Cannes, Coachella, or business conference?

Summer is here and with it, the season for massive and iconic consumer festivals like Glastonbury and Coachella.

Business festivals like SXSW and Cannes Lions – an international festival of creativity for marketers – are redefining the trade show into unmissable, viral experiences. With almost 2,000 conference sessions – SXSW is the embodiment of festivalisation, creating buzz every year on social media and attracting over 30,000 creatives over the event. The trend goes beyond immersive moments at festivals. While business marketing is focusing more on the relatable and human, corporate events are experimenting more with fun activations and taking inspiration from the festival. And the ones that are, are standing out, building stronger relationships, and strengthening their brand.

They bring together brands, creativity, and engaged audiences – a mecca for merch drops and multi-sensory moments. These festivals may feel a world away from your corporate events, but they are a great source of inspiration with their bold marketing.  Experiential trends often trickle down into the B2B world and become an expectation among attendees. Even American Express and insurance brand State Farm broke the mould by showing up at Coachella, taking inspiration from the many brands utilising OOH marketing. Not to push products, but to build worlds, moods, and moments that pull people in.

So, shouldn’t all events be getting the festival treatment? Business events can and should engage audiences and spark connection with their audiences.

With 18 years working in event production and management for professional services brands, we dug into what this event trend means for corporate event planners and how to give your conference the ‘festival treatment’.

What is the festivalisation of events trend?

Festivalisation means incorporating elements of the festival experience into business events and is a driving trend in the events industry in 2025.

When you think of a festival, the idea of celebration and community come to mind. Festivals uniquely foster a strong community and shared memories and in the new era of event marketing – driven by technology, social media, and the demand for community, immersion, and experience – it’s no wonder more sectors are attempting to harness the elements of a festival to make their events more memorable.

This audience engagement strategy infuses elements of the festival into corporate events. It enhances the standard event format with curated experiences and offerings for attendees.

And why does festivalisation work in the corporate events world?

Ultimately registering for an event is a commitment of valuable time for attendees. It means taking the time out of a busy schedule to travel and consume your content, making it key for planners to be respectful of attendee’s time and what they want to get out of the event. They expect insights, inspiration, engagement, and discussion – not keynote after keynote that doesn’t feel relevant or useful. Festivalisation isn’t always about filling an event agenda with fun and games. For B2B, festivalisation provides attendees with an experience worth attending.

How to put festivalisation into practice, and create a more memorable event

Variety is central to a ‘festival style’ business event

Variety means providing flexible ways to engage with your brand and event content, addressing a range of preferences for a large audience over a one size fits all approach. Consider creating core content themes for your event based on your audience interests and content tracks adhering to each one.  Attendees can curate their own agenda based on their interests and leave feeling that they’ve had a personalised experience. Micro events such as workshops, fireside chats, and even podcast sessions – emulating the support acts outside the main stage, meaning attendees can contribute to the discussion and interact across in person and online zones with your brand.

The result? A more relaxed and enjoyable environment with meaningful engagement and opportunities to explore brand touch points and exhibitions and network.

Diverse speakers and trending topics

Designing engaging in-demand content can vary from dedicated AI areas to sustainability seminars and is a key driver of corporate event attendance. A festivalised event is where different ideas and experts come together, creating an energetic atmosphere with interactive discussions.

Offsite adventures and OOH moments

Entertainment value is of course integral to festivalisation and where B2B brands can get creative in taking inspiration from the B2C world to bridge the gap between information and entertainment. Think food truck, brand and sponsor pop ups, photo booths, ice-cream carts, and mascots! SXSW threw 165 parties and special events during the festival, and it’s become an expectation for there to be a networking space – whether it be a pop-up café, lounge, or club.

But providing attendees with exclusive experiences of the event destination. The festivalised Money 20/20 set up, not only a ‘beach club’ and zone for headshots, shoe cleaning, and nail painting, but also an evening party complete with DJ and ball pit.

Tell a story

Ultimately making audiences feel something with a story will win even business audiences over which is why a central theme or story is central to this idea. Playful activations and content sessions can all be designed around a central idea. When Broadsword created a launch event for our client’s new premium banking service, we created zones with each of its features such as travel, health and wealth. For example, a health zone with a smoothie bar and a peloton challenge.

Incorporating Technology

Sensory moments have been proven to be the most memorable and technology is a tool that event planners can use to enhance multi sensory touch points – including interactive content with AR.

An event specific app is an invaluable tool for connection and gamification. Not only can attendees personalise their agenda using AI recommendations and map out the zones (with a festival style site map of course) but they can also create a mini social network – matching on interests and sharing photos and moments to a wall and competing in leaderboards. They bridge the gap between online and in person attendees, enhancing the experience of a delegate sat at home halfway across the globe.

In conclusion, festivalised experiences allow corporate event planners to create shareable moments, immersive brand worlds, and lasting impressions rather than one-dimensional encounters. All in all, infusing corporate events with elements of the festival is proving an effective way for brands to meaningfully engage their audiences and enhance the value of their live experiences.