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

    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!

  • How to Incorporate Event Networking Into Every Stage of the Customer Journey

    How to Incorporate Event Networking Into Every Stage of the Customer Journey

    Networking continues to be one of the most important parts of events. In the last three years that we have conducted our Events and Marketing Strategy survey, the vast majority of respondents have indicated plans to increase the amount of networking time at their events. 

    Respondents also say they are dedicating more space throughout the venue to networking. This recurring trend shows the value of human connections and building relationships at events. 

    Your approach to networking at events should span the entire buyer’s journey. In our last blog post on networking, we introduced effective event strategies for helping attendees network. In this post, we’ll discuss how event networking fits into broader journey-based marketing and suggest ways that the events team and marketing team can work together to maximize the value of networking interactions. 

    The Importance of Journey-Based Marketing

    The time that an attendee spends networking at an event is a pivotal part of their customer journey. They form authentic connections with your brand ambassadors and gain trust in your products and services. Different types of events have particular appeal for buyers at each stage in the buying cycle. At all events, offering ample networking time helps your organization’s reps become genuine influencers early in the journey, rather than unknown sellers. 

    Awareness Stage

    In addition to your own events, time spent at industry events held by others should be considered a vital part of the networking strategy. Conversations among attendees often first make new buyers aware of an organization and its offerings. Sending representatives to industry events, whether you have a dedicated booth or not, has always been an impactful marketing tactic. For your own events, consider expanding the reach and building awareness by enabling attendees to share their plans to attend your event(s) on social media. Another effective way to boost awareness (and attendance) is through group packaging. 

    Consideration Stage

    During this stage, events can help nurture leads. By inviting prospects to attend your webinars or regional events, you give them an opportunity to naturally interact with your team, ask questions, and learn about your offerings. Events that are close to home are ideal for the consideration stage as they don’t require much effort on behalf of your prospects. As they form deeper relationships with members of your team, they’ll be more likely to move into the decision stage. 

    Decision Stage

    In the decision stage, event networking can reassure customers that purchasing your products or services is the right choice. They can get specific questions answered by on-site experts and talk with current customers. Building solid relationships even before contracts are signed will help your soon-to-be customers feel that they can rely on your team whenever they need help.  

    Driving Upsells Post-Purchase

    The power of networking isn’t limited to prospects. Networking events such as user conferences or exclusive meetups can help strengthen the relationships you have with existing customers and encourage upsells and loyalty.
    As you prioritize these strategies for building human connection, you’ll gain attendees’ trust and devotion, ultimately turning them into long-term brand advocates. Learn how RainFocus enables companies to offer networking at events by visiting our networking page.

  • Streamlining Sales Meeting Success: Inside RainFocus' Latest Enhancements

    Streamlining Sales Meeting Success: Inside RainFocus’ Latest Enhancements

    Events bring people together, building and deepening business relationships. In addition to the typical hosted networking activities, after-hours parties, and spontaneous hallway conversations, a robust meetings program is essential.

    Enterprise event meetings typically fall into two categories: Client-requested meetings, also known as “meet the expert” opportunities, allow event attendees to book a one-on-one session with a subject-matter expert or other leader. Sales meetings, meanwhile, help teams make the most of their time among the valuable prospects and current clients in attendance. 

    Sales meetings often operate a little differently from a standard client-requested meeting. Several recent RainFocus enhancements that provide increased flexibility and customization better match how sales teams run their meetings at an event, saving time for meeting attendees and event planning teams alike. 

    Plus, these enhancements aren’t just for sales. Depending on the event specifics, more flexibility and customization might also be needed for some organizations’ “meet the expert” meetings. Each feature is available for any meeting type in the RainFocus platform. 

    We recently discussed the story behind these enhancements with Chris Wahlquist, senior product manager, and Adam Blaylock, product marketing manager.

    Custom Meeting Locations

    “At events, you have a lot of prospects and existing clients, so it’s a prime opportunity for building relationships and fostering interactions,” Wahlquist explained.

    Those sales meetings can happen anywhere. Now, a new custom meeting location feature in the RainFocus platform allows teams to book a meeting at any location meeting organizers want (such as a restaurant, coffee shop, or elsewhere off-campus) rather than being limited to a preset list of standard meeting rooms (as is typically used for “meet the expert” meetings). 

    Users can set any value for “offsite location” without needing to manually enter specific locations for each meeting. The information is populated in all outbound communications.

    Custom Meeting Availability Hours

    Previously, when creating a program, users could only set overall hours for a group of rooms, and this availability applied to all rooms. 

    But the reality of managing events on-site and managing space requires agility. For example, some rooms might only be available only in the afternoons, after morning sessions have concluded. Or maybe a quiet space is subject to blackout periods to accommodate media interviews or guest speaker hospitality. 

    With the new enhancement, users can set meeting availability hours at the individual room level. This option makes booking easier for everyone — for sales and non-sales meetings alike.

    “Something so simple makes such a difference in flexibility,” Wahlquist noted. “Before, people were creating ‘fake meetings’ to block out time. Now, we’ve made it easy to block off unavailable meeting times in the interface.”

    iCal Customization

    Busy executives and sales reps often depend on the details in their calendar invitations to review vital information just before a meeting. This latest RainFocus meetings program enhancement provides more flexibility in configuring the iCal details and format for different groups of attendees. 

    Specific programs within the overall meetings program can now be customized to include additional information as needed.

    Role-based configuration also allows defined groups of participants (such as internal attendees) to view more information, such as sales opportunity details or background on the people they’re meeting with, without leaving their calendar app. The configuration also enhances information security by limiting private data access to defined users. 

    Efficiency Improvements

    Finally, several additional enhancements prioritize convenience for users. At a busy event with a packed agenda, these seemingly minor time savings make a big difference. For instance, users can now prioritize meetings with an internal meeting manager tool to zero in on the biggest opportunities. And upon arrival at a meeting, attendees can rapidly check in at a kiosk or desk with a scanner. 

    Given the importance of relationship-building at events, RainFocus will continue to prioritize enhancements that make meetings even more more valuable and efficient. 

    “Meetings programs are an integral part of a successful event,” Blaylock said. “Event leaders use them to generate sales and nurture leads, but also to enhance their brand identity. They want to create memorable experiences, especially for their most important clients, through meetings.” 

    Ready to learn more about using meetings to boost the impact of your event? Join us at RainFocus INSIGHT 2026 for expert-led sessions and best practices from peers! Register here.

  • Conversations: Marius Milcher Introduces RainFocus’ Comprehensive Approach to AI Adoption

    Conversations: Marius Milcher Introduces RainFocus’ Comprehensive Approach to AI Adoption

    In response to customer and partner questions regarding our plans for AI, RainFocus has issued a press release detailing our strategy. This new approach will empower customers, partners, and employees to work more efficiently while elevating attendee experiences. 

    Marius Milcher, VP of Platform Strategy and AI, said in the press release, “Our investment in AI involves a foundational shift from a focus on building individual product features to a complete transformation of our operations, platform, and partner ecosystem.”  

    We spoke with Milcher about RainFocus’ holistic approach to AI. Here’s what he had to say:

    Building Toward An AI-Native Future

    The term “AI-native company” is everywhere. Milcher noted the difference between a company that simply uses AI tools and one that is AI-native. “In the same way that companies have started to think about mobile first, we are thinking about solutions to problems with AI in mind as opposed to AI being the afterthought,” he explained. “RainFocus becoming AI-native implies that AI will become the fabric of our platform rather than an embellishment.”

    Operational Transformation

    A critical component of our AI strategy is ensuring our employees are proficient in AI. We discussed how we are leveraging tools like workflow automation and sales intelligence to drive efficiency across our organization. “Thinking about AI as a transformation requires us to evaluate how we use it across our entire business,” he said. “How we use it to service our customers is just as important to us as our product development.” 

    Product and Platform Development

    Speaking of product development, RainFocus has begun implementing AI across client events. In the last year, we expanded our product offering to include AI-powered survey sentiment analysis and personalized recommendations. We are also supporting clients with their use of agentic AI. Using our data, our customers can power their agents to help attendees find session and event information. Our vision is to ensure every one of our customers and their attendees has their own personal “event assistant.” 

    “We are a B2B2C company,” Milcher said. “We’re thinking of the needs of not only our customers, but also of their customers. The attendee experience is critical to operational efficiency and drives the success of the event.”

    Establishing an Ecosystem of AI

    Events are a critical junction in the customer journey. Companies need the rich behavioral data that events provide. When events, marketing, and sales data are integrated, AI can draw upon the most relevant information to drive conversions. Expressed interest and buying signals make it easy to create and repurpose content across the entire marketing ecosystem. 

    Milcher explained that we have deliberately architected our platform to be interoperable through open standards, composability, and strategic partnerships. We have several out-of-the-box integrations with CRMs, CDPs, and MAPs that support this effort.


    “For the last 20 years, companies have been creating an open web where humans can exchange information,” he added. “Now, we are pivoting from the web serving humans to serving agents. The idea of interoperability is really taking hold as companies continue to invest in agentic solutions. It’s imperative that platforms can speak to one another. Here at RainFocus, we are building for that future by building bridges rather than islands.”

  • Save the Date! RainFocus INSIGHT is Just Around the Corner

    Save the Date! RainFocus INSIGHT is Just Around the Corner

    RainFocus INSIGHT is a must-attend event program for marketing, event, and tech professionals. This year, our annual conference will take place Jan. 20–22, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency in Salt Lake City. During the event, we’ll highlight trends and technologies that have redefined event management in 2025, and we’ll showcase upcoming solutions for greater efficiency and better attendee engagement. 

    As we continue planning the agenda, here’s a preview of what you can expect: 

    Upgrades and Schedule Optimization 

    Each year, we thoroughly review attendees’ feedback and identify how to better tailor the conference to match their preferences. Based on feedback, we’ve made a few changes:

    • Our sponsor Pitch Tank has always been a highlight. For INSIGHT 2026, we’ll also be hosting a second Pitch Tank featuring our very own product experts. They will present the newest RainFocus technologies to a panel of expert users.  
    • In response to requests for more networking time, we’ve decreased the density of the session schedule to give more opportunities for spontaneous conversations and connections. 
    • Rather than waiting until the second day to introduce upcoming products, we’ll be opening the conference on Tuesday with the product keynote.

    INSIGHT Session Topics

    Our conference call for papers is currently open, but not for long! We will welcome session submissions until Oct. 3, 2025. This is your opportunity to share your expertise with peers from across the industry. 

    While we are still open for submissions, here’s what you can expect to hear at INSIGHT: 

    • Client-led case studies of 2025 events.
    • Examples of how to use AI in events.
    • Discussions around driving attendee engagement and connection.
    • A closer look at what is possible with our new Adobe integrations. 
    • Product enhancements to solutions, including the RainFocus Event Checklist, Page Builder templates, and more. 

    We are also currently accepting new and returning sponsors. We encourage sponsors to showcase their technologies throughout the conference with a variety of sponsorship opportunities. Attendees will get the chance to see a variety of industry-leading technologies put to action alongside the RainFocus platform.

    Getting Ready for INSIGHT

    As always, we’ll kick off INSIGHT with our annual Premiere event. This virtual event, held Nov. 5, 2025, will feature expert commentary on recent event trends, including findings from our yearly Events and Marketing Strategy Survey. We’ll also unveil our keynote sessions.  

    In addition to tuning into Premiere, you can get ready for INSIGHT in a few different ways: 

    • Register for the event.
    • If needed, get your travel approved so you can join us on-site for the conference in January. We will livestream the mainstage sessions, but attending in person is the only way to get the full INSIGHT experience.  
    • Invite your coworkers and friends to INSIGHT.
    • Keep an eye out for our emails, especially session registration announcements. When our meetings open, they will fill up fast!

    Register Now

  • New Event Trends in a “Year of Experimentation”

    New Event Trends in a “Year of Experimentation”

    Through our work with clients as they produce some of the world’s biggest and most important events, we see firsthand how organizations respond to industry needs and continuously evolve their events. 

    Overall, 2025 has been a year of experimentation so far. Event teams have been reworking their registration strategies, exploring new networking and session formats, and adding new events to their programs. Their efforts are paying off! Here are a few key emerging trends we’ve spotted and verified with in-depth data analysis: 

    After several years of varying responses to different event types, pre-pandemic registration patterns and engagement metrics have resurfaced. Early registration launch now creates elongated registration patterns similar to those seen in 2019. Most notably, general audience engagement has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. This suggests a renewed eagerness among attendees to join in event activities.

    Attendees Favor Connection Over Content Alone

    Engagement data indicates a shift in audience preferences. Many prefer shorter, more interactive session formats that allow for more conversation. This finding aligns with recent surveys that have found younger generations in particular value connection at events. Overall, participation in meetings, activations, and exhibitor floor engagement is on the rise, underscoring the need to prioritize opportunities for networking and interaction.

    Small Events Cut Through Marketing Noise

    In line with the demand for more connection is the growing popularity of small, more intimate events for local audiences. These micro-events allow field marketers to operate autonomously while maintaining alignment with their company’s broader customer experience. In a crowded landscape of ads, emails, and social posts, small events can be a standout tactic for reaching decisionmakers and buyers. Event teams have found that the successful small events offer personalized experiences that catch attendees’ attention.

    Increased Data Governance Supports Scalability

    Data governance is important for a busy calendar of small events — and beyond. Standardizing data allows event teams to integrate with their marketing and sales technologies to drive customer journeys. In turn, these integrations streamline event management, making processes more efficient. The use of reusable templates, forms, and processes has enabled many event teams to replicate successful events while adapting to specific audience needs.

    As the busy event season continues and we close out 2025, we’ll be watching for more event trends!

  • What Does Hyper-Personalization Look Like in Events?

    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.

  • Transforming Campaigns to Journeys: The New Era of Marketing

    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.

  • How to Manage a Sold-Out Event: Lessons From CrowdStrike's Pam Corcoran

    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.

  • Five Steps for Sustainable Event Planning

    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.

  • How to Grow Your Business With AI-Powered Events

    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.