Everyone loves a good show, and the events sector is returning to its pre-pandemic glory days after global lockdowns decimated the industry.
So we sat down with Ben Krebs, Head of Production at Creative Event Agency & Production Company Event Concept about the current challenges, demand-side changes and shape of events to come for an industry that is worth more than £61 billion to the British economy alone…
1. What is the key challenge in 2025 you/the event industry face when organising the events you manage?
The constant demand for innovation remains our biggest challenge from a production point of view.
With the rapid evolution and availability of immersive technologies (AI, AR, XR), audiences have become more tech-savvy and expect increasingly sophisticated experiences.
While the pressure to innovate isn’t new, it’s amplified by this wave of emerging tools. The challenge now is to harness technology meaningfully and avoid using it for novelty’s sake.
Delivering impactful, relevant experiences that genuinely engage attendees is the goal, and it’s more complex than ever.
2. How have client expectations changed in the live events space?
There’s a much sharper focus now on ROI and measurable impact. Clients expect their investment in live experiences to drive tangible business outcomes.
That’s why we have developed a bespoke model we call the 3Es (Envision, Execute, Evaluate) through which we align with client goals upfront, design the event to influence these outcomes then evaluate the performance of the event accordingly.
This strategic approach means that businesses can establish the impact the event has on brand, behaviours and specific business metrics.
It’s no longer just about the wow factor, performance is what really counts.
3. What creative trends are you most excited about in experiential design?
One area gaining real traction is creative hyper-personalisation – designing live experiences that feel bespoke to each attendee, even at scale.
The evolution of data and AI can now inform design decisions, enabling us to shape environments, content, and interactions around individual preferences.
In a world where shortcuts are so accessible, the real excitement lies in creative teams who are able to use shiny new technologies in ways that still evoke the human soul in the craft.
While the tech has advanced, the creative skill is in making content feel human, seamless, and emotionally resonant.
4. What technologies are key today in creating a memorable event? And which ones are you researching?
It will come as no surprise that AI is now key as it plays an important role in revolutionising how we design and personalise experiences.
From live transcription and real-time translation that allows attendees to curate content on demand, to AI-driven networking recommendations that connect people with shared goals, technology now enhances autonomy and accessibility.
We’re also borrowing from e-commerce and platform thinking to tailor communications and drive attendance.
Looking ahead, we’re continually exploring how immersive tech like XR and AI can deepen storytelling and responsiveness.
5. How is technology, from AI to XR, reshaping the way you conceptualise and deliver experiences?
Technology is allowing us to blend physical and digital in increasingly immersive ways.
One recent example: using AR headsets at a brand conference to deliver layered, personalised content during a live keynote.
The audience sees the same speaker but the information they interact with is bespoke to them.
It’s a powerful way to make mass events feel intimate, and it’s redefining what ‘live’ really means. As XR hardware and content design mature, the potential is huge.
6. How is Event Concept tackling sustainability in live and branded experiences?
Sustainability is embedded in our process. We have a dedicated sustainability lead who advises clients from start to finish on how to minimise impact, through design, sourcing, logistics and reporting.
We also provide every client with a post-event sustainability report at no extra cost, helping them understand the event’s footprint and where future improvements can be made. It’s not a bolt-on service; it’s part of how we deliver responsible, future-facing experiences.
7. Where do you see the biggest opportunity for growth in the next 2–3 years?
The intersection of immersive technology and content creation.
As experiences become more multi-sensory and tech-led (think 360° projection, mixed reality, spatial audio) the bar for content rises. That means richer storytelling, deeper interaction, and tighter integration.
But it also changes how we plan. You can’t drop in a last-minute keynote deck when your session is being mapped across six surfaces. Content is no longer a finishing touch – it’s central, and a major growth area for the industry.
8. We recently attended a major industry pre-event press briefing – it was so dull most of us just tuned out. How do you make something like that more interesting and engaging to a media audience?
We design every experience to avoid that kind of passive, disengaged audience. One of our guiding frameworks to ensure engagement is our four experience design principles: Holistic Impact, Scale the Peaks, Participatory Design, and Curated Exclusivity.
Whether it’s a press briefing or a major brand moment, we craft the content and format to excite, involve and surprise the audience.
Engagement doesn’t happen by accident, it’s the result of design thinking from the outset.
9. What is the most exciting event project you’re working on this year and why?
Earlier this year, we delivered an event for Dentsu at Outernet London, a venue renowned for its immersive 360° video walls.
Building on the previous year’s format, which was delivered across multiple UK locations, we reimagined the experience for a single, high-impact setting.
By harnessing Outernet’s vast digital canvases, we transformed the content into a fully enveloping environment, enabling us to tell Dentsu’s story in a way that was both visually stunning and deeply engaging.
The project was a perfect blend of creative storytelling, technical precision, and spatial design, pushing our team to think differently about how to connect audiences with brand messages on a truly immersive scale.
10. What does the ‘event of the future’ look like to you?
It’s evolving faster than we can predict. And it’s no surprise, but it’s going to be all about the tech.
Ten years ago, the idea of a CEO joining a live dinner as a hologram from another country was sci-fi. Today, we’ve done it.
The future event will blend physical and digital seamlessly, offer more autonomy to attendees, and integrate technologies that don’t even exist yet.
EC continues to invest in tech and team skills, as we know being prepared for these changes is what sets us apart in the future, both now and in the next ten years.
But ultimately, great events will still be about emotion, connection, and meaning. Tech will just help us get there in new ways.
We don’t know exactly what’s next, but we’re ready for it.