First, a heartfelt thank you to Meetings Today for the opportunity to extend my column into 2025. I’m grateful for the platform to engage with industry peers and explore how luxury is being redefined, alongside the consumer and corporate trends that will shape this year.
In recent months, the luxury consumer sector has faced intense scrutiny. Headlines like “Obscene Prices, Declining Quality: Luxury Is in a Death Spiral” from The New York Times highlight an industry at odds with its own identity. Yet, amid the critique, brands like Hermès, founded in 1837 and featured in a fascinating 60 Minutes segment in December, offer a counterpoint. Their growing success comes from an unwavering commitment to the heritage of their handmade craftsmanship, proving that thoughtful authenticity is powerful.
The commitment to human creativity, craftsmanship and unmatched quality feels especially relevant today, as AI-created visuals and videos proliferate online.
In a world where algorithms churn out mass-produced “authenticity,” the tactile and the tangible hold even greater value. A handmade Hermès bag or a custom-crafted event experience isn’t just a product, it’s a testament to human skill, patience and artistry.
[Related: Luxury Redefined: Off-the-Beaten-Path Is the New Luxury of Incentive Travel]
The Parallels to Our Industry
As an event marketer deeply versed in luxury travel, executive meetings and incentives, I can’t help but draw parallels. Are we, too, guilty of prioritizing spectacle over substance? Have we overlooked what makes an experience luxurious and meaningful for our corporate audiences? How do we craft a personal, luxury human experience in the corporate AI world?
These are some of the questions that fuel my ongoing quest of what luxury means in 2025 and how luxury continues to shift and be redefined.
There are answers I’m still searching for, but a few things I do know.
I know time and time again, I’ve found myself in conversations with internal executives, trying to persuade them to deliver what the audience actually wants, rather than what internal stakeholders think they want.
I always remind them that the audience is the north star. Their needs, desires and expectations should guide every decision. Sometimes I win, sometimes not.
I know that when we align our brand strategies with the audience’s perspective, individually and collectively, we create greater value for everyone.
I know that valuing humanity and our shared attributes like curiosity, empathy, joy, growth, culture and innovation and integrating them into the design of human-centric events will always rise above the AI noise.
And I know that luxury, in all its forms, is here to stay.
[Related: Luxury Redefined: The Appeal of Craftsmanship and Hands-on Learning in High-End Event Programs]
The Emotional Connection: Stories That Last
Luxury is built on emotion. It’s not just about delivering something extraordinary but crafting a story that lingers in the hearts and minds of attendees long after the event ends.
Creating that emotional connection manifests in the form of hundreds of photos and videos on your attendees’ phones so they can relive their favorite moments of their experience, or as stories they share with friends and family when they return from their travels.
Luxury is transformational, not transactional, and tapping into emotion is how that transformation takes effect. A meticulously crafted brand story has the power to evoke aspiration, exclusivity and significance. In our industry, the story begins long before an attendee boards a flight and carries through every touchpoint of the event experience—from welcoming them and immersing them in a narrative that is woven into every session and space to continuing that conversation and engagement after they leave.
Achieving this requires strategic forethought and a roadmap that allows time to craft details as components of your message and not just to fill an agenda.
Differentiating Your Brand: Competing for the Ultimate Luxury
In a world where time and attention are the ultimate luxuries, a strong narrative built around the target audience’s needs sets a brand apart and draws the eye of the customer. For example, and this may seem obvious, but an executive is short on time and is accustomed to having what they want, when they want it. As an event marketer, your job is to create a friction-free experience that allows ease of access to the city or venue and flexibility to plug into content, network or simply relax as they choose.
Staying true to your brand while using a unique venue or delivering a surprising experience can instantly elevate your event’s perceived value and draw attention by giving your attendees the opportunity to try something new. Sometimes, even a traditional luxury event, such as a chef’s table experience at a highly coveted restaurant, can still attract the right audience. Every element of an event—from the venue selected and personalized experiences to the words of greeting spoken by the host executive—should reinforce the story you’re telling. The devil is in the details.
[Related: Luxury Redefined: The Value of Personalized, Immersive and Human-Centric Luxury Experiences]
Storytelling as a Strategic Advantage
Luxury isn’t about excess, it’s about meaning. Storytelling is the tool that transforms experiences into strategic assets. To achieve this, we as event marketers must dedicate time and effort to intimately understand our audiences. By leveraging data and insights, we can craft stories that are comprehensive, inclusive and resonate deeply with all attendee personas.
When we embed narratives into our events, we can:
- Communicate Values: Showcase corporate identity and priorities authentically.
- Inspire Loyalty: Build lasting emotional connections that deepen over time.
- Stand Out: Differentiate your brand event in a crowded and competitive market.
My goal in 2025 is to bring you insights and ideas on ways for event marketers to tell their brand stories and transform their events with luxury that offers substance and style versus flash and noise.
Please join me on this journey as we explore the evolution of luxury—where every detail is deliberate, every story is crafted and every experience delivers a return on investment.
With love and luxury, Laurie
