INSIGHTS
What’s the return on investment for event creativity?
You know that sinking feeling when you walk into a corporate event and think "this is going to be a long day"?
We've all been there. The beige everything. The generic PowerPoint slides, the networking opportunities that feel forced, and the 8am to 10pm commitment that leaves you drained.
Now think about the last event that stuck with you. The one you're talking about months later, and you went home and told all your friends about. Chances are it wasn't because of the catering budget or the venue hire cost. It was because someone put in place a creative event strategy or engaged a creative to do it for them (we can't all lead with our right brain, but we can get someone who does). Yet here we are. Still debating whether having a creative event strategy is valuable. Time to change that.
Aligning creative strategy with event objectives is smart because it turns imagination into impact. By grounding ideas in clear goals, creativity becomes purposeful and measurable, helping to keep messages consistent and every detail connected. It also means resources are focused on what matters most, instead of being spent on ideas that don’t support the bigger picture.
- Cathy Broaders, Head of Creative Services, FCM Meetings & Events
The split-second decision makers
Within five seconds of hitting your registration page, your attendees have decided if this event is worth their time. And within ten seconds of walking through the doors, they know if they're at a top-shelf experience or another box-ticking exercise.
These snap decisions are natural instincts. Your brain is constantly asking you, "Is this worth my energy?" and for events, creative execution often provides the answer. That means, for your registration site to be effective, it needs to be sleek. And that well-designed invitation should be setting expectations. Every touchpoint—pre-event emails, websites, in-office signage, and the arrival space—builds trust or chips away at it. Research shows that 94% of event teams consider pre-event email marketing their most important content type. When these communications feel intentional rather than generic, people are engaged from the get-go.
Strategy disguised as creativity
Here's where most people get it wrong. They think event design is just there to make things look nice. When it's really about making things work better (and maybe a hint of making things look good). Take wayfinding, something every event planner battles. You can spend hours creating detailed floor plans and getting corflutes printed to still watch confused attendees wander around like lost tourists. Or you can use creative visual cues, colour-coded zones, interactive signage, large-scale backdrops, or floor graphics that guide people naturally through the space.
When creative choices align with your event objectives, they stop being just decoration and start driving outcomes. Reinforcing your key messages and becoming a key part of your event return on investment. Attendees subconsciously connect the dots between your branded coffee station, session graphics, and takeaway materials. Interactive elements and gamification keep people in the moment, and visual storytelling helps confusing information stick. When your creative event strategy makes information more digestible, attendees are more likely to retain and act.
This isn't a theory. Research consistently shows that 70-80% of attendees report that in-person, and experiential events drive higher trust, engagement, and purchasing intent compared to digital alternatives. According to the FCM Meetings & Events Trends report attendee experience is number one for many events planners. Meaningful content, standout activities, memorable moments, and integrated tech are what they believe will get them there.
When creative strategy is aligned with event objectives, your investment works harder. Every idea is designed to meet clear goals like building awareness, educating, generating leads or strengthening relationships. This means less wasted spend, higher audience engagement, and results that extend beyond the event itself, giving you greater value and a stronger return on investment (ROI).
- Melanie Ivory, Studio & Creative Manager, FCM Meetings & Events
The engagement multiplier effect
Remember the last time you sat through a presentation that was stuck in 2003? Your mind probably wandered to your grocery list, your weekend plans, literally anywhere else. Now compare that to a session where the speaker grabbed your attention with visuals, interacted with the crowd, or threw in some unexpected moments that made you laugh and lean forward.
Our minds are wired to respond to visual stimuli, pattern recognition, and surprises. When you design content that leverages these responses, engagement is higher and stickier. These downstream effects then multiply quickly. Engaged attendees become brand advocates. They share content on social media, recommend your events to their people, and implement what they've learned.
Tech and design create a winning formula
Event apps, actually most apps, are notorious for being downloaded and entering the app graveyard. Push notifications join the club of digital noise, and features sit unused while you - part of the 24% of organisations spending between $10,000 and $50,000 on event tech annually - wonder why you bothered with the investment.
The difference between a successful event app and phone clutter comes down to creative execution. When your app feels like it belongs in your event ecosystem, with design that mirrors all your other event elements, people will use it. Smart event apps solve real problems instead of creating new ones. Attendees can access venue maps, travel details, personalised agendas, feedback surveys, presentation games, and social walls.
Moving from vision to value
When your events have distinct visual identities and memorable moments, tracking becomes straightforward. You can measure QR code scans, social media mentions, shares, activity usage, follow-up meeting requests, and even qualitative feedback about the event experience.
For the analytical minds in your business, you can track metrics that directly impact the bottom line. Lead generation improves when people remember your brand months later. Partnership conversations happen more naturally when your event creates talking points. Internal engagement increases when employees are proud to work for a company that creates Instagram-worthy experiences (hey there, Global Gathering and Flichella).
The compound return
A study by Forrester found that shifting budgets toward creativity can produce up to 18% higher event return on investment (ROI) compared to tech spending. The events people remember and talk about are creative investments paying dividends.
A strong visual identity system can be reused across multiple touchpoints. Branded templates save time and money for future events. Photos and videos from sessions become marketing gold for months. Your attendees become your unpaid marketing team when you give them something worth sharing. Every Instagram story and LinkedIn post about your event extends your reach without additional media spend. The conversation that starts with "you should have seen this event I went to" has earned you something you can’t buy.
Ready to stop treating creativity like an optional add-on and start using it as a strategic advantage? Our Creative Services team specialises in turning event design into business outcomes.