What our clients say

The latest IPA Bellwether Report confirms what leading marketers already know: events aren’t just back, they’re dominating.

In Q4 2024, events emerged as the top-performing marketing category with a record-breaking net balance of +12.3%, the highest in the survey’s history. And this isn’t a temporary spike; investment in live experiences is set to continue to climb throughout 2025 and 2026 as businesses double down on face-to-face engagement.

Why? Because in a world of algorithm shifts, declining engagement and relentless digital noise, live experiences offer something no other channel can - undivided attention.

Digital fatigue is real - Marketers are losing the battle for attention

Marketers are being pulled in every direction, investing in paid, earned and owned media while grappling with shifting consumer behaviours. The explosion of digital channels has led to fragmentation, making it harder than ever to create meaningful engagement. Attention spans are shrinking, ad fatigue is real, and brand-building tactics that once worked are losing impact. Marketers are not just competing with direct competitors - they're battling for seconds of attention in an endless sea of content.

The numbers tell a stark story. Research from Forrester indicates that 65% of B2B buyers disengage from brands that provide generic digital content, while Gartner reports that 80% of B2B buying decisions involve direct human interaction, even in a digital-first world. Meanwhile, event-generated content earns 4x more social media engagement than static digital campaigns. This is where live experiences change the game.

The ROI wake-up call: Events are the smartest investment in marketing right now

The data speaks for itself - events aren’t just holding their own; they’re outperforming every other marketing category. The latest Bellwether report shows that businesses are making a renewed, long-term commitment to live experiences because they deliver measurable returns. Events build brand equity and drive immediate action, making them one of the few channels that deliver short-term impact and long-term growth. 

Digital campaigns might provide reach, but events deliver results. Deals that might take months to nurture online are being closed in days through face-to-face interactions. While digital advertising fights rising costs and declining engagement, events deliver results that marketing teams can’t afford to ignore. Unlike online ads that compete for milliseconds of attention, live experiences create immersive, distraction-free environments where brands can build genuine connections.

According to the Event Marketing Institute, 74% of attendees leave an event with a stronger opinion of a brand, and 70% go on to become regular customers. It’s why Bizzabo reports that 87% of executives are increasing their event budgets - because face-to-face engagement converts at a higher rate than digital marketing leads. Events don’t just generate brand awareness; they accelerate pipeline movement, making them one of the smartest investments in today’s cluttered marketing landscape. 

The science is clear: People remember experiences, not ads

Events tap into something deeper than clicks and impressions - they create moments that last. Neuroscience tells us that emotionally charged experiences are stored more vividly in our memory. This is known as ‘flashbulb memory’ - the reason we remember powerful, real-world moments far more clearly than yet another ad scrolling past our feed.

Beyond memory, there’s also the impact of shared experiences. When people come together in a live setting, they don’t just absorb information, they feel it. This amplifies emotional connection and brand loyalty. The result? Attendees don’t just engage in the moment - they carry that engagement with them, becoming brand advocates long after the event is over.

Smart events: The data goldmine that marketers are ignoring

Events are no longer just about the experience on the day - they are a goldmine of data, feeding into smarter, more targeted marketing strategies. With seamless CRM integration, brands can track attendee engagement, capture real-time insights and personalise follow-ups with pinpoint accuracy. Every interaction at an event - who attended which session, who engaged in conversations, who showed buying signals - translates into actionable intelligence that drives revenue.

This isn’t vanity metrics; this is real behavioural data that gives marketers the power to make smarter, faster decisions. In an era where AI and automation dominate digital marketing, the ability to blend deep human connection with intelligent data is what sets brands apart. Events don’t just create moments; they create momentum, fuelling ongoing engagement and long-term brand loyalty.

The brands winning in 2025 are investing in experience, not just exposure

The IPA Bellwether findings send a clear message. Live events aren’t just surviving in the marketing mix; they’re thriving. In an era of rising promotional spend, smart businesses are putting long-term brand building at the forefront, using experiences to drive both emotional connection and bottom-line impact. 

As businesses plan for 2025 and beyond, the most successful brands won’t just be seen and heard - they’ll be experienced. 

In a world oversaturated with content, the real challenge is standing out in a meaningful way. How does your brand ensure it isn’t just another name in a crowded digital feed, but a presence that commands attention, drives action and delivers lasting impact? In a world saturated with marketing messages, the ability to create meaningful engagement is what sets brands apart - not as a standalone tactic, but as a force multiplier that amplifies digital, content and brand strategy. 

The brands that will lead in 2025 and beyond will be the ones that embrace the power of presence, bringing people together in ways that digital alone simply cannot achieve. The question is, how will your brand rise above the noise and create real, lasting engagement?

At First Event, we design experiences that command attention, forge emotional bonds and inspire action. Because in an age of distraction, the most valuable commodity isn’t content. It’s connection.

Ready to turn live experiences into real business impact? Let’s talk about how we can help your brand accelerate deals, strengthen customer loyalty, and drive measurable growth through powerful events. Get in touch with us today.

Written by Claire Knox, Marketing & Communications Director, First Event

Claire has 25 years of experience in marketing across B2B and B2C sectors, having worked both agency-side and in-house. At First Event, she is driving the company's growth as a full-service event agency, setting the direction for how the brand engages with clients, partners and industry talent, while strengthening the company’s end-to-end services.

Technology often gets a bad rap for creating distance between people. But what if we flipped the script? What if, instead of pulling us apart, tech could bring us closer together?

As event planners, we have the power to harness technology in a way that enhances human connection rather than overpowering it. The key? Striking the right balance. Too much tech, and your event feels cold and impersonal. Too little, and you risk missing opportunities to engage audiences in new and exciting ways.

What Are People Actually Looking for in Events?

Think about the resurgence of raves, listening bars, and ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) events. These aren’t about going completely off-grid; they’re about using technology in a way that complements human experiences. In fact, 44% of B2B event attendees globally say they want technology that makes engagement easier. But what does that actually look like in practice?

Tech Expectations: A Generational Lens

Different generations engage with technology in different ways. So, how do their expectations compare?

Gen Z: Gen-Z have grown up with tech, and they expect seamless digital integration. But here’s the kicker: they also love analogue experiences, think vinyl records and digital camera revivals. Want to impress them? Create immersive experiences alongside interactive physical installations.

Millennials: Millennials expect tech to enhance connection, not replace it. They want real-time event updates, interactive apps, and social media integration that makes networking effortless. 

Gen X: This group sits in the sweet spot between digital convenience and traditional engagement. They’re not shying away from tech (smartwatch purchases among Gen Xers have jumped 28% since 2021), but they also appreciate a balance. 

Boomers: Boomers are one of the UK’s most online generations, but while they’re tech-savvy, accessibility is key. Overcomplicated event tech is a turnoff, so keep it simple and intuitive.

How to Create Tech-Enhanced Human Connection

So, how do we strike the perfect tech balance at events? Here are a few ideas:

• Flexible Tech: Not everyone wants to be glued to a screen. Create spaces where attendees can choose between high-tech and low-tech interactions. Think digital networking lounges alongside analogue, screen-free social areas.
• Sensory Experiences: Technology shouldn’t just be about screens—engage all the senses. Offer sound-based experiences, tactile interactions, and immersive lighting to create a truly multi-dimensional event.
• Interactive Event Apps: Make your event app work for attendees: personalised agendas, interactive maps, and AI-driven networking suggestions can take engagement to the next level.
• AR and VR: Augmented and virtual reality can create deeper engagement—whether it’s through virtual product demos, immersive storytelling, or interactive workshops.
  

Tech isn’t going anywhere…

But the way we use it is evolving. Striking the right balance is key to ensuring that events feel engaging, immersive, and, most importantly, human. Want to dive deeper into how different generations expect events to evolve? Join our upcoming Webinar on the 22nd April, Unlocking Experiences: What different Generations Expect from Events.

While digital experiences dominate our everyday lives, Gen Z is leading the charge in redefining the value of real-world interactions. Despite being the first digital-native generation, they’re craving authentic, tangible experiences that leave lasting memories. Here’s why businesses should pay attention.

Keep It Real: Gen Z Wants Authenticity

Gen Z is all about real connections. They value transparency, and 59% say that a brand’s authenticity matters more than its reputation (Deloitte, 2022). For them, meaningful in-person moments far outweigh polished digital campaigns. If businesses want to engage Gen Z, they need to offer genuine experiences that foster trust and connection.

 Experiences > Stuff: Why Memories Win

Gone are the days of materialistic spending. Eventbrite found that 78% of Gen Z prefers spending on experiences over products. This trend highlights a desire to create lasting memories rather than accumulate possessions. Brands that focus on immersive, experience-driven marketing—think live events, pop-ups, or interactive activations—are more likely to win Gen Z’s loyalty.

Tech Meets Real Life: When Digital and Physical Collide

While they’re immersed in digital, Gen Z isn’t abandoning the physical world. They expect tech to enhance real-world experiences, with 60% saying they enjoy experiences that integrate digital tools like augmented reality (PWC, 2023). Blending tech with tangible moments—whether through AR in stores or hybrid events—appeals to Gen Z’s desire for interactive, personalised experiences.

Squad Goals: Community Is Everything

Gen Z values community and social causes, with 72% prioritising being part of a community and 62% engaging with brands that promote inclusivity (McKinsey). For brands, this means creating experiences that align with these values, whether through charity events, sustainability-focused activations, or inclusive experiences that foster connection.

It’s All About You: Personalisation is Key

Gen Z expects personalised experiences. Statista reports that 63% are more likely to engage with brands offering tailored experiences. Personalisation, whether through customised event experiences or exclusive offers, is essential for building deeper connections with this generation.

The Future is Experiential

Gen Z is teaching us that tangible, authentic experiences are the future of consumer engagement. Businesses that embrace these preferences—authenticity, experiences over products, community, and personalisation—will be better positioned to connect with this powerful consumer group. The brands that get this right will stand out in an increasingly experience-driven world.

Want to dive deeper into this trend? Check out our latest report to learn more about the future of experiential marketing and how your brand can connect with the next generation.

Think about the last event you attended. Did you spend most of your time nodding through small talk and hoping a new connection would magically lead to your next big opportunity?

Networking is great—but without the skills and insights to back it up, it’s empty conversation. And in a world where workplace loneliness is on the rise, events can’t just be about transactional handshakes and LinkedIn swaps, they need meaning. The professionals who thrive today aren’t just well-connected. They’re well-equipped. That’s why upskilling needs to be the new networking.

The upskilling wake-up call

Here’s the deal; life’s moving fast, and people want experiences that actually help them get ahead. Did you know that a total of 63% of Brits believe the skills required for their jobs will evolve significantly over the next five years. Yet, over half of employees think it’s their employer’s job to support their development. The message is clear: professionals want to grow, but they need the right opportunities.

Many people are already making that shift. In 2023, nearly half of UK adults actively participated in learning—the highest rate since at least 1996. Meanwhile, 41% of UK organisations used external conferences and events as part of their learning and development initiatives. Attendees are no longer content with only expanding their professional circles; they want real, career-changing growth.

When networking meets upskilling

The best professionals don’t just “meet people.” They bring value to every conversation. That happens when you combine networking with upskilling. Here’s how:

• Start with learning, then let the networking flow. Offer skill-based sessions that give attendees fresh takeaways to discuss—turning small talk into meaningful conversations.
  
• Create spaces for collaboration. Ditch the awkward mixers and dull presentations. Attendees will bond over shared experiences like hands-on workshops.
  
• Before the event, invite attendees to share their goals. Use this to curate agendas, mentorship opportunities, and tailored learning paths based on their career ambitions.
  
• Learning shouldn’t stop when the event ends. Provide post-event development plans, guided reflection exercises, or follow-up learning to inspire action.

By weaving upskilling into your event design, you’ll foster genuine connections and help attendees grow long after the event ends.

Generational perspectives on upskilling

Upskilling isn’t one-size-fits-all, what it means to one generation can be completely different for another. By understanding these generational perspectives, you can create experiences that resonate.

• Millennials: 91% prioritise career progression, seeking upskilling opportunities that lead to real career advancement.
  
• Gen X: As many feel their digital skills are underestimated, they value learning formats that introduce new technologies while respecting their expertise.
  
• Boomers: With many embracing “flextirement”, events that focus on coaching and leadership skills hold strong appeal.

Lead the upskilling revolution

At the start of 2024, a quarter of UK adults couldn’t name a single achievement they were proud of from the prior year. Events have the power to fill that void by creating transformational learning experiences. Networking alone doesn’t cut it anymore, it’s time to level up events. Make your next one a perfect blend of authentic networking and valuable upskilling, get in touch today.

Traditional networking is dead, and upskilling is the new power move at events. In today’s fast-moving world, staying competitive means continuous learning. In 2023, almost half of UK adults engaged in learning, highlighting the growing importance of upskilling. Events have become essential in this process, offering both personal and professional growth opportunities for today’s workforce. Here's how:

Events as Learning Powerhouses

No longer just about networking or entertainment, events are now vital for upskilling. Did you know that 41% of organisations in the UK use external events as part of their learning strategies? The focus has shifted from just exchanging business cards to creating transformative experiences that inspire and motivate attendees. Research shows that 73% of attendees prioritise personal growth at events, and 35% expect to leave feeling inspired.

Personal and Professional Growth Combined

Events offer more than just technical skills—they foster personal breakthroughs too. Consider this: 25% of UK adults couldn’t recall a single achievement from the previous year. Events provide the perfect platform to boost confidence, gain new perspectives, and recognise growth. Whether through keynotes, workshops, or hands-on activities, events help attendees grow both personally and professionally.

Tailoring Learning for Different Generations

To truly maximise impact, events must cater to a multi-generational workforce:

• Millennials: Focus on career progression, wellbeing, and networking opportunities.
• Gen X: Recognise their expertise while offering fresh skills and growth.
• Boomers: Provide leadership development and coaching opportunities.

Maximising Learning Impact

So, how can organisers ensure their events are upskilling attendees effectively? Here’s how:

• Personalisation: Tailor sessions to attendees’ goals and learning needs.
• Interactivity: Incorporate live Q&As, gamification, and workshops to keep attendees engaged.
• Networking: Create structured opportunities for meaningful connections beyond casual conversations.
• Storytelling: Use compelling narratives that emotionally resonate with your attendees.
• Actionable Takeaways: Offer frameworks and time for reflection to solidify learning and ensure attendees leave with practical knowledge.

The Future of Upskilling Through Events

As the demand for continuous learning grows, events are more crucial than ever in keeping workforces adaptable and ready for the future. Whether helping millennials advance, enabling Gen X to grow, or empowering boomers to stay engaged, events are leading the charge in lifelong learning.

Ready to make your next event an upskilling powerhouse? Let’s connect and create an experience that’ll leave attendees with valuable skills, memorable moments, and a sense of personal achievement.

Contact us today to explore how we can help you craft your next transformative event!

Live events are a highly effective tool for creating meaningful, human connections and driving a highly-sought after sense of belonging. When curated correctly, inclusive events can become spaces where people can learn and hone skills, take action over shared values and interests, and even escape from everyday life. 

But at the heart of all of these different levels of attendee interaction is one fundamental component: human connection. And it’s something that we believe that the demand will continue to grow for over the coming year. 

Behaviour signals and event trends: the growth of live experiences

This desire for human connection is what’s making events and experience still such a valuable tool for brands and marketers in 2025. This behaviour signal has been reflected across a multitude of different data points, including: 

• In August 2023, the number of transactions related to live events in the UK was double what it was pre-pandemic in January 2020. 
• In the first quarter of 2024, spending on events grew by 23% and by Q3 events were the second best performing media category.
• 78% of Europeans say spending on experience is usually, or always, worth it (Mastercard 2024)
• 63% of UK consumers say that instead of discussing something they’ve bought, they’d rather discuss something they’ve experienced (Barclays 2024)

Whilst these data points signal the growth of live events throughout 2025, businesses can’t use these insights as a guarantee that their event marketing strategy will create the right kind of audience engagement. Brands will still need to work strategically in order to stand out against their competitors, and present an event offering that communicates exactly what value people can unlock from your experience. 

So what insights and event trends can brands harness in order to achieve this? 

People are looking to escape 

Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, political polarisation, and environmental issues, daily life is quickly becoming overwhelming for many people. To combat this constant stream of doom and gloom, people are responding by looking for new ways to escape. In particular, it seems that alternative, immersive realities are allowing people to find the support, networks, joy and human connection that real life is struggling to deliver.

Why events? Why not other forms of media for escapism?

Whilst other forms of media such as literature, TV, film, and social media will still offer people the chance to escape, not only are these sources becoming more inundated with the overwhelming facts of life people are trying to escape, they also lack the one thing that only live events can provide: authentic togetherness. It’s that extra dimension of human connection that people can only experience at a live event that is making them so sought after. 

However, people want meaningful and personalised escapism 

With the rise of phenomena such as ‘brain rot’ (a term that grew in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024) and the constant tide of trivial content online, people are looking for new, more profound ways to escape the noise. In addition to bringing more depth to attendee experiences, brands also need to stop thinking that they can control each individual’s event experiences. The true connection happens when brands act as facilitators, then let attendees co-create their own event experiences. 

To discover the emerging behavioural signals across different generations in 2025, join our mailing list and be the first to access exclusive content. We'll be sharing data-driven insights and resources to help your brand build meaningful connections with your audience.

Using wide-scale campaigns and activities to appeal to specific individuals en mass is at the heart of targeted and event marketing strategies. By creating experiences that feel tailored to the attendees in the room, people will leave with a human connection to your brand, forged through authentic and personalised event experiences. 

In order to apply this attendee-focused approach to their strategies and event experiences, generational and age-group based data is one of the resources marketers can use to get a deeper understanding of their audiences. 

But how can brands capitalise on the kind of truly personalised, human connections that come from understanding an individual, rather than just a wider demographic? 

How can you target your event marketing strategies to create live event experiences that appeal to people, not just generalisations? 

This can be achieved by applying a generational lens to your event design process. 

Generational Lenses: Understanding the Why behind the What

The social, historical and economic forces that affect each generation are widely studied, with phenomena such as Generational Cohort Theory explaining how shared historical events and even birth years can influence the psychological and sociological characteristics of each generation. But what we are still grappling to understand is how this drives their thoughts, feelings and emotions. 

Brands need to recognise and bridge these gaps that exist both within generations, and across generations, in order to foster cross-generational understanding and create live events that facilitate meaningful, human connections. 

The Benefits of a Generational Framework

Using a generational framework for a brand event strategy brings a scalable approach, and can be an effective way for brands to align themselves with broader event trends. Not only is this conducive to drilling down into more specific attendee details, such as roles or interests, it also increases efficiency of marketing strategies, without sacrificing personalisation. By bringing a wide-lens approach to generation based marketing strategies from the start, brands can save time and resources when creating audience engagement strategies and content, specifically designed with greater audience relevance in mind.

Harnessing generation-based data

For marketers, it’s about more than just boxing people into stereotypes, but instead using these data-driven foundations to pick out shared motivations, needs, and wants, using these to foster event experiences that truly resonate. But in order to do this, brands need that rich data. They need those intelligence-led insights into what their audiences are interested in, and most importantly, why. 

Creating connections within and across generations

To really bring people together through the power of events, marketers need to look beyond their stereotypes and create live events where multiple generations can find common ground, and experiences that they can share and connect over and that change their lives. In doing so, brands can create lasting relationships that span generations and are driven by a shared purpose. 

Generational lenses aren’t shortcuts but rather a way to build audience engagement and develop meaningful events with a bigger picture in mind.

To discover the emerging behavioural signals across different generations in 2025, join our mailing list and be the first to access exclusive content. We'll be sharing data-driven insights and resources to help your brand build meaningful connections with your audience.

As 2024 draws to a close, each of the stats and wins we’re reflecting on are more than just our headlines of the year. They also represent countless hours of work from our dedicated team, as we’ve pooled together multiple areas of creative event expertise to forge incredible results for our clients. This vision and this level of commitment aren’t unique to 2024. It’s something that has defined how we’ve operated for the last 25 years and will continue to shape the positive impact we create in years to come. Not just within our team, or for our clients, but for the thousands of attendees whose lives we’ve touched with our strategically crafted experiences over the last year. 

With that in mind, let’s unwrap our successes of 2024.

2024: Our growth

Throughout our evolution to strengthen our position as a full-service event agency, we’re incredibly proud of the results we’ve created, both for our clients and our team, and across our community engagement. 

In 2024 we have: 

• Delivered 223 event experiences across multiple cities, countries, and continents. 
• Expanded our in-house services by hiring 19 new team members, and creating 7 new roles across our different disciplines. 
• Promoted 14 of our team members for their hard work and commitment.
• Received 7 award nominations, including Micebook’s Best Agency of the Year and C&IT’s UK Agency of the Year. 
• Been named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, for the second year in a row.

Thought leadership: Starting important conversations

At First Event we like to be generous with our collective expertise. 2024 was about us owning that position as thought leader, and sharing our experience and insights across our industry and wider communities. Over the last year we:  

• Sponsored and spoke at the Prolific North Marketing Fest about what it takes to create truly iconic experiences.
• Collaborated with Campaign UK and C&IT on a podcast centered around mastering event marketing in 2024.
• Took part in a panel at CVent, discussing gender parity and transforming the workplace through the “Destroying the Glass Ceiling” initiative.

Giving back through community engagement:

Beyond our business success, we’ve continued our passion for making a difference to the wider communities that we are a part of. This year we: 

• Sent two team members to Africa to visit the school the company sponsors. 
• Participated in charity events, including a dragon boat race and the CEO Sleepout, raising funds for the homeless. 
• Hosted our own First In thought-leadership event experience, designed to engage key individuals in the industry. 

Looking ahead:

Over the next year, we plan to continue and consolidate the level of growth we’ve seen in 2024, gathering momentum as we further embrace our full-service offering as a creative event agency. In 2025, we’re looking forward to using our access to the latest data and insights to help clients craft targeted event experiences, executed strategically to realise their long-term business goals. We will continue to bring our clients' vision to life with purpose and creativity, combining strategic insight with flawless execution and building impactful experiences that inspire audiences.

Want to be part of our 2025 story? 

We’ve got a range of different ways for you to stay in touch over the coming months: 

• Reach out to the team to discuss a full-service partnership in 2025. 
• Explore our services, and consider how we might be able to inject our expertise and support your business growth in 2025. 
• Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or X.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest event industry insights.

Following ongoing client attendee interactions and our extensive research, our findings indicate a key focus of event trends in 2025: putting individual attendees at the heart of the brand experiences. In this blog, we’ll be sharing the practical tips needed to harness manifestations of this core trend across your business and create impactful events that align with your wider business goals. 

Technological Innovations 

The key to event marketing success in 2025 will be incorporating emerging trends in technology in a way that is relevant both to your brand, your audience, and the current event planning landscape. To create this approach, brands should focus on using these innovations to transform the connectivity, engagement, and accessibility of their brand experiences. Consider:

• Creating an internet of things for truly smart events, facilitating a truly seamless and connected attendee experience. 
• Integrating AI,  AR and VR thoroughly into your campaigns, not just as a novelty.
• Rethinking your virtual and hybrid strategies, with a focus on accessing and actioning real-time feedback from your event. 

Sustainable Practices 

In 2025, people want brands to take the lead on their sustainable living, with 62% of people stating that they expect CEOs to manage wider societal changes (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2024). For event planning, this goes beyond zero-waste events, and outsourcing to sustainable suppliers and venues. Now, people want businesses to do sustainable deeds on their behalf, giving them visibility on how much impact they can have on people and the planet. By giving people clarity over the consequences of their sustainable actions, guests will feel more centred on the brand experience, deepening their connection with your business. 

The rise of personalised, data-driven brand experiences 

Hyper-personalised brand experiences are an incredibly effective approach to achieving brand loyalty, with 56% of shoppers stating they’d be more likely to buy from brands that offer personalised experiences. This starts with looking at the data you have on your audience, and using these insights to create individual attendee journeys that truly engage different segments of your audience. Whether you achieve this through AI-driven personalisation, or creating micro and local events to engage different regions, successful data optimisation will depend on integrating with an advanced analytic platform, for tracking and interpreting attendee touchpoints. 

The growing focus on wellness and mental health 

In line with the main, attendee-focused approach to 2025, people are expecting hyper-personalisation to manifest in how brands are looking after their mental health and well-being. However, due to the saturation of these popular markets, people have grown sceptical of the impact of health and wellness initiatives. In 2025, this trend will create the space for brands to lean into the data behind their wellness initiatives, offering deeply targeted and personalised mental health and wellness interventions. 

Enhancing networking and engagement 

With approximately 2.5 million adults in England reporting that they are chronically lonely, people are looking for opportunities to make real connections with people who already have shared interests. Brands can meet this need by using AI matchmaking to ease the pressures around social situations, and rethinking their virtual and in-person event strategy, to bring a hybrid-first event design, rather than seeing virtual elements as a last-minute add-on, often to the exclusion of virtual attendees. 

Want to navigate the event trends of 2025 to create long-term success for your brand? 

Get in touch with the First Event team. As your full-service event agency partner, we can help you implement emerging event trends through a tailored strategy designed to bring you closer to your business objectives. 

Coming up with creative ideas to engage your audience is one thing. But for brands that really want to create trackable impact, you need to be able to fuse that creative direction with an insight-led strategy. 

What is strategic event planning? 

Strategic event planning is a multi-phase process that goes beyond logistics to create meaningful, goal-aligned event experiences. This means creating a comprehensive event plan, mapping out exactly how you’re going to achieve your goals, and then using insights to refine your strategy for future event success.

In this blog we’ll be sharing our expertise on applying strategic event planning to every element of your event lifecycle, from initial ideation, to post-event analysis. 

Step 1: Define your goals and event objectives 

Creating an event strategy without understanding your event goals is like trying to navigate a path without knowing the end destination. By ensuring that your event strategy goals reflect the aims of your wider business strategy, you can confidently make progress in the right direction for your business.

With your event goals and KPIs clarified, you also need to select the right technology to measure this, ensuring that the systems and enhancements you harness streamline your processes, enhance attendee engagement, or help to measure an element of your event experience. 

Step 2: Know your audience 

Part of being able to create an event that creates results within your attendees is understanding exactly who those attendees are. Invest the time in researching your audience, in particular their: 

• Preferences 
• Expectations 
• Demographics 
• Behaviours 
• Interests 

With these insights, you can tailor the event experience to their needs, and this will inform the strategy of your event plan. 

Step 3: Harness event expertise

When creating your team, you need to ensure you’re fulfilling the relevant specialisms that are required by your event concept, and your wider strategy. Across your people, you need to be able to access and harness the latest insights and technology, as well as innovative creative direction, ensuring they’re applied holistically across your strategy. 

Step 4: Design the event experience 

Now you can begin to map out: 

• The event offering
• How attendees will interact with this event experience
• The event content that will be used to deliver key business messages

With this clear event offering and attendee journey in place, you can then look to elevate these with speakers, partnerships or engagement tools. But for every elevation you make, you have to ensure that this arches back to your main event goals and the wider message of your brand and your event strategy.

Step 5: Execute and elevate

Every element of the logistics of your event should ladder back up to the key purpose of the event and stay aligned with your wider business goals. Use your insights about your attendees to craft and execute delegate management plans that anticipate their needs, for a slick and seamless attendee experience.

Step 6: Distil, understand, and action 

Using the tools and technology you agreed at the outset of your planning process, measure your metrics to determine whether event success was achieved or not. It’s also useful to look beyond the confines of your definition of event success, to see if there are any areas where you created unexpected impact on your attendees. You can use these to refine the focus of your event strategy, and create more targeted events in the future. 

Ready to bring a consistent approach to your strategic event planning? Get in touch with the First Event team, and let us be your partner in crafting your vision, and turning this into a strategic plan for brand event success.