The Meeting of the Future

What to Expect

With changes happening at breakneck speed these days, it’s hard to know for certain what’s ahead for the meetings industry. Here, however, are some likely scenarios.

Perception Issues Remain. While the fallout from the AIG Effect will continue to loosen, no one sees it going away entirely. Technology, along with the proliferation of 24-hour news coverage, is creating an ever-more transparent environment where corporate excess is harder to hide.

Face Time Matters. Virtual technology will have an increasing role in the meetings world, particularly as it becomes more accessible and reliable, but it won’t replace the need for in-person networking.

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The Meeting of the Future

What will meetings look like five years from now? Business gurus make their predictions.

by MARIA LENHART

With all the unprecedented upheaval in the meetings industry during the past year or so, looking into the future, even just five years ahead, is a daunting task. There are bound to be significant changes that we can hardly imagine today.

Will new virtual technology innovations make some types of face-to-face meetings go the way of typewriters and cassette tapes? Will the lavish sales incentive make a comeback or are perception worries here to stay? How will planners balance the needs of three, perhaps even four, generations sharing the meeting room?

To get some probable answers, Meetings Media spoke with an assortment of industry gurus who have witnessed their share of cycles and changes affecting meetings and events. They are business and marketing consultant Stan Aaronson, CSEP, owner of S M Aaronson Marketing Strategies; demographics expert Maddy Dychtwald, co-founder of Age Wave and author of the new book Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better; meetings management consultant Daphne Meyers, CMM, of the Red Barn Group; meetings technology consultant Corbin Ball, CSP. CMP, of Corbin Ball Associates.; and trade show and event marketing consultant Charles Allen of C.W. Allen Group.

As Baby Boomers retire and younger generations move into key positions in the workplace, what impact is this likely to have on the way that organizations hold meetings?

Ball: The Baby Boomers aren’t going anywhere for awhile. Many will not want to or be able to retire. There will be more people working into their 70s, so you will have four generations in the marketplace. This will create a very interesting situation, as the generations process things in different ways.

Cross-mentorship opportunities are being created. Digital immigrants [older people] can help in understanding the bigger picture. Digital natives [younger people] understand new technology and use it in different ways. Millenials are big into it, so these trends with social media will increase.

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What to Expect (continued)

Generation Gap. With Baby Boomers staying on the job longer and Millenials struggling to get a foothold, meetings will have to address a broader demographic range than ever before.

Democracy Now. Social media has created an anti-hierarchal world where everyone gets to express an opinion. Attendees will expect to play a greater role in determining what content is offered during meetings.

What’s Your Take?

Go to MeetingsFocus.com to add your thoughts and ideas to the dialogue on how meetings are likely to change in the near future. What are some of the big trends out there that you think will have the most significant impact in the years ahead?

Click here to join the conversation now.