Surely you sometimes felt that most of the events you attend look like one another. And maybe even that you are just one person in a crowd of people attending the event.

How can you make your event stand out? How can you make attendees at your reception, conference, or team building event feel that you are speaking to them directly and that every single person present is important to you and make being present important to them? Remember, EVERYONE likes to feel special and his or her presence appreciated. And the ultimate impression of the event largely comes from how you made your attendees feel.

Personalization of events could solve this issue as one of the main trends in event planning not only for 2018 but already a few of years back. And in the future it is going to become standard. What is event personalization? It means tailoring the event to the participants, their professions, interests, and desires to the greatest extent possible; implementing direct communication whenever possible, for example with a personalized welcome letter in the hotel room or personalized gifts; designing activities and branding the event not only in line with the target audience but also TOGETHER with the participants.

Event customization also means including the participants in the event design process itself. Using a survey to come up with the activity options or what happens next (using on-site event apps). For these reasons, we can expect more and more interactive displays at events, interactive floor or wall LED displays, Tweet walls, crowd-responsive lighting, and the like.

The objective is to create as personalized and customized experience as possible by engaging and involving the participants in the planning process and the event course itself, as well as placing the focus on the individuality of each person. This way the participants will feel that they truly were part of the event and influenced its success. The success of the event now becomes also a personal achievement of each attendee. And that is exactly what every event strives to accomplish, right?

Miona Milic,

Editor-in-Chief