October Event Tea: What Event Marketers Need to Know
October 30, 2026
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00:13:01

October Event Tea: What Event Marketers Need to Know

October 2026 event industry news, in one problem: the show recaps say demand is booming, while the deal news says the ownership map is being redrawn. Your 2027 plan has to survive both.

Megan was at IMEX America and Cvent CONNECT Europe, then spent two weeks reading everything else. The takeaway: IMEX had about 96,000 scheduled meetings, but a meeting isn’t a result. And when Informa agreed to buy Clarion Events for £2.24 billion, it changed something your sponsorship budget depends on: whoever owns the show sets the packages, the prices and who gets the attendee list.

In this one:

  • How to trace one show meeting to a real outcome, so you stop quoting attendance and start proving pipeline influence.
  • What to ask your rep before you renew, now that Informa is buying Clarion and CloserStill bought 5 events from ROAR, including B2B Marketing Live.
  • How to get your event recap found in AI search: Bain says 89% of citations for unbranded prompts come from third-party sources, and the 2X AI Visibility Index says 96% of B2B companies are largely invisible in early-stage AI discovery.
  • How do you fix the cost of students attending IMEX America? Sponsor a seat, publish a line-item budget, give a student a job on your booth for an hour, and talk to the students you see.
  • Are panels dead? Megan’s test for your next one, based on what Bravo Fan Fest got right.

If your 2027 plan was written before October, listen before you sign another sponsorship. Subscribe to Event About It, and send this episode to the event marketer who still reports attendance as a result.

Mentioned in this episode

About Your Host
Megan Martin is the founder of M Squared Dynamics, a consulting, facilitation, and content strategy firm helping event leaders, marketers, and sales teams turn live experiences into measurable business growth. She’s the host and executive producer of Event About It, co-founder of Opportunity Hunters, and a two-time PCMA Visionary Award nominee (2022 winner). With nearly 20 years in the industry, Megan operates at the intersection of event strategy, marketing alignment, and behavioral intent signals, turning events from line items into pipeline drivers.

Connect with Megan and M Squared Dynamics:

  • Podcast: EventAboutItPodcast.com
  • Newsletter (Step and Repeat): msquareddynamics.com/stepandrepeatsignup
  • Consulting and strategy: msquareddynamics.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmartincmp/
  • Instagram: @m2dynamics and @eventaboutit
  • TikTok: @eventaboutit


Keep the Conversation Going

Subscribe to Event About It so you don't miss what's coming next. Send this episode to the marketing leader who just signed off on a creator or influencer program and still isn't sure what they're actually getting for it.

October 2026 event industry news, in one problem: the show recaps say demand is booming, while the deal news says the ownership map is being redrawn. Your 2027 plan has to survive both.

Megan was at IMEX America and Cvent CONNECT Europe, then spent two weeks reading everything else. The takeaway: IMEX had about 96,000 scheduled meetings, but a meeting isn’t a result. And when Informa agreed to buy Clarion Events for £2.24 billion, it changed something your sponsorship budget depends on: whoever owns the show sets the packages, the prices and who gets the attendee list.

In this one:

  • How to trace one show meeting to a real outcome, so you stop quoting attendance and start proving pipeline influence.
  • What to ask your rep before you renew, now that Informa is buying Clarion and CloserStill bought 5 events from ROAR, including B2B Marketing Live.
  • How to get your event recap found in AI search: Bain says 89% of citations for unbranded prompts come from third-party sources, and the 2X AI Visibility Index says 96% of B2B companies are largely invisible in early-stage AI discovery.
  • How do you fix the cost of students attending IMEX America? Sponsor a seat, publish a line-item budget, give a student a job on your booth for an hour, and talk to the students you see.
  • Are panels dead? Megan’s test for your next one, based on what Bravo Fan Fest got right.

If your 2027 plan was written before October, listen before you sign another sponsorship. Subscribe to Event About It, and send this episode to the event marketer who still reports attendance as a result.

Mentioned in this episode

About Your Host
Megan Martin is the founder of M Squared Dynamics, a consulting, facilitation, and content strategy firm helping event leaders, marketers, and sales teams turn live experiences into measurable business growth. She’s the host and executive producer of Event About It, co-founder of Opportunity Hunters, and a two-time PCMA Visionary Award nominee (2022 winner). With nearly 20 years in the industry, Megan operates at the intersection of event strategy, marketing alignment, and behavioral intent signals, turning events from line items into pipeline drivers.

Connect with Megan and M Squared Dynamics:

  • Podcast: EventAboutItPodcast.com
  • Newsletter (Step and Repeat): msquareddynamics.com/stepandrepeatsignup
  • Consulting and strategy: msquareddynamics.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmartincmp/
  • Instagram: @m2dynamics and @eventaboutit
  • TikTok: @eventaboutit


Keep the Conversation Going

Subscribe to Event About It so you don't miss what's coming next. Send this episode to the marketing leader who just signed off on a creator or influencer program and still isn't sure what they're actually getting for it.