The Biggest Event Trend For 2024
Happy New Year!
As event professionals it is always challenging to find time to rest and spend time with family and friends but I truly hope you were able to find some rest and reprieve this holiday season.
As we lean into a promising and exciting 2024 I thought it would be appropriate to kick off the new year with our biggest trend/prediction in Pro AV this year.
Before we look forward I want to take you back in time to see how we have found ourselves here. We are all too familiar and probably tired of talking about 2020 but some incredible things happened during that time frame.
As event professionals we evolved. We were forced to move out of our comfort zones and really pursue a new level or event execution. For some of us that was an amazing experience and for others it felt like we were constantly fighting an uphill battle. So much creativity and growth happened on all fronts of our industry.
In the end, we survived and that’s all that really mattered to most of us.
Then we catapulted into 2021 and 2022 where we were forced to go into survival mode again but this time it was different. The new event landscape had been laid.
A majority of the tenured professionals leaving the industry a new set of fresh and enthusiastic work force entered the market.
Client’s were so thrilled to have people back in the room and hosting in person events that everyone threw their budget out the window and basically said “whatever it takes, let's make it happen.” In some cases we experienced last minute requests that seemed out of this world to ask for but we obliged and pushed forward.
There was an enormous amount of forgiveness from clients when mistakes, miscues, or errors happened - because when you looked out in the room it was packed with an energetic audience.
It didn’t matter if the person running graphics hadn't been on a show site before, there was a junior audio engineer trying to manage a large general session PA for the first time, or even a new stage manager missing cues or sending out the wrong presenter. These seemingly large issues were brushed under the rug for the sake of having a show.
As we entered 2023 I think we can all agree that we found some stability in what we would call a “normal” year. Anticipation for live events had normalized and the drive to get people in the room wasn’t as imperative. Requests seemed to flow in at a normal rate and not just drop out of the sky. Budgets started to tighten up and expectations started to trend upwards.
That leads us to today. January 4th, 2024 - where we find ourselves in transition yet again.
A transition that is going to stretch many once again.
I think this year will be the year that professionalism is back on the menu.
Now before you drag me in the street and yell at me about this, hear me out.
I don’t think professionalism has ever left the industry.
I do believe that a lot of event professionals got caught in the busyness and just wanted to send out a product no matter what it looked like to meet the demand.
Now more than ever moving back to the basics is going to be crucial to host and execute successful events.
If you’re looking for a production partner that cares beyond the budget, we would be honored to have the opportunity to partner with you in 2024 and beyond.