Strata 2024 Trends Report

FEB 2024

TREND REPORT BACK TO HUMAN

UK & Europe

2 INTRO 4 PERSONALISE 7 SIMPLIFY 9 DIVERSIFY 11 COMMUNICATE 13 COLLABORATE

EVERY MOMENT MATTERS

INTRO

WELCOME TO THE FIRST OF OUR 2024 TREND REPORTS, BACK TO HUMAN. We’ve collaborated over the last year with a cross section of senior event and marketing professionals from a diverse group of over 60 global brands and sectors. We’ve held face to face insight events through the year, sparking conversation and debate across a wide range of topics. We have used this to fuel our perspective of future trends in audience engagement and event marketing.

We have put in the leg work in order to summarise the key trends with a forward thinking approach to allow you to go into 2024 armed and ready to deliver moments that matter!

Thanks to all of our contributors and speakers:

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INTRO

AT STRATA WE LOVE TECHNOLOGY An innovative piece of tech can help facilitate and elevate a mind blowing experience.

However over the past few years it seems the conversation around the latest technology has outweighed the most important factor of any event, the people.

between people and creating more human driven moments live, online or a bit of both.

And of course the tech you can leverage to help make it happen.

We think 2024 is the year we get back to human.

And it seems we´re not alone. Our research shows that increasingly our clients and their customers are focussed on how to make events more… well… human.

In this report we´re going to highlight the importance of making your live event more about personalised experiences, facilitating meaningful connections

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PERSONALISE

THERE ARE BILLIONS OF DATA POINTS OUT THERE BUT IT’S ABOUT USING THEM IN THE RIGHT WAY TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. Lea Karam, consulting director. Behave.

“People have very little tolerance for something that isn’t relevant to them anymore.”

Since the end of the pandemic we´ve come to realise time is precious and any activity we engage with needs to deliver on a number of levels. Personal growth, super relevant information and the opportunity to define any activity around our needs have become our priority.

As a result generic, passive events won´t cut it any longer.

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PERSONALISE

ACCORDING TO 85% OF EVENT PROFESSIONALS PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES AND TAILORED CONTENT ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THEIR EVENTS Personalised Program Curation

“Understand what your audience want. The power of the shared experience is often just as much about networking.”

“Post-Covid we’re in more of a ‘humanisation’ era. Rather than a big brand event we could give people the space to talk about the product, rather than it coming from the brand. We can facilitate that, rather than a traditional ‘sit and listen to a presentation’ event.”

​

We live in an era of personalised content and delegates expect the same from their events. Use data gathering technology prior to building your event program to discover exactly what it is your delegates are interested in. What´s going to help them grow personally and give them the information they need to get ahead of their game professionally?

Content Tailored content can be drip-fed, at pertinent times throughout the entire lifecycle of the event, fostering active engagement and participation, whilst generating enthusiasm and anticipation.

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PERSONALISE

ALTHOUGH OUR FOCUS IS ON CREATING MORE PEOPLE-CENTRIC EVENTS, TECHNOLOGY CAN PLAY ITS PART IN DELIVERING A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL 3D Audio Beam Forming

Braindate

HOLOPLOT speakers, which deliver highly directional audio without the need for headphones. This groundbreaking tech enables different soundtracks and translates for various parts of the audience.

Braindate creates knowledge-sharing moments amongst delegates.

Facial Recognition Gather attendee data with no need to scan badges or QR codes (this can be GDPR compliant in an opted in closed event) and measure audience engagement through facial recognition without the need for intrusive methods.

Before and during the event, delegates post topics related to anything that they’re hoping to share and discuss at the event. Delegates with similar interests and challenges then have the opportunity to book 1:1 meet ups to discuss the shared interest.

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“It’s not just tech, for tech’s sake, tech has got to have real purpose and meet your objectives. How do you want your audience to feel?”

SIMPLIFY

KEEP IT REAL, GET BACK TO BASICS. SIMPLIFY COMMUNICATION, EMPHASISE QUALITY AND POSITIVE EXPERIENCES, AND SKIP COMPLEX BRAND STORIES. KEEP IT STRAIGHTFORWARD AND FOCUSED ON BRINGING JOY INTO PEOPLE’S LIVES. Greg Clayton, Head of MBS Insights, Ipsos

Every day life is complicated enough, we have the opportunity to create events that are not only inspiring and engaging, but actually a pleasure to be a part of when everything just flows easily and simply.

NOISE © Copyright 2024 STRATA

“People lead very busy lives and so how can we produce events that people can gain something from or have a reason to take part in?”

SIMPLIFY

60% OF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE SIMPLIFIED EXPERIENCES Bringing simplicity to your event is a benefit not only to you but also your delegates, making your event program more effective and more efficient.

Less Time, More Focus​​ As well as attention spans shortening, due to increased daily access to content and data, we´ve become better and quicker at absorbing information, deciding what is useful to us and checking out when content seems irrelevant.

By stripping back content into pre read, making sessions more participative and removing any repetition, you can consider a reduced length of event whilst still achieving all of your core objectives and keeping your delegates engaged.

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“I’m seeing a change in the way customers want to be spoken to.

We get bombarded with so many messages and too much marketing is intrusive – we’ve got to enrich not intrude.”

DIVERSIFY

NEURODIVERSITY IS BECOMING AN IMPORTANT PART OF DAILY CONVERSATION ... but arguably not enough in relation to the planning and design of events.

How do we create experiences that are inclusive to all, especially for those for whom being overstimulated can cause distress?

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“Align to global objectives, that allow your people some flexibility to make the experience more inclusive and memorable.”

DIVERSIFY “Communicate with empathy, it’s about researching your audiences.”

15-20% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION EXHIBITS SOME FORM OF NEURODIVERGENCE Events can be difficult for those who find over-stimulation tiring or distressing. The thought of being in crowded, noisy rooms or without access to natural light fills some with dread outweighing the benefits gained from attending an event no-matter how useful or engaging it may be for others.

“It’s about understanding.

Understand what’s important to people and how brands can add to their lives.”

Quiet Zones

Smaller Groups

Seating areas specifically designed for silent moments, perhaps equipped with noise cancelling headphones, can give a valuable 10 minute respite to reset.

In general breakouts and seminars in smaller groups are more effective as it democratises the experience, allowing everyone to contribute, especially those who suffer from anxiety in crowds.

Outdoor Breakouts

Hybrid Events

The therapeutic benefits of even the most simple connections with nature should not be underestimated.

Organising breakout groups outdoors can offer a change of scenery and a chance to breathe and focus while working.

Events hosted simultaneously live and online are commonly considered for bringing together global audiences, however they also provide a great opportunity to get involved for those whose neurodiversity makes it difficult for them to attend in person.

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COMMUNICATE

THE EVENT ITSELF IS ONLY THE MIDDLE CHAPTER OF THE STORY 478

Audiences now want to be taken along for the ride and made to feel like a valuable part of the whole event experience in their own right.

A pre-planned content plan for every stage can increase the impact of your event as well as its longevity.

“2024 is about virality, how do you support those viral moments or look for trends in an event.”

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COMMUNICATE

WE HAVE MORE ACCESS TO DELEGATES THAN EVER BEFORE Giving us plenty of opportunities to communicate and let them drive not only the event but also content and campaigns around the event.

Bring them on board early and turn Show those who can´t attend what they´re missing. your campaign into a conversation.

As well as canvassing for opinions on content, create a community feel by producing polls with a more personal feel. What are your delegates looking forward to most? Who are they hoping to meet? Any recommendations on things to do around the venue?

“Maximize engagement by creating content that can be re-used and amplified.”

Regular cross-platform updates from your event in full swing can provide value for those who can´t make it and make sure they attend next time.

Plan ahead with pre-designed structures and templates that allow for swift turnaround of reels, posts and short form content for social feeds and ensure you put the thoughts and opinions of delegates up front and centre.

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“While attendance is always a KPI it’s important to encompass engagement. How we measure the ‘temperature’ of the brand in the market before and after an event.

What’s that halo effect? And how long can we measure it for?”

Extend the impact with post-event content.

If planned properly content created during an event can become an invaluable library of insight and opinion pieces that can be shared long after the event has ended.

Focus on both content and distribution for engagement: Be conscious of the long tail of the event. Spend 50% of the time on content and 50% of the time on distribution and getting engagement.

COLLABORATE

One of the keys to a people focussed event is collaboration.

No one knows your audience like you do, so working closely and collaboratively with your agency as partners will ensure that all those insights are translated into an event that is useful, personal and will leave delegates with tips and information they will use for years.

“Working with fewer service providers can help maximise economies of scale and lead to cost savings.”

At a time when budgets are a hot topic, close collaboration can also create efficiencies that can save money in a very real sense.

82% OF EVENT MARKETEERS CITE BUDGET AS THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN 2024 Strata Independent Research 2023

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COLLABORATE Better relationships between clients and agencies deliver better results. But what effect does the need for inter-agency collaboration have on a client’s view of agency performance?

The answer is both sizeable and positive.

“Foster a strong partnership between the agency and client.

Collaboration can lead to better results, even with constraints, when you trust your agency to deliver efficiently.”

UK

68 70

USA

75 77

ROW

Agency Scores With/Without Collaboration

68 74 Source: Aprais benchmark of over 15,000 client-agency evaluations

“Treat your suppliers as partners and build trusting relationships.

The power of a strong supplier relationship can lead to better terms and service delivery.”

Take away: Every client scores their agency higher when collaboration is valued.

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LET’S CHAT If you`re looking to take your next event back to human make your first step a friendly conversation with Strata. Not only are we decent human beings we also have many combined decades of experience in making moments that matter.

Drop us your details and we`ll be in touch.