CEMA Newsletter: March 2026

Written by: Allison Barrett, Director of Global Events, Culture Amp

In a sea of events that often look and feel the same, how do we give attendees a reason to register, commit their time, and—most importantly—return?

Would you challenge yourself to change 50% of your event every year? Sounds intense and a little risky, no? Even for things that “work?”

I came across this idea from one of my company’s brand sponsorship partners, Tennis Australia, and I’m thinking differently about benchmarks for innovation.

As the governing body behind the Australian Open, Tennis Australia has transformed a “traditional” sports tournament into one of the world’s most innovative sporting and entertainment experiences. One of their secrets? A radical internal mandate: Intentionally reinvent more than 50% of the fan experience every single year.

The Innovation Mandate to Compete

The “50% rule” was born out of a strategic necessity to compete for global attention and resources alongside established tennis tournament giants in London (Wimbledon), New York (US Open), and Paris (Roland Garros). They couldn’t just host a tournament; they had to build an “innovation machine” to continuously bring new and differentiating experiences to their guests.

One early bet: they took their broadcasting in-house, becoming one of the first major sports properties in the world to do so. This level of change requires a massive appetite for risk but also pushes us to stand out from our competitors.

The Power of Compounding Innovation

For many senior event leaders, the idea of changing 50% of an event sounds like a recipe for chaos. But this model suggests that innovation follows a compounding curve.

• It Starts Slow: Early on, the risk feels highest. But as a team develops a “maturity” for keeping and killing ideas, the process becomes disciplined rather than erratic.
• It Gains Momentum: That first step or big change—such as overhauling your event technology or moving a conference to another city —is the hardest. But it can be as small as building more connection moments in your agenda. Once you trust the process, the innovation cycle becomes part of your team’s DNA.
• It Becomes a Competitive Advantage: Change, when approached with intention and providing value to your audience, becomes the most powerful tool in your event program.

A Challenge to Event Leaders

Reflect on how much you’re innovating from the prior event.

• Are you settling for 5% or 10% change because it’s safe and “how we do things?”
• What would happen if you reinvented core elements of your event?

One small innovation we’re exploring is leveraging AI to auto transcribe and summarize session content in Miro boards for post-event distribution. This little innovation is not only a more engaging visual format for attendees to receive content, but it also replaces a more manual process for a “takeaways doc” and allows our team to focus on other impactful priorities.

Whatever innovation looks like for you, big or small, just ensure it’s intentional and audience-centric.

This year, don’t just aim to be better. Aim to be at least 25% and maybe even 50% different.