In a competitive b‑to‑b event landscape, organizers need to differentiate their events and add additional value for all levels of attendees. Events within events are delivering on those objectives, lifting some of the burden off organizers and, ultimately, boosting the bottom line.

LiveWorx, taking place this week, June 17–20, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, is able to market three events in one thanks to add-ons to the main event for registered attendees. The additional events include The Robotics & AI Summit, which joined forces with LiveWorx as a “second” conference within the event that offers meetups and sessions that help further expand on the industrial engineering technologies content matter of the larger show. Also taking place is the Executive Technology Symposium with media partner MIT Sloan, which is offering a full day of content on high-level strategy, tactics and inspiration for 75-plus C‑Level executives attending LiveWorx.

The Cyber Security Summit & Expo is also getting in the game, where attendees will be able to attend a Data Protection conference “co-located” at the summit that offers targeted content. And last year, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEG) at its annual CONEXPO-CON/AGG show at the Las Vegas Convention Center created an owned event within an event outside—a massive footprint that included a general stage area with a full lineup of speakers and content, exhibitor center and activations, all designed to drive home the association’s purpose, and position it as an industry thought leader.

The trend is also taking shape in the form of a franchised experience. Take C2 Montréal, the international business and creativity conference known for its offbeat and trendsetting experiences, from disruptive networking activities to live theater to festivalization. Knowing these experiential pieces are uniquely C2, the organization this year is placing components of its events within other events. The C2 Experience activated at InfoComm earlier this month in Las Vegas, June 6–8, and included, among engagements, “The Dark” sensory deprivation room where attendees discussed “industry blind spots” as a peer-to-peer networking exercise.

For the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA), organizer of InfoComm, C2 aligns well with its mission. David Labuskes, AVIXA ceo, said in the announcement:“Both AVIXA and C2 are committed to helping professionals think differently about how they tackle business challenges in a rapidly-changing world.”

In the rapidly-changing conference world, events within events are a win-win scenario.