Event Planning: Moments Created from Details and 2023 Trends

They say event planning is a true art. But creating an unforgettable event also requires precision, calculations, and attention to every, even the smallest, detail. It is a complex process that demands a lot of effort, creativity, and responsibility, so it is best to entrust this work to professionals. This time, OWEXX shares how much daily work and detail go into creating unforgettable moments and what trends can be expected for the 2023 event season as it enters its second half.

Event Planning – Challenges and Users Craving Live Meetings

The year 2020, when we tried to figure out how to celebrate a company party or organize a scientific conference online and desperately searched for free space at home for a desk, seems like a distant past. Now, remote work meetings, hybrid conferences, and other events or working from home seem as usual as morning traffic jams in the city. The past few years, full of challenges, have brought significant changes and innovations to event planning, and according to Verified Market Research, the global events industry is expected to be worth 2.194 trillion US dollars by 2028, compared to 2020 when the market value was 887 billion.

In 2020 and 2021, we had the opportunity to observe a major shift in the event planning sphere – live meetings were replaced by online events, and event organizers had to adapt their skills and learn new ones. How to give online meetings the feel of a live event, engage participants, while ensuring quality time and content – there was no shortage of challenges. However, it can be confidently said that the event planning market adapted to difficult conditions, and 2022 became the year of the renaissance of live meetings. But the challenges that arose over the past few years have permanently changed the event planning landscape, and it seems that virtual meetings are certainly not ready to be relegated to the margins of event planning.

After all, event organizers, clients, and participants alike have missed live meetings. According to a survey conducted by Bizzabo on LinkedIn, 55% of event planning professionals prefer live events in 2023, while in the last quarter of 2021 this number was only 16.8%. Although virtual and increasingly hybrid events are still popular, it is clear that they are not going to replace live meetings. According to BlueJeans and Forrester, as many as 71% of professionals in the events market say that it is difficult to convey the emotions provided by live meetings during a virtual event, and 67% of event organizers find it difficult to convey the brand message during online events. 61% of professionals say that the biggest challenge of virtual meetings is maintaining participants' attention and engaging them in active participation in the event.

Step by Step – How to Make an Event Unforgettable

Mass events such as concerts, city festivals; business events – company anniversaries, presentations; conferences; personal celebrations – weddings, bachelorette parties, bachelor parties, christenings, and birthdays. Every event, small or large, is significant and requires delving into the individual needs and expectations of the client. However, there are several key things that always remain relevant when organizing any event. OWEXX shares – what are they?

The first and extremely important question is the event concept. During the analysis of the event concept, which is a fundamental step in event planning, the purpose, nature, theme, audience, duration, etc., of the event are determined; it is decided whether the event will be a live meeting, online, or hybrid format. In other words, it is like the event's "skeleton" or "backbone" on which other important things, such as the event venue and date, are built.

Once the event concept, venue, and date are decided, the event's organizational plan can be considered, in which, depending on the specifics of the event, the distribution of invitations or tickets, sound, music, catering options, etc., are clarified. These are the things that guarantee that no hiccups will arise both as the event approaches and during it. In other words – good preparation is already half the work done, especially when it is carried out by OWEXX professional event organizers.

Next, you should consider such essentials as styling the event venue (for example, a photo wall is particularly important for companies, flowers for weddings, tents for outdoor events, and so on), capturing the moment, hosts and performers (if needed), accommodation and catering for participants, lighting and sound equipment. Special mention should go to creating the event scenario, as a large part of the event's success depends on this stage, and there are a great many details to consider, because the scenario must reflect everything that will happen during the event: the hosts and their role, performers or other programme, the movement of participants through the event, gifts, thank-yous, breaks; if it is a conference – the length and order of presentations, and so on. You need to think not only about time costs but also about smooth transitions, the development of the storyline, and so on. This requires both creative thinking and mathematics, because participant engagement and impressions depend on a smooth and engaging event scenario.

Of course, the budget also plays a key role in preparing for event planning, and it should be drawn up very responsibly and rationally, because the content, scope and other important aspects of the event depend on it.

Comprehensive event management means solving problems, answering all questions, preparing for the event without stress and knowing that the occasion you have been so looking forward to is in professional hands. OWEXX is guided by the view that a successful event is not only one where the event's goals are achieved, but also one where the efficiency of the event management processes is achieved.

Event management – what trends prevail in the market?

As already discussed, in 2023 we can observe the advantage of live events over online events, yet technology is not leaving the events market – there are quite a few hybrid-format events, where some participants attend live and some virtually. According to a Bizzaboo survey, as many as 97% of professionals in the event management field predict that hybrid-format events will increase, and the technology market is trying to adapt to this need and will likely be able to offer increasingly diverse virtual event experiences in the future. Nevertheless, preference is given to live events, whose emotions and atmosphere virtual events are unable to convey.

Another very important aspect of today's events market – more and more companies and organisations are using events as a marketing and public relations tool. According to marketing specialists, business events are an excellent way to increase your brand's visibility, connect with customers or maintain their loyalty, shape the company's image, and promote goods and services. And as many as 85% of marketing specialists consider sponsoring various events a priority for a brand's advertising campaign.

The ideas of sustainability also hold important positions in the event management field – more and more consideration is given to environmentally friendly and planet-friendly solutions. Event participants also greatly value security – this applies both to collecting event participants' data and protecting it.

Another trend – events are taking place more and more often and are independent of seasonality. For example, previously various organisations would hold one or a couple of big events, but today there is a trend to organise more smaller events, conferences and so on throughout the year, in order to maintain connections with customers, partners and colleagues.

Summer – wedding season

It is probably safe to say that the personal celebration requiring the most organisational effort is a wedding. Beyond the main and most important questions — such as the venue for the ceremony and the celebration, the number of wedding guests and the budget — there is a host of other details to take care of, and these can overshadow the joy of preparing for the most beautiful day of your life. Statistics show that the bulk of the planning still falls on the bride's shoulders (as much as 72%!), and many brides (also 72%) say they would have liked to devote more attention and wedding budget to the entertainment at the celebration. The services of professional wedding planners not only reduce or entirely eliminate planning stress, but also guarantee that mistakes will be avoided, that every detail will be considered — including even sound and lighting — and that the newlyweds and their guests will enjoy excellent hosts, performers and entertainment, and regret only that the celebration flew by in an instant and was too short.

OWEXX – event management from A to Z

Entrusting your idea and your long-awaited celebration to someone else's hands can be difficult. Whether it is an important personal celebration such as a wedding, an anniversary or a christening, or a corporate occasion, a conference, or perhaps a concert or a huge city festival — if you truly want to enjoy planning the event and the celebration itself, put your trust in professionals who will consider every detail and ensure that the event is organised smoothly and delivers only the best emotions. Every event, whether small or large-scale, has its own specifics, so OWEXX will make sure that everything — from performers to capturing the event, from catering to the stage, from sound to lighting — exceeds your expectations and creates an unforgettable experience for the participants.

The motto of OWEXX event management is "easy to feel". Guided by it, OWEXX aims to provide its event management services so that the client has only to enjoy the planning process and savour a memorable experience on the day of the event.