It’s been quite a year, planners! Amidst the chaos of holiday events, we’re reflecting on our favorite moments of 2023—the wins and the challenges that will become next year’s funny stories. If you’re smart, you’re also thinking about 2024.
Getting a head start on event planning trends for 2024 will help you implement the newest strategies with greater confidence and capability. Many of these trends are natural growths from 2023 trends, such as sustainability and hybrid events, which have continued to increase their importance across the previous years. Other trends build on technological breakthroughs and cultural advancements, such as AI and inclusivity initiatives. Whether long-standing or new, these trends will shape the event planning landscape of 2024 and beyond.
Explore our 2024 event trends guide to learn about these critical technologies, strategies, and values to help you plan unforgettable events in 2024!
Embrace AI.
Whether you’re a fan or not, AI is here to stay. This game-changing technology exploded in late 2022/early 2023 and has transformed every major industry. It’s still young, so 2024 will see significant growth and solidification in event-planning use. Becoming an expert in AI-assisted planning will fuel immense growth for you and your business.
AI is making a big impact on planning automation. Registration, scheduling, venue layout, data collection, and more can be effortlessly managed with current AI software. This logistics streamlining frees up time for planners to focus their energy on more creative tasks. The result should be more unique, engaging events in 2024.
While nothing beats human creativity, the potential for AI content creation is thrillingly unknown. AI software can currently generate scripts for promo videos, speaker introductions, and unique images for social media. Adopting new technology can be frustrating. But the sooner you embrace the power of AI, the more prepared you’ll be to take advantage of its coming advancements.
A more inclusive world.
We’ve learned a lot about the importance of inclusivity. Let’s keep the progress going in 2024 with more effectively implemented inclusivity measures. Increasing inclusivity will open the door for a whole new attendee base to fall in love with your planning skills. Inclusive design describes designing your venue layout and event experiences from an inclusive perspective. Wheelchair accessibility is an obvious example. Ramps, elevators, and designated spaces built seamlessly into the experience allow attendees who use wheelchairs to engage with your event fully.
Closed captioning for presentations, discussions, Q&As, or videos for virtual events allows persons with hearing disabilities to receive all relevant (and entertaining) information. This is where AI can be beneficial, providing real-time audio-to-text transcriptions in various languages. Inclusive event planning is a no-brainer in 2024. We want everyone to get the most out of our events, and putting inclusivity at the center of our planning will ensure that no one gets left out.
Personalization at scale.
You’ve heard a lot about event personalization this year. Well, we hope you aren’t tired of hearing about it because—guess what?—2024 is taking personalization to a new level. Personalization “at scale” means incorporating personalization at the largest events possible. This is achievable via several strategies. Matchmaking algorithms facilitate more meaningful networking by helping like-minded attendees find each other. Curated agendas tailor the overall experience to each attendee’s interests. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come.
The secret ingredient to personalization is data-driven insights into attendee interests, industries, and goals. Data builds on itself, so planners who embrace this approach will be able to facilitate increasingly personal experiences over time. To know thy attendees is the beginning of personalization at scale.
The hybrid future.
A recent survey found that 97% of event professionals expect more hybrid events in the future. The flexibility of hybrid events allows more people to attend via virtual sessions while providing traditional in-person experiences that facilitate meaningful connections. While Hybrid events are nothing new, we’re still discovering unique design approaches. This is your opportunity to break new ground, crafting an experience unlike any other that attendees will remember forever.
One fun example comes from the 2021 Americas Connect conference, which organized attendees in small “pods” connected virtually so they could be together while still enjoying private spaces. Think about the potential of this strategy for facilitating small group discussions, which can be seamlessly re-integrated into a larger conference.
The possible configurations are endless, and emerging technologies make designing hybrid events that maximize engagement easier. Live streaming, interactive apps, video conferencing, and other technologies open the door for unique event-planning strategies. This empowers event planners better to meet their attendees’ needs with broader engagement options.
Sustainability.
Sustainable event planning is one of, if not the most impactful trend for 2024. According to a recent study by Eventbrite, 84% of event planners incorporate sustainability into their events. This is more than staying ahead of the curve; it’s about leading the charge into a brighter event-planning future.
Top sustainability strategies:
● Reuse and recycle materials
● Invest in locally sourced and seasonal foods
● Employ local workers
● Implement low-carbon alternative energy
The goal of these initiatives is to minimize waste and pollution. By employing local workers and investing in local suppliers, you’ll reduce the number of people who need to travel while improving the wider community, resulting in an expanded network of helping hands.
The benefits aren’t just to the environment, either. Sustainable event planning often comes with a 20-30% cost reduction. It’s a win-win for you and the environment! You’ll also enjoy the benefits of a positive reputation among attendees increasingly concerned with sustainability.
New year, new you.
The sooner you start thinking about your 2024 events, the better you can prepare to conquer the new year with trailblazing events that leverage new and growing trends. Long-standing trends like sustainability and inclusivity combined with emerging AI technologies and an ever-expanding hybrid strategy will result in unique experiences for your attendees. Many of these trends can save time and money, too. While the chaos stays the same, the logistics are getting easier by the day!
Amidst the madness of holiday planning, consider these trends and how you can implement them into your event planning strategies. 2024 is right around the corner. Embracing a new year means embracing a new event planning YOU!
