2015 Meeting Trends

Posted on March 30, 2015

2015 Meeting Trends

Successful Meetings magazine has long been a trusted source of valuable information for business executives managing meetings, conventions and events. For more than six decades, the meeting industry’s leading publication has offered thought-provoking articles on effective off-site programs, including destination features, planning tips, expert interviews and industry trends. Polling the industry’s most respected professionals, the Successful Meetings 2015 Trends survey gathered unprecedented insight on the year’s emerging trends.

Below, El Chorro’s experienced Group & Event Management team highlight their top 3 trends for 2015.

• Participants > Attendees

Engagement. It’s all about engagement. Laser pointers and PowerPoint presentations have been trumped by more visually enticing, and mentally stimulating, delivery styles. More than 70 percent of respondents to the Successful Meetings 2015 Trends survey identified creating a “compelling meeting experience for attendees” as their top priority for the year.

Take your meeting to the next level by recruiting meeting-goers as active participants with collaborative tools. Of the Successful Meetings recommendations, our favorites include online communities, scrolling Twitter walls and audience polling. When executed properly, these tools encourage contributions before, during and after events.

• There’s an App for That

An indispensable tool for every business professional, smartphones are also a valuable asset for meeting and event organizers and hosts. Aside from providing 24/7 access to email and business calls, allowing hardworking employees to venture away from their computers to conventions and events, smartphones also offer a variety of apps to enhance the attendee experience.

While smartphones have long been used for onsite social media networking and engagement, Savvy event planners are now using the mobile devices for everything from group alerts and targeted announcements to replacing paper event programs, agendas, attendee lists and other event resources. Bizzabo‘s smart, all-in-one design handles the full event process from nuts to soup. That’s right, ticketing, marketing emails, networking, event app, CRM and event website all in one well-rounded tool.

• Value over Cost

While more companies are gaining confidence in the economy’s return, there has only been moderate growth in meeting budgets. 40 percent of respondents to the Successful Meetings 2015 Trends survey expect meeting budgets to remain flat in 2015. Regardless of budgets, value is the bottom line for meeting and event planners.

Event professionals are relying on increased efficiency, creativity and innovative solutions to deliver unique, high-value outings, without adding dollars to the bottom line. Recent trends include replacing decorative centerpieces with more functional options, like appetizer or dessert towers, and opting for virtual resources instead of printed collateral.