2024: What's In?

The landscape of events is rapidly evolving. In 2024 we are seeing a significant shift from previous years. These changes aren't just trends; they set new standards for memorable and meaningful events.

We reached out to our Creative Directors and asked them what they’re seeing. Here are some of their responses:

INCLUSIVE EVENT DESIGN

Senior Creative Director, Sam Port:

"Taking into consideration the diversity of our event attendees is certainly not a new concept. However, we now have more technological tools, resources, and awareness to gain deeper insight and understanding about who’s attending, and what they might need to fully participate and meaningfully engage. We must be proactive in the planning and development process to gather this information - and act on it.

For example, can we create spaces for attendees who may get overstimulated? Are there opportunities for attendees to note their pronouns? Does the event branding adhere to accessibility requirements for visual design? Of course, this is only a small fraction of the types of questions to ask ourselves as we develop our most engaging, authentic, and impactful events in 2024. Asking these questions can give all attendees a chance to participate fully and engage meaningfully."

ECO-FRIENDLY PRACTICES

Senior Creative Director, Jeremy Dobrish:

“I’m a vegetarian with solar panels on my roof and an electric car in my driveway, so I love it that events are becoming more and more sustainable. I see menus and food waste being re-evaluated for their climate impact. I also appreciate digital solutions which reduce event waste and make green practices more manageable. Everything from the way sets are designed and re-used, to the LED lighting we use, to the hotels we select are in play. I think as more and more metrics become available about what hosting a sustainable event really means, eco-friendly practices will come more and more into play."

AI-driven personalization

Senior Creative Director, Henry Evans:

"We have just started tapping into the opportunities that comes with AI and more specifically NLP (Natural Language Processing) to transform corporate events into more personalized and interactive experiences. For our holiday party we created an activation that created fictional news clippings, giving every attendee a unique character that fit on theme with our 1920s speakeasy theme.

But using AI isn't only about fun and games. We envision AI evolving event apps into intuitive assistants, offering real-time support and simplifying interactions. These assistants would be able to handle queries, facilitate event navigation, and organize personalized networking seamlessly. It's possible that eventually it could even analyze event content for accurate followup answers and customized session summaries. We're excited about the idea of replacing complex event apps with simple chat based assistants."

Immersive AR/VR Experiences

Associate Creative Director, Grace McCarney:

"A few years ago, I did a walk through VR (Virtual Reality) experience based on Star WarsTM, and there was a moment when we were “scaling” the edge of a building, with “hot lava” below us. I told myself, ‘you can take a step, you know it’s not there, you’ll be fine’ but I was paralyzed. My brain really believed I was somewhere else. It was exhilarating. It made my heart race and I was able to experience something unique. VR experiences can transport you to a world you have never seen. It can be real, it can be fiction. It can be anything.

AR (Augmented Reality) can bring a new world to you and put it in your environment. So, where does it fit in the event world? We can create interactive product demos that allow attendees to interact with a 3D model of a product, VR simulations to train in real-life scenarios, augmented networking spaces, AR/VR brand experiences, and AR treasure hunts. Having experiences like this can increase the number of attendees, as well as create an additional space to boost messaging. The technology allows us to manipulate our environment in endless ways."

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING

Founding Partner & Chief Creative, Chuck Santoro:

"When we were doing only virtual events we saw presenters in their homes, and sometimes real life entered the screen. A dog, a child…it was real and authentic. We got to see a glimpse of that person’s life, and we connected with them even more. Now, in a live setting, we need to try and keep that personal connection. I’m not saying bring your dog onstage, but think of ways to let the audience in more than you did before. Because people remember stories. It’s true in life, and no different in events. We encourage our speakers to tell the audience a story that ties back to their message."

At Proscenium, we're at the forefront of transforming event experiences. By integrating AI-driven personalization, inclusive design, sustainability, authentic speaking, and immersive AR/VR technologies, we're not just following trends – we're setting them. Our approach isn't about ticking boxes; it's about creating deeply impactful and resonant experiences.

We would love to talk with you about your event and how we can help your brand perform. You can reach out to us via our contact form, or book a time for our team to take you through Proscenium's capabilities.