Event organisers need to evolve their offer in line with changing delegate expectations, according to a new research report commissioned by ExCeL London.
Event with Intent suggests networking is now the highest priority for event attendees, and that the social and environmental impact of events are also important to attendees - doing business with a purpose in mind is becoming a key commercial concern, not simply a moral one.
The report, which
gathered insights from 300 delegates, event organisers and agencies, explored event
visitor behaviours and factors influencing attendance. It calls
for the industry to redefine ROI as ‘Return on Intent’ in order to measure and
match event demand with outcomes.
The research reveals that while ‘Bleisure’
opportunities - the combination of business and leisure - are still relevant,
delegates are more focused than ever on maximising the business value of events
and conferences, and ‘networking is king’ when it comes to the most important
reason to attend a live event.
There is also an emerging need for the industry to better
recognise and respond to the changing beliefs which delegates have around
social and environmental impacts to ensure that the event activity aligns with
these new values and intentions.
Summary of findings
- The top priority, and
where attendees derive the most value, is networking - over 60 per cent cited this
as their primary reason for attending.
- These networking
opportunities need to feel organic, authentic and unforced, to ensure a
successful event for attendees.
- The report suggests
environmental and social impact is also increasingly important to
delegates, scoring 4/5 for importance on average.
- Venue location is of
prime importance, and in particular the travel connections to the venue
and destination. 88 per cent of event attendees indicated that this has a high or
very high impact on their decision to attend. Cities with an evergreen
appeal include those with a universal language, diversity and a high
volume of direct flights and public transport links.
- London came out as the
top destination for an event, thanks to its rich cultural heritage,
excellent connectivity and transport links, and the fact that as a global
business centre it can offer networking and partnership opportunities as
well as access to expertise beyond the event itself.
- Event organisers should
think about ways to measure ‘return on intent’. For example, through a
post-event survey tracking if attendees feel the event delivered against
their decision to attend.
- Employing behavioural
science techniques can better help gauge people’s true reactions to the
insights, opportunities and connections on offer at an event. While the
practicalities of this must be balanced with commercial reality, it is
vital for organisers to show they are listening.
James Rees, executive director, ExCeL London
said: “Our report is designed to help the
business events industry learn from recent challenges and adapt to the new
expectations of delegates and attendees.
“From speaking to a large cross section of delegates, event
organisers and agencies, we know that their expectations and feelings about
what constitutes a successful event are changing. We need to understand the key
drivers – networking stood out as the most important aspect for attendees – and
how we measure whether we are delivering on expectations. From using technology
and AI to gauge attendee moods in real time, to understanding the importance of
maximising networking opportunities, the next step is to incorporate these
trends into event curation.”
Dena Lowery, president, Opus
Agency adds: “We should be looking more at
what we can learn from B2C about the type of experiences people want to have at
events. This could include looking at how we use augmented reality or AI to
make events experiential.”
On the importance of social and environmental factors on
event organisation, Jez Paxman, strategy director, Live Union, said:
“One of the main drivers of events being more sustainable comes from attendee
expectations. If they don’t agree with what an event is doing in terms of
sustainability, then letting the organisers know can be a very powerful statement.”
Read the full
report here: https://www.excel.london/visitor/news/event-with-intent-excel-report-highlights-need-for-events-industry-to-adopt-new-roi
