With every new year, there are a series of new trends that take shape in the events industry. Event practices continue to develop and evolve to support our clients' and society's needs and desires. To stand out and create unique experiences, it’s time for event organizers to look to the 2023 event trends that will not only seize the hearts of attendees but bring revenue as well!

As we enter the new year, there is a sense of enthusiasm and excitement in the air surrounding events, and Wizard Studios is here to assist you through it all. Our one-stop-shop strives to deliver extraordinary and unforgettable events to audiences everywhere. 

Whether you’re an event professional or the head of your company’s event committee, staying on top of the latest trends is essential to delivering a successful event. Dig into these 2023 event trends and leave an indelible impression on your guests. 2023 looks like it’s going to be an exciting year for all of us!

“EXPERIENCE-FOCUSED” EVENTS 

As the metaverses and digital events continue to advance, event organizers have to evaluate what makes live events worth attending in person. For example, there are some elements of events that are intrinsically experiential and best experienced in person like fireworks, tasty new foods, or exciting cocktails. Here’s a follow-up question to ask, “Are there any parts of events that need reworking?” Could the expert panel or educational component be better experienced virtually in a webinar? How much value is there for your guests to spend their time and funds attending a conference in person when almost everything is available and offered online? To become a truly ‘experience-focused event,’ events need to take full advantage of the tools at their disposal. It’s time to start thinking about how to turn every moment into an experience.

If your event is virtual or hybrid, enthrall your guests with a photo contest or virtual scavenger hunt. Provide opportunities for them to engage with your in-person attendees by displaying immediate results of activities with a projection screen or on social media. This will encourage your virtual guests to participate and make them feel special.

If your event is in-person only, remind yourself how, after years of lockdowns and virtual events, attendees have an aggressive appetite for real and memorable experiences. Turn blank spaces into stunning events with the help of Wizard Studios. We can transform any space to create an experience that your guests will never forget!

Do you want to see how Wizard Studios can transform any space? For more information, check out our blog, “Give Your Event Space A Total Makeover” or see the benefits of unforgettable event experiences at “Why You Need Experiential Marketing”.

RETHINK TICKETING

Rethink how you normally handle ticketing and provide attendees with special ticketing offers that are bound to generate more registrations and draw in a bigger crowd. 

Here are a few tips that could save you and your guests a lot of time and money:

• Offer advanced ticket bundle sales 

• Make all transactions cashless 

• Partner with ticketing providers that offer self-serve kiosks

• Sell special VIP experiences and/or expedited entries

• Create a loyalty program that generates referral codes for your guests to pay forward

• Launch NFTs that serve as access tokens

Put your attendees’ needs first and reimagine ticketing for all your future events. We suggest taking a look at our blog article, “Elevate Your Event With New Technologies” and see what technologies you can integrate to make ticketing a registration more efficient at your next special event!

SOCIAL LISTENING

In recent years, our society has shifted to becoming more sensitive and aware of how our personal and brand’s behaviors and actions affect others. That being said, we have a long way to go but event organizers and producers can do their part with “social listening”. 

What is social listening?

Social listening is the tracking of all social media platforms for anything related to your brand. It’s all about collecting data. Social listening uses brand mentions, hashtags, competitor mentions, and industry trends to look at how your brand is being received by the public. It is essentially a two-step process:

1. Monitor social media platforms for mentions of your brand, competitors, products, and keywords related to your business.

1. Analyze the information for insights and strategize how to improve and what actions to take. 

So how does social listening relate to the world of events? Monitoring social media pages is essentially a customer service function for events. Attendees want to know how late the food stands are open or when the band will be taking the stage. The company’s social media manager or a member of the event organizer’s team is likely to have a spreadsheet with prepared responses ready to be shared with social media users and event attendees or they have set up a chatbot to help answer any questions attendees may have throughout the event. 

We see 2023 taking this a step further, and making this also a safe space for guests to report complaints and safety issues. Suspicious-looking people should be flagged and shared with public safety professionals. Immediate action can take place if someone comments about a sparked wire, an unsanitary food booth, or any other safety concern at the event location. Use their feedback to mitigate risk and build a brand people trust. 

SUSTAINABILITY

If you haven’t already, it’s time to shift your attention to the sustainable aspects of live events. Sustainable events have now become an obligation, no matter what type of event you’re hosting. We are more aware than ever of the impact that meetings & events can leave on the environment. We have seen the climate crisis and sustainability issues rise to the top of almost everyone's agenda. Event producers are always looking for ways to improve and make corporate events “greener”. So how do you make your events more sustainable?  Here are some of our favorite sustainable tips for you!

• Reduce consumption of plastic

• Collaborate with vendors and caterers that also value sustainability 

• Resource food locally 

• Use online event/meetings invitations

• Use recycled materials to offer fair-trade food alternatives

• Use & reuse recycled materials for decorations and centerpiece

A few small changes could make a world of a difference. Investing in reusable products will save you money in the long run, while contributing to the greater good! A truly sustainable corporate event will consider the environmental, social, and economic effects, and aims to reduce them. For more information on sustainability and events, read our blog article, “The Art of Creating Sustainable Events for 2022” and check out The Events Council's “Principles for Sustainable Events.”

These are four of the biggest event trends we predict looking forward into 2023. What event trends will you incorporate at your next event? And if you need any help offering your attendees unforgettable experiences, contact the experiential experts at Wizard Studios today!