Epic Events Podcast with
Nick Borelli

From Gut Feelings to Data-Driven Decisions: Transforming Event Strategy with Behavioral Insights

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  • Nick Borelli

    Nick Borelli works as a Director of Marketing at Zenus. He is an expert in experience design and event tech and has helped numerous event professionals design innovative and intentionally crafted experiences. He has been recognized as a MeetingsNet Changemaker, International Volunteer of the Year, and an award-winning marketer.

About the Episode

In this episode of the EpicEvents podcast, Muhammad Younas speaks with Nick Borelli to discuss data-driven techniques to analyze events and different AI tools to measure event success in a whole new way.

Nick talks about how metrics like dwell time, sentiment, and engagement are giving event organizers the power to optimize activations, tweak booth designs, and, most importantly, create better experiences for attendees.

He also shares some exclusive tips on using benchmarks, combining passive and active data, and tailoring strategies to fit different audience segments. They touch on how ROI-focused decisions can make a real difference for exhibitors, why thoughtful swag matters, and how you can use data to keep improving your events with storytelling that sticks.

Key Takeaways

  • Don’t collect data without a purpose. Track metrics like engagement peaks, dwell rates, and sentiment analysis to identify successes or areas for improvement, such as booth design or session timing.
  • Historical and cross-event data help set benchmarks and identify trends. For example, comparing engagement metrics with past events shows whether changes (e.g., design updates) have paid off.
  • Adapt your strategies to fit audience needs. Salespeople may prefer shorter sessions, while academic audiences might engage more with in-depth formats.
  • Use data to test and refine elements like booth layouts, content placement, or session schedules. Small adjustments can significantly boost attendee experiences and exhibitor ROI.
  • Leverage passive data to identify trends and active data (e.g., surveys) for deeper insights.
  • Give exhibitors clear ROI data tied to activations, like booth engagement. This can strengthen partnerships and drive event profitability.
  • Tools like Xenus use AI-driven sensors to gather aggregated attendee behavior data, such as impressions, dwell time, and sentiment. This data can complement active data collection (like surveys) for a holistic understanding of event performance.