As survivors of the 2008-2009 market crash, we’re all looking around with guarded optimism, hoping to turn 2010 into the year we all bounced back. Time to survey the remnants of “business as usual” and figure out what’s left, what matters, and what is effective. Here are a few key trends we’re seeing in event marketing.

From “a moment” to “momentum”

Companies are not viewing their event just as a major moment in time, but rather as a key touchpoint of an ongoing relationship that includes web communities, training, relationship marketing and many other sales and marketing initiatives. Many event websites have evolved from online brochure and registration to ongoing communities, with extensions to Linked-In, Facebook, blogs and more. In this context, the live event needs to do what only live events can do: immerse the attendees in multi-sensory experiences, draw emotion and inspiration from the attendee interaction, foster meaningful relationships among attendees, partners, though leaders and company executives.

This more integrated approach means that we have to measure things differently, moving from event metrics toward business metrics. Rather than just measuring our success at a point in time, onsite, we need to start looking at the effectiveness of the live event at generating new leads, shortening the sales cycle, and increasing the size of the sale. That means significant collaboration with the company’s CRM and sales administration systems – not an easy feat in many companies.

One key benefit of this broader integration is that the ongoing community becomes a year-round platform for marketing the event itself.

From “content” to “context”

While many event surveys suggest that the primary reason people come to conferences is for the content, the fact is that most of that content is available to them through other means, and usually cheaper. The real value for attendees is being exposed to that content in the context of the conference environment – surrounded by peers and thought leaders, as a catalyst for more in-depth discussion, in close proximity to key industry partners.

This shift does not mean that the content itself isn’t important; if you don’t have something important to say, nobody will stick around to hear it. However, we do need to focus more on how and where to have that content presented, by whom, with what means of interaction, and how it’s integrated with sponsors. We have to push ourselves to deliver that content in a manner that capitalizes on the context, providing more meaning and impact to the content than it might have as a video or blog. And we have to recognize the attendees as the key component of that context, involving them instead of just talking at them. Which brings us to the next trend.

From “presenter” to “attendee”

Based on the growth of micro-targeting and mass customization, consumers are used to receiving very specific, very relevant content. We all expect to dictate content, format and delivery channel – building personalized news feeds and iTunes mixes, discarding the network programming schedule in favor of our DVR or Hulu, and custom configuring a new car online. There is more content out there than ever and we want to control how we experience it. And so do attendees at our events.

The impact is seen in conferences like RSA Conference, where the committee of community members (working through the conference management) issues the call for papers and decides on the educational agenda. They decide the issues and topics that matter most to them, and they take responsibility for delivering that to their peers. Both VMworld and IDF have set up whiteboard structures in the common areas, which have fostered impromptu special interest sessions, led by the attendees. Oracle OpenWorld has even branded this concept as the “Unconference,” but clearly this approach is more and more becoming a first-tier strategy of “the conference.” Throughout our industry, “attendees” are now a year-round community that wants to have a say in what gets presented – and even doing the presenting themselves.

From “live OR virtual” to “live AND virtual”

There has been a lot of discussion, especially in the last year, about whether to do an event “live” (meaning face-to-face) or “virtual” through some variety of online platform. In the economic downturn, we have seen virtual events replace many formerly live events, the success of which depends on how you measure it. Cisco and others have demonstrated some successes in this area, but many companies’ events make us wish we’d never heard of Second Life. Virtual events can save a lot of money and they are often better than no event at all, but most people strongly prefer an in-person experience. I think when we look back and assess the relative effectiveness of virtual events, there will be a swing back toward the benefits of personal contact.

In reality, this live/virtual dichotomy is dated. Every live event already has a virtual layer, even if you don’t provide it. Just check out the digital conversation generated by bloggers and attendees tweeting live from the general session or the show floor. This conversation helps generate that vital event context we discussed earlier; it’s augmenting the content with live commentary and debate, facilitating networking, making key business connections and generating leads. And that conversation among attendees helps create the virtual experience for those not on-site. It’s not just creating the virtual experience through some client-controlled platform – it’s the amalgamation of webcast, chat, blogs, social media and more. The challenge for us is to facilitate and enable that digital layer, without expecting to control every aspect of it.

What does it all mean?

Taken as a group, these four trends confirm the end of business as usual. The convergence of economic stress, technological capability, social networking and marketing-aware consumers demands that we put the attendee experience at the top of our priority list. We have to engage with them, listen to them, and find ways to remain relevant with them year-round. We have to think about the digital conversation of every event. And most of all, we have to create compelling events that inspire them and demonstrate the value of what we do.

So, we ask the community…

Are you seeing these trends in your organization?
Are your budgets being approved?
Have you added new events to your calendar?