Why A Sustained Events Program Outweighs One Big Event

Hosting “one big event” is often seen as the pinnacle of corporate event planning. Splashy annual events generate immense excitement and engagement, often bringing a short-term economic and publicity boost to the city they’re hosting in.

However, there are downsides to putting all of your event eggs into one basket. Infrastructure and operations are costly, not to mention that attendee engagement tends to fall drastically once the event is over. That’s why more event planners are shifting their strategy to sustained events programs.

A sustained events program refers to hosting multiple smaller events throughout the 

year rather than putting all your resources into one major event.

This blog will explore the advantages of taking a sustained approach to corporate events, including greater audience retention, improved brand visibility, and more effective resource management. If this sounds like a lot of work, fret not—modern event organizing software has your back. 

Read on to learn why consistent smaller events deliver better long-term results compared to infrequent blockbusters!

The excitement and prestige of hosting “one big event” is often considered a major draw for cities and organizations. Events like the Olympics or the Super Bowl are still seen as pinnacles of success that bring global attention—and rightfully so. 

The positive publicity and tourism revenue that these events attract makes them hard to resist. Cities and countries still compete fiercely to host these infrequent yet high-profile events.

However, external factors are challenging the idea that hosting one large event per year is the ideal strategy…As the costs of infrastructure, operations, and security continue to rise, managing the huge risks and debts associated with major one-time events is becoming less feasible.

Further, the rise of social media and digital platforms has made large audiences more fragmented. This necessitates more targeted outreach. Relying solely on a mass event model has become less effective for reaching specific audiences. 

That’s why offering more consistent, smaller events targeted to niche audiences has become increasingly popular in the events world. The costs and risks are lower, while more regular touchpoints with audiences throughout the year make relationship-building that much easier. 

Plus, sustained event programs allow for brand visibility to grow incrementally over time rather than to dramatically spike and fall. 

Modern events programs recognize that delivering value regularly to engaged subgroups drives better long-term results compared to chasing infrequent large events. This shift in strategy has been accelerated by modern event coordination software, which makes it easier to manage ongoing events at scale.

Maintaining an ongoing events program provides several advantages compared to relying on large, infrequent events. Let’s explore the benefits!

With a sustained events model, you stay connected with your audience through regular touchpoints over the course of a year. This makes it easier to nurture relationships and continue engagement beyond any individual event.

In contrast, with infrequent major events, you must rebuild momentum almost from scratch every single time. Attracting people to commit their time and money to the next big event happening in a year or two is challenging. There are fewer opportunities to keep people engaged in between.

A sustained program allows flexibility in event formats and content. Interspersing large conferences with intimate seminars, workshops, and happy hours accommodates diverse interests and learning styles. Not to mention that it’s easier to satisfy the growing desire for a mix of virtual and in-person (AKA hybrid) events. This variety keeps people energized and likely to keep returning!

Companies like South by Southwest and Adobe have successfully utilized sustained events programs for years. Adobe runs hundreds of targeted events annually, allowing them to engage diverse stakeholders—from employees to brand partners, customers, and beyond. The boost in visibility and goodwill generated by delivering value consistently over time is immense.

With consistent events, it’s easier to analyze performance and fine-tune your strategy. Detecting patterns and trends across multiple happenings provides insights that isolated events simply cannot. This enables continuous improvement, further empowering you and your events team over the long haul.

Let’s explore proven tactics to help make an ongoing events program successful. Taking advantage of modern event management solutions with personalization capabilities and helpful metrics can help overcome potential hurdles.

Modern organizing software makes it easy to seamlessly run sustained events at scale. All-in-one platforms like Attendease by Tripleseat provide powerful tools for registration, marketing, logistics, reporting, and more.

Integrated solutions reduce manual processes, provide deeper insights through in-depth reporting, and enable faster execution and replication. Automation features like website templates and email marketing also save you and your team valuable time and effort.

Event organizing software also enhances audience engagement before, during, and after events through custom event apps, instant replay features, and interactive virtual components. Features like webinars and live stream capabilities further nurture relationships between in-person happenings.

Personalization capabilities combat attendee fatigue over time by delivering tailored experiences. For example, Attendease helped geographic information systems company Esri develop a custom event app to serve up a personalized agenda and content recommendations to thousands of its attendees. This keeps each event feeling fresh and relevant.

Robust data and insights gathered across all events further support personalization efforts. Identifying popular speakers, topics, and networking activities allows your events team to modify future programming based directly on audience analytics.

Surveys also provide crucial attendee feedback to incorporate into your next event. This diversity in content and format sustains engagement by consistently adapting to audience needs.

A deliberate strategy focused on key performance indicators (KPIs) allows sustained event programs to maximize their ROI. Tracking registration and attendance, attendee satisfaction and engagement, lead generation, and marketing reach provide quantifiable metrics for optimization.

Powerful reporting functionality also enables insightful comparison across your entire catalog of events. This helps identify successful venues, sponsors, and program formats to replicate. In turn, you’re better able to manage resources wisely, which saves money and enables continuous improvement over time!

Running a sustained events program means easier relationship building, greater brand visibility over time, and better resource management compared to one-off large-scale events. As the landscape of event marketing continues to evolve, integrating hybrid elements and diverse event formats can provide additional value to attendees. 

Don’t worry; modern event management solutions have your back. Tools that offer robust reporting and seamless personalization make it easier to successfully run regular events at scale.

Simplify the complexity of managing your multiple events throughout the year with a powerful platform like Attendease by Tripleseat. Our suite of registration, marketing, reporting, and personalization tools empowers you to run a sustained events program without a hitch. Book a demo today!