Episode
Why Forrester Is Betting on Smaller Events
- Podcast
- Event Planner Confessions
- Published
- Sep 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1223
- Processing state
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Summary
More content is not always more valuable. In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt talks with Tavar James, vice president of global events at Forrester, about why the company introduced shorter, more intimate Forums alongside its flagship Summits and shortened experiences across parts of the portfolio. Tavar shares how a listening tour with attendees, sponsors, clients, and internal teams exposed the real friction around event participation: higher travel costs, tighter budgets, too much time away from work and family, content overload, and sponsorship value that was not always obvious enough. He explains how Forrester responded with more accessible formats, bi-coastal options, shorter agendas, more flexible sponsorships, and a stronger focus on relevance. He also discusses how the team is measuring the change through satisfaction, content scores, NPS, ticket revenue, sponsorship revenue, and the ability to act quickly on yellow and red signals. The conversation then turns to leadership. Tavar breaks down how a clear point of view, commercial thinking, and transparency with both executives and the event team helped build buy-in before the strategy had a long results history. And in true Event Planner Confessions fashion, Tavar shares the emergency that changed how he thinks about empathy, executive communication, and having a plan before anyone believes they will need it. In this episode, you will learn: Why Forrester added shorter Forums without eliminating its flagship Summits How attendee and sponsor feedback shaped the new event formats Why accessibility includes cost, geography, time, and the option to self-fund attendance How shorter events change content, scheduling, team recovery, and sponsor value Which attendee and commercial signals Forrester…