Events within Events: Add Engagement Layers to Your Event Journey | MCI The Netherlands | EN

How can you deliver more targeted content, while expanding your audience? ‘Events within events’ is an approach that helps organisations accomplish just that. Coming in multiple formats and shapes, exhibitions, side programmes, pre-conferences and side stages are all events within events that bring additional value for both the organisers as well as attendees.

Imagine attending a conference of 10,000 people and you are looking for a very specific niche of people or content. How easy can you navigate and find what you are looking for? Attendees struggling to find the content and networking opportunities they are after makes it harder for organisations to deliver a meaningful and impactful experience. People spend time and money to attend events, because they think they will gain something from it. Whether it’s getting access to new data and insights within their fields, seizing networking opportunities or just having fun, there will always be expectations to be met.

There is a way to make it easier for the attendees, and that is a strategy called ‘events within events’. Examples of events within events can be pre-conferences, exhibitions or gala dinners that take place during larger events. A recent marketing trend report revealed that 72% of brand-side marketers are planning to incorporate this approach in 2020 (Agency EA, 2020).

Therefore, taking the ‘events within events’ approach, companies can meet those expectations by delivering more targeted content, while even expanding their audience.

Here are some examples of what events within events could look like.

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Hosting side stages within a larger event

Having a side stage, hosted by another organisation can be beneficial for everyone involved. It brings revenue and depth to the main event, it amplifies exposure, and provides the attendees with more content. For instance, creating its own platform for knowledge exchange and content that links back to the theme of the main event, is a strategy that Shell took on at the One Young World Summit 2018 and 2019. The aim of the annual One Young World Summit is to identify, promote and connect the world’s most impactful young leaders and create a better world. While the experience at the main stage revolved around topics like responsible business and embracing diversity, there was a whole lot more going on at the side stages. Next to the numerous plenary sessions, Shell hosted their own ‘Empower Stage’. By offering the Shell Scholarship, the company attracted 20 young talents from across the globe. Each of them had to pitch their social projects and ideas for a better future. Through education and empowerment, Shell created a micro community that represented the company at the OYW Summit and created a sub-event that embraced learning and triggered a lot of engagement.

Pre-conferences and workshops

Organising pre-conferences before the actual conference is a popular trend. During these pre-events, people can explore the topics of the main conference and gather new insights about their industries. Delivering topic-specific content through educational workshops is a great way to engage a more targeted audience. These workshops usually consist of lectures and interactive sessions that help participants fully comprehend the content. Attending such events can be very useful for your guests, since it can give them a head-start for the main conference, as well as a competitive edge within their fields. And, of course, it is a great opportunity for networking and exchanging business contacts.