The Event Planner’s Toolkit: Essential Software & Platforms for 2025 Success 

Navigating the Modern Event Landscape 

In 2025 we live in a time where planning events is way more complicated, but also more exciting than ever. With the need for higher attendee expectations, hybrid formats being replaced by more personalized in-person experiences, and timelines collapsing, event professionals are increasingly relying on software to keep on top of all this. Thankfully, the role of technology for evens has never been better defined, but choosing the right stack of software is no longer optional but strategic. As there are now hundreds of platforms to choose from now, administrative software must be carefully considered.  

Getting it right will make or break your event. When you are planning a conference for 500 delegates or facilitating a high-impact product launch, the operational ease, communication and attendee engagement depends largely upon the software you choose. You can perfect planning tasks, gain commonality in check in processes, and take advantage of live analytics from your project management software, registration system and more.  

This guide will look at tools in the following five categories:  

• Event management and registration 

• Attendee engagement and communication  

• On-site delivery  

• Analytics and reporting  

• Future tech shaping the future of events 

We will explore the digital toolbox event planners rely on, and then it will be time to look at how to enable your team’s success in 2025. 

Core Event Management Software: Your Central Hub 

Event planning is a team effort, and collaborating requires strong software to digitally manage every aspect of your event. The core event management software solutions, including registration or ticketing platform, website builder tools and project management tools, are critical to the overall success of any event. Besides being highly efficient and functional, they will.  

Here is a more in-depth look at each of these essential tools: Governance and Ticketing Sites. Your governance and ticketing site is an important touchpoint for your delegates, everything ticket sales to delegate data. The right site will give both you, and your delegates, a seamless experience. 

Things to look for:  

• Customized Governance Forms: make sure they collect the relevant delegate information specific to your event. There would be nothing worse than having to turn people away because of your first come get in aspect is muddled where to go (and they miss the registration form).  

• Secure Payment Processing: to enable your delegates to transact worry free. Real-time  

• Reporting & Analytics: get real time stats on what the ticketing report says. 

• Technology Integrations: possibility to integrate to your CRM system and event app….think 1 way seamless integration.  

• Mobile Friendly: enable delegates to register on the go. 

Recommended Sites for 2025: 

Eventbrite and Ticket tailer – are trusted sites that have good ticketing and governance but will come at a fee (and limit customisation). Samaaro – Samaaro is a hybrid events site, with fully customisable governance forms (and ticketing supports very easy user navigation).  

Event Website Builder: 

Having a professional informative event website is very important to provide detail and our space for delegates to register.  

Things to look for:  

• Easy to use/ Drag and drop: you want to create and edit without writing a code (unless you are comfortable) 

• Mobile Responsive Site: make sure it can be viewed anywhere and on anything.  

• Search Engine Optimisation: do they make it easy for people to find, and add, so you get more visibility when their searching on search engines for event type?  

• Social Media: how easily can you connect your website to your social media channels, and share content easily?  

Recommended Tools for 2025: 

Although Web flow and Splash are attractive options for creating event websites, additional plugins may be needed for registration and ticketing.  

Samaaro: Samaaro offers registration, as well as an integrated website builder for events. This tool allows you to create a branded, mobile-responsive event site using drag and drop capabilities. It integrates registration and ticketing, allowing you to have a professional looking site without having to develop a complicated process.   

Project Management and Collaboration Tools  

Project management ensures that events will happen on time, allowing people to complete tasks without any challenges. You are also able to communicate in a clear manner using a project management tool.  

Things to Look for in Project Management Tools:  

Task Assignment: Do you know what is due by when, and who is responsible?  

File Sharing & Document Management: Important documents always have a place to live.  

Project Team Collaboration: Does your project team have a means for communications, and do they have a means to collaborate live?  

Time Management: Can you see visually your major milestones and deadlines (event content review, marketing, etc.? 

Most Popular Project Management Platforms for 2025:  

Asana, Click Up both are great tools for tasks and collaboration.  

Finding the right event management tool is essential to success. Eventbrite, Web flow, and Asana all do things well, but Samaaro is the only tool that integrates and offers an all-in-one solution as you prepare for your event.  Whether that be registration, building your site, project management for the event, and attendee engagement, Samaaro could ensure things will work using greater flexibility and efficiency in the 2025 events landscape.  

Enhancing the Attendee Experience: Engagement and Communication Tools 

At the end of the day, the attendee experience is the most important aspect of any event. As event managers, we want to make sure that we actively engage and create an interactive experience so that participants are fully engaged, informed, and participating at every stage of the event. In 2025, engagement tools are no longer simply a good-to-have; they are a must-have.  

Event Mobile Apps  

Attendee Benefits: Event mobile apps are becoming intrinsic to events. Event mobile applications make it easy for attendees to have information about any aspect of the event, navigate around the venue, and connect with other attendees. 

Things to Think About:  

• Event Schedule & Agenda: Attendees will be able to see the schedule of the event, create their agenda, and set reminders.  

• Interactive Maps: Provide attendees with interactive maps of your venue and session locations, booths, and facility locations.  

• Networking Opportunities: Attendees can navigate profiles of other attendees, schedule a meeting, and engage in one-on-one conversations or group discussions.  

• Real-time Updates & Notifications: Push notifications keep attendees informed of any last-minute changes on the agenda and any last-minute speakers or exclusive content to your event.  

Best Mobile Apps for Events in 2025:  

Samaaro: The mobile app from Samaaro focuses on attendee engagement and is designed to deliver a seamless experience for attendees from registration to the post-event wrap-up. Samaaro’s mobile app empowers event organizers to customize the attendee experience with interactive features. The fixed features include a schedule for sessions, biographies of speakers, attendee networking options, and real-time notifications. Push notifications and easy-to-navigate interfaces keep attendees connected and engaged throughout the event and, as a result, had higher satisfaction and engagement rates.  

Other Options: While Whova, Attendify, and other platforms offer excellent mobile app products, as an all-in-one event management product, Samaaro is well-positioned with deep integration with other event management features to manage your event and your attendee event experience.  

Audience Engagement Platforms 

Getting Your Audience Participating: While your event is taking place, engaging and attracting your audience to use a live tool for polling, Q&A, and engaging the audience are paramount to keeping your attendees involved and excited 

Encouraging Engagement: Engaging your audience during an event will help to maximize participation and create lasting bonds. Assisting in engagement can be achieved using platforms that allow live polling, Q&As, and audience engagement while ensuring they participate and stay excited about the event.  

How Do these Platforms Help with Engagement:  

• Live Polling and Surveys: Get real time feedback and insight into the audience’s feelings towards what is being communicated while the session or keynote is taking place.  

• Q&A Sessions: Provide a way for attendees to present questions before or during sessions. Make it a two way concept using the platform to engage in the learning experience in a way that enhances the exchange.  

• Gamification and Competitions: Allow attendees to engage and give outbound excitement while using games, trivia, or a scavenger hunt into your event.  

• Audience Insights: Obtain real insights into your audience through engagement metrics to help you keep improving future events and maintaining a productive conversation.  

Some Recommended Audience Engagement Tools for Events in 2025:   

Samaaro: Samaaro provides all-in-one engagement features to help facilitate engagement with your audience. Its platform includes live polling, Q&A, gamification, and surveys; all inside one tool. Having the features built in not only benefits the overall experience for the event but gives organizers real-time analytics into your audience’s preferences and allows you to make instant changes. When you engage your audience with features like the ones noted, your event can build a strong connection with your attendees and create a stronger event outcome.  

Other Options: Other commonly used engagement platforms include My Younger Self, Slido and Mentimeter. These platforms also have engagement features but without the registration and attendee management options Samaaro offers, you’d need two platforms to accomplish what Samaaro can do as single option to the organizer.  

Email Marketing and Communication Platforms 

Importance for Pre-event Promotions & Post-event Follow Up:  

Email marketing is still listed as one of the most effective channels for promoting events.A robust email marketing plan, from pre-event promotions/reminders to post-event follow-up, acknowledges that brand engagement, contact, and ongoing communication with the attendees before and after the event is essential to getting people to register, reminding them to attend, and keeping them engaged long after the event is over.  

Things to look for: 

• Segmentation:  Segment your audience for targeted, relevant messages by interest, demographic, or behaviour. 

• Automation: Automate email sequences for nurturing leads, reminding attendees of the event date(s), and sending post-event thank yous. 

• Personalization: Personalize emails by previous engagement, or attendee preferences. 

• Reporting & Analytics: Email reporting/analytics (i.e., open rates, click through rates) help producers plan, track, and measure the success of their email campaigns. 

Best Email Marketing Tools for Event Professionals in 2025: 

Samaaro: Samaaro’s email marketing capabilities take the decision making out of the equation for event organizers’ email marketing campaigns. Email capabilities include sending targeted emails and automatic emails proactively. Samaaro integrates to attendee registration data, and allows event planners to build and send personalized pre-event invitations, reminders and follow up email thank you messages, etc.  

Other Options: Other popular email marketing providers, like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, are good email marketing platforms. However, for event professionals looking to innovate and do more with email engagement and communication post-event, Samaaro enables seamless integration with event registration and engagement tools.  

 Delivering a meaningful & memorable attendee experience in 2025 requires adequate engagement and communications tools to accomplish this. Therefore, Samaaro’s mobile app, audience engagement features, and email marketing Godsend integration could allow event planners and organizers to provide a seamless, interactive, & personalised event experience. 

On-Site Execution: Tools for Smooth Operations 

When planning an event, effective on-site management is critical for creating a positive experience for attendees, exhibitors, and speakers. Effective tools allow you to manage logistic processes, limit unforeseen circumstances, and ensure every detail is executed.   

Check-In and Badge Printing Software  

Enhance the attendee arrival: The check-in process provides the first impression of the event experience. A fast and efficient check-in creates a much better attendee experience without long waits and frustrations at the start, allowing a sense of welcome right from the beginning.  

Key Features to look for: 

QR Code Scanning: The check-in process can be facilitated with the use of QR codes, as an alternative to manual entries and limit the risk of errors. Attendees can receive a unique QR code in advance through an email or mobile app that they can scan when they arrive for fast access.  

On-Demand Badge Printing: Turn your attendees’ experiences into a more professional and engaging experience by offering on-demand badge printing. Several platforms currently offer on-demand badge printing stations to print badges with their name, company, and event-specific information.  

Recommended Software for 2025:  

Samaaro, which is all-in-one registration, check-in and engagement platform offers a check-in system, by universally using QR codes to offer a easy touchless check-in experience. Therefore, not only is the arrival experience for attendees seamless, but also, it provides a real-time integration with your event database and thus, preserves an updated attendee list that has all the real-time information.  

Other Options: Major platforms like Eventbrite and Cvent also offer check-in software and badges, but it is hard to ignore Samaaro as a recommended solution for event planners due to their built-in integrations (the benefits of an all-in-one approach for registration, check-in, and engagement).   

AV and Technical Services Management of Platform 

Smooth Presentations, Smooth Management of Technical Services: The coordination of your audiovisual (AV) requirements is critical in the smooth delivery of any event.  Regardless of the presentation format for your event (virtual, in-person, or hybrid), working with a proper AV and technical support software will help ensure that the tools you require to facilitate the technical delivery will run smoothly and effortlessly (and without any technical complications). 

How Important is it to you for your Presentations run Smoothly?  

Scheduling and Coordination: Schedule and manage your AV individual(s), schedules, and session requirements so their equipment is set-up ahead of need!Event Management: Find and measure every piece of equipment; from microphones, projectors to broadcasting/streaming tools, to avoid a last-minute significant technical glitch.  

If you are hosting either a hybrid event or completely virtual event make sure you have your live-streaming, video conferencing and virtual staging tools.  

Highlights of Emerging Platforms for 2025:  

Swapcard is commonly the leading option for hybrid event audio-visual requirements.  

 When it comes to on-site execution, your team’s and their attendees’ experience should feel seamless. Samaaro’s check-in and badge printing system, and its AV and technical support management systems; can help lessening delays by enabling planners to keep everything operationally coordinated, thereby ensuring you keep a handle on everything operational and logistical.  

Data Analysis and Reporting: Measuring Success  

In today’s event planning world, hosting an event is not enough. Measuring and analysing your event’s success is critical for guidance towards improvement; to make sure your objectives of lead generation, attendee engagement, or brand awareness, are being met. Event data provides critical perceived value relating to attendee behaviour, the level of engagement and reporting on the impact of your event, for future decision-making and improvement.   

Having access to effective data analysis and reporting tools also enables event planners to truly see their event performance; revealing actionable insights that will give them future information that drives better decisions.  

 Here are the critical tools and platforms you will need to measure your event’s success in 2025.  

Analytics Dashboards and Tools 

Tracking Key Event Metrics: Event analytics dashboards are always going to be the foundation of tracking performance metrics in real-time. By using dashboards event planners can track key data points such as registration numbers, attendee behaviour, engagement levels, and session attendance, which will allow teams to monitor performance levels throughout the event.  

Key Metrics to Track: 

• Registration Metrics: Track how many people have registered for your event, as well as demographic data, to further understand your audience.  

• Attendance Metrics: Track how many of your registered attendees arrived at the event, which reflects your event’s attractiveness and your marketing efforts.  

• Engagement Metrics: Track how engaged the attendees throughout the event. Participation in sessions, booths interactions and more. This metric is important, especially related to perception of attendee satisfaction and you overall success of your content. 

Using Data to Plan Future Events: Using key performance metrics, event planners can write a post-event report that includes a detailed analysis valuing the data from the event and informs them on aspects of the event for future events. For example, if you see there was a significant drop-off in registrations at one or more places in the event, you may decide to change your time to do the event or how you market it for the next time. 

Event Specific Analytics with Platforms:  

Samaaro: Samaaro has an analytics dashboard that records every aspect of your event in real time! Whether it is gauging attendee engagement, the engagement of the event itself, or the research data from surveys, Samaaro keeps all the data from every event planner in one place to view and analyze.  

Other Options:  Cvent and Eventbrite also have solid analytics access but since Samaaro already has a built-in feature to analyze at attendee engagement, network, and session tracking levels – they help bring event planners a unique matter with how they can measure and analyze the attendee experience overall in an event. 

Survey and Feedback Platforms  

Asking to Understand to Get Better Each Time: After the end of the event, asking for feedback from participants is one of the best ways to understand their experience and what kind of success you had in fulfilling the goals. Feedback is one of the best tools in understanding how to fine-tune plans for your events, by using the right feedback tools.  

 Aspects of Consideration in Feedback Tools: 

Customizable Surveys: Being able to customize surveys based on the type of session, demographic group/s, and the specific elements of your event will allow for feedback to be more specific and actionable.  

Data-Led Analysis and Reporting: If your feedback sources include actual reporting of the survey responses, ensure that you can report on a segmented audience, or specific elements of your event, and try and collate survey feedback for all feedback sessions to look for trends.  

Actionable Insights: The reason we collect feedback is to improve, so your feedback tool should give you actionable insights that can feed directly into your event planning.  

Feedback Platforms for 2025: 

Samaaro: Samaaro offers event management tools, plus it has integrated survey and feedback collection tools. You can customize your survey for your participants to complete prior, during, or after the event, which will provide you with quality insights.  

Other Solutions: Other solutions and technologies, such as SurveyMonkey and Google Forms, may also help collect feedback options. However, with Samaaro for instance, because you can integrate feedback in the analytics dashboard, it gives you a better insight of event and attendee experience as an aggregate.  

Looking Ahead: Emerging Technologies in Event Planning 

As we transition into the novel world of 2025, technology is proliferating exponentially (faster than most people can stay informed for the event); it is continually providing new technologies and materials to the event planning industry.   

AI Planning Tools 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will contribute significantly to the ways events are structured and executed. By providing autonomous options for administrative tasks or moulding the attendee experience for richer content and data insights, the potential of automated information will outweigh the labour of human connection and data.  

Engaging, Tailored Experiences: AI will be capable of considering attendee preferences and behaviours, providing suggestions and recommendations organically through session suggestions, networking opportunities, and content.  

Chatbots for Attendee Engagement: AI chatbots will be able to support attendees in-the-moment and respond to questions, make event information available, and facilitate networking options, potentially with an exciting twist 

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) 

Technology related to Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the event space is growing fast, and a key aspect for planners is creating immersive and engaging experiences.  

Virtual Reality: In terms of either a virtual or hybrid event planning, with VR, planners can capture attendees into a digital world, giving them the opportunity to have a fully immersive event experience. There are many examples of this with virtual trade shows, and product demonstrations. For planners, VR offers opportunities on how to engage attendees in ways never seen before.  

Augmented Reality: AR can be used to enhance personal events through digital information on physical assets. For example: offering attendees an interactive event map through AR; gamifying the event; or providing more details during a product demonstration. All these possibilities create a richer and engaging experience for attendees.  

Blockchain for event ticketing and security 

Blockchain is causing disruption across industries, event planning included and is something planners and organizations should explore. Blockchain can elevate ticketing processes and provide attendees added security and benefit by offering the opportunity of having all tickets, purchases, products, etc. all in one place and in a secure and tamper-proof digital manner. 

Wearable and Internet of Things Technology in Events   

Wearable technology and the Internet of things (IoT) are creating new avenues for tracking attendee engagement and personalizing attendee experiences. For example, smart badges or wristbands can monitor the movements of attendees through the event and analyse their interests and engagement. 

• Attendee Tracking: Wearables allow you to monitor each attendee’s movement in real-time. In the case of attendee tracking, wearable badges, provide event planners with data on session engagement and popularity. This opportunity can give you insight into what to change for attendee comfort in your next event.  

• Networking: Suggesting connections based on attendee profiles and interests – wearables with IoT can help with this also, now attendees can share profiles or follow-up to make connections.  

The future of event technology  

These technologies are only the tip of the iceberg. The event planners will continue to innovate and experiment with new technologies, and we can’t wait to see the new tools and platforms that come our way to improve the attendee experience, develop new tools into planning, and offer insight into event performance. By keeping track of new innovative technologies, we can keep our events on the curve of innovation in 2025.   

Making yourself successful in event planning in 2025 

Looking to 2025, we know planning is more complicated, driven by technology but also more exciting with possibilities to create the next great event. With event planning apps and platforms, it is possible to plan events that are successful, organized, engaging, and purposeful. These important applications and technology, both registrations and ticketing, followed by data analytics and audience engagement technology, you are critical to a smooth transition from planner to attendee experience.  

For event planners, being successful in 2025 means using technology that makes your planning easier but shows you the doorway to data-driven insights with opportunities to provide better engagement for the attendee experience.  

Whether it is a all-encompassing project management solution, Samaaro; an exciting and sophisticated new mobile application, or an AI based engine of your choice; when you have the right technology to fit your event, to create an efficient and effective workflow so you can plan and execute events that make a difference.  

In 2025, set yourself up to do your best level to lead your own success in the future.  Being aware of new technology that is developing, investigating new tools and iterating on your process will lead to your success in the event planning world ahead.