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How do marketers grab attention in an increasingly crowded and noisy world?
That was the question explored at our latest industry summit, hosted in partnership with Cvent, the AI-powered event management agency and Cheerful Twentyfirst, the creative brand experience agency. Turning Moments into Momentum: Event Strategy for 2026 brought together event experts to explore how to deliver experiences that convert participation into lasting engagement.
The session, moderated by Felicia Asiedu, Marketing Director at Cvent, featured Ben Titchmarsh, Associate Director (Group Business Development) at Propeller Group and Georgina Burrows, Head of Strategy at Cheerful Twentyfirst.
Navigating budgetary challenges
The room agreed that rising spend leaves marketers feeling pressured to prove results. Events have a seat at the top table, and are one of the most effective ways to talk to your audience directly - provided you can earn, hold and sustain their attention.
But as Georgina Burrows explained, not all attention is created equal. “If you’re investing six or seven figures into your events, you need your audience to pay attention. Your message needs to land at every touchpoint. That means designing for the 42-second attention span, and moving people into a state of readiness and engagement: into a state of cognitive absorption. If you’re not designing your event to maximise attention, you have to ask why you’re running it in the first place.”
But how do you actually maximise the ROI of your event? The key is to amplify it - which is where Ben Titchmarsh shone the spotlight on PR. “There are plenty of questions that you should be asking yourself during preparations. Are you inviting the right journalists? Are you encouraging strong media relations and coverage? Will you create a video? Will you produce a write-up to send to non-attendees and journalists alike?”
Ben also walked through the seven types of event that marketers should keep on their radar:
- “Everything” events (e.g. CES and SXSW)
- Industry-wide events (e.g. Cannes Lions)
- Specialist events (e.g. MAD//Fest)
- Publisher events (e.g. Campaign and The Drum)
- Association events (e.g. IPA and AA)
- Award shows (e.g. The Media Leader Awards)
- Owned events
Designing the perfect event
As Felicia highlighted, the real work begins once your audience is in the room. “What’s the strategy after the guest list is built? How are we nurturing attendees, maintaining their attention - and how does that influence event design?”
Contrary to headlines about “goldfish-like” attention spans, Georgina noted that the outlook is far more optimistic. “Although attention spans have shortened, we’ve actually become better at focusing. With more choice, we’re more discerning. The onus is on you to design for your audience, which hinges on understanding the needs of decision-makers. These used to be Gen X, are currently millennials and will soon be Gen Z.”
Building on that theme, Ben spoke on the need to cast your prospecting net further and bring different individuals into the room. “It’s easy to mess up when you’re trying to appeal to 10,000 people. Your mindset should be thinking about the hundred people - or maybe even 10 people - you’re trying to influence. That could range from journalists and brand side marketers to media agency planners and influencers. Bottom line: you’ve got to get them all in there and experience it.”
The role of technology
When it comes to building a picture of your audience’s behaviours at events, technology is indispensable, as Felicia explained.
“People lie. They’ll say they’re interested in a topic, they’re planning to attend an event - and then they don’t show up. This is where AI, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and mobile apps come in. All of these give you data that can inform future marketing decisions.”
Imagine if you put an RFID chip into the lanyards of all those that frequented your stand; you could see which sessions they lingered at, the spots that they would frequent for networking.
Georgina shared a real-world example from Cannes Lions this year. “One of our most popular sponsor activations at SPORT BEACH was Adobe, part of which was down to its bag station. There was a constant queue; we couldn’t get people away from it. Thanks to RFID tracking, we could prove that X attendees visited the activation, stayed for Y minutes and returned Z times. All of this information was invaluable when selling the same location the following year.”
Big ideas on small budgets
Not every brand has the resources for a Cannes-style (or sized) spectacle, so the panel provided recommendations that could help marketers still create standout moments on a smaller stage.
Ben’s advice was to use your pursuit of memorability and exclusivity as the North Star. “Your prospects aren’t short on offers - so think about how you can emphasise your uniqueness. Don’t be afraid to quirk it up. Any space can be transformed. If budgets are tight, consider using your own office and elevating it.”
Georgina echoed this sentiment, while reinforcing the importance of data-led event strategies. “There’s as much value in small-scale events as in major trade shows or global activations. Events are accessible to every brand at almost every budget. But if you’re considering keeping things small, it’s even more important to overcome cognitive biases.”
In essence, this is behavioural psychology. If you understand how people behave - how Gen Z moves compared to older attendees, the way they prefer interactive experiences as opposed to traditional talk-heavy sessions - you’re better positioned to deliver and land your message, and therefore extract more success from your event.”
Download Cheerful Twentyfirst’s latest playbook - ‘GOLDFISH, GOOSE, DINOSAUR— The Art of Attention’, which explores the critical role of attention in landing event messaging, engaging audiences and locking in long term brand value.
Planning for 2026? We’re creating a definitive guide to next year’s must-attend industry events. Register your interest and be the first to receive our ‘Industry Events Guide 2026’, along with future updates to help you shape a winning event strategy.