Ideas + Inspo

23 Experiential Stats for Your 2023 Events

We don’t want to jinx it, but… Could 2023 be the first year of maskless, full-capacity events without vaccine checks since 2019? Since the onslaught of the (unprecedented!) COVID-19 pandemic and through its ups and downs, the experiential industry has responded with admirable creativity and resiliency, adapting to fickle realities and pivoting as needed in often surprising ways.

While it’s difficult to predict exactly how events and experiences will evolve this year — and the future of virtual events hangs in the balance — our industry is an important part of the global economy and a key driver of economic growth. To prepare for your 2023 events, we’ve identified 23 bold numbers—proof points you can use now to plan, advocate for and demonstrate the tangible power of XP. All of these numbers are from surveys conducted from 2020 to 2022—the modern pandemic era…

IRL events are back, baby

1. More than 3 million global professional events will take place in 2023. (Taggbox, 2022)
2. 75% of B2B firms surveyed say that experiential marketing is the most successful tactic among other marketing strategies. (AgencyEA, 2022)
3. Most marketers (63%) have plans to host in-person events within the next 12 to 24 months. (Kaltura, 2022)
4. When event pros were asked how they want to host their business events in 2023, 35% answered in-person, 34% said hybrid and 29% said virtual. (vFairs, 2022)
5. A majority of B2B and B2C respondents cited eco-friendliness/LEED certification, accessibility, and inclusivity as their most important venue criteria for the year ahead. (AgencyEA, 2022)
6. Marketers are still preparing for unexpected pandemic roadblocks — 93% of survey respondents admitted they either have or are working on a plan to pivot from an in-person to a virtual event, if necessary. (Kaltura, 2022)

Will virtual events stick around?

7. When asked why they’d consider hosting virtual events in 2023, 77.2% of survey respondents chose ease of attendance and 64.9% said global reach. (vFairs, 2022)
8. 77.2% of those surveyed prefer virtual events because of their ease of attending. (vFairs, 2022)
9. 60% of experiential marketers say that effectively reaching non-physical attendees is crucial to an event’s success. (AgencyEA, 2022)
10. When asked why they would consider attending a virtual event, 62% of the respondents chose educational/informative purposes and 26% chose networking. (vFairs, 2022)
11. 52% of B2B respondents and 43% of B2C respondents plan on charging attendees a fee to access events virtually. (AgencyEA, 2022)

Event content and technology need to be solid

12. More than 80% of event planners surveyed consider an event’s content highly crucial in making the live event experience memorable. (Taggbox, 2022)
13. 64% of survey participants agree that the quality of speakers and relevance of content encourages them to sign up for events. (Vimeo, 2021)
14. More than 95% of event planners or marketers believe that social media and event marketing integration help their events massively. (Taggbox, 2022)
15. The top three initiatives event marketers plan to incorporate into 2023 programming are DEI, charitable activations and sustainability practices. (AgencyEA, 2022)
16. The top technologies marketers plan to utilize for their 2023 events are AI chatbots, gamification, event apps and live streaming. (AgencyEA, 2022)
17. 86% of event marketers believe that technology has a major positive impact on their event’s success. (Taggbox, 2022)

XP pros want access to data, data and more data

18. 54% of marketers named richer audience insights as a valuable reason to go hybrid for flagship B2B events. (Forrester, 2022)
19. 89% of B2B marketers said that capturing and leveraging event data has made a positive impact on their marketing strategy, with their top three metrics being the number of leads generated, satisfied decision makers, and new/increased sponsorships. (AgencyEA, 2022)
20. 36% of marketers selected “increased ROI” as the top benefit to hosting events with more digital components. (Forrester, 2022)
21. 74% of event professionals surveyed agreed that data drives their decision-making process. (Endless Events, 2021)
22. Virtual events lead the pack when it comes to data gathering. 62% of event organizers report that they will maintain virtual audience support in 2023. (Event Manager, 2022)

Proof that events = engagement

23. 91% of consumers reported that they would be more inclined to purchase a brand’s product or service after participating in a brand activation or experience, and 40% felt they became more loyal to the brand. (EventTrack, 2021)

Use these stats to pave your XP path this year — and to help you craft your XP strategies throughout 2023.

Join us in XP Land. A community for experiential creatives and experience-makers, brand leaders and IP-owners, space stewards and venue visionaries — all of those in the business of epic gatherings and live, immersive storytelling.