Event Professionals NOW Virtual Experience Day 1 Recap: Reinventing Trade Shows & Field Events

Sep 30

With trade shows and field events back in full force, in-person gatherings are no longer about endless rows of booths and free swag; measurable ROI is key more than ever. According to Freeman’s 2024 Event Outlook, 85% of B2B marketers say in-person events deliver the highest ROI, making it critical that every touchpoint is intentional.

The Event Professionals NOW virtual experience, hosted earlier this year, focused on bringing industry thought leaders together to share tips on managing chaos to clarity, the vital importance of creating emotional connections, best practices for using AI for events, mastering trade show follow-up, and what the future of trade show activations looks like, but most importantly, gathered the #eventpro community for much needed community conversations.

1) From Chaos to Clarity: Mastering Multi-Event Excellence

Speaker: Sarah Straw, Deel
Key takeaways: Turn complexity into consistency.

Build an “event-in-a-box”: repeatable playbooks/templates to scale across regions.
Use AI to multiply output (briefs, emails, content spinoffs) while keeping personalization.
Keep it audience-first: use data to tailor across virtual, hybrid, and live.
Repurpose fast clips, recaps, decks, to extend value beyond the show.

For senior leaders, this isn’t just about efficiency; repurposing extends the lifespan of event spend, turning one program into months of content and measurable ROI.

👉 Watch the full session

2) Creating Emotional Connections Through Experiential Marketing in B2B

Speaker: Valerie Zargarpur
Key takeaways: Emotion wins, even in technical markets.

Borrow from B2C: immersive dinners, gamified demos, bold visuals.
Shift from ABM → PBM (Person-Based Marketing): personalize the experience.
Scrappy still works: DIY kits and micro-events scale impact.
Design moments that stick; let product value surface through play.

👉 Watch the full session

3) Making AI Your Event Co-Pilot

Speakers: Traci Myers, Pulumi & Lisa Gregory, GES
Key takeaways: Treat AI like a teammate, not a shortcut.

Automate the grind: content repurposing, vendor comparisons, forecasting.
Balance human + machine: strategy and tone stay with you; AI speeds delivery.
Prompt smarter: give context, constraints, and goals—trust but verify.
Think beyond copy: design, video, swag, and internal pacing plans.

As Lisa emphasized, AI isn’t a replacement; it’s an accelerator. Strategy and tone stay human-led, while AI helps scale delivery at speed.

👉 Watch the full session

4) Sales or No Sales? Mastering Trade Show Follow-Up Strategies

Speakers: Adriana Gallivan, FusionAuth & Oscar Burns, Varonis
Key takeaways: Marketing enables, sales convert, especially post-show.

Pre-event intel: align account lists, segment by region, craft hooks.
Use AI + light automation for prep; sales owns the relationship.
MQLs → sales immediately; raw scans → nurture programs.
Compliance matters: export leads quickly; use scraping for context, not blasts.
Make CRM simple (reduced clicks, ops support) and incentivize follow-up.

👉 Watch the full session

5) Trendsetters Panel: The Future of Trade Show Activations

Speakers: Bjarne Blixt, Fern; Drew Pulliam, Pinnacle Branding/Summit 3PL; Jude Wellington, ITMP
Moderator: Lisa Gregory
Key takeaways: Experience-first floors, curated moments, and smarter spend.

Interactive environments replace static rows: LED walls, “events within the event.”
Quality > quantity in swag: regional sourcing saves costs and shipping.
Content pods extend reach; co-branded partnerships stretch budget.
Floor strategy counts: anchor near activations/bars; design flow for repeat visits.
Watch material handling costs (by weight) and share calendars early.

👉 Watch the full session

Looking Ahead

The trade show playbook is being rewritten in real-time now. Attendees left with new frameworks to bring order to complexity, creative ideas for emotional connection, and sharper reminders that execution and follow-up matter just as much as the show floor.

The common thread across every session? Events succeed when they’re human-centered, tech-enabled, and strategically aligned with business goals. Whether you’re building an “event-in-a-box,” piloting AI workflows, or experimenting with immersive activations, the call is clear: combine creativity with consistency to maximize impact.

For senior planners, the question is: how will you balance creativity with consistency to ensure your programs scale, without losing their spark?

Huge thanks to our speakers, panelists, and this incredible community for shaping the conversation. Look forward to Day 2 and 3 deep dives into user conference, VIP experiences, experiential marketing, and our favorite, ROI growth