Event meeting formats: which should you choose for your next show?

There is a range of event meeting formats available, but finding the right one to your purpose is where it matters.

Attendees and exhibitors increasingly want hyper-personalized experiences that make it easy to achieve their goals.

The expectation and pressure are on organizers to provide the correct formats to facilitate this.

So what are the options available in this area? This guide will unpack the top event meeting formats:

• Speed networking
• Exhibitor events
• Round tables
• Hosted buyer programmes
• Board meetings
• Concierge meetings
• Self-requested meetings

Choosing the right setups is key to ensuring your show’s success.

What is the main benefit of speed networking event meeting formats?

Speed networking improves the quality and quantity of connections.

Attendees want to maximize the time they spend at events without compromising the quality of engagements.

Speed networking is the clear-cut event meeting format that directly caters to this need.

Organizers can offer either pre-matched or walk-in sessions depending on which best suits the audience.

AI-powered matchmaking is used to compile a list of connections that participants can optimize through a voting system.

Once the speed networking session begins, visitors can cut straight to the chase and determine which connections are most valuable to them.

Afterwards, they can engage in deeper discussions that can lead to high-value outcomes.

Visitors can use this format to simultaneously increase the number of quality connections and boost ROI while weeding out engagements that could have been a waste of time if they had used traditional networking.

This event meeting format is perfect for organizers who want to cater to audiences seeking more meetings, better connections and higher ROI.

Click here to find out more about speed networking.

How do exhibitor events work?

Exhibitor events empower exhibitors to achieve their goals by allowing them to organize their own sessions at their stands.

The scheduling software used to create exhibitor events ensures they don’t conflict with other sessions and panels.

Relevant audience segments are targeted using AI algorithms. This gives exhibitors a wider reach and a chance to showcase valuable products or brand information to several attendees at once.

But the benefits are two-fold – exhibitors can drive more leads through these optimized formats while attendees can gather insights from these recommended sessions.

The overall event becomes a more specialized experience for both parties.

Organizers who want to prioritize their exhibitors’ business needs should consider offering exhibitor events as a premium event meeting format.

What do eventprofs gain from using round table event meeting formats?

Round tables are an event meeting format that brings multiple participants together to share insights.

AI groups participants based on their interests or expertise, organizers curate sessions to incorporate diverse insights and experiences.

They use real-time data to ensure balance – each round table has a wide range of knowledge that every participant will find valuable.

This format is ideal for attendees invested in gaining deep industry insights and different perspectives or who are looking to collaborate with a number of different businesses.

Round tables are intelligently orchestrated to meet these needs without making them feel overtly manufactured.

As tech grows, data and insight sharing is becoming more commonplace even amongst competitors.

In a world were collaboration is becoming more crucial, the use of round tables is becoming one of the increasingly more valuable event meeting formats.

What does the ideal hosted buyer programme look like?

Hosted buyer programmes give high-level buyers a seamless event journey that gets them to the correct exhibitors.

Buyers signal what their procurement needs are when attending the event.

The organizer then creates a personalized meeting schedule that matches buyers with the most relevant exhibitors.

Real-time data and AI-matchmaking create the basis for this which will then be curated to maximize efficiency and quality.

Organizers also ensure all hospitality information and key documents are at the buyers’ fingertips.

Hosted buyer programmes increase ROI for exhibitors while providing VIP visitors with a highly personalized, satisfying experience.

How can board meetings generate maximum impact and shorter sales cycles?

This event meeting format serves as a platform for exhibitors to showcase thought leadership.

It allows them to cast a wide net by presenting to a large group of buyers.

These groups are assembled using intelligent algorithms and organizer intervention to ensure exhibitors reach the most relevant participants.

The event format tech also enables exhibitors to gain valuable insights from engagement tracking and the ability to test multiple session types.

Exhibitors receive high-level feedback from buyers, which enables them to optimize future sessions.

Buyers, on the other hand, benefit from gaining industry-leading insights without the concern of just attending a sales pitch.

This is one of the event meeting formats that demonstrates that the organizer is invested in helping both exhibitors and buyers continue to grow and improve for future events.

What is the purpose of concierge event meeting formats?

Concierge meetings empower organizers to leverage semi-automated scheduling tools powered by AI.

A list of matches is created that the concierge team can fine-tune to make it more personalized.

This produces a curated meeting schedule that participants can trust.

Buyers can be assured that their engagements will be of the highest quality, having been optimized by both AI and human professionals.

Concierge meetings are a premium event meeting format that builds trust in attendees.

It signals to them that the organizer personally invests in helping visitors achieve their business goals.

If an organizer wants to position their event as “going the extra mile” for its attendees, then concierge meetings are a must-have.

Do self-requested meetings empower participants?

This event meeting format enables visitors to have complete autonomy over their meeting schedules.

The AI algorithm sends a list recommended connections based on participants’ interests.

Attendees can use this as a basis to form their meeting schedules – voting on the connections they find most valuable and flagging any that they think are irrelevant.

The algorithm then realigns itself with these parameters to put together a more precise list.

This also removes several time-consuming admin tasks from the organizer’s plate.

It is also a useful meeting format to identify key insights that lie with specific audiences – which topics are trending, which parties connect and where engagements translate into measurable ROI.

Self-requested meetings should be a staple for all organizers looking to give control to their visitors.

Book a demo with ExpoPlatform to bring the right event meeting formats to your next show.