First off, Happy New Year! To ring in 2019, we decided to honor our tradition from last year and compile a list of the top event trends to look out for this year.
Extreme Theming
“Extreme Theming” is a new trend that we’ll be seeing a lot of in the next few months. We’re not talking extreme experiences but rather underlining your event theme in every detail: decor, catering, animation, right through to the scents diffused in your venue. Completely immerse your guests until they are spellbound by your event’s environment.
You want to create a consistency so that no matter where your attendee looks, they experience the atmosphere you’ve created. Go beyond simple space decor and create a personalized ambience that can be felt through every aspect of your event—your guests will love you for it.
Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence
While already on the events scene for a few years, artificial intelligences are at the helm this year. Use them for personalization, support or social media. AI is the technology to have.
Chatbots are becoming an excellent tool for managing all your participants’ questions in real-time. They also allow you to gather guests’ impressions and comments with which to assess the success of your meeting. Following your event, take a closer look at the most asked questions and promptly make the necessary adjustments for the next edition of your event.
Digital Detox
As mentioned above, technology is a valuable means for creating connections between people. On the other hand, there’s also a distance that results from guests with too much screen time. This year, one of the hottest trends is bringing back more traditional values and encouraging your participants to revel more in the present moment.
So, don’t forget to bring back the humanity in your event by organizing activities that will pull your guests away from their screens and immerse them into reality. As mentioned in last month’s post, include hands-on activities (origami, board games, Lego, etc.) to facilitate collaboration and genuine exchanges between guests.
Well-being and Eco-consciousness
Well-being is a trend that emerged last year, is gaining traction, and is very easy to incorporate into numerous stages of your event. Here are some simple examples: healthy menus (salad bars, smoothies, etc.), time to unwind, yoga or relaxation activities, workshops focused on self-development, etc.
As far as the environment goes, people are increasingly aware of their ecological footprint and want to minimize it as much as possible. It’s therefore important to incorporate Mother Nature into your event planning. To learn more about initiatives you can take, read our blog post on the subject.
2019 brings with it an abundance of possibilities and new trends to incorporate into your events and delight your guests. Here, at HAPPENING.CA, we can’t wait to try out these ideas for our next events.
