Insight

Event Tech is Martech: Cvent CONNECT Europe 2026

Ellie Rackham Marketing Manager

Length 3 min read

Date October 29, 2026

“The best teams treat event tech like martech”

This was the opening message from Cvent’s CEO and Co-founder, Reggie Aggarwal, at Cvent CONNECT Europe last week, and one I couldn’t agree with more.

As a marketer who manages events as part of a wider marketing strategy, I use both technologies every day and I’ve seen first-hand the difference connected platforms and accurate data can make.

Cvent is a global leader in event technology, providing solutions for event planning, registration, attendee engagement and reporting. Its portfolio includes tools such as Goldcast and ON24, alongside other technologies supporting webinars, virtual events and video content. Cvent hosts events worldwide, with its flagship CONNECT conferences in North America and Europe bringing together marketing, event and hospitality professionals to explore the latest industry developments.

Attending CONNECT Europe gave me the chance to hear first-hand how other businesses are incorporating AI into their event planning, delivery and measurement. This went hand in hand with the latest product innovations and updates that the Cvent team introduced during the opening keynote and reinforced throughout the day’s sessions, with AI playing a central role in simplifying event management and reducing manual processes.

Of all the discussions and insights shared throughout the day, three themes stood out to me:

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1. It's what you do with the data that counts

Connecting your event tech and martech is important, but the real value comes from understanding and acting on the data.

Attendee engagement can tell us a lot about customer interests, from the sessions they attend to the questions they ask. These signals can help marketing and sales teams deliver more relevant follow-up, while the conversations are still fresh, and better understand where customers are in their journey.

Our Director of Event Tech, Rob Curtis, explored this in his session with over 150 attendees, highlighting how integrated event data can connect engagement to better experiences, faster post-event outreach and measurable pipeline impact.

For me, the real opportunity is making sure these insights are reaching the right people and influencing what happens after the event, rather than simply sitting in a reporting dashboard.

2. Event ROI goes beyond immediate pipeline

“What would have happened if we hadn’t run the event?”

This question really stuck with me.

It’s easy to focus on registrations, attendance and immediate pipeline, but the real impact of events isn’t always visible straight away.

Having managed events with varied objectives, from generating new business to strengthening existing customer relationships, I know how important it is to define success before planning begins. This shapes everything from the audience and content to the format and how success is measured.

Attributing pipeline to a single event is challenging when customers engage across multiple channels. But that shouldn’t stop us from understanding the wider role events play in building relationships and influencing pipeline over time.

3. The value of face-to-face connection in an AI-driven world

Between Cvent’s latest AI-powered platform innovations and hearing how other businesses are incorporating AI into their event marketing workflows, there was a clear focus on how technology can take some of the operational pressure off marketing teams, giving them more time to focus on the attendee experience.

But while AI can improve how we plan and deliver events, I think genuine face-to-face interaction becomes even more valuable as technology advances.

For me, a successful event is about the entire experience. The venue, the format, the conversations and the feedback all play a key part. I put a lot of thought into getting these details right, because they can make a real difference to how attendees engage with the event and what they take away from it.

And listening to feedback from attendees and colleagues is essential to making each event better than the last. Technology can help us understand engagement, but there’s still enormous value in reflecting on the conversations that happen in the room and using those insights to shape future events.

The Value Beyond the Event

One thing Cvent CONNECT reinforced for me is that successful events rely on getting both the technology and the experience right.

Connected data helps us understand our audiences, AI is creating new opportunities to improve how we work, and face-to-face conversations remain one of the most valuable parts of the event experience.

Putting these insights into practice will help us make more informed decisions, improve our future events and better understand their contribution to the wider marketing strategy.

If you’re experiencing similar challenges managing events as part of your marketing mix, I’d love to hear your perspective. Whether these points resonate with you or you’d like to discuss the latest Cvent technology innovations and insights shared at Cvent CONNECT Europe, get in touch or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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