Plan for success

How marketers can get more value from their 2027 event programme

As marketers review 2026 and begin planning for 2027 they’re probably thinking ‘How do we get more value from the activities we're already investing in?’

For many organisations, events are one of the largest investments in their marketing budget. Exhibition stands, sponsorships, travel, accommodation, speaking opportunities, customer hospitality, and staff time quickly add up. Yet after the event ends, much of that investment disappears with it.

The meetings happen. The conversations happen. The expertise is shared. Relationships are strengthened. And then everyone goes home.

Organisations achieving greater ROI from their event programmes are taking a different approach. They’re treating events not just as opportunities to meet people, but as opportunities to create content that continues building relationships long after the event ends.

This is why I advocate for the content engine approach, where you deliberately plan to capture long-term content during short-term events.

Your next event is probably your biggest untapped content opportunity.

Hosting an event?

If you’re hosting a conference or trade show, think about the expertise gathered in one place during the event:

·       Your leadership team

·       Industry experts

·       Customers

·       Partners

·       Technical specialists

·       Subject matter experts

For a few days, they're all together and that combination is incredibly difficult and expensive to recreate. Yet many organisations leave events with little more than a few photographs and a short blurb for their LinkedIn page. What the comms and marketing team could be doing is capturing:

·       Thought leadership videos from executives

·       Customer success interviews

·       Industry trend discussions

·       Speaker insights

·       Behind-the-scenes content

·       Recruitment content

·       Sales enablement content

Suddenly, a three-day event can fuel months of marketing activity.

Sponsoring an event?

If you’re sponsoring or exhibiting at an event or trade show, you’ve got one chance to capture your team in action. If you plan to capture it, you could come away with:

·       Customer feedback

·       Product demonstrations

·       Delegates interacting with your team

·       Sector leaders’ insights and observations

Basically a raft of sales and marketing material you can share with customers (and prospective customers) who weren’t able to attend.

Better ROI doesn't always require a bigger budget

So as you think ahead to 2027, consider what tangible assets you collected at this years events and think what you could do differently next year. In these tight economic times many of us are under pressure to deliver more with the same (or smaller) budget.

The good news is that increasing ROI doesn't necessarily mean adding more events. Sometimes it means extracting more value from the events you're already attending.

If you're already investing thousands to bring your people and customers together, capturing content can help extend the impact of that investment across LinkedIn, your website, email marketing, sales conversations and future campaigns.

I’m a fan of video because it’s memorable and gets cut-through, but in reality the opportunities are endless. You just have to plan to capture them.

I will do it. Just not today.

I will do it. Just not today.

That’s what a lot of professionals say about using video to reach their audiences. We know video is one of the most engaging ways to share a brand or message, but most people are still reluctant to get in front of a camera in their professional life.

Perhaps they think they need to be super polished.

But the good news is, they don’t.

LinkedIn's research project The Art & Science of Video Storytelling found that human-centred stories and authentic presenters perform better than overly polished corporate content. In other words, you don’t need an autocue or a formal studio set up to make your videos work.

With LinkedIn videos being shared far more often than standard posts, and 4 out of 5 LinkedIn members able to influence business decisions within their organisations, I think the “I will do it. Just not today.” excuses are weakening.

That’s why, whenever I see static photos of trade stands at conferences or expos, I see missed opportunities for creating authentic stories. A photo of a beautifully set up (but empty) trade stand does nothing to convince customers you offer a superior product or end-to-end customer service.

It tells me you know how to set a table. It doesn’t tell me what’s on the menu.

Last weekend I attended the Wellington Home & Garden Show and captured comments from exhibitors and their potential customers. I got genuine comments about why a product or service was valued, how it was going to help people, and why they were interested in it. From smoke alarms to pre-purchase property inspections. From kitchen designs to multi-generational living options. The potential customers were happy and their comments were gold.

So get videoing. Capture yourself, your people, and your customers – and let us get to know you.