“Just Good Enough” is Killing Events—And the Events Industry Must Wake Up

A 2025 Look at the State of The Events Industry

By David Adler

The Death of the Spectacle?

As I navigated the Washington, D.C. Auto Show last month, I couldn’t help but notice a palpable shift. The grandeur and excitement that once defined such events seemed subdued. The spectacle had been dialed back. The signage was smaller. The activations were uninspired. The energy—the thing that makes people reme…