From Paulette Wolf Events, a "nontraditional" gala for the Nature Conservancy. Read more about PWE's "nontraditional" approach here.

Make time for brain breaks, Paulette Wolf Events advises. "Events are full of content and activity, and attendees want to maximize their investment of time and money. But, packing several sessions to attend, booths to visit, notes to take, and people to meet into two or three days can be quite demanding for conference attendees. Adding areas or just time where attendees can unplug from the event and allow them to process what is happening and reconnect allows them to come back energized and engaged. We recommend fitness classes, meditation and fun activities in between sessions to help unwind and give the brain a break." Here, an event for Mercer.

With a client roster including Disney, Fox, Causeway Financial, LinkedIn, Google, Johnson & Johnson, auto firms and technology companies, Russell Harris Event Group produces meetings, conferences, premieres, internal corporate events, product launches, hospitality events, and incentives.

"We are taking the idea of experiential stories deeper to create even more immersive live experiences that resound with audiences and produce immediate results, whether in ROI, media exposure or other metrics," RHEG management says. "With the live action of social media, the opportunities are boundless. The drawback to this is that negative response can also spread like wildfire. Strategic, well thought-out approaches that follow through on brand promises and audience expectations are a must."

Both the London and New York Ruby J teams are busy prepping for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo for 2020, while still working closely on their existing social clientele for weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, management says.

Ruby J management notes that both clients and vendors are stressing environmentally friendly practices, such as using sustainable materials in floral and catering.

Notable projects this year from Sequence include the Spotify Inclusion Summit, bicoastal U.S. launch of Klarna’s "Smoooth Sessions," BNP Paribas’ Global Markets America Conference, and multiple galas for the American Red Cross.

"Reusable decor is growing increasingly popular, which we love because of the eco-friendly impact," Sequence management says.

"On the design side, monochromatic spaces are very in right now, with variation, texture and scale being used to create dynamic environments," the Sequence team says.

The Tamar Productions team has been busy with the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, Eversight gala, Siemen’s annual meeting, the Illinois Governor’s Conference, the American Airlines New Zealand travel kickoff, Medical Library Association event, and "Paint the Mile Magnificent" gala for the Magnificent Mile Association

Tamar's "Paint the Mile Magnificent" gala. The team's take on trends: reduced budgets, a return to hard props and scenery, and concentration on new and innovative lighting.

An event from The Special Event Company gets its audience engaged.

The Special Event Company celebrates a 25th anniversary in a big way. The team's event roster this year has included multiday leadership conferences across the U.S., the 150th anniversary of the City of Durham [N.C.], World Scout Jamboree events, annual meeting for Pepsi Bottling Ventures, campaign kickoff for Elon University, opening for Credit Suisse new headquarters, an incentive trip to Montreal, management of the Event Professional Conference in San Diego, and full creative and delivery of an urban development project for the City of Raleigh [N.C.].

From The Special Event Company, the kickoff event for the Elon University's fundraising campaign.

From The Special Event Company, an event from the World Scout Jamboree. The trend to watch: smart wearable event technology, such as the KLIK system, which enables exchange of contact information, registration, scheduling of events, etc., which can be integrated with other apps and solutions, management says.

The Vibe Agency has been busy with events for Estee Lauder, Coty, Dior cosmetics and Le Groupe La Poste.

A beautiful meeting for Estee Lauder from Vibe.

In a good development, the growth of digital teams in corporations means new audience for events, beyond the customary sales and marketing meetings, Vibe says. But the rise of online platforms for venue and vendor sourcing is concerning, management says, as the platforms cut out the planner.

Vibe creates a high-flying event for McDonald's.

Viola Events oversees the Abu Dhabi Science Festival and Innovator 2019.

From Viola Events, the Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions and Services stand at GITEX 2018 in the Dubai World Trade Center.

Market conditions in place last year are still in force, Viola management says; "However, there is a much larger focus on digital and digital support, and businesses are investing more in dynamic events."

Beside noteworthy events worldwide for key accounts such as BMW, IBM, Adidas, L‘Oréal, SAP, Porsche and HERE Technologies, "We won new exciting clients including Zalando, TikTok and PepsiCo," VOK DAMS management says.

VOK DAMS helps BMW debut its new electric crossover.

"In the background of digital developments in events and live marketing, live-plus marketing automation" is the future, vOK DAMS management predicts. Live-plus is "the integration of the live channel into the marketing automation process to develop personalized, customized and automatized live marketing, event and follow-up campaigns as part of a holistic customer journey."