1 7
1 7
On March 12, 2020, as I was sitting in the Mandalay Bay ballroom listening to Michael Cerbelli’s The Hot List™, I could hear laptops dinging with cancellations. First our events world stopped, and then it changed. While stopped, I had the opportunity to look at my business toolbox to see what I could do “in the meantime.” This was our time to “step back to step forward”—who knew we would all be chatting on a new platform called Clubhouse and working in each other’s companies to make sure we were ALL still in business? To everyone: Know that your creativity plus your commitment to connection and community inspired the world.
Every generation brings a core skill that builds on the one prior. I started my business before the internet, cell phones, and social media; my business was and still is built on referrals and relationships. Today’s new event generation is more digitally focused, leading the way with CRMs, chat bots, and virtual. My goal as we step into 2022 is to create collaborative communities connecting both generations. Let’s build a bridge and support each other!
F
asten your seatbelts, wedding peeps—the wedding boom is here to stay for at least the next two to three years. Here at JWE we are predicting that couples will book earlier than ever before due to the backlog of weddings that were unable to happen during the pandemic. As a wedding vendor you will get booked and you will be able to demand higher prices. Couples will increase budgets and will gladly pay more for their vendors. Weddings, including those with large budgets, are on the rise and couples are eager to book and eager to plan. Weddings with large guest counts will slowly start to trickle back in, but that traditional sweet spot of 100-150 guests is here to stay. Couples more than ever will want to create exceptional experiences for their guests. After nearly two years of no parties, no dancing, and little interaction couples are excited to get back to some form of normalcy.
With weddings on the rise, trends for 2022 and beyond are starting to take shape as well. Say hello to earthy and mellow tones along with specific movie themes that are emerging like, Bridgerton! Romantic and soft and subtle blues will soon be upon us.
While we would all like to put COVID completely behind us, I believe we did learn some valuable lessons that can carry us through to events in 2022 and beyond.
I’ve always encouraged my clients to weave their own personalities into their event, making it truly unique to the couple. Now with many events having smaller guest counts, it is even more important to bring those personal touches to the event, whether through décor, the menu, entertainment or even favors that may have been ignored previously. With smaller celebrations, there is more opportunity to spend quality time with the guests and every touch point should leave the guest knowing they were part of a truly special event. I also encourage my clients to consider offering sanitation stations so that we can all continue to participate in good hygiene that should be a part of everyone’s daily routine. There are ways to offer these with personalization and the presentation of the products, which further elevates the event and allows guests to feel safe. When large events do return in full force, my goal is to make sure my clients don’t overlook those unique, personal touches.
2022 will show us that there is room for growth as an industry, especially when we embrace change and accept a challenge of how the industry can change in a matter of a few days. We now have the courage and ability to think even more outside the box. We’ll lead with our passion for weddings and events and with our purpose to serve clients and each other by creating designs and tackling logistics unseen before.
We’ll learn to utilize all the tech and apps available to deliver even more extraordinary, successful, and even safer events because that is who we are as event professionals. Sure, we are all a little more bruised than in seasons past, but grateful that we are still standing. We have earned the opportunity to celebrate our industry, local communities, and ourselves as CEOs, team members, and anyone who went above and beyond with us.
Bring on the 2022 wedding boom. We are ready!
T
he shift from one-way communication with corporate customers via procurement to a more relational approach with supplier diversity managers is one of the most exciting trends we are currently seeing. Corporations are beginning to reach out to certified women or diverse-owned businesses, like LEO Events, for mentorship in developing capabilities statements, virtual pitches, and registration tutorials for preferred vendor systems. This change is refreshing and progressive, and we applaud companies like Waste Management, AT&T, ServiceNow, Ricoh, and many others for hosting open-door sessions in which supplier diversity managers are accessible, human, and receptive to relationship-building. We can’t wait to see more Fortune 500 companies follow their lead in 2022.
Live events are back—the “new live,” that is. After the long months of COVID-19 restrictions, people are keen to meet face-to-face again. The return of real live events, trade fairs, and congresses is something we all have been eagerly awaiting.
The fact that our clients are also increasingly requesting large events again reflects exactly this deep need for strong community experiences. The good news: Live events are back. But they sure have a different character than before the pandemic. This is what we call the “new live.”
Digitalization, sustainability, and agility will play a major role in the new live. Although the core of live events will remain the same—creating unforgettable brand experiences—the pandemic has had an impact on the process. Many things have changed. Details will have to be readjusted including the “Zoom” mindset, reliable COVID-safe routines, agile work environments, and persuasive staff acquisition.
A
t the end of the day, we are a group of creatives and creatives need to create, so when our industry and the world paused…we ran!
We ran toward opportunity. And, while we never asked for this, the downturn afforded us the opportunity to create, reinvent, and reengage our team into something that became two new companies with entirely new products. I am speaking on behalf of the entire ATOMIC family and our two new companies when I say: We were energized, smiling, and creating in a time when there was absolutely no reason to be happy, joking and creating. We all had so many difficult decisions and emotions, both personally and professionally, to process. These were some of the toughest decisions we ever had to make, yet it was awesome and somewhat therapeutic to focus on creating and designing.
I’m beyond proud of our entire ATOMIC family, their commitment, their energy, and their accomplishments during a time when the entire live event industry was on lockdown. Our entire company has restructured, retooled, reinvented, and refocused on the future. We’re stronger and more poised than ever.
If the past four months have been any indication of what is to come in 2022, then the fog has lifted and the future is bright! Event professionals are diligent, resourceful, and resilient.
