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Events Industry 2023, Wrapped: Our Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts

As we close the door on 2023 and prepare to launch into what will undoubtedly be another busy year in the events industry, we’re excited to take a look back. Throughout the year, the RainFocus blog has helped event leaders stay ahead of the curve. We provide thoughtful advice from our seasoned executives on the most impactful trends, as well as quick practical tips for navigating the day-to-day work of planning and executing events around the world.

To cap off our journey through the year, we’re counting down our top 10 most popular blog posts in 2023. Join us as we revisit these highlights and the trends that defined the year in the events industry:

10. Everything You Need to Know About Badge Printing

Event success comes down to the details. To the uninitiated, badges may seem minor compared to elements like booking keynote speakers or planning a massive welcome party. But attendee badges perform a critical function. Is pre-printing or printing on demand more efficient? How should you differentiate access types? This quick guide helps your team zero in on the right choices.

9. The Path Forward: JR Sherman and Alicia Tillman Reflect on Pandemic Pivots and Events’ Value in Any Economic Climate

RainFocus INSIGHT gives attendees expert guidance on the most important events industry trends, opportunities, and challenges for the year. This blog post recapped the fireside chat between RainFocus CEO JR Sherman and Alicia Tillman, RainFocus board director and current chief marketing officer at Delta Air Lines. No matter the size of your company or your events, these experts’ reflections on customer journeys, budgets, the future of virtual events, and more continue to resonate.

8. Early Bird Pricing Strategy: The Logic and Science Behind Scarcity and Value

Another evergreen favorite, this post dives into the strategy behind offering early-bird pricing for your event. With events under pressure to deliver ROI and meet attendance goals, it’s more important than ever to hit the ground running with a strong response to your special offers for attendees who register early.

7. Conversations: A Look at Today’s Event Trends with Ashleigh Cook

The Conversations series, a signature part of the RainFocus blog, features candid Q&A sessions with RainFocus’ most knowledgeable executives. This 2022 post with Ashleigh Cook, now our CMO, zeroes in on opportunities and challenges that continue to factor heavily into events leaders’ planning. Readers found valuable advice on everything from attendee engagement to smart content reuse to ongoing efforts to increase personalization.

6. Fifteen Points of a Great Recap Video

After an event wraps, it’s time for measurement, analysis, marketing and sales follow-up … and putting together a fun recap video to showcase your success and keep the enthusiasm going. Readers appreciated the detail in this blog post and the provided client examples.

5. How to Structure Cancellation Fees at a Conference

Like badge printing, early-bird pass offers, and recap videos, cancellation fees represent another event element that may seem minor but can have a big impact. Balancing ongoing relationships with financial realities — and making the whole process as efficient as possible — requires the right approach. This popular blog post covers all the nuances.

4. What Should You Look for in a Modern Event Management Platform?

When exploring options for any new technology, buyers often turn to leading analyst firms’ reviews and reports comparing leading platforms. This year, Forrester compared RainFocus and 13 competitors for The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report, and we were named a Leader. But this popular blog post is about more than boasting — it also lays out a few key recommendations from Forrester’s analysts for what to look for in any B2B event management technology.

3. How to Supercharge Your Marketing Channel With Event Data

Omnichannel marketing is making big waves this year in the events industry, so it’s no surprise that this blog post ranked near the top in popularity. The end of third-party cookies, meanwhile, has spotlighted the importance of zero- and first-party event data like never before. Best of all, we also co-wrote an entire (free!) e-book with Adobe if you’re ready to take the next steps.

2. A First Look at RainFocus INSIGHT 2024: What to Expect

It’s clear the excitement around RainFocus INSIGHT continues to build! Since this post was first published, we’ve also released a lot more information about the event. Check out the session catalog and preliminary speaker list, bonus excursion offerings, and more. There’s still plenty of time to get the primer through this blog post and then register to join us in Salt Lake City.

1. How to Harness the Power of Events to Drive Business Growth

Finally, our most read blog post in 2023 — by far — tackles a universal, timely theme. Whether or not your organization faced budget cuts and other economic challenges this year, turning to your events channel to fuel marketing and sales success is a smart strategy. Our experts delved into exactly how to make sure those events deliver maximum (and measurable) ROI. For even more guidance, check out the accompanying free e-book!

We’re looking forward to another year of bringing you another year of thought-provoking discussion and practical guidance on the blog. We can’t wait to see what 2024 brings!

December 21, 2023
What Does Hyper-Personalization Look Like in Events?

What does it mean to offer hyper-personalized event experiences?

Generally, hyper-personalization involves using predictive data rather than traditional segmentation to tailor experiences. It means going beyond standard personalization, such as using an attendee’s name in an email, to anticipate and address attendees’ needs. This often requires the support of machine learning models or artificial intelligence.

Continue reading to learn why hyper-personalization is important and ways that you can begin to implement hyper-personalization throughout your customer journey.

Outcomes of Hyper-Personalization

Studies of consumers’ reactions to personalized messaging have often shown they’re more likely (up to 75% to 95%) to make a purchase when messaging is personalized.

Similarly, event attendees react positively to personalized messages. For example, hyper-personalization can drive registration by suggesting the most relevant content to each attendee. Relevancy generates intrigue for an event. During the event, relevant session recommendations are more likely to hold an attendee’s interest, resulting in greater session duration.

Planning for Next-Level Personalization

There are several ways to hyper-personalize events. Each requires a strong understanding of your audience, so collecting attendee data (through registration forms or integrations) is crucial. Here are a few ways to put your attendee data to use:

Artificial intelligence: Use agentic AI or chatbots to answer questions and offer recommendations to attendees. These are often built with machine learning models that develop a greater understanding of attendees’ preferences as they interact with them.

Custom-built schedules: Often attendees interact with your sales and marketing teams well before your event. These teams know valuable information about your attendees. Enable them to build schedules for attendees based on past interactions to provide attendees with hyper-relevant experiences.

Dynamic web pages: Set up your event website to drive engagement with page elements or widgets that update automatically each time an attendee takes action. Dynamic web pages take the guesswork out of the attendee experience by showing attendees only what they need to see to have a great experience.

Micro-events: Plan small get-togethers for select attendees at or outside of your main events. These micro-events allow VIPs to form stronger connections and learn more about specific products or services.

Matchmaking: To augment micro-events, gather people with matchmaking tools. These tools help attendees find other like-minded individuals. Consider offering a personality quiz to help attendees identify others with whom they might be compatible.

Session types: A simple addition is to demonstrate that you understand your audience by offering attendees session recommendations in their preferred formats.

Attendee enablement: Pre-designed social posts, customizable badges, distinctive venue maps, gamification, and other enabling offerings give attendees a unique and memorable experience.

Stakeholders to Consider

In addition to hyper-personalizing the experiences of your attendees, make sure to customize the interactions and engagements of your speakers, exhibitors, and employees. This personalized approach can lead to a reputation of excellence that consistently attracts top talent and partners.

Our Research on Hyper-Personalization and More

This summer, we are conducting a survey to understand how events and marketing professionals are working together to personalize customer experiences at every touchpoint. Complete the survey for early access to the results.

August 25, 2025
Transforming Campaigns to Journeys: The New Era of Marketing
The marketing landscape is evolving at a pace faster than ever before, driven by technological advancements and shifting consumer expectations. Insights on this transformation within marketing reveal a significant shift from traditional campaign-focused strategies to more holistic, customer-centric journeys. This evolution underscores the need for marketers to rethink their approaches and leverage technology to create seamless, personalized experiences. Among the most effective channels in this new era are events, which provide unique opportunities for real-time engagement and personalized interactions, playing a crucial role in guiding customers through their journeys.

The Rise of Customer Journeys
For years, marketing campaigns have been the cornerstone of brand communication. These campaigns, often time-bound and highly structured, were designed to deliver specific messages to targeted audiences. However, with the advent of digital technologies and the explosion of data, the limitations of traditional campaigns have become increasingly apparent.

Today’s consumers expect personalized, relevant interactions with brands at every touchpoint. This expectation has given rise to the concept of customer journeys — a series of interconnected experiences that guide a prospect through the awareness, consideration, and decision stages, ultimately leading to long-term loyalty and advocacy.

Key Drivers of Transformation
1. Tech Stack Integration: The proliferation of marketing technologies has led to tech stack sprawl, where disparate systems often operate in silos. Integrating these technologies to create a unified view of the customer is crucial for delivering cohesive and personalized interactions.
2. Data Utilization: The ability to collect and analyze vast amounts of data enables marketers to understand customer behavior at a granular level. Advanced analytics capabilities empower organizations to leverage this data effectively, crafting tailored experiences that resonate with individual needs and preferences.
3. Customer-Centric Mindset: Shifting from a product-centric to a customer-centric mindset is essential. This involves understanding the customer’s journey, anticipating their needs, and providing value at every stage. A comprehensive understanding of customer interactions and preferences facilitates this shift.
4. Automation and AI: Leveraging automation and artificial intelligence allows for real-time, scalable personalization. Integrating these technologies to analyze customer data, predict future behavior, and deliver timely, relevant content and interactions is key.
Implementing Customer Journeys
To successfully transition from campaigns to journeys, marketers should focus on the following strategies:
1. Map the Customer Journey: Understand and document the various stages a customer goes through, from initial awareness to post-purchase. Identifying key touchpoints and interactions that can influence their decision-making process is essential.
2. Integrate Technology: Ensure that your tech stack is integrated and can communicate seamlessly. Maintaining a unified view of the customer and delivering consistent experiences across channels is critical.
3. Leverage Data: Use data to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. Robust analytics capabilities provide invaluable information for personalizing interactions and making informed decisions about content and timing.
4. Focus on Personalization: Personalization is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have. Tailor your messaging and offers to meet the unique needs of each customer, making them feel valued and understood. AI-driven personalization ensures that each interaction is relevant and engaging.
5. Measure and Optimize: Continuously measure the effectiveness of your customer journeys. Real-time analytics enable ongoing optimization, ensuring that you are always meeting the evolving needs of your audience.
At the forefront of this transformation is RainFocus, a platform that stands out through its unique differentiators. RainFocus excels in integrating marketing technologies, leveraging data, and enabling organizations to transition effectively from campaigns to journeys. By focusing on customer-centric strategies and utilizing advanced analytics and AI, RainFocus helps marketers create seamless, personalized experiences that drive long-term loyalty and advocacy. Learn more.
August 20, 2025
How to Manage a Sold-Out Event: Lessons From CrowdStrike’s Pam Corcoran

Pam Corcoran knows a lot about sold-out events. As VP of global events at CrowdStrike, she’s driven massive growth for the company’s flagship Fal.Con conference — and navigated all the new challenges that result from maxing out your attendees.

“It seems like a ‘good problem to have’ until you actually have it,” she quipped during a recent episode of Event Perspectives, RainFocus’ interview series led by VP of events Rodney Hart.

Managing event budgets

Corcoran joined CrowdStrike in 2022, as the company prepared to relaunch the in-person conference following its pandemic-induced virtual pivot. The team knew attendees were eager to return to in-person gatherings. But they didn’t know how fast registration demand would surpass all growth projections.

Reaching maximum capacity for your event can happen in different ways, Corcoran explained. Sometimes it’s simple: The venue can’t fit any more attendees. In other cases, the event sells out because it’s reached certain thresholds defined by all the moving parts and complex budgetary levers within a large event.

To make things more complicated, smart event leaders know that just filling seats with any attendees isn’t ideal. For example, members of target industry audiences are naturally prioritized. VIP clients need to be kept happy. Sponsors might send a large crew of staffers for their booths but not reserve their passes until the last minute.

On-site event staffing

Plus, running successful sold-out events requires sending enough internal employees to meet every need on-site — from running workshops to hosting demos to attending sales meetings — but not so many employees that they occupy too much of the remaining sliver of capacity or budget.

For preventing any sellout panic, Corcoran recommended creating an event’s sellout plan far in advance so that allocations can be made before it’s too late. To manage employee attendee numbers, she ensures that everyone being sent is filling multiple roles. Sales reps also may need to send a certain number of clients to earn their ticket.

“Our team is small but mighty,” Corcoran said, and they’ve been able to keep up with event growth and sold-out events through flexibility and careful planning.

Corcoran offers plenty more wisdom in her full EventPerspectives interview. Click here or watch below to catch the full conversation. You’ll learn about the most effective ways to partner with agencies, why working in events isn’t for everyone, and the top signals of a successful event.

August 15, 2025
Five Steps for Sustainable Event Planning

As companies continue to seek ways to optimize their event budgets, minimizing waste is key. Sustainable event planning not only promotes efficiency but can help your events be more environmentally friendly.

The journey of sustainable event planning can be long and complex, but getting started is easy. Here are five practical suggestions:

1. Minimize food waste

With often unpredictable attendance numbers, companies may wind up with an excess amount of food. Consider asking your attendees to partner with you in tackling this challenge. Openly sharing how and why your company is taking a stand against food waste will strengthen the credibility of your appeals. For example, create signage asking attendees to thoughtfully take only what they need as they move through food lines. Or instead of traditional buffets, consider taking individual orders.

2. Reuse Designed Structures

Practicing intentional event design is another great way to do your part in protecting both your budget and the planet. By reusing backdrops, signage, and equipment, you can cut down on the resources needed for production and transportation. To continue the reuse cycle, consider donating production elements to local artists or schools after the event or when they can no longer be reused.

3. Rethink Your Swag Strategy

Too often, event teams waste money on an extensive lineup of items for attendees that just get thrown out immediately after the event. Rather than spending thousands on multiple small items, consider investing in fewer, higher-quality items that attendees will actually want to hold on to. In our recent study on event swag, we found that practical work-related items were the most valued. Additionally, incorporating gamification into your event and limiting the number of expensive prizes is a great way to increase the perceived value of swag.

4. Digitize Event Materials

Digitalization is the key to sustainable event planning. For example, by encouraging speakers to upload digital handouts, you can minimize paper consumption while ensuring that information is easily accessible to attendees. Transitioning from printed maps and agendas to digital versions allows attendees to navigate the venue effortlessly, enhancing both convenience and environmental responsibility. A mobile app makes it easy for attendees to find exactly what they need right on their phones. Similarly, digital signage eliminates the need for physical signs, offering a dynamic and adaptable solution that reduces waste and resource use.

5. Choose Partners That Prioritize Sustainability

Finally, to amplify the impact of your strategy, look for agencies and technology partners that have sustainability in their DNA. For example, they may offset carbon emissions associated with event travel or other activities by having trees planted. Or they may have established relationships with local food banks where excess food can be donated. Choosing the right partners helps your event team work efficiently and further uphold social responsibility.

August 11, 2025
How to Grow Your Business With AI-Powered Events

AI’s potential for enhancing events is enormous. In the past few years, event teams have already explored several use cases for agentic AI and other types of AI, from pre-event planning to post-event measurement.

But what is actually moving the needle? Our newest e-book, “Maximizing AI to Streamline Event Management and Grow Your Business,” features insights from events and marketing teams that are successfully using AI to increase attendee engagement and generate new leads for their businesses.

Combining AI and Event Data to Boost Customer Engagement

Unified customer data is critical for the most effective use of AI. With this data, you can train AI tools and features to recommend relevant content, meetings, and experiences to individuals throughout the sales and marketing journeys.

Event technology provides the rich behavioral insights that AI needs to activate customer engagement. As we have seen, customers show more intent at events than they do through any other marketing channel. This means that the data provided is important to your sales team, marketing team, and the entire organization.

The Value of Agentic AI

In particular, agentic AI can elevate customer experiences, as several leading global organizations have already demonstrated at their events.

AI will never replace human interaction (and events themselves will continue to be even more vital for providing genuine real-life conversations and connection). However, AI agents can ensure attendees get the most out of your event by making it easier for them to create their schedules and get the most out of their time on-site. For example, agents can recommend and book sessions, plan meetings, offer guidance around the venue, or answer event-related questions.

Providing recommendations and enabling attendees through agentic AI are just a few of the ways that leading organizations are using AI to enhance events.

Download the full e-book to discover more ways to use AI to streamline event management.

July 22, 2025
Templatizing Your Event Series: Myth vs. Reality
Naturally, one simple way to multiply the impact of an event is to hold it again in a new place. We’ve seen organizations increase the number of small, templated events held in different regions around the world. This increased reach helps boost customer engagement and drives sales.

As we discussed in our recent post on micro-events, small events also allow organizations to reach more niche audiences.

Event professionals who manage hundreds of events annually know that minimizing extra work is vital. Using templates is an effective strategy for event planning.

However, some organizations encounter hurdles when investigating templatization and may be led astray by myths about the process. In this post, we’ll address common misconceptions about event templates and explain best practices for setting up a successful template.

Common Misconceptions About Event Templates

Creating an ill-suited event template or using it wrong can result in added frustration rather than efficiency. Whether you are new to event templates or have years of experience, it’s always important to review the following misconceptions:
1. “Personalizing templated events is difficult.” Templatizing events can actually make personalization easier for your team. By limiting the number of tasks needed to set up an event, individual event planners can dedicate more effort to differentiating their experiences. Most event templates are designed to be flexible and offer plenty of opportunities to tailor the content, design, and branding to fit specific event needs.
2. “Having as many templates as possible will allow the team to do more.” Templates enable efficiency, but only up to a certain point. Generally, less is more. The more variations you have of an event, the harder it is to manage changes. Too many templates can cause disjointed brand experiences. Instead of creating a template for each new event series, see whether you can make minor changes to an existing template to accomplish your goals.
Best Practices for Template Customization

Personalization and consolidation represent the heart of templatization best practices. To truly maximize your templates, we also suggest the following:

Seek Cross-Functional Input

Often, smaller, strategic events involve the marketing, sales, and client success teams at many steps along the way. Involving stakeholders from these teams early on helps your templates meet each group’s needs and support its business goals. Discuss the event data points each team would like to capture, and decide how much access each stakeholder should have to the templates.

Standardize Data Capture

Cross-event measurement is essential for demonstrating growth and ROI, but it is impossible to compare events if the data you are capturing differs from one template to the next. When creating a new template, refer to existing registration and intake forms. Be mindful that each action an attendee takes is part of their overall customer journey. Consistent data accelerates lead qualification.

Dedicate Time for Continuous Training

Even when working with the simplest software and relatively straightforward templates, the entire team must be trained on all of the latest best practices. Training helps align your team on naming conventions, event marketing, branding, and measurement. This helps prevent inconsistencies and outdated event experiences.

Want to learn more about event templatization best practices? Discover how Autodesk saved time and increased brand consistency with RainFocus templates.
July 10, 2025
Proven Networking Strategies That Boost Event Value

Networking has consistently ranked as a key value driver for event attendees, making it a top priority for event professionals. Our own Events and Marketing Strategy Survey confirms that event professionals are committed to providing these opportunities, with 71% increasing the amount of time dedicated to networking and 47% increasing networking space. Earlier this year at INSIGHT 2025, keynote speaker Erica Spoor, SVP of strategy at Sparks, presented findings that also demonstrated the power of networking.

Which strategies are most successful? Based on thousands of client events, we’ve found that the following areas are important for ensuring maximum networking effectiveness:

Structured Meetings Programs

Dedicated meeting programs provide the guidance attendees need to maximize their time on-site. Meeting programs are typically scheduled in advance with limited time slots, creating a sense of exclusivity. Common meeting programs include meetings with an executive, expert, or exhibitor. We are also seeing rising popularity for some newer meeting program uses such as job fair interviews, speaker rehearsals, and 1:1 speaker prep.

Attendee Catalogs

Whether viewed on a computer at work or on the go on a mobile device, attendee catalogs are an effective way to help like-minded individuals meet each other. These are especially helpful for large events, where attendees may not know everyone and have a busy schedule with limited time to speak with peers. Attendee catalogs typically include a variety of filters that attendees can use to sort through the profiles of others attending the event.

Badge Configuration

Many teams are using QR codes or Bluetooth/NFC encoding on badges to enable attendees to share contact information or social media profiles. These technologies are now easier than ever to set up and can significantly boost attendee networking. Similarly, we’ve seen a rise in the number of event teams using distinct badge designs for different personas to help attendees quickly recognize those they may be especially interested in connecting with. This badge approach is another effective way to help facilitate conversations.

Sales Enablement

Integrating event data with CRM systems like Salesforce, Marketo, Adobe, and HubSpot enables organizations to use networking interactions for sales enablement and marketing campaigns. Some Salesforce apps even allow sales teams to schedule meetings with attendees directly from Salesforce. These networking insights have proven to be highly effective for driving upsells, referrals, and customer acquisition.

Given the importance of real-life relationships, networking will remain a top priority as events continue to evolve. Event professionals must remain agile and embrace new technologies to keep up with attendees’ desires for more meaningful connections. A holistic view of attendees’ past networking experiences will be crucial in crafting events that resonate with attendees and offer unmatched value.

Stay tuned for our next post on networking to learn more about how networking integrates into journey-based event planning.

June 25, 2025
Choosing the Right Event Platform: Top Questions and Leading Research Sources
When it’s time to invest in any new technology, information from trusted third-party sources is invaluable. A vendor’s own claims provide useful initial information, but for more verification as the pool of contenders shrinks, many buyers turn to expert research firms, trade publications, industry association resources, and real-life customers of all the platforms they’re considering.

For event platforms, the new 2025 Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Event Marketing and Management Platforms will undoubtedly help event teams (and their colleagues on the marketing, sales, and executive teams) make the right buying decision.

We’re excited to announce that RainFocus was just recognized as a Leader by Gartner in the 2025 Magic Quadrant. This is our second consecutive placement in the Leaders Quadrant. According to Gartner, “Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.”

We think these recognitions are a fitting reflection of our ongoing innovation and commitment to helping our customers elevate their events and deliver event ROI. A few recent comments on Gartner Peer Insights™ also speak volumes.

For example, advantages like industry know-how and cooperative support can only be truly verified by clients. These are the people who have worked alongside our team in onboarding meetings, during pre-event planning sessions, seated behind on-site registration desks, and everywhere else along each step of their event journey:

“[RainFocus’] dedication to customer service and satisfaction is one of their top priorities. The product offering is strong, reliable and trustworthy. They are experts in their field and can be relied on to not only meet one’s needs but push the envelope in strategic ways to improve processes and stay on top in the field.”

-Program Manager, Software Industry ($1B–$3B)

“The platform is customizable and easy for the users to navigate. The support we have received from our customer success manager and solution consultant has been outstanding. We have been able to make successful updates to our event using the RainFocus technology, including adding more personalization and increased opportunities to engage with our customers.”

-Director of Marketing, Software Industry ($500M–$1B)

Buyers evaluating event platforms should also always look deeply into the specifics, especially in an era of rapidly developing AI capabilities and an increasing need for seamless integrations and data access.

A sea of customer testimonials or a full-length research report may seem overwhelming. Make sure to zero in on what features and capabilities matter the most for your organization. If you’re experiencing challenges or incompatibilities with your current solution, those are an ideal starting point.

Here are some core questions for event platform vendors:
1. Versatility: Does the platform flex to meet the needs of your in-person, virtual, and hybrid events? Will it accommodate everything from global conventions to exclusive executive meetings? Can it scale up to accommodate your anticipated event growth? Will you be able to reuse components and workflows for efficiency?
1. Integrations, data, and reporting: Are there integrations with the rest of your tech stack? Martech and salesforce automation platform integrations will likely be the most important. How is data shared between the event platform and other tools? What level of custom reporting is available?
1. All things AI: Does the event platform incorporate AI tools that solve users’ common challenges? What are the agentic AI capabilities? Are each company’s ongoing inputs to generative AI tools secure and private?
To access the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for Event Marketing and Management Platforms and research the current platforms in greater depth to discover which is right for you, click here.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, MAGIC QUADRANT and PEER INSIGHTS are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Event Marketing and Management Platforms, By Christy Ferguson, Precious Ozokpo, Amy Jenkins, Halle Stern, 10 June 2025
June 13, 2025
The Modern Virtual Event: Advice From DocuSign’s Ghazwan Almoazen
Many event teams (and attendees) agree that the magic of in-person events can never be fully replicated online. But virtual events offer unique benefits for host organizations and their attendees. They remain a critical strategic component of most event portfolios.

Hosting an engaging, effective digital event in 2025 starts with identifying their specific purpose and target audiences. In a recent episode of Event Perspectives — our video series featuring interviews with today’s top event leaders — Rodney Hart, VP of events at RainFocus, delved into virtual event strategy with Ghazwan Almoazen, director, global experiential marketing demand and communication at DocuSign.

Here are a few key takeaways:
1. Align the event to an attendee engagement need. Virtual events can serve to fill the gaps between major in-person events, creating continuous engagement and communicating product updates.
Almoazen explained that DocuSign recently used digital events to support the launch of a new solution. Given the ease of attending compared to traveling to an in-person conference, these events successfully expand the organization’s reach beyond DocuSign’s in-person event attendees, which are more focused on those with past engagement or local audiences.
1. Don’t skimp on planning and budget. Both the planning requirements and costs can be surprisingly high for a high-quality virtual event.
Recording and streaming needs, rehearsals, paid marketing, speaker preparation, and other elements all need budget and careful attention. Of course, using the same event platform for both in-person and virtual events helps streamline the process.
1. Make attendance easy. Moving on to the specifics, Almoazen recommended keeping digital events short. For some, less than an hour is sufficient. Breakout sessions might be under 20 minutes each.
Registration should also be short. Unlike in-person events, which may require long forms covering everything from role-based fields to the attendee’s dietary needs, digital events often need just the person’s name and email to sign up. Reducing sign-up barriers can expand reach, Almoazen explained.

For more best practices on virtual events — including measurement, differentiation, and even whether getting a celebrity speaker is worth it — check out the full Event Perspectives interview here! You can also discover Almoazen’s journey to the events industry and get his advice for aspiring professionals.
June 5, 2025
Elevating Event Marketing Through Micro-Events: Tips and Considerations

Micro-events are on the rise. These events, which are defined by personalized tailored experiences for niche groups, more frequently appear on organizations’ event calendars in addition to a large-scale event — or even in place of it.

Rodney Hart, VP of events at RainFocus, recently discussed the benefits and challenges of hosting micro-events on the Event Industry News podcast, hosted by Event Industry News co-founder Adam Parry.

A key advantage of micro-events is that they are much easier to attend than large events. Typically, they are shorter in duration and hosted in cities closer to attendees’ hometowns. “At a time where we’ve got so much else going on in our personal lives and work lives, committing to three-day, four-day programs is actually quite a big ask,” Parry said.

Even with the smaller time commitment for micro-events, organizations must ensure the experience meets attendees’ expectations. Here are some top tips for planning impactful micro-events, as discussed on the podcast:

Tip #1: Use Event Data to Identify Target Audiences

Because micro-events are intended to cater to specific, niche groups, an important early step is to identify attendees with similar interests and challenges. Data from your past large events can help you identify these connections. Actions such as session attendance and meeting participation are easy data points to reference when creating guest lists for micro-events.

Tip #2: Offer Timely and Engaging Content

Micro-events are ideal for reacting to market changes in real time. Generally, smaller events take less time to plan than their larger counterparts, so they’re effective for quickly sharing the company’s updates, messaging, and product offerings. However, audience engagement requires more than just engaging content. While it’s important to plan content that resonates with your audience, reserve enough time for networking and fun.

Tip #3: Piggyback on Larger Events

Organizing your micro-events around your larger events or conferences is a great way to increase participation in your micro-events. Attendees will likely find it easy to add on a micro-event if they have already dedicated time to your larger event. Examples of piggyback events include dinners and workshops within conferences to provide more intimate engagement opportunities for attendees.

Tip #4: Collaborate With Partners

Partners can help you expand your reach to the niche audiences you’d like to target. By collaborating, you can multiple resources, shares, and reduce the logistical burden of micro-event planning. Partners also bring diverse perspectives that can enrich event content.

Tip #5: Evaluate Your Micro-Events Frequently

Micro-events can generate a tremendous ROI, but given their additional expenses, organizations must continuously analyze attendee behavior, engagement, and outcomes. Assess cost per head, sales generated, and pipeline movement to measure each event’s impact. Minimizing food and beverage costs and being mindful of employee expenses is also important. Evaluating micro-events one by one can be time-consuming. Using a single platform for every micro-event will save you time and allow you to easily track trends for every new event.

The Future of Micro-Events

We expect to see continued growth for micro-events, especially as they offer organizations flexibility to respond quickly to market changes. Micro-events will also play a role in the transition from traditional campaigns to journey-based marketing by providing targeted, personalized experiences that align closely with business objectives and audience needs.

Visit our website to learn more about optimizing micro-events for business growth.

May 22, 2025