Thank you. Launching a first-time event is a leap of faith, and you showed up.
This MeasureUP 2025 recap comes straight from the energy of 85 attendees, six sessions, and dozens of hallway conversations about AI, analytics, and the future of event data.
What I felt most was gratitude and a sense that we just started something much bigger than a single day.
Being together mattered. The side conversations, the whiteboard sketches, and the head nods during tough topics reminded me why in-person still wins.
The room believed in honest, forward-thinking dialogue and in building a community that measures what matters most.
MeasureUP was Bear’s first hosted event. We hoped to create a space where associations, trade shows, and corporate event teams could get real about data—what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change. We built the day around a simple idea: better questions lead to better outcomes.
From day one, our promise to you was a data-driven event strategy. That meant thoughtful session design, practical content, and time to connect. You gave it life with openness and candor.
We also believed the proof would be in the room. Engagement wasn’t about volume; it was about depth and relevance. That was the consistent signal from the floor, the stage, and everywhere in between.
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People not only drove in locally but also flew across the country to be together, and that always changes the conversation. When you compare notes in person, the learnings hit harder and stick longer.
We heard how teams are rethinking their measurement plans and their internal narratives about value. In-person engagement data is evolving. Dwell time, session stickiness, repeat booth visits, and high-quality meetings beat raw scans every time.
What we felt at MeasureUP confirmed it: the metrics that matter are the ones that move decisions.
More importantly, we saw event community building in real time. Speakers, sponsors, and attendees showed up not to pitch, but to problem-solve. That kind of trust is the foundation for what comes next.
We spent the day digging into the event data trends shaping our industry— especially how AI, ethics, and real-world use cases are evolving. Here are the moments and insights that stood out:
Yes, AI and event data can supercharge classification, matching, and personalization. The responsible path starts with governance, transparency, and bias checks. Teams are piloting AI on narrow, well-labeled use cases before scaling.
Breaking down event data trends we saw the shift to outcomes is accelerating—meetings set, pipelines influenced, renewals supported. Quality interactions are replacing “more scans” as the north star. Contextual benchmarks matter more than blanket industry averages.
Dashboards alone can't close gaps. Decisions can and do.
The best teams run tight feedback loops: learn, test, change, repeat. Insights that feed sales motions, programming, and floor plans win trust internally.
I see it every day in the Bear IQ platform and I saw it again and again at MeasureUP.
Unifying IDs across registration, mobile app, and lead retrieval is foundational. Standardizing session taxonomies and product tags improves attribution. Data hygiene is often the real blocker to advanced analytics.
Pre-set meetings, ICP alignment, and post-event follow-up drive ROI. Packaging “right-size” sponsorships with clear measurement plans builds confidence. Shared definitions of success reduce friction and grow partnerships.
Measurement is as much about language as it is about tools. Clear, ethical data practices build attendee and partner trust. Teams that communicate “why” and “how” win adoption.
Across the board, event ROI measurement is shifting from activity to impact. We heard pragmatic ways teams are making that shift without boiling the ocean. They’re focusing on the metrics that impact decisions, not just the ones that are easy to count.
Here's what that looks like:
Two principles rose above the rest.
First: move from volume to value. The number of scans matters less than the quality of the conversations behind them.
Second: action beats everything. A smaller set of decisive metrics consistently outperforms sprawling reports that no one reads.
I realized pretty quickly after the event that MeasureUP shouldn’t end when the lights go off. A single day can spark a lot, but real momentum happens when we stay connected and keep the conversations alive.
So here’s what’s next.
We’re putting together a simple way for you to follow along as MeasureUP grows.
If you want early updates on speakers, themes, and programming for MeasureUP 2026, you can sign up for our newsletter and get the first look at what’s taking shape. We’ll also keep sharing practical event analytics insights, stories from the field, and real examples of how teams are putting measurement to work.
More than anything, we want the spirit of MeasureUP to carry forward. The honesty, the curiosity, the willingness to share what’s working and what’s not.
You set that tone, and we want to build from it.
To the speakers who brought depth and honesty, thank you.
To the sponsors who believed in a first-time gathering, thank you.
And to every attendee who asked hard questions, shared experiments, and compared notes, thank you for making this community real.
As I look back on the day, a few truths stand out. They’re simple, but they shaped every conversation in the room and they’ll guide the work ahead.
This wasn’t just an event. It was the beginning of a community that believes in better data and better conversations.
Interested in more event coverage? See how the themes from our IMEX event recap connect with what we shared at MeasureUP 2025.
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