The report produced by the English analyst Rob Davidson reveals that in 2015 the events tended to be more experiential and multi-sensorial than ever, and that the sector is becoming increasingly committed to innovative and unique spaces.

Neurologists and cognitive psychologists agree that the more senses that are aroused in an experience, the better we remember it. This theory is easily transferable to the organisation of events, which this year have explored the sphere of immersion and have tended to be more experiential than ever on a world scale. These are the findings detailed in the report published by the analyst Rob Davidson within the setting of the latest meeting of Ibtm World in Barcelona, which invites the organisers of events to stimulate the touch, smell and taste of attendees in order to absorb better the information and experience the place they visit. The possibilities are considerable: improvised concerts, smell sensors, sessions of yoga and massage, visits to the local food markets…

Neither does Davidson forget that the sight is the most important sense in our sector and that the appearance of the spaces where the meetings are held is really key in marking the difference, in order to avoid our event being conventional. The decoration, design, colours, lighting, gadgets… All the elements form a whole, as well as the choice of location. Where should an event be held so that it stands out? The Ibtm World report answers: in an innovative, infrequent and unique space. In this sense, Davidson refers to the drag and drop venues, which refers to the construction of temporary spaces for a congress or meeting in unexpected places that usually has other uses. The report relates this tendency with the success of the collaborative economy and cites a reference case, that of the French start-up SnapEvent, which acts as an intermediary between the organisers and the people who rent out their properties (houses, private gardens, terraces, attics…) as unique venues to hold them in.

The commitment to multi-sensorial events and the drag and drop venues has been particularly visible this year in a city such as London, which appears as a benchmark in the Ibtm World report. The web page of the Convention Bureau of the English capital refers to the report in an inspiring article, which asks us to reinvent the organisation of events from the imagination and innovation. We should take note: the new tendencies in meetings and congresses are no longer the future but the present.