and inclusivity, key trends on people and behavior, and skills and attitudes towards the environment.
Encore has leveraged this work to advise the industry on how to Design for Impact–the practice of optimizing event experiences to deliver the best possible outcomes for organizations. The research also guides product roadmaps that align the technology solutions pipeline with changes in business culture.
“One of the defining insights that influences attitudes in all areas of life is that 69% of adults worldwide believe in “humanity,” says Higgins. “Seeking to connect with real people is a very important personal value. How we communicate connection and recognize humanity through the future is key to the future. Below are some key principles from the study
Insight #1: Business professionals care about the broader value of an event’s value to themselves, their organization, their community, and society.
Strategic bet: “With our collective increased sense of humanity driving so much of how we experience the world right now, it’s no stretch to say that in-person events will be the driver of the industry. Where we see technology going in the near future is around how communities provide education, exposure, and connection across the entire lifecycle of an event calendar.
Reasons to believe :
- 74% of adults worldwide believe that businesses have a responsibility to make society fairer.
- 39% reported that “memorable” is the second most important priority for events.
Insight #2: The affiliation and inclusivity of an event is non-negotiable.
Strategic Bets: “Event planners are rapidly forming habits and routines to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility at their events.
Entry into the organization, not an afterthought,” Higgins said.
Reasons to believe :
- 52% of adults worldwide feel they belong, and feeling part of a place or group is an extremely or very important personal value.
- 32% of adults worldwide believe that “connecting with others” is a top priority for events.
Insight #3: Professionals continue to demand flexibility in how they attend work and events, and how they consume information and network.
Strategic bets: “In many aspects of life, the days of one-to-one fit are gone,” Higgins said. “For events that use space and time to design programs, spaces, and events to get creative with the
Marketing that attracts attendees with multiple choice options and the power to control the experience. Leveraging experience personalization across all events will create event resiliency for attendee interests with conflicting touch points.”
Reasons to believe :
- 32% of adults worldwide believe that “connecting with others” is a top priority for events.
Interview opportunity with Tara Higgins :
- Driving business and cultural change at events
- Design for strategy importance and impact
About Encore
Encore creates memorable experiences that engage and transform organizations. As a global leader in in-person, hybrid, and virtual events, Encore’s team of innovators and experts deliver real-world results.
Through event strategy, design, technology, production, and digital solutions. Encore operates in over 20 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia Pacific. It is a
The trusted partner for more than 2,100 premier hotels and venues around the world. The company is headquartered in Schiller Park, Illinois, in the Chicago metro area.