91% of organisers plan new meeting formats - new ExpoPlatform study

More than nine in ten event organisers are planning to introduce new meeting formats in the next twelve months, according to a new study.

Figures from the Meetings Engine, a new ebook by event technology provider ExpoPlatform, reveal 91% of organisers are preparing to move beyond open networking.

It comes as 88% believe pre-scheduled, purpose-built meetings would improve exhibitor experience and lead generation, while 94% say the same about buyer and visitor experience.

A further 82% see these formats as a route to new revenue through sponsorship and paid participation.

Tanya Pinchuk, CEO and co-founder of ExpoPlatform, said: “The way we run meetings at exhibitions has to change.

“Every event organiser I've spoken to in the last twelve months has said some version of this. Sometimes it's a comment about exhibitor churn.

“Sometimes it's frustration that the data from last year's show didn't tell them what they needed to know.

“What they're describing is a category problem, not an individual one. The exhibition industry

built its meeting practices in an era when the tools to design them didn't exist.

“But the tools exist now. A recent survey we ran confirms what most of us already feel: 91% of organisers are planning to introduce new meeting formats in the next twelve months.

“That's not a trend. That's a category-wide repositioning and it's happening now.”

Speed Networking leads the formats organisers plan to add at 79%, followed by Round Tables at 65% and Concierge Meetings at 62%.

Exhibitor Events (50%) and Hosted Buyer Programmes (35%) complete the list of priorities identified in the survey.

The ebook argues that meetings should be designed into events rather than left to chance, giving organisers control over who meets whom, how and for what purpose.

It sets out seven meeting formats alongside a framework for choosing the right combination for each audience, exhibitor mix and commercial model.

What the ebook covers:

• Seven meeting formats: Speed Networking, Concierge Meetings, Round Tables, Exhibitor Events, Hosted Buyer Programmes, Board Meetings and Self-Requested Meetings - with the problem each solves and where it works best.
• A format-choice framework: Three questions that match formats to an event's highest-value audience, exhibitor proposition and revenue priorities.
• New revenue models: How unbundled sponsorship and post-event data products such as lead enhancement turn the meetings programme into a revenue line.
• Human-in-the-loop AI: Where AI earns its place in matchmaking and scheduling - and where senior audiences and edge cases still need human judgement.

It comes as exhibitors face growing pressure to prove return on spend, with a CEIR study cited in the ebook finding 41% of marketing budgets go toward trade shows.

The Meetings Engine draws on a survey of event organisers alongside insights from industry leaders including Simon Foster, Paul Miller, Miguel Neves, Sharon Roessen, Nick Dugdale-Moore, Nick Borelli and Hannah Redfern.

Download your free copy of the Meetings Engine here for the full findings.