Intelligent Innovation · Thought Leadership

The intelligence the industry runs on.

Freeman leads through research, standards, and community, sharing what we know so the entire industry can move forward together.

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What does Freeman Trends research reveal about attendees?

Most industry research tells you what already happened. Freeman Trends tells you what’s coming.

What’s keeping people away
60%

of non-attendees would attend if offered in-person-only education

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Learning
Top 3

reasons attendees register for in-person events.

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Experience
85%

of attendees who experience a peak moment are more likely to return.

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Networking
#1

Reason attendees return year after year: meaningful connections, not content.

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Commerce
96%

say it’s easier to advocate for a product or service after hands-on activities at an event.

Build for buyers.

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How does Freeman invest in the industry it loves?

Freeman’s thought leadership doesn’t stop at research. It shows up in the standards we set, the communities we build, and the events we convene.

Sustainability

Greener events, engineered into every product.

Community

Inside Live: where the industry shapes itself.

Safety

The safety standards that keep the industry running.

Who is shaping the future of the live events industry?

The perspectives behind the work. Meet the Freeman leaders shaping how the industry interprets data.

Ken Holsinger
SVP, Strategy

“Commerce has become the fastest-rising motivator for in-person attendance, and most organizers haven’t updated their event design to match it yet. The Trends data is clear. The response lags.”

David Saef
SVP, Strategy

“AI is exploding. So is the demand for in-person connection. Our trends and insight reports show these aren’t contradictions — they’re the new reality. What’s changed is the standard. NowGens and non-attendees no longer tolerate events designed for someone else. They expect relevance on arrival and impact before they leave.”

Freeman | FAQ Accordion

Frequently asked questions about Freeman's thought leadership

  • Freeman Trends is Freeman's proprietary research platform tracking what drives attendance, shapes experience, and determines whether attendees return. It covers the full event lifecycle.

  • Freeman Trends is built from proprietary live event data, not third-party aggregation. The scale and depth of that intelligence is unmatched in the industry.

  • Four fundamental drivers shape every attendance decision: experience, learning, networking, and commerce. Freeman Trends has the data on all of them.

  • Freeman publishes its research openly so the entire industry can act on it. Internally it informs every technology and design decision Freeman makes.

  • Freeman convenes industry forums through Inside Live, maintains 100% OSHA-certified crews, and engineers sustainability into every product it ships.

  • Thought Leadership is Step 01 of the Freeman Intelligence Process. The research it generates informs the technology Freeman builds and the environments Freeman designs.

  • Freeman Trends research is published and publicly available at freeman.com. Subscribe to receive new findings as they publish.

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