5 event trends PAs should know about in 2017

With a little foresight and years of expertise in this fast-moving industry, the team at Apex has identified the key trends you’ll need to know about if you’ll be planning corporate events over the next 12 months.

1. While social media isn’t new, so far it has been drastically underused. However, with the social platforms themselves upping their game when it comes to event functionality, if you haven’t yet thought about using live streaming, stories, or geofilters at your corporate events, now’s the time to start.
2. Quirky technology is always an attention grabber, but to be of any practical use, it must be supportive of your wider event aims, not a distraction. In 2017, we’d like to see less focus on tech for tech’s sake, and more considered integration to help event organisers and attendees meet their objectives.
3. With budget constraints tighter than ever, many organisations will be planning to hold fewer or smaller events. However, savvy businesses will be looking at ways to hold more impactful events, with more targeted attendee lists and established objectives.
4. Data integration and marketing automation can help you to maximise attendance, engagement and leads (where needed). It can also help you to communicate with attendees post-event. In 2017, at the very least, you should ensure that you’re using a registration platform that combines advanced automation and data registration tools. Apex’s ultra-modern event registration platform does all this and more.
5. Until now it’s only the big brands that have had the budget to deploy augmented and virtual reality. However, the better it gets, the more accessible it becomes, and we predict that we’ll all start to see immersive tech creeping into mainstream events.

Ultimately, events in 2017 must deliver an experience. If this all sounds complicated, the right event management partner can help you to adopt a more strategic approach to your events. So, while you might think it’s cheaper to do everything by yourself, expert support could prove invaluable and generate that all important ROI. Contact Apex today to find out more, or give the team a call on 01625 429370 to discuss your requirements in more depth.