While they may only last a few hours or days, events can have a far-reaching impact on people and places for many years to come. During his MPI keynote session on Oct. 15 at IMEX America, Julius Solaris, a leading expert on event technology and innovation, will address the long-lasting legacies resulting from some of the world’s iconic events.
“The idea is to understand the impact of events on communities, industries, marketing, the environment and many aspects of people’s lives,” says Solaris, editor of the Event Manager Blog and founder of the Event Innovation Lab, an immersive training program for event professionals. “We want to find out and decode how events create change.”
Although he is an event technology expert, tech trends will not be the main focus of his session, Solaris says.
“Tech knowledge is part of it, but we’re not talking about things like holograms in meetings and such,” he says. “It’s about the transformational changes we’re seeing in events that have an emotional impact. And it’s about how you can emulate these with minimal time and investment.”
In preparing for his presentation, Solaris has been researching more than 300 events in a wide variety of categories, delving into what made them successful and what can be learned from them.
“We want to give an overview of stories about events that have really had a huge impact,” he says. “The goal is give inspiration to planners and to communicate the real value that events have.”
Solaris plans to impart practical tips gleaned from events that planners can apply to their own meetings and events.
“It’s an incremental approach to innovation,” he says. “It’s not about overturning the process, but about implementing little changes one at a time. With each event we’ll discuss some practical takeaways.”
While some of the most high-profile, over-the-top events may seem far removed from those that planners are usually involved with, Solaris sees important lessons to be learned from even the most fantastic gatherings. One example is Burning Man, the weeklong bash that turns the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada into a wildly creative experimental community pushing the boundaries in art and self-expression.
“Burning Man has revolutionized the way that events are done and inspired offshoots in places around the world,” he says. “For example, there’s AfrikaBurn in South Africa and a new one expanding to Indonesia.”
Among the useful takeaways from Burning Man is how the organizers address transportation logistics, Solaris says.
“One of the great things about Burning Man is how they have bikes available that you can use for going around the location,” he says. “It’s a healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around that could work in a variety of situations, including C-level events in major cities.”
Solaris also notes the significant impact that events are having on many destinations around the world. Among them is Hull, a city in northern England that endured decades of economic decline during the 20th century when the local fishing industry diminished. In recent years the city has successfully staged an ambitious series of annual events celebrating art, food, fashion, theater, music and literature. Hull was designated a UK City of Culture in 2017.
“Hull has been transformed by a strong event program that has brought it to life,” he says. “It’s now a top destination for tourism, which it never was before.”
Originally from Italy, Solaris spent much of his earlier career in the United Kingdom where he was a social media consultant for several top corporations. More than a decade ago he transitioned to become a full-time author and speaker, publishing 10 books on event technology and innovation, including The Future of Event Marketing, Social Media for Events, Engaging Events and The Venue of the Future.
Founded in 2007, Solaris’ Event Manager Blog is now widely considered the leading blog worldwide for event professionals. A year later he started the Event Planning and Management LinkedIn Group, which grew to be the largest gathering of online event professionals with more than 370,000 members and a team of 12 moderators.
When not on the road, Solaris is at home in Las Vegas with his wife and seven-year-old child. He finds his adopted city to be the ideal place to gather new insights for his books and presentations.
“Las Vegas is the great hub of the events world—it’s where everyone comes and it’s a vibrant community,” he says. “We are exposed to the cutting-edge way of doing things—in everything from the crazy entertainment to the huge conventions.”
