SUBHEADING

Out Of the Ordinary: Getting More Impact from Meetings and Events - Expert Report by VisitDenmark in Partnership With C&IT

Meetings in 2023 are all about authenticity and memorable experiences and are key for event professionals – it has to be extraordinary to be really successful as well as taking sustainability and social impact concerns into account.

Earlier this year VisitDenmark partnered with C&IT to survey 80 event professionals about how they’re delivering impactful meetings and events in 2023. The result - a report delivering valuable knowledge from M&E professionals on what is demanded and prioritized 2023. Several perspectives and case studies were presented in the downloadable report including the key takeaways below that even serves as foundation for this fall’s business events campaign focusing on extraordinary and authentic team experiences in Copenhagen and in the heart of Jutland.

Make it Authentic and Memorable

Truly experiencing the local culture is more important to today’s planners than simply offering five-star luxury. Nine out of ten event professionals feel that adding an extraordinary experience to their business event is either desirable or essential.

Bringing in local food, entertainment and design adds authenticity and personality to an event, making it much more memorable as one respondent put it.

Make it Sustainable and Meaningful

Clients’ mindsets are shifting further towards implementing sustainable options:

“The time of fluffy green promises has passed, with customers and venue bookers now demanding tangible and transparent change,” says Christian Folden Lund, CEO of Bellagroup, one of Scandinavia’s biggest congress venues. They are currently installing 16.000m2 of solar panels of the roof and working for what they call ‘responsible hospitality’.

Social impact is also a growind tendency with 10% saying that giving back to the local community is extremely important., however showing that a more socially conscious approach is firmly on the radar for some, if not all, of the industry.

And remember to make your events fun! Every physical meeting is as an opportunity to help staff bond and build those vital personal connections. Extraordinary experiences help facilitating this with statements such as ‘getting to know each other better’ (66%) and ‘merging teams in a way an office meeting can't’ (58%) are highlighted by the professionals.

The new VisitDenmark autumn business event campaign integrates these findings by showcasing out of the ordinary team experiences Reffen Streetfood, electrical powered rafts in the Copenhagen harbour as well as whale watching and connecting over the iconic LEGO Brick in the Heart of Jutland.