B2B event teams are navigating a difficult environment — marked by flat or declining budgets, high inflation, resource constraints, and intensifying competition for attendees and sponsors. Registration is trending later, and audiences are looking for more immersive, interactive, and personalized experiences. Forrester’s annual event survey provides event leaders and planners with insights to negotiate this environment and shape their 2026 event strategy.

Join The Survey

Your input is invaluable to us! If you’re involved in running B2B events, take Forrester’s Q1 2026 State Of B2B Events Survey by February 20.

For any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Conrad Mills (cmills@forrester.com) or Rosa Tardio (rtardio@forrester.com).

Last Year’s Findings

The 2025 survey delivered a number of insights into the evolving event mix, event planning, priority areas, and approaches to event technology:

  • Two‑thirds of event teams saw flat or reduced budgets for the second year running. And even where budgets increased (+19%), inflation eroded real-world value.
  • Smaller, simpler events dominated, with 59% of marketers planning to run more small, hosted events and 43% planning more webinars. In contrast, planning for large-scale events dropped 12% year over year.
  • Over 90% of teams prioritized attracting the right audience, measuring ROI, and enhancing post-event follow-up. This focus led to a continued deprioritization of inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability — the lowest priorities.
  • Twenty-eight percent of large organizations used six or more event tech platforms, and only 20% had fully integrated their event platform into their sales and marketing stacks. Survey data showed that integrated event technology correlated with significantly higher satisfaction with event performance.
  • AI was primarily used for content creation (39% of marketers reported this use), but broader applications, such as personalization and analytics, were much lower. Most organizations were in “learning mode” but anticipated expanded AI use over the next year.
  • As organizations grow, the tendency to execute events in functional silos increases, with field teams responsible for the majority of events in 31% of the largest enterprises.

2026 Survey Overview

Events remain a cornerstone of B2B marketing, but the landscape is more demanding than ever. To succeed, event leaders must build an internally aligned, audience-centric event plan. They need to evolve their event mix and content, prioritize event platform integration, do more with data, and better exploit AI across the event lifecycle.

Forrester’s Q1 2026 State Of B2B Events Survey explores these areas in depth — covering budgets, event mix shifts, technology and AI, and evolving priorities.

Confidentiality And Benefits

All survey responses will be kept strictly confidential. The survey itself will take about 15 minutes to complete, and all respondents will receive a complimentary copy of the Forrester report, Build An Integrated, Aligned, And Data-Centric Event Plan To Power Revenue Process Transformation. We will also share a summary of the findings when available in Q2.