5 event trends and exhibition trends for 2019
Do you remember the beginning of 2018? We made ourselves ready for a new year full of events and exhibitions. We prepared our exhibition participation and celebrated the success of it. But, 2019 is around the corner and is totally ready for the launch of some new event trends. What those trends are will be explained in this blog post. We gathered the biggest trends which you can use in the next year:
In 2018, exhibitions and events became more and more of an ‘experience’ for visitors. In 2019, this trend will continue. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to create memorable experiences for visitors by providing them with exciting activations and activities. Furthermore, the general public will try and use more of ‘mixed reality’, such as VR and AR during exhibitions and events.
By applying so many different types of technology, event and exhibition visitors are becoming a bit ‘lazy’. Visitors aspect that their needs are being fulfilled through personalized technology at the moment they walk in at an event or exhibition. So if you don’t respond to this, the visitors will be negatively influenced. They look for direct interaction. When they have questions, they want them to be answered as personalized and as quickly as possible. But technology can also have a positive effect. It’s important to use technology to trigger the interests of the visitor. Therefore, you have to make sure you know exactly what your visitor needs, and communicate this clearly.
Storytelling is an effective way to engage your visitors in the story of your brand. You make them want to be part of that story. A product presentation becomes more alive if we focus even more on the 'why': why is this product so great? is the underlying story? Visitors are looking for the real stuff in 2019. So, grab that chance and share your story.
Not that long ago the term 'FOMO, The Fear Of Missing Out' was introduced. It turned out that many people realized that they could not actually live without their mobile devices for a long time, afraid of missing out on something important. This also applies in the event/exhibition industry. We want to meet people, learn new things. We have to sell, buy, do business and have fun. And that's a whole lot. JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) turns these things around. You ensure that exhibition participants can take some time off the crowds at the event/show. You will therefore see more and more spaces in 2019 where people can leave the busy crowds and have some time alone to process all the gathered information. It’s called: unplugging. So, the question is: How do you prevent your visitors from getting an information overload?
It seems that in 2019 we will be ready for the implementation of blockchain in the event industry. Especially in the area of tickets and registration, we will notice an emergence of this upcoming thing. Because a negative experience with ordering a ticket doesn’t make visitors happy. Blockchain makes transactions safer. The transactions are decentralized so that organizations run less risk of breaches. Want to know more about Blockchain? Read more here.
We are curious: What are your exhibition and event plans in 2019? Are you going ‘innovative’, share your story to the world or do you dive deeper into the customer journey of your visitors, so that you can answer their questions even better? At KOP we are always ahead when it comes to applying new trends and developments. And we’d like to share them with you! So, whether you want to use a VR experience or trigger your visitors with an awesome activation, let us know!
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