Here’s a couple of chewy questions for you... does human experience matter in our brave new technological world? And how will the world of events look and feel a decade from now? These are the issues that we’ve been responding to here at rapiergroup as we fine-tune our agency for the future.
Of course advanced tech will have a major role to play in our ever more interactive future. No prizes for guessing that. Yet our primary focus should be on how it can complement and enhance the human experience - not change or replace it - as technology slowly yet remorselessly augments the everyday.
We inhabit a planet defined by escalating change: environmental, cultural, technological and societal, all at once. Yet, to us, there will always be one constant: no matter the course of events - and no matter the shape of innovation - people are, and will always be, paramount.
Transformation via sustainability
As we transform after the pandemic, it’s time to look ahead. It’s time to create authentic and innovative experiences that maximise the senses, enhance engagement and enabling networking to create new and lasting memories.
So does the large global event have a long term future? Yes. Absolutely. Just as long as it’s sustainable to and from the core. For years, we’ve been promoting sustainability in live events and exhibitions. Now it is time for meaningful action – to make it just as important as our choice of event content, displays and venues.
To survive, grow and evolve, we must make radical improvements at every event touchpoint. We believe this can be enabled through the inspirational quality of brilliant design. Clever design has the power to demonstrate authentic leadership and change mindsets. And the potential for positive and permanent change is enormous.
In person. But less personal?
Will tech make in-person events less personal? Or enable a new generation of smoother, more versatile, more authentic events? Over the next decade, as the tech in our everyday lives permeates the events sector, our focus should be on enhancing visitor and guest experience.
At events, AI-enabled chatbots, voice recognition, gesture recognition and Augmented Reality will improve information sharing and access to support, and streamline logistical tasks.
We also expect to see greater use of innovations already at work in environments such as airports, as technology like facial recognition becomes more affordable and venues invest in refurbishment.
Environments, transformed
We believe that the future of event space is immersive. Tomorrow’s live environments will fuse physical and virtual technology to create places where stories can be told, connections made and content created.
In our vision of the near future, architecture and content blend seamlessly, creating more atmospheric environments, and all far more sustainably than the increasingly outmoded and inflexible structures of today. Within just a few years, large-scale immersive environments could be created using emerging tech such as LED fabric.
Holograms are here and now, but current tech has its limitations. So we’re thinking beyond the virtual presenters of today, to content, product and even full environments in holographic form – a shared experience rather the solitary one offered by AR and headsets. This, we believe, is one to watch.
Metaverse... mega opportunity?
How will the Metaverse shape our future? Right now, there are 400 million active Metaverse users globally, with predictions that one in every four people will experience it for at least an hour a day by 2026. To bring the vision to life, we know that the Metaverse will be co-created in collaboration with a wide world of brands – so there’s an opportunity there for you, us and your brand to work together.
Global. Regional. Local. Personal.
How should we respond to non-stop change at societal level – everywhere from demographics to attitudes? To connect with future audiences in emerging locations, events will need to be more agile, adapting and evolving to enable fresh levels of relevance, with trust built through authenticity.
By applying the power of big data, we can identify key attendees and groups via audience segmentation. Then, by creating personas and understanding the motivations and experience of each, we can enhance authenticity, inclusion and respect. We can also use microtargeting to deliver smaller and more personal live event experiences that meet very specific interests.
The future. Now.
Possibility begins right now. At rapiergroup, we are leading the change – with a mission to reimagine and reinvent corporate events over the coming decade.
We’re already planning for a near future in which technology, social change, big data and sustainability all have significant impact. And we’re harnessing the shifts that will enable you to respond - with ideas, innovations and opportunities you can put into immediate effect.
Talk to us about how we can connect your brands and audiences with an experiential future rich in potential.
Access our thinking
How could events look and feel a decade from now?
Download your free guide
