Cvent Delivers Masterclass in Gathering European Meetings Industry

The 2024 edition of Cvent CONNECT Europe wrapped up on Thursday at the Hilton London Metropole. Over three days, the event tech giant pulled off the impressive feat of orchestrating what is now by far Europe’s largest conference for event professionals.

While shows like IMEX Frankfurt and IBTM World in Barcelona are much larger, with around 12,000 attendees, Cvent gathered almost 2,000 event professionals in a hotel setting in central London. Industry associations such as PCMA and MPI have had some success in creating European-wide events. Neither has come close to what Cvent has achieved.

The secret to Cvent’s success in gathering so many of Europe’s event experts may be how the company has tapped into the industry’s two crucial verticals. They are venue sourcing and event management.

This event’s eco-system is more than a visualization of Cvent’s business, it showcases the company’s ambition. It is an adequate embodiment of the entangled way in which Cvent has become a very significant industry player. The massive scale of its all-in-one event management offering is impressive. It’s complemented by the reach of its supplier network, which dominates sourcing in the U.S. and is expanding worldwide.

The Complex Logistics of a Unique Gathering

While gathering almost 2,000 European event professionals in person is impressive, it’s worth noting that at no point were all attendees simultaneously at the event. Some were onsite for specific training sessions or the awards ceremony. The keynote sessions were held in the hotel’s Admiral Suite, an 800-person room in a theater setup. There was no stage. All the meeting space at the hotel was utilized. With its multi-floor and multi-building layout, moving around was challenging for some attendees. As a result, some of the main sessions were delayed.

London is home to many event agencies, making it an ideal destination for the event, something that Cvent plans to continue with. The downside is many attendees are not staying overnight, which makes it a less cohesive experience. Many “pop in” for a few hours as they keep up with their busy fall event schedules.

With not many hotels in Europe with the capacity to host this event, it begs the question if it is better suited at a convention center like London ExCel. It has been held at London’s Business Design Centre. Although it appears keen to keep it at London’s largest conference hotels. It has already announced a return to the InterContinental London – The O2 in 2025.

A Multi-Layer Event

Cvent markets Cvent CONNECT Europe to several categories of attendees. They reflect Cvent’s marketing segmentation. The basic split is between planners and suppliers. Planners, including event professionals, marketers, and IT and technologists, can purchase tickets for $513 (£399). Suppliers or hospitality professionals, which includes partners, convention and visitor bureaus, and unique venues, can purchase tickets for $771 (£599). Cvent clients are offered tickets at different pricing levels, including complimentary, depending on their contracts.

Partners are essentially event agencies working with Cvent’s tools, They are an important part of how Cvent has grown across Europe. Cvent’s largest number of team members are in the UK and Germany. It relies on partners to implement and support its products in multiple languages and across various European nations.

The event has several layers, making it tricky to get a full grasp of everything going on. It includes:

• Training camps on Cvent products
• Keynotes and breakouts
• Invite-only Open Forum where global heads connect
• Invite-only Excellence Awards
• Fast Forward 15 event featuring pitches from mentees
• Partner Summit on Thursday afternoon
• Conference after-party on Thursday

Sessions ranged from a keynote by Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal. A Q&A session with celebrity MC Dermot O’Leary followed. In addition, product roadmap and update sessions, research presentations, workshops, and more were featured. A keynote fireside chat with Latin dance champion and television personality Oti Mabuse entertained.

Live Lab Hosting Live Demos

The event is a massive Cvent sales pitch. Even Cvent doesn’t deny this. It’s a hard, but clever sell in an interactive and human way.

The Innovation Pavilion took over the hotel’s largest meeting space. In addition, a mini trade show was held showcasing Cvent products and services. An “experts bar,” a private meetings area, and a select collection of partner booths were also in the space.

Audiovisual giant Encore, also owned by Blackstone, was on hand joined by four event tech companies that have integrated their technology into Cvent’s event management platform. They include InGo (referral marketing), Sessionboard (content and speaker management), Walls.io (social wall), and Wordly (AI translation). All these companies fall under event categories that Cvent is not developing but has also not acquired, at least for now.

Cvent Tech Tours

Cvent also offered 28 identical tech tours. Participants visited different points in the venue showcasing Cvent’s technology in action. The tours started at registration, looking at the badge printing tools and options, with Cvent showcasing its premium badge option with built-in RFID technology. Session scanning outside a breakout room was next. The final stop was the Innovation Pavillion, where the tour guide highlighted many Cvent offerings being demonstrated. This was the ideal place to explore the RFID technology used to track attendees at multiple points in the venue.

The vast majority of sessions featured Cvent staff as presenters or moderators. Two exceptions were the two sessions presented by Skift Meetings: an interactive networking workshop based on the recently published Skift Meetings report “Networking by Design: Crafting Events for Meaningful Connection.” In addition, “Achieve More with Less: Strategies for High-Impact Events on a Budget,” explored solutions to today’s challenging reality of rising event costs and tight budgets. This session featured expert planners Clare Melton, interim event manager at Advent International, and Jane Baker, founder of Rise at Five and head of international marketing at Headspace.

Disclosure: Skift Meetings presented two editorial sessions at Cvent CONNECT Europe and was recognized as a Silver Sponsor for this editorial contribution.