What Is Event Management?

Event management is the end-to-end process of organizing and running large gatherings of people, either online though webinars and other virtual events, or in face-to-face events such as trade shows, conferences, concerts, and weddings. Event management tasks include everything from catering to programming to event marketing to traffic management and securing an appropriate space.

As the digital era has blossomed, event management has become an increasingly technology- and data-driven field, spawning event management analytics as another use for big data. Planners and marketers can conduct event data collection, for instance, on crowd traffic patterns, session attendance, food and beverage consumption, and so forth. The proliferation of technologies such as QR code scanning for event check-ins–and RFID for on-site transactions and location tracking–have proven to be rich sources of event0management data. By analyzing data sources such as these, event operators and their stakeholders can continuously refine and optimize their planning and management.

Data-driven event management is a key prong in an overall experiential marketing strategy. Technologies such as RFID-embedded conference badges or wristbands, for example, enable event planners and marketers to create and deliver more personalized experiences for each attendee. In this scenario, planners can leverage event management analytics to deliver customized information or rewards to an attendee’s smartphone based on traits such as their location, demographic data, and time of day. This type of personalized experience sets events and their brands apart from generic, one-size-fits-all offerings.