Every year, over 200 million participants attend corporate events, meetings, galas and other such gatherings in America. This is according to a 2009 report by PwC titled, "Economic Significance of Meetings to the US Economy." The report further says that, out of the 1.8 million gatherings held in America each year, 1.3 million are corporate events, with event organizers spending an average of $1,230 per attendee. With corporate events becoming more popular, we’ve seen a substantial amount of creativity and innovation come through our corporate event venue in Orange County. 

Mixed Reality 

Thanks to technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), you can now attend an event without being physically present at the event venue! Moreover, as these technologies become increasingly affordable and more efficient, virtual meetings will become more immersive, and may even include human senses. Notable products in this space include Microsoft Hololens, and Google's Daydream VR. Live event broadcasts are also becoming increasingly common due to the introduction of social media broadcasting platforms such as Facebook Live and Instagram Live. These platforms allow users to shoot and upload 4K videos in real time, making them popular among certain demographics.

Engagement and Emotional Connection

Corporate event organizers are increasingly turning to emotional intelligence and other soft skills to cater to the emotional/psychological needs of corporate event participants. By catering to those needs, you would be able to create memorable and authentic experiences, thereby making it easier for attendees to build an emotional connection with your event/brand. One of the strategies that you can use to achieve this goal is the use of local aspects such as culture, locations and cuisines to evoke an emotional connection to an event/brand. Moreover, you can also provide experience areas, sensory lounges, and recreational rooms at the venue of your event for this purpose.

Data-based Decision Making

Ed Poland, Co-Founder and COO, Hire Space, believes that data will determine the effectiveness of events in 2017. Poland’s prediction is based on the fact that event technologies such as cameras, sensors, and apps collect and store huge amounts of useful data that you can use to improve various aspects of your corporate event. For starters, you can use this data to calculate the ROI of each event more accurately, as well as understand the needs of your audience. The latter is particularly important because it would enable you to segment your audience accordingly, and more importantly, create personalized experiences for each segment. Secondly, you can use real time data analysis to boost certain aspects of event organization including logistics and event management. For instance, you can use this data to measure anything from ticket demand to the crowd density in a banquet hall. 
To be termed a success, a corporate event has to be a fulfilling event for everyone involved. To achieve this goal, you have to adopt the latest trends in corporate events. These trends include making data-based decision making, leveraging mixed reality and engaging attendees at an emotional level.