Events are one of the best ways for businesses to showcase products, promote services and increase brand awareness, and one of the key advantages of event marketing is the ability to provide attendees with something memorable to link back to you. However, as we all know, organizing events can be extremely complicated and time consuming — and that is especially true for startups and small businesses.

Thanks to technology, the trade show space continues to evolve. From digital mapping and augmented reality to IoT and predictive analytics, event marketers have a plethora of tools at their disposable to make their events more impactful than ever. While significantly less flashy than an immersive VR environment at your booth, one tried and true way to impact the ROI of your event is through strategic events and meetings. 

If the past several years go down as “The Era of Acquisitions” in event tech, 2019 and beyond just may become known as “The Era of the Niche Solutions.”

What happens when your event’s security is lacking, the gourmet food doesn’t arrive, your lodging accommodations turn into a health hazard and the entertainment bails? Sounds like a disaster, right? This is exactly how the Fyre Festival of 2017 will be remembered: a total disaster.

With this month’s focus on YOU (and what subject is more interesting?), it seemed the perfect opportunity to discuss making it a full year of year of YOU, whatever that may look like. To have a successful 2019, you need to be willing to get out of your comfort zone, put in a few extra hours of work every week and stay committed to your goal. If you’ve got the desire to get there, I’ve got the roadmap.

Technology evolves faster every day and that’s a great thing when it comes to the event space. This rapid innovation means there are new event technologies available at a constant pace, bringing new ways to collect data, engage audiences, manage details and more.

But how can event professionals stay on top of these new offerings and figure out what best applies to their needs and challenges?

Read on for our predictions on what’s ahead when it comes to digital and event technology in 2019 and beyond. 

You’ve spent months, maybe even years, planning your next big conference or event. It’s one of your organization’s most significant milestones this year and also, a big opportunity to generate earned press coverage.

If you want to leverage the media and PR opportunities that trade shows and events provide, make sure to do these three things.

It's no surprise that military personnel, police officers, firefighters, and pilots have some of the most stressful jobs. But it may surprise you what the number five position on that list is.

According to recent research from CareerCast, the fifth most stressful role is events coordinator. Travel, long (and often odd) hours, interaction with the public, fixed deadlines, and the myriad details involved all contribute to that stress level.

“Oh no, the overall satisfaction rating from our quarterly regional meeting is down five percent from last year,” says the CMO, who then asks the event manager to “figure out what happened.”

Meanwhile, a product marketing manager looks at a different report and declares, “Our attendance was up seven percent…that new marketing campaign must have really helped.”

You may know that CVB stands for convention and visitor’s bureau, but do you know all the services available to you by using one? Many of us know we can send RFPs, requests for proposals, or as I like to call them, RFCs, or requests for collaboration, but did you know they’ll plan site visits, share insight on fiscal incentives if any are offered, help secure off site venues, provide valuable information about any upcoming city-wides that many conflict with your program dates and alert you to properties that are rebranding, closing or about to open? And all at no cost to you.