In this episode of Event Experience, host Rachel Moore sits down with Logan Clements and Mary Davidson, leaders behind the Better Events Podcast and seasoned event professionals. Once competitors, they now collaborate to create content, share strategies, and support one another, offering a fresh perspective on how community can outshine competition.
They dive into how the events industry is evolving in 2025: shorter lead times, ever-higher attendee expectations, and a growing demand for wellness, accessibility, and sustainable experiences. Together, Logan and Mary discuss how they built a partnership, their approaches to content creation, and even share their favorite event footwear.
Throughout the conversation, they stress the importance of reconnecting with your “why,” collecting robust post-event feedback, and iterating on lessons learned, so your events stay relevant and impactful as the industry moves toward 2026.
What you’ll hear about in this episode:
Enjoyed this content? Subscribe to our newsletter and get insights like these delivered straight to your inbox.
[00:00:00]
[00:00:09] Rachel Moore: Welcome to Event Experience by Bizzabo, the podcast where we bring the best and brightest event experience leaders together to share stories, tips, and lessons learned from creating some of the world's biggest events.
[00:00:21] I'm Rachel Moore, your podcast host. It's a gathering of the event podcasters. Join me on this fun discussion with Better Events Podcast hosts, Logan Clements and Mary Davidson, two experienced event planners who founded their own brands for event planning.
[00:00:38] We discussed their journeys into the event industry, the evolution of events in 2025, and the challenges faced by event planners today.
[00:00:46] The conversation highlights the importance of collaboration, the changing expectations of attendees and standout experiences from the year. As they look ahead to 2026, they emphasize the need for adaptability and innovation in the ever evolving landscape of event planning. It's a BOGO, that's buy one, get one free version of this episode of event experience.
[00:01:16] We're back with the next episode of Event Experience by Bizzabo, and I'm your host, Rachel Moore. Of course, and I'm truly excited about today.
[00:01:24] You guys know that I'm always excited about our episodes.
[00:01:27] A, rarely do I get a chance to have two guests instead of one.
[00:01:31] B, I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to have, as guests on the podcast, not only event professionals who are great at the craft of event planning, but also podcaster professionals. I'm super excited. Oh my gosh.
[00:01:46] So, without further ado, let me get into and introduce you all to today's guest.
[00:01:50] So, first. The first of our two guests is an event producer passionate about creating engaging and memorable live events, navigating the technical production setup. Wooh. I mean, especially as a podcaster, you know that too. And managing client relationships. All event planners know that.
[00:02:04] Her projects include the Olympic Games, the US Open Tennis Championships, college basketball, and conferences, webinars and fundraisers. Oh my. And she also speaks Mandarin Chinese. I don't think we're gonna feature that today because I certainly can't.
[00:02:19] She's the founder of Logan Strategy Group. Let's welcome Logan Clements to Event Experience. Thank you so much for joining us.
[00:02:25] Logan Clements: Thank you so much, Rachel. Happy to be here.
[00:02:27] Rachel Moore: Me too. I'm so excited. And you don't come alone, you also come with our second guest, and also super excited about another founder specializing in fundraising events, corporate events, and community events.
[00:02:40] I also wanna say, oh my, getting a little bit of the Wizard of Oz theme there, if you guys didn't catch it. All across the trifecta of in-person, virtual and hybrid. So again, running the whole kit and caboodle here.
[00:02:51] She is also the co-founder of the Event Pros on the Go Annual Retreat, and she founded EP Events LLC. Let's welcome Mary Davidson to the pod. Thanks for joining us too, Mary.
[00:03:02] Mary Davidson: Thank you. This has been a long time coming, so we're excited to make it happen.
[00:03:05] Rachel Moore: Let's go to some personal questions to ask each of you. So, uh, Logan, I'll take this one to you first and I'm gonna offer you two. I'm gonna offer you two options and you, I know you can see it in our little runner show document, but I'm either gonna ask you to answer what are your go-to on the ground event day shoes.
[00:03:21] You can give that to me as well, or, and or do you have a favorite AI prompt you like to use nowadays? Of course, I'm gonna ask that because that's all anybody's talking about is AI and all that stuff.
[00:03:30] But, you can answer either or both, but, uh, I'll leave it up to you.
[00:03:33] Logan Clements: All right, I'm gonna go with shoes just because I feel like that is, is very true to me.
[00:03:38] I'm currently usually wearing some form of orthopedic shoe because my feet hurt when we're on site. I've got some early onset arthritis in one foot, so I would encourage any event pros out there to, uh, get your feet checked. And then, uh, I wear either a Brooks or a Hokas, or if I need to look a little more sleek, I've got these like Rothy's, all white shoes that are just perfect for their flats, their rubber. They're very comfortable.
[00:03:59] Regardless. I always pack all three because I found for long many days in a row, if I rotate the shoes that saves my feet. And that's the thing that I, you don't wanna be limping around with all the millions of other things we have to do.
[00:04:11] I heard that too. Someone else, a recent guest also said rotating shoes and it just hadn't occurred to me.
[00:04:16] But that makes all the sense, 'cause then your feet are at least just getting like, new, fresh, fresh experience. Yet it's in a tried and true, trusted pair of shoes. But that's, that's super brilliant.
[00:04:24] Mary, I'm gonna take it over to you and again, you can answer either or both favorite AI prompt to use in your AI in your event planning, or favorite on the ground event day shoes.
[00:04:34] Mary Davidson: I'm gonna go shoes as well. Love talking about event attire.
[00:04:37] Admittedly many of my event shoes are just ones that I've just, you know, broken in and had for forever. And it's like, I can't even recommend them, 'cause I don't even remember where I got half of 'em. But they just work.
[00:04:47] But there's ones that have stuck with me and they're nothing special, but they're from Target and they're like, these cushions slip on sneakers that have like a quilted pattern and they're black and they, they're that like slip-on sneakers. So it could be kind of dressier, it could not. It's like that in between.
[00:05:01] And they've lasted me for forever, and so they're no special shoe necessarily, but I've recommended them to a lot of people and they've liked them too. So they're just these coed slip-ons from Target.
[00:05:11] Rachel Moore: Okay, everybody. You heard, again, you heard it here. We need to like get a a, a list published on Bizzabo be like, here are all the shoe recommendations and where to go get them. And of course, then those places wanna come advertise and stuff, which, you know.
[00:05:24] Logan Clements: Hey, that's a good, I said, you know, revenue stream.
[00:05:26] I will also point out to the, I went to the running store to get new event shoes and I went up and I was like, I'm not a runner. I don't run. So when you tell me I need new shoes after every, you know, so, so, thousand mile or whatever, hundreds of miles. And I'm like, but if you were just someone who's on your feet for six months, like, how often, and he was explaining to me on the tread as you look at it, that you can kind of visually, but he is like, you probably with what you're doing.
[00:05:47] It's like, yeah, every six months you need some new sneakers. Which feels frequent, but then I'm like, when you look at your step count on site at a convention center and you're like, I just did 25,000 steps. Yeah, okay, that does wear down your feet and your shoes.
[00:06:00] Rachel Moore: That's right. No, that's really good advice. It's like how, how often you should get your oil changed in your car. You know? It's like, yep. And that, you know, how often change out your shoes and your for your feet and keep those things healthy, but absolutely.
[00:06:10] Is there anything that you're listening to, watching or reading these days that you can't put down and it does not have to be related to events?
[00:06:17] Mary Davidson: Yeah. Okay, so this might be a little bit different, but I've been trying not to like scroll so much on my phone.
[00:06:21] And so, I got an app that's called 'Gratitude Plus', but there's the free version and it's just like a feed of people from around the world who post something that they're grateful for every day. And so, I've tried to like go to that to scroll because I guess I'm creepy. I don't know. I like to scroll it.
[00:06:37] It makes me happy. I like to see what people are grateful for. And then you too can post yours and you can make it public or not, but, so it's kinda like a gratitude exercise, but it's also just something you can, you can go to if you need, like a, a lift. And so that's, I really enjoyed that app lately.
[00:06:51] Rachel Moore: I'm gonna start going to that app. That sounds glorious because my doom scrolling is not working for me. I dunno about anybody else. But yeah, very good wreck.
[00:07:01] How about you, Logan? What, uh, listening, watching or reading anything that you cannot put down?
[00:07:05] Logan Clements: I had, uh, kinda a good year business-wise, but a tough year personally. And so I've really leaned into the fantasy book reading, and so I would just finished the last in the Trilogy, I guess as of right now, of the fourth Wing series, so about dragons and people with magical powers, and it was something I, I loved the Harry Potter series as a kiddo, and then I lean more mystery usually, or nonfiction. And then, I'd say in the last year have really enjoyed the books you're getting through in like two, three days. You know, staying up late, reading a good book and just getting lost in a world that is very unsimilar to what we're dealing with in reality. It's just helped recharge my brain.
[00:07:39] Rachel Moore: Escapism is is welcome. Yes. Because some, just like we just said, whether that's heading to a positive feed of great gratitude or I'm just going to launch myself into another world that's not here for right now. All good.
[00:07:51] But I'm glad that you both have outlets and these are some great recommendations for, for our listeners as well.
[00:07:56] Is there a particular social post piece of media or a hot take about events that either of you have found interesting lately?
[00:08:03] Mary Davidson: I can give the one that I was brainstorming, 'cause I sent it to Logan and we both were like, "Oh my gosh, this is so cool." My feed has officially shifted to like people who announce, Logan, you can speak to this better, but like our live announcers for events, I don't know. All of a sudden it's like so many and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is so cool.
[00:08:20] There's one, um, on Instagram. Her tag is @queennoveen and she's a live announcer for events. And so she does some really cool events that you see like on tv and then other small, just like, I think she has some conferences, ones that she has as well.
[00:08:33] And it's so cool to see her like practice and then do the, do like some voice of God announcement and I'm like obsessed with her content right now. So I think it's really cool, but Logan, you can probably speak to that better.
[00:08:43] Logan Clements: Yeah, she's like the public address announcer, but I think, yeah, she does it for tv, like the Grammys and, and everything. So yeah, hers is super cool.
[00:08:50] I think for mine it was more I found I bonded with other, uh, event pros virtually from another event pro on LinkedIn posting about where she gets her black blazers from and how she often gets them thrifted.
[00:09:01] You know, just did kind of a throwaway question of like, how about you? And then I noticed some people I knew had commented. And so, then I put mine in and it was funny we're all comparing like thrift store stories and brands and it's like, well it has to machine wash well, 'cause if you're on site, like having to get something dry clean is unimaginable. And it was just quite, I don't know. I love our world can feel really big and intense sometimes.
[00:09:21] But then finding you connect with someone over like, "Okay, what's your go-to black blazer?" Because a lot of times in the production world we're wearing show blacks all black. Uh, but varying things that are all black. It's not all the same outfit.
[00:09:32] So that was kind of fun to bond with randoms on LinkedIn. I love that.
[00:09:36] Rachel Moore: Yeah. And those are the things where you're just like, we're all just human here and just trying to get through. And whether it's the shoes we're wearing or the places where we're shopping for our blazers or apps we're, you know, paying attention due to maintain our sanity.
[00:09:46] We're all just human people, so.
[00:09:48] I know we have punted this down the calendar. Which it's always so fun for me and I know you can relate as our audience is gonna learn more about.
[00:09:56] Event professionals, event planners are the busiest people out there, they just are. And then you're trying to schedule podcasts with them.
[00:10:04] So, imagine when you're trying to schedule people on your show who are not only event planners, but also podcasters. It's amazing we're actually meeting finally, so I'm really excited.
[00:10:14] But I also, that's, I didn't wanna bury the lead there because y'all, Mary and Logan host the Better Events Podcast. So it's also why I'm super excited. Because A, I'm doing the A and B thing here, but here we go. I'm just gonna stick with that.
[00:10:28] A, it's really exciting for me to talk to fellow podcasters. It's so fun too. We do like the little preamble before we start recording. They're like, "Yeah, we got it, we know." But also, I just think it's super unique. Now, I'm a podcaster but not an event planner, but I am talking to both of you.
[00:10:41] You are event planners who podcast about event planning, so really getting the full run of experience here. So with that, I'm going to shut up now and I'm going to toss it back over to you, Logan. I'm gonna go to you first because obviously, I gave just a super brief intro bio about you. But please tell us about you, about your world.
[00:11:01] What is your world like in this industry of events? And podcasting? Logan, go for it.
[00:11:06] Logan Clements: Thank you. Yes. I'm glad we were able to make this work 'cause yes, it is always a, a challenge I feel like making schedules. Mary and I joke this year, 2025, season five of the pod, has been a year where like, our schedules comically conflict. Like, we're out of office, we're on site different times. It's been really funny.
[00:11:23] But yes, I am Logan Clements, and I'm based in Seattle, Washington, but I execute events here and all over the world. I do anything that has a microphone and a stage. So sometimes the stage is, as you spoke about, the Olympics or US Open Tennis Championships, but sometimes it's also a conference stage or a gala.
[00:11:40] But yeah, I know enough tech to be dangerous, but you do not want me plugging in any of your cables. I kind of straddle that world with event clients and tech teams, and helping them make their vision come to life and, uh, help big folks out who have really big events. But also I love working with some smaller folks who just don't know what they need.
[00:11:57] And yeah, anything, I do a lot of producing, show calling and then stage managing would be the other, other niche I'm met in. And I've been in business doing this freelance life for nine years now.
[00:12:06] Rachel Moore: Wow, that's so, so impressive. Congrats too. I mean, that's a haul, and so, i'm really, really excited and we're gonna hear so much too about your perspective and experience. And again, that's what we would like to do on this podcast. Make sure we're talking to people with that kind of experience.
[00:12:21] And that brings me to switch over to you, Mary, because, yeah, I would love to hear more about, after giving a brief bio about you as the other co-host of Better Events Pod and also so you having your own business, having your own event planning expertise, tell us what your world is like.
[00:12:35] Mary Davidson: Absolutely. So I would say like 80% of our business and events that we do are nonprofit. So it's really a lot of what we do, and that's 'cause before I got into events, I was in nonprofit work and then kind of got thrown into events, and then that's how I got into events. And so we like to say that nonprofit events are our jam, but of course, that's seasonal.
[00:12:53] So we do some other things to offset our time, like some corporate and community events. But overall, I would say, just for me, I'm a big fan of the event industry. I feel like any idea I have, I'm very entrepreneurial. Any idea I have has to do with the industry. And that includes the Better Events Podcast. And when we started that, I feel like it was a wonderful way to take kind of like our personal in interests and just love of the industry and have an outlet to do that.
[00:13:17] And so, that's when Logan and I started working together a little bit around that time, and then also in events as well, not just the podcast.
[00:13:23] Rachel Moore: So do you two do you crossover and like help each other plan events together, or do you kind of keep things separate like in your own ecosystems?
[00:13:30] Logan Clements: We practice what we preach of community over competition. So Mary and I hire each other often for different roles. I think we've fallen into slightly different niches. So like Mary can bring me in as a show caller, a stage manager. I like to tempt her into the production world every so often. And again, we both enjoy learning from each other.
[00:13:46] There's a lot of collaboration. But we, first, like the genesis of the podcast was because we both were bidding on an event against each other and had the idea to call each other and be like, "Why don't we actually go in on it together?" This was during COVID, so it kind of started ironically from a collaborative perspective, and then it's just grown from there.
[00:14:04] Rachel Moore: Just toss the microphones in the mix. So let's start recording this.
[00:14:08] Logan Clements: Yes, definitely. Well, and we have each other as accountability buddies. I always credit Mary with the idea for the podcast, but it was one that, you know, I knew having the two of us and people, we talked about, people getting busy. There's so many podcasts out there that were other event pros made that I wish I could call them and be like, " You were so great, keep podcasting." But they clearly just stopped 'cause they got busy.
[00:14:26] And so, having the two of us has just helped with our consistency. And we're at over 220 episodes, season five, releasing every week. So, very consistent, which has been helpful.
[00:14:36] Rachel Moore: That is so great, and yeah, props to you. And we at Bizzabo's Event Experience. This podcast, I know I've only been producing it for about the last three years, I think. Gosh, I'm in three, but, uh, yeah. Six years going.
[00:14:46] But you're right. It, it's busy. We already alluded to that too, as far as like just even trying to find time to get together here, which we did. Ha. And as we're doing that, like again, y'all, we've been planning this for months. It's been months, and life happens. Life happens, work happens, and we just do the best we can. I'm sure all of us are always looking for guests. We get the, the landscape, we get the atmosphere of just trying to juggle everybody's, when you're planning events, you're actually out there on the ground doing it.
[00:15:12] Just really hard to try to crowbar in, "Yeah, let me just go camp out somewhere with strong Wi-Fi, good lighting, and a microphone for 45 minutes to, to an hour." So, let's talk about that though. This year. It is, when we record this, it is the end of September already in 2025. I say that out loud and I can barely believe it.
[00:15:32] But all three of us, as we progress with our shows, as we welcome guests on and get their insights, share their expertise, we really are trying to keep a pulse on what the events industry is doing and what the people in it are doing, and share that out, you know, and be really in tune with that.
[00:15:51] With that in mind, I'd love to hear from each of you, what are your perspectives, what's your view on events in 2025? And you can kind of, I'm gonna give you free range here. Like if I just throw "2025 events", what do you think?
[00:16:05] Logan Clements: I'll take this first. I think I'm usually the undying optimist. And so I feel. I've seen some chatter in different event circles where folks have felt like events are going away or people aren't booking, and I kind of disagree with that. I do think there's still plenty of events. I think we're coming on a little bit of a like an inflection point of people coming out of COVID and what we did in COVID, how we first reacted to now it's like we're far enough away.
[00:16:27] I'm starting to see not so much this year, but even just looking at 2026, more of my clients personally are wanting to "shake things up." I say with quotes and I don't have much more details than what that means, apart from we ended the event this year they're like, "That was great, but we've been doing this for about four years in a similar manner. Maybe we shake things up next year." So, I think that's what I'm seeing. I'm intrigued to see what next year will bring.
[00:16:49] And then my pep talk to other event folks has just been, while it might feel like things are canceling or moving, events are happening, people are booking. Unfortunately, I think it's a shorter runway than what we're used to. Where I just did a project where usually I would have probably four months and we pulled it off in two weeks. Like we'd held dates for about three months, but it was one of those, it was like, we don't have the key details. And so I said, "Okay, so it's gonna be a sprint for the last two, two and a half weeks," and they said, "Yep." And that's what it was. So the event happened, and we pulled it through, but that's just one I've been seeing. Those timelines are getting shorter.
[00:17:21] Rachel Moore: Yeah, for sure. Mary, how about you? What are you seeing in this year thus far?
[00:17:25] Mary Davidson: I feel like kinda like, what you're living in is kind of shape what you're thinking sometimes. And for me, this year has been kind of crazy just with events and business. There's just been like lots of movement and things, lots of learnings. And so kind of along with that, I think that attendees have higher expectations because there are things that used to be a nice to have, and now they're more like an essential.
[00:17:44] And they're not just buzzwords either, right? Like things like sustainability, wellness, accessibility, engagement, all those things, they actually need to be happening 'cause people are expecting them to happen. And so it's cool to see that shift. And I think every year we see that shift further. So we've continued to see that in 2025.
[00:18:01] Rachel Moore: I would have to agree with both of you. My gosh, you said the shorter runway, Logan. That's been a recurring theme. And even at Bizzabo, I have the privilege of like hosting our webinars there too. We're always talking about, I mean, it's the constant drumbeat of all the event planners. Like, I am getting RSVPs or registrations shorter and shorter and shorter, right up to like game time decisions are happening so much more frequently.
[00:18:24] Which is such a challenge. I mean, especially, gosh, I know both of you gotta have experience where you're, I'm dealing with head counts, food, and drinking, hotels and capacity help, and not knowing that actual number until like it gets really close is, is gotta be a thing. And then, yeah. What you were saying about the expectations, it seems like, and I don't what you all think about this. There's all these things that are changing, you know, there's uncertainty economically, globally, and things like that.
[00:18:51] So, if people are gonna take the plunge and go to an event, whatever it is, in-person, virtual, hybrid, what have you, they're like, "Okay, make sure it's worth my while because I'm deciding to do it." And you're like, "Okay." Is that kind of resonating with you all? Is that what you're kind of seeing and feeling?
[00:19:07] Logan Clements: Yeah, and I think people are more protective of their time. I mean, that was also a thing, again, I hate keeping going back to COVID, but like if like in 2019 I had more things happening on weekends and stuff from a corporate perspective, or even some of my nonprofit. And so many of them then shifted to like, weekdays versus people being protective of family time.
[00:19:23] And yeah, I think the economic trajectory has a lot of people reevaluating certain things of both a time perspective and money. But I, again, the undying optimist, I will still say events are gonna happen. They might just look a little different or be a little smaller or happen more, more often or be more virtual.
[00:19:39] I'm a big proponent and fan of virtual for just accessibility and cost savings. And I know not everyone in the industry feels that way, but it's a tool we have, and I want people not to forget about it.
[00:19:50] Rachel Moore: That's a really good point. Mary, how about you? Is that kind of resonating as well? Like, you're kind of feeling like everybody's feeling that way?
[00:19:55] Mary Davidson: Absolutely. I was thinking that. Overall, it seems like there's like an increasing expectation on the value that people are either giving if they're hosting the event or getting if they're attending. So just that biggest bang-for-your-buck situation, whether it is time even, or money.
[00:20:09] But that's absolutely what it seems like is happening.
[00:20:13] Rachel Moore: We'll be right back with more event experience after the break.
[00:20:17] Let's face it. Venting won't fix outdated overpriced event management software that lacks the support and features you need. But Bizzabo's Event Experience Operating System will.
[00:20:29] Say goodbye to your frustrating legacy event software and hello to building more events that matter. Visit bizzabo.com. That's B I Z Z A B O.com to learn more about the Event Experience OS, KLIK SmartBadge, and more.
[00:20:47] We're back with Logan Clements and Mary Davidson to learn what they know about the topics, keeping their fellow event planners up at night.
[00:20:55] Now, when it comes to the people in the industry, so not necessarily attendees, but the people planning the actual events. Whether they're like the main event planner, they're the main maestro of it happening, or there are people on the ground who are just making it and executing it.
[00:21:09] And we've covered a couple just now at least in our discussion, what aspects of events do you think are weighing most heavily on the minds of everyone?
[00:21:16] Like, what's keeping people up at night saying? If they're not that optimist, Logan, what are they like, "I don't know what's gonna happen?" What do you think?
[00:21:24] Mary Davidson: I think there's so many things, actually. When you ask that question, all of a sudden, as an event planner myself, I start spiraling right? I'm like, "Well, this and this and this, and all of these things." Many of which, like you said, we already mentioned. But for me, I think a lot of it is like I don't know, I'll go the content route I guess.
[00:21:37] So, content is something that we've seen that's super important. We've seen content also become shorter with certain events 'cause people's attention spans are shorter and things like that. So for me, I want an attendee to come to an event and have an impactful experience where they are having, you know, engaging experiences, content that resonates with them and that they're not bored and that they can sit through a whole session, you know, all of these things.
[00:22:00] And so I think content and creating it in a way where it's truly interesting to the attendee. I know we keep saying engaging, but truly engaging or just a little bit different is really, really cool.
[00:22:10] And one of the things that Logan and I, we've tried out some things on our end and like, having something be a walk and talk, was one fun thing that we're able to try. So those are the things that are going on in my mind that are weighing heavy on my mind is what can we do that's like a little bit different, but the content can still hit home. So that would be my answer.
[00:22:27] Rachel Moore: I love that. I wanna go on a walk and talk now.
[00:22:29] Logan, how about you? What do you think's keeping people up at night?
[00:22:32] Logan Clements: Well, I'm coming at this from a very production perspective because when you said that, Rachel, I was like, "What has been keeping me up?" And I will say it's on the content side, but it's like, changes. Like, people changing their content last minute, night before, people are still waiting on slides. Like just some of that stuff that it is preventable, kind of, but with these shorter timelines, I also think that on the client side or the speaker side, they're then not having time to fully think through what they need to say or what's supposed to be there.
[00:23:01] And so, you're having scenarios where slides are getting handed off 30 minutes before they're supposed to go on screens, and just the litany of issues that can come from that. And the stress adds to a situation versus if you truly had locked slides three days prior. And I find myself in my role a lot often, communicating those several days in advance.
[00:23:18] Deadlines, knowing in my head like, "They're definitely gonna miss it. Let's hope they hit the second one. Okay, they're probably gonna miss that one. Maybe the third. "And then it turning into like, "If I don't have these by midnight tonight, we're really risking putting stuff on stage."
[00:23:30] And so that just kind of changes the content. I think a listener could interpret that in any role they're in. I'm usually in that general session room and having that.
[00:23:39] And then also, Mary, you talked about registration's coming late. Mary and I host the Better Events Conference, and it's something that we've loved because we get to, it's for our listenership, it's for event pros, we do a virtual day and an in-person day. But it also puts us in our client's shoes. 'cause usually we're just a piece of their event.
[00:23:54] And now, as the host, we're the ones deciding what content gets spaced in the agenda. We're the ones watching the ticket sales come in email by email being like, "Oh yeah, it is normal." We've now planned, we've learned this the last, this is our third year doing it. Like we're gonna get a big influx in the last seven days.
[00:24:10] And that's just, as a planner, you're like, go into venues being like, "So it could be 10 or it could be 30?" I don't know. Those are very different room sets, very different. Just navigating that uncertainty. And the more years you do it, the more, you know, context you have. Like, our first year was hardest, harder than these years now where we know, "Hey, historically, last year we had this many people we're expecting that, which maybe a little more." , But that is, like you said, the knock on effect, Rachel, of how many things rely on registrants, and I just can't imagine, our event is pretty small, but for someone doing a 10,000-person event, you're getting an extra thousand that come in the week before, like that's gotta be, you know, keeping them up at night on all the things it impacts.
[00:24:48] Rachel Moore: Yeah, I mean, I'll just say you all are magic makers. Again, I have just such deference and I've kind of like, I'm like the we're not worthy kind of thing. Because just knowing, again, talking to people who have their own podcasts, but you're also making events happen, your own event happen. Around your podcast, but also like for your clients and stuff.
[00:25:05] So all of us in the same bucket though. Y'all, so if you're listening to this or watching this and you're like, yeah, stuff's keeping me up at night, you're in good company. We're all feeling it, to whatever degrees. And these really are just highlighting those, those realities that we're all living in with how things are changing.
[00:25:18] And even Logan, I love what you said earlier about like people are just saying, "Okay, Let's do something amazing next year. It's gonna be, totally," and you're like, "Great. We'll see what that is. I guess."
[00:25:27] The challenge is always out there.
[00:25:29] Speaking of, kind of like we, we kind of covered challenges and stuff, but I wanna hear about any, like, standout event experiences you had or made happen this year. Whether you were just a participant of it or whether that you like, helped to make it happen. Let's drop some names and places. Logan, I'll go to you first.
[00:25:45] What was just kind of swashbuckling for 2025, in your opinion?
[00:25:49] Logan Clements: Oh, it's so hard to pick favorites, you know? So I just wanna make sure anyone listening. This isn't 'cause I say it's number one, but just instantly to my brain came. I got to produce for the new Women's Pro Softball League this summer.
[00:26:00] The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and it was a touring model, which was super cool. So we were bringing our production team, a core couple of us, and then working with locals in all these different cities.
[00:26:11] And I was a softball fan growing up as a kiddo. And so it was really cool to see this league, while it was new, sell out stadiums. And what I do with game production, where we're doing t-shirt tosses, and then Ash anthem and all that, doing that in front of a sold out crowd, which it's funny it's like grass is always greener.
[00:26:28] Like if they weren't selling out, it's like there's certain challenges of an empty stadium. But when they're sold out, they came to Seattle, I was like, "Oh, I'll tell all my friends to come." Nope, it's sold out like oh, two weeks in advance. I think I was able to get maybe two friends in.
[00:26:41] And it was a great problem to have 'cause it was a great experience, but also one you're like, "Oh my gosh, how big could it be?" But that was really fun, just again, see it was like Olympic, Olympic level athletes getting the reception they deserve. And it's just fun being a part of something new. It came with certain challenges, but like in a positive way. We were kind of learning and evolving as we went. That was just really, really cool to see.
[00:27:02] Rachel Moore: Dude, that sounds so cool. I can almost get goosebumps kind of thinking about, especially, and it's just so affirming to be like, "Oh my gosh, this just, this went so great and as good as it could possibly could to be at capacity like that for such a new event. And it's such a cool, a new thing." That's so cool. I love the sports themes too.
[00:27:17] Something I, I would like to get some more. So if you're listening and you do sports stuff, I definitely wanna get you on the podcast, y'all. So if you, you know, know somebody, if you see someone say something, you know, because I need someone!
[00:27:27] Mary, uh, would love to hear what was stand out for you in 2025?
[00:27:30] Mary Davidson: Oh my gosh, I have a few. The first one, you have to bear with me, but I'm gonna say it because I just went to it, and it was the Jonas Brothers concert. I'm a big fan. All right, so I'm calling it out because we know as event professionals we can't attend events without looking at everything else that's happening behind the scenes.
[00:27:46] So people are taking videos of the Jonas Brothers as I did as well, but I'm also taking a video of like the crew that's turning the stage around really quickly. I'm like, these are the heroes of the show.
[00:27:56] And that's kind of why I'm saying this is, it's so cool to see such big productions like this. They travel, they do all of these things, they have a system, but to see it enacted really well and I was like close enough that I could actually see it.
[00:28:07] So I was like, oh my gosh, I'm just loving like the behind-the-scenes part of this whole event. It's so cool. And you could see like the stage managers ready on the side of the stage with the guitars and things like that.
[00:28:18] And I don't produce like concerts. That's not really part of what I do for business. So, being able to see it and just be an attendee, I'm like, wow, this is like such a production and I really appreciate it. So it's nothing new, but for me, it was just a cool realization.
[00:28:32] Rachel Moore: Very cool. Well, I'm sure people can relate. I mean, I go to some concerts, but nothing like Jonas Brothers or Taylor Swift or Beyonce. But you gotta know, I mean, they put on such a show and that is just that.
[00:28:43] I wouldn't say upper or like superior to like putting on a conference or something, but it's, all eyes. I mean, and you know, you want it to be where like nobody notices anything wrong. It's all going right and the pressure's up there and stuff, but especially in today's where everybody's got a camera in their hand at all times, right?
[00:28:58] Because, like you did, you were like, I'm taking video of you people moving this around and being the superheroes that you are. So I love that you were documenting that, it's a very event planner of you, as well as Jonas Brothers fan.
[00:29:11] Alright, well I wanna get into, we talked about Logan, you being an optimist, even with people being like, "Okay, next year's gonna be, we're gonna do something fantastically different."
[00:29:20] But, what do you think 2026 event planners, the event industry should learn from what you both have seen and heard and felt and tasted from this year's events? What do you feel like we need to take with us into the new year?
[00:29:33] Mary (Zoom): Yeah, I think taking into the new year, the idea of like engagement, fatigue, and it's interesting 'cause I think this is in one way or another been a challenge for years. Like I kind of think it will continue to be, but it's kind of figuring out this sweet spot of wellbeing when people are at events and it's not just wellness. So I know that's really important and that's something that we've been able to bring more into the industry in the last couple years.
[00:29:58] But the idea just of wellbeing as an attendee and as people working events. How to do this in a way that just keeps us as whole humans in mind.
[00:30:06] And so I love the idea of, I mean, I don't love the idea of engagement fatigue, but I think it's great to keep it in mind going into 2026 as we're making our programs and our schedules. And I think that's kind of regardless of the event too. It could be, you know, your one night fundraising event. It could be your multi-day conference, but just being more intentional around that because sometimes it takes a lot out of somebody to go to an event.
[00:30:26] Rachel Moore: For real, I go to my own share of events every year that I try to kind of meter myself a little bit. But it does get a little to be a little much.
[00:30:34] And so, yeah, trying to balance that too. And also just with like every type of different kind of person, introverts, extroverts, homebodies, whatever.
[00:30:40] You know, maybe you got people who. Only drink non-alcoholic versus people who don't, you know, or things like that. So it could definitely run the whole spectrum.
[00:30:47] Logan, how about you? What should we know in 2026 that you learned from 2025?
[00:30:53] Logan Clements: Ooh. That's a tough one because I, I feel like I've, again, like I heard said, I have a lot of people telling me they're gonna shake things up and I'm always like very down for the shaking of things and mixing it up. But, uh, I think just continuing to make sure we're reconnecting with our why, for why we do events. 'Cause I think it's hard, and I've had these conversations with clients before where sometimes I'm like, maybe you don't need this event. And while that would mean less business for me, like, and we don't need to keep doing it I also had a couple where I feel like they've been impacted by how they think I will be, I will feel being like, oh no, that means we don't need Logan. And I'm like, "It's okay." You know, I give them permission to be like, it's okay if we don't do this next year. And you take a year off, you can always restart things.
[00:31:33] Maybe it's more aspirational, Rachel. 'cause I think I'm probably encouraging some people that they don't need to do certain events, but they will continue.
[00:31:39] But if you are, yeah, just re making sure you're like checking in with your why and the North star of why you're gathering to that point of, I do think numbers at events like attendees, numbers are dwindling. A sense that we're going to less things. So, that doesn't mean that people won't come to your thing, but just maybe less of the like, oh, I wanna be at conferences every month. And just streamlining that of like, why are we getting people to get out of bed and log onto our virtual event or come to our place and adding that value. Yeah. So yeah.
[00:32:08] Rachel Moore: I, I think too, I mean, you, I love that you brought up kind of metrics too, and even that might mean like maybe it's less people come to the event, but maybe then you just, kind of pivot it, reshape it a little bit based on that.
[00:32:20] I, I always think about it almost like email subscribers, like, it's okay to get unsubscribed to your email because then the people who still are reading every email and stuff, they're the tried and true fans. That might change a little bit what your content is and like what, what you're providing to them based on that maybe smaller, more niche audience.
[00:32:37] But I, I just totally hear you like the set it and forget it is out the window. We're you having to really assess that every time and just really be like, why loving that what you said about what is your why, why are you doing this? If you're literally just, well, we do it every year. Wrong answer.
[00:32:54] I mean, you're welcome to do that. You're welcome to do that. But, maybe think that through before you do it that way.
[00:33:00] Mary (Zoom): Right.
[00:33:00] Rachel Moore: Finally, which, you know, brings us full circle, I will let you all tell us where do we find and follow you and the Better Events Podcast and your own businesses. Tell us all the links, Mary, over to you first.
[00:33:13] Mary Davidson: So awesome. You can follow, um, me, our, my company name is EP Events, so EP Events LLC is our tag on social. I'm on LinkedIn under, I think, mary Rose Davidson.
[00:33:25] And then my website's epevents.org. I'll plug the podcast too, Logan and then pass it to you. For our podcast, you can find us at Better Events Pod on most social platforms, and our website is bettereventspod.com.
[00:33:37] And we'd love to see you at all of those places and our podcast is on all major podcast platform, so you can check it out as well. The Better Events Podcast.
[00:33:44] Logan Clements: Yeah. Every single Wednesday we drop new episodes.
[00:33:46] We think we only take two weeks off around the holidays at the end of the year. So, and there's over 220 episodes you can go back and binge listen to.
[00:33:53] So, yeah, you can follow me, Logan @loganstrategygroup_events, or if you just Google Logan Clements. My website should come up for Logan Strategy Group. And then yeah, as Mary mentioned, I think I'm, I'm the Logan Clements, the only one of the few, with blonde hair on LinkedIn. Uh, and then we love connecting. 'Cause a lot of times in this world we don't know what we need until we need it. So, um, we're always willing to chat.
[00:34:23] Rachel Moore: Logan and Mary help us all skill up with their takeaways about collaboration and gathering event feedback after the curtains close,
[00:34:31] One piece of advice I would say. And I firmly believe this, so I think this is why I'm sharing it. But I do believe that we can go so much farther with, with others than just with ourselves. And that's how my career in the industry has grown in any way, or even with these endeavors, like the podcast, like Logan and I mentioned doing that together. So, I really have enjoyed working with other people on things.
[00:34:52] So I guess, that my advice would be to talk to other people, you know, and just kind of figure out who is doing the things that you want to do. So if there's something out there that you've never done, even if you've been in the industry for a long time and you're like, "Wow, I've always wanted to do that type of an event, but I never actually have.", see who's doing it.
[00:35:09] And then, I think, when you look at that. You can figure out how to get into the room where things are happening that you want to be a part of by working with other people and talking with them, and just figuring out who could be a partner or a collaborator for this thing that you just really wanna try.
[00:35:24] And I think that's also what's beautiful about our industries. There's so many different things to try and so many different people doing different things. And so, look for them, and reach out and that would be my advice.
[00:35:34] I constantly think that the post event, like feedback report is your biggest asset, whether you're doing that event again or not, and it's just such a crucial part. I think so many people do the talk about the pre-planning. They talk about the onsite, and then you're just exhausted. And then by the time, it's time to get ready for the event again, you're like, "Oh yeah. Did someone write down like how many people came or like, what would what we have would we have changed?" You're like, "Nothing. It was great." 'Cause the rose colored glasses settled in, you know, in the months and weeks and months afterward and so I am not, I'm guilty of this. I don't always do it, but I try at some point to go back and literally write it out, whether it's stream of consciousness, bullet points.
[00:36:11] Logan Clements: Mary does great voice notes on her way home from events, like whatever this looks like to you. The way I've tried to frame it is it's, you're helping out future, you. So future you will thank you, if you made notes of like, "that one speaker hates the clicker. Okay, now I know it. So when I see them again, I'm already building on that trust and I'm not gonna remember that detail later on." Or if we shifted this session by 10 minutes, 'cause this person always goes over, well, you know, now we don't have everything else shifting.
[00:36:36] And again, they can be as long, I've had some as long as like 20 pages where clearly I had a lot to say. And others are like five bullets. That just even me remembering, "Hey, pack your coffee mug. 'cause that makes me feel more at home in a hotel room." Like, just those little things.
[00:36:49] So. Whether you're a part of a team, make your team do it if you can, but if not, you as the individual should because future you will thank you, uh, for having any form of post-event notes. Next time you do that event or do a similar event.
[00:37:00] Rachel Moore: Thanks again to Logan Clements and Mary Davidson for joining us on Event Experience, and thank you for listening.
[00:37:07] If you're enjoying the show, we'd love to hear it. Connect with us on social, and subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you're listening. Also, don't forget to share the show with your colleagues and friends.
[00:37:19] You can find transcripts of each episode and key takeaways on Bizzabo.com/podcast. On behalf of the team, thank you. We'll gather again soon for a new episode of Event Experience.[00:37:32]
