Great entertainment can spice up any event, such as this performance held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Photo by Josh Line

The meetings and events landscape has changed over the last five years. The post-COVID attendance surge has subsided. Event planners now face new challenges — namely, bringing attendance levels back to post-pandemic numbers. This task requires out-of-the-box strategies for event execution.

Alexia Reed, director of corporate communications and events for global payment company Blackhawk Network (BHN), says it’s more crucial than ever for event planners to evolve their engagement strategies to align with the shifts in the industry to ensure a positive ROI on everything from their amount of spend to reaching their end goals.

“Focusing on strategies that enhance the attendee experience and foster meaningful connections is crucial, as encouraging audience interactions adds value to everyone’s experience,” she says.

Attendees want something new. “Turnkey meetings, events and keynotes get mundane if there is no new programming,” says Nicole Francis, senior director, corporate events at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. And attendees are not shy about sharing their feedback. Traditional conferences, annual meetings and similar events heavy on one-way communication are no longer the norm.

Great content and valuable networking opportunities are still crucial elements of meetings and events; however, most of today’s attendees want more. Just showing up and taking notes is out; engaging and interacting is in.

Experiential learning opportunities and offsite experiences are just a few of the initiatives now regularly supplementing the traditional breakout sessions and networking receptions. But it hasn’t stopped there.

“In 2021-22, people were very excited to get back to events — there was record attendance,” says Liz Caruso, CEO at Techsytalk. “Now, the numbers have dropped a bit and people are re-evaluating attendance. We’re seeing our clients take big steps toward changing their agenda to attract that audience back.”

Be Seen, Heard and Appreciated

COVID unquestionably changed the events industry in every way. Now, four years after the peak of the pandemic, attendees are more intentional about the events they attend. This means their expectations are higher.

The very first interactions set the tone for the entire event experience, says Jordan Aspen, Texas regional director for the Business Leaders Network and owner of FindBusinessCommunity, whose expertise lies in boosting engagement for virtual events.

“Prepping attendees ahead of time is an effective way to get them involved right from the start and make them feel seen, heard and comfortable,” Aspen says. “By focusing on certain things before the event begins [i.e., dress codes for theme nights, itineraries or options for offsite excursions], planners can increase the show up rates and engagement rates. It comes down to setting expectations and taking the mental load off attendees so they know how to plan.”

Boosting event engagement is also challenging because of an ever-shifting workplace culture. Yet within the challenge lies opportunity. Keely Brazil, supervisor, events department at Benco Dental, a dental distributor offering curated products and dental office design consultations, says for her, in-person events are chances to build community among remote workers.

“We’re seeing a lot more companies with remote or hybrid employees or a combination of both, and it’s hard to create a company culture when people aren’t together in the office every day,” she says, pointing out sometimes the first time some Benco Dental employees see each other in person are at annual sales meetings or other events. “I think events are more important now than ever.”

Because her company’s workforce is so diverse and in so many different areas of the country, Brazil says their district meetings have been tremendously valuable.

“We’ve been getting such good feedback from our sales reps. They love the dine-around where they go out with the reps from their district and get to know each other,” she says. “I wouldn’t necessarily recommend more meetings, but I think restructuring them and adding more one on one time where they can do peer-to-peer learning is helpful.”

Brazil starts engaging with attendees early, particularly for large events. She uses a mobile app and poses a question to generate excitement, maybe something like ‘What are you most excited for [at the event]?’ and invite responses.

“I’ll post communication up to the events, so things like the themes to help them plan. We keep communication going so the attendees know what to expect,” she says.

Benco holds different events throughout the year. Some have fun mixed with learning. “We always have a theme for our annual sales meeting. There’s a large overarching theme, and then at the event itself, we’ll have a theme night. For instance, one year the broad theme was ‘Better Together’. Then we tied in the host city of Houston, home of the Johnson Space Center, and chose ‘space’ for the theme night. So, employees dressed up as aliens, Star Trek and Star Wars characters, the guys from Men in Black. They really got into it and it was a lot of fun,” Brazil says.

As more companies are rethinking and restructuring their swag and gifting options, small tokens of appreciation go over well. Reed has seen amazing results when using gift cards in executing events for BHN. They also can be event-branded and highly personalized, and they’re versatile.

“They’re flexible incentives in that they can be handed out in person at events or digitally before, during or after an event to generate ongoing engagement,” Reed says. She’s found attendees to be more engaged and willing to sit through demos and other presentations when a gift card reward is offered.

BHN hosts several high-profile events every year. “Something as seemingly minor as event giveaways can have a major impact on attendees’ experiences, and by offering attendees the types of rewards they want most, your event is very likely to stand out — as is your brand,” she says.

Play-Based Learning

Play-based learning, rather than the traditional lecture method, is another growing trend. “We’re seeing more of our clients doing activities, engagement and offering entertainment interspersed between the sessions,” Caruso says. “Or, for instance, if it’s a two-day conference, the second day might have an excursion woven into the program.”

One of her clients did a conference in the spring with an agenda that included a healthy dose of team-building and activities focused around the event theme of ‘Expect the Unexpected’. “The feedback we received was overwhelmingly ‘I had way too much fun. I think I wanted to learn more,’” she says. “I think they wanted more of the typical conference where they’ve taken extensive notes balanced with entertainment and fun.”

Sharon Fisher, CEO of Play With a Purpose in Orlando, FL, and her team travel the country leading ice breakers, team building, role-playing games and activities to get attendees out of their seats, engaging with each other and collaborating on new ideas.

“Play is the best way to create engagement. It’s all about being hands on and involved,” she says. But it’s not all fun and games — call it purposeful play. “First, there has to be an understanding around why people are there and what they expect to get out of it,” Fisher says. “It’s not just an activity or game for the sake of doing it — we do it with a purpose. We have to understand the goals and objectives of the group.”

Play not only helps attendees engage with each other and the event’s content in new ways, but it encourages critical thinking, teamwork, creative problem solving and working with different personality types.

“We all play differently, so we incorporate the different styles that appeal to every kind of personality or play style. If I know I’m going to get what I want out of it, and it’s satisfying and fun, it’s easier for me to get involved. Play can fit into a conference anywhere — maybe a general session or to kick things off,” Fisher says.

Incorporating “play” and more interactive elements without excluding attendees who want something more traditional is a big challenge for planners, according to Caruso. “Not everything is fun to everyone,” she notes, adding she recommends planners give attendees options for each session.

Clients are also looking for events with more family-friendly elements, Caruso says. “The schedule might not be the entire day, for example, or the sessions are shorter, or it’s not as many days, or you can bring your family along. People are really trying to tie the business and leisure together.”

Caruso’s role as meeting planner has changed slightly to meet her clients’ shifting needs and requests. She’s had to take a more active role in helping clients be more intentional with planning their program.

“A lot of it is helping the client think about their goal [for the event]. A lot of clients just come up with a list of speakers or who they’d like to have, but our role as the planner lately is to step back and be more strategic — for instance, tell the client, ‘This person might not work for this conference.’ We’re saying the person is great, but they might not fit as a speaker — maybe as a host or emcee.”

Lean Into Uniqueness

Planners are also seeking out unique venues instead of a standard hotel or convention center to offer one-of-a-kind experiences. There is also a demand for traditional venues with a twist.

For one example, the Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem, PA, built in 1922, was ranked as the nation’s Best Historic Hotel by USA Today. Its history combined with a prestigious poll ranking gives planners plenty to draw from.

Dan Withrow, director of food and beverage, sales and operations at Hotel Bethlehem, first speaks with the meeting planner to get a clear idea of their goals for the event. Customization is always an option. One of their most popular public events, a Roaring 20s ball, can be scaled down for corporate clients. It’s a great way to get attendees engaged and networking in a different environment than the standard conference room setting.

“We try to put people into atmospheres where they can get to know each other but share something special and unique they’ll remember when they go back to work,” Withrow says, adding, “We can do extravagant, but sometimes it’s the little things. We tailor the experience to what the meeting planner wants to get done and give people opportunities to bond.”

The hotel’s history and unique features sets it apart from other venues, Withrow says. The building once had a speakeasy, and the dark, intimate atmosphere of the space was recently recreated in one of the hotel’s restaurants. Attendees were admitted by using a secret password. Period cocktails and dishes were served, and musicians played ragtime jazz. A dance instructor was brought in to teach attendees to dance the Charleston.

“People look for these unique experiences,” Withrow says. Rumors of the hotel being haunted haven’t affected event attendance; in fact, a staff member gives Haunted Tours — another potential event add-on. “Being the number one historic hotel in the nation means people have high expectations, and we try to exceed their expectations,” Withrow says. “When people have an event here, they expect a higher level of engagement and bonding — that’s why they ask for these opportunities.”

The draw for a venue like Allegiant Stadium is its sheer size and versatility. The venue can accommodate groups of 15 up to its full capacity of 65,000 and is fluid enough to meet a wide range of client needs.

“We offer different add-ons if the client really wants to lean in to the sports experience,” Francis says. “If a meeting planner is looking for something truly out of the box that they can lean into that they don’t have to put something additional towards, such as décor or dress, we provide that so there’s an all-in-one experience.”

Allegiant Stadium has a total of 22 unique event spaces and 144 suites. “We push the norm of a ballroom or conference center in the world of meetings and events. We have a built-in theme of sports and entertainment, and our building lends itself to that. Our aesthetic is basic — black, white, and silver — so we can be turnkey for a sports or entertainment theme, or we can be a clean slate,” Francis says.

Benefits of Boosting Engagement

Offsite excursions and other add-ons that elicit a sense of exclusivity are another popular trend, says Antonia Hinge, president of Junapr, a public relations, crisis management, event management, and corporate communications firm. “Planners are adding more offsite events to conferences and trade shows to boost engagement,” she says. “The more you add, the more they resonate with guests. Attendees are going to these amazing places for meetings and events, but are they ever really leaving the property?”

Moving attendees offsite or into experiences that take them out of their comfort zones can yield surprisingly positive results — namely, more bonding.

“Not only do the attendees engage more, but there’s more networking with a lot of people, mainly because it’s in a different setting than a traditional ‘end of day’ happy hour or mixer,” Hinge says. “We like to include local excursions that highlight the history or showcase the area.” For one trip, Hinge’s team planned and executed a trip to Spain and discovered a small local shop producing and selling a brand of olive oil only available in that region.

“We had an olive oil tasting in this small local store. People were asking questions and engaging with each other. It really got them out of their ‘brain space;’ it was fun to see it happening,” Hinge says.

Different ways of boosting event engagement translate directly into better collaboration and innovation when attendees get back to work. “Gone are the days of just lecturing and listening. Attendees want more networking and collaboration. They want networking dinners at local hot spots, not just the typical happy or cocktail hour. There are so many ways to marry business learning with adventure,” Hinge says.

The shift to more attendee interaction and participation shows no signs of slowing down. “Our clients are coming to us and they want offsite experiences,” Hinge says. “One of the values we provide is explaining to them the benefit of moving offsite.”

Offering something different elevates the whole experience. Instead of a group dinner at a chain steakhouse, bring in a private chef or add exclusive elements. “You can achieve your meeting goals but make it a more memorable event,” Hinge advises. C&IT