Hooked #15
Building meaningful speaker–audience connections; the one sponsorship rationale you should shut down immediately; and a full GGBU review of IBTM World.
In this newsletter, I’ve been exploring how individuals can build more meaningful connections with each other at events — but it’s worth remembering that speakers also have a responsibility (and a real opportunity) to build connection with their audience. We’re now in a moment where this is entirely possible, even when speakers and delegates don’t share the same language. The technology exists, it’s accessible, and yet many organisers still aren’t taking advantage of it. So I wanted to bring this topic into focus.
And since we’re firmly in “planning season”, I also want to highlight one of the most common statements I hear — especially from sales teams — when sponsorship discussions begin: “We just have to be there to be seen.”
If anyone brings that line to you this year, feel free to shut it down. It’s not a reason. It’s not a strategy. And it’s certainly not something you can present to leadership as justification for a six-figure spend.
Finally, remember when I mentioned a few weeks ago that I hoped I’d make it to IBTM?
Well… I made it in.
And you can read all about how it went below.
Ana Williams
Founder and Event & Marketing Strategist
Building Connections With Purpose
Bridging the Speaker-Delegate Connection
Building connections at an event isn’t just about bringing delegates together that are relevant to each other. It’s also how speakers connect with their audience in a way that feels meaningful, relevant, or surprising.
That connection can happen in many ways:
A theme the audience can learn from.
A point of view that challenges assumptions.
A story that surprises, entertains, or brings joy.
A moment that pulls people in and makes them think differently.
There’s no single, linear way for a speaker to build connection with their audience.
But one thing is absolutely essential: the message has to be understood.
A speaker can deliver the most insightful, entertaining, or thought-provoking address — but if delegates can’t understand them, the impact is lost.
You may be wondering what I mean about being understood. This came up recently when a friend told me about an event she attended in Madrid.
There was a panel advertised as being delivered in English. Turns out only one panelist actually spoke English. The others spoke in Spanish.
You’d think this would be an obvious problem, but it shouldn’t be an issue at all in 2025. There are currently several AI technologies, such as Interprefy, LiveVoice, or others, that allow for real-time translation displayed on a stage screen or a mobile app; or can offer instant audio translation through headsets from providers like Silent Conference.
For multilingual panels, the technology goes a step further: speakers can wear headsets that translate their fellow panelists’ contributions instantly, allowing each person to participate in their own language without interrupting the flow of discussion. The progress in this area over the last few years has been remarkable, and what once required complex equipment or dedicated interpreters is now accessible to almost any event organiser. This opens up the possibility of bringing truly diverse expertise to a stage, regardless of the language a speaker feels most confident using.
In the case of the event my friend attended, however, none of this technology was implemented. Instead, the moderator found themselves acting largely as an interpreter, moving back and forth between English and Spanish and leaving little room for actual moderation. One of the Spanish panelists barely contributed at all, and the audience struggled to follow the conversation. The end result was a panel discussion in which the intended message was lost, and the opportunity for meaningful connection between speakers and delegates simply never materialised — a situation that could have been entirely avoided with the right tools in place.
Are you looking for help with the message delivered on stage so you can best connect with your audience? We can help. Book an exploratory call with The Hook Studio today.
Event Strategy That Drives Results
Stop Sponsoring Events Just to Be Seen
If there’s one statement GTM leaders often say that I disagree with passionately, it’s this: - “we need to sponsor that event to be seen as all our competitors are there”.
Well let me break it down to you, and I know this may be hard to take, but I’m afraid it is true - “No one cares!”
Yup, you heard me.
Your prospects won’t care. They may not even know you exist.
Your customers might only care if you normally wine and dine them at that event, but it’s not because you’re not picking up the dinner bill this time that they will churn.
The only ones who might notice are your competitors. Mostly so they can delight in the internal gossip that your absence surely means a budget cut and therefore some kind of weakness. (Let them think about what they want. They are not the ones paying your bills).
If you’ve reviewed the performance of that event year after year, tried different approaches, and still can’t make it contribute meaningfully to your goals… it’s time to let it go.
And no, “we just need to be there to be seen” is not a strategic reason to pour time, money, and team capacity into an event.
Events can be one of your strongest marketing channels — when they’re chosen intentionally and approached with a clear purpose. But each event must align with at least one of your overarching business goals.
So take a good look through your 2025 event performance before deciding which ones to do for 2026 and if they don’t perform as they should, it’s time to let them go. And trust me, it will be OK!
Need help reviewing your event performance and defining the best event portfolio for the year ahead? Book an exploratory call with The Hook Studio today.
The Great, Good, Bad and Ugly (GGBU): Event Review
In this section, we review recent events we’ve attended, highlighting what worked well, what could be improved and what simply didn’t land. We focus on key areas like audience engagement and experience, communication throughout the event lifecycle, content quality, operational execution, and overall brand impact. Follow The Hook Studio’s Instagram for more event highlights and reviews!
IBTM World
IBTM World is one of the largest conferences servicing the meetings and events industry for over 30 years and it took place again last week in Barcelona. It was a fascinating mix of standout moments, solid improvements, and a few avoidable frustrations. Here’s my GGBU take on what IBTM World got right, what could be refined, and what brands should take away as learnings for their own events.
The Great:
Sustainable paper badges — finally an event that doesn’t have the plastic pouches and is actually doing something about reducing unnecessary plastic waste that is still so prominent at events.
The Welcome Party - it took place immediately after the show day, right at the venue, and it was actually good:
Had a live band playing as doors opened
Food + drinks were widely distributed → minimal queues and enough food to qualify as a proper dinner for everyone attending.
Indoor + outdoor flow of space.
DJ until 11pm → felt like a real party, not just drinks + canapés.
Inclusion and disability was considered:
The event had a dedicated disability bar at the Welcome Party, placed intentionally far from the main bar so wheelchair users could get service quickly and comfortably.
It had two quiet areas at the show floor and completely away so people could get away from the crowds and take a moment.
It had a quiet room - following the same principle as the Refuel Lounge but located completely off the show floor
And other services available to support those with visible and invisible disabilities. Full list in IBTM’s Inclusion & Accessibility page.
Opportunities to meet influential people and companies in the industry - From personalities on stage to fringe events outside of the main expo floor, the opportunities were numerous for delegates to make relevant connections with those they normally only see online.
Well-run shuttle services between the airport, hotels and the venue for hosted buyers (and some other groups). Regular, reliable, and clearly communicated.
Focus on reducing friction across the attendee journey. Whether it’s accessibility, food availability, or transport, people stay longer, and therefore have more opportunities to engage between them and the event.
The Good:
All main stages were grouped on one side of the show floor, making it easier to move between sessions without zig-zagging through the entire venue.
A second party night on Wednesday at 10pm.
Late for some, but culturally aligned with Spain’s nightlife rhythm.
Allowed people to have dinner first.
Feedback suggests it was fun, well-attended, and worth staying out for.
Think about pacing your social programming. Give people the flexibility to plan around your event. When scheduling evening activations, consider the cultural context and build formats that make sense for that audience.
The Bad:
The interactive map wasn’t fully working at the start of the event. It took about 2 hours for it to work as it was meant to, but in the meantime the following issues happened:
Key spaces like stages and lounges weren’t properly labelled.
Attendees were confused about where to go.
The event app underperformed:
5–10 seconds of loading time every time you opened it.
Notifications didn’t link to the relevant content. Example: “You have a message” → but no clear indication of where to find said message.
Don’t rely solely on digital tools unless they’re bulletproof. Worth providing a few analogue fallbacks—especially for way-finding. A simple large printed map in a central location at IBTM would have prevented frustration and helpdesk queues at the start, and would have been a good alternative for flat mobile phone batteries at the end of the day.
The Ugly:
No available powerbank rentals - there were some power connections around the event, but unless you had the time to pause to charge your phone, you didn’t have much of an alternative, and as the mobile app is an essential way for delegates to find their way around the large conference, powerbanks should have been provided.
If you are making the mobile app access an essential part of the event conference experience that delegates need to use regularly at a full day event, make sure you are providing delegates with easy and widely available options to charge their phones, accounting for those who forget their powerbanks or their charging cables.
Aside from the few tech issues, and considering it is such a large undertaking of an event, I’d say IBTM World was a smoothly run event with strong logistics and attention to attendee comfort overall, so it definitely left a good impression.
What Else is On My Mind?
Event Tech Live: The on-demand recording of the session I presented at Event Tech Live on the topic of ‘The Personalisation Payoff: Event Strategy That Proves REI’ is now available. Find it here.
Creator Playbook Podcast - I came across this podcast recently and have to say: the host does a brilliant job of creating genuinely engaging content around content creation and entrepreneurship. If you’re looking for fresh marketing inspiration — whether for your business or your events — there are some really useful insights here.
Did you enjoy this Hooked newsletter? Have any topics in mind you’d like us to write about? Drop us a note with your thoughts.
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