17 Feb 2026

Key takeaways from the ops stream: creativity, data and experience design in modern events

By Corina Hedley, from Hyve Group

I was honoured to shape and chair the ops stream at the AEO Forums which took place on the 30th January at the Business Design Centre.

Here’s what I took away from the day:

Across the workshops and panels, one idea kept resurfacing: creativity in events is no longer confined to design or programming - it’s embedded in how we think, plan and operate. From AI-supported ideation to experience-led operations and immersive space design, creativity showed up as a practical capability rather than a “big idea” bolt-on.

What follows are the key themes that emerged as a connected way of rethinking how events are built.

Creativity starts with culture, not concepts

One of the strongest threads across the day was the role of culture in shaping creativity. Before tools, formats or visuals come into play, teams need clarity on who they are and how they want to show up.

Examples from brands like Virgin, Amazon and Jellycat illustrated this clearly. Creativity was driven by cultural principles that consistently guided decisions - whether that was “surprise and delight”, “day one thinking”, or a commitment to storytelling.

For events, this reframes creativity as something that:

Lives in everyday behaviours and decision-making
Gives teams permission to experiment
Makes ideas feel “right” more quickly because they align with a shared identity

When culture is clear, creative decisions become easier and faster.

Borrowing beyond the events industry accelerates innovation

Another recurring insight was the power of looking outside the events echo chamber. Many of the most effective ideas discussed didn’t originate in conferences or exhibitions at all, but in sectors like aviation, retail, theme parks, entertainment, gaming and even healthcare.

The value here isn’t copying ideas wholesale but adapting proven approaches to new contexts. Airports inspired better wayfinding and self-service. Theme parks influenced queue design and expectation-setting. Retail and entertainment offered lessons in emotional engagement and storytelling.

The takeaway was simple but powerful: innovation speeds up when you borrow from industries that have already solved similar problems - especially when you have tools that make that research faster and more accessible.

Space is an active part of the experience, not a neutral backdrop

The session on space design challenged the idea that venues are passive containers. Instead, space was positioned as an active layer of storytelling and emotional design.

From immersive entrances and transition tunnels to interactive welcome zones and multi-sensory environments, the strongest examples treated the entire physical journey as part of the event narrative.

What stood out most was the emphasis on:

First impressions and arrival moments
Turning queues and transitions into experiences
Using data (such as dwell time and flow) to understand how people actually move and feel within a space

In this framing, space becomes a tool for shaping mindset - preparing audiences emotionally before content even begins.

Data Is a creative input, not just a measurement tool

Data came up repeatedly - but not in the usual ROI or reporting context. Instead, it was reframed as a source of creative inspiration.

Examples from Disney, Spotify and MrBeast showed how behavioural data, feedback and real-time insights can be used to:

Reduce friction and uncertainty
Help people self-navigate complex experiences
Iterate formats quickly based on what audiences actually respond to

In events, this points to a shift away from data as something reviewed post-show, and towards data as something that actively informs design choices - from wayfinding and scheduling to content curation and personalisation.

When data highlights genuine human pain points, it becomes a starting point for creativity rather than a constraint.

AI works best as a thought partner

Once the role of data and structured thinking was established, the AI workshop added an important layer: AI is most powerful when it supports how we think, rather than replacing.

The sessions demonstrated that the real value of AI emerges when it’s used as a collaborator within a clear process - particularly around ideation and problem-solving. Strong outcomes came from:

Clearly defined problem statements
Guided research across multiple industries
Generating ideas broadly before applying human judgement
Actively managing the conversation with the model, rather than treating it like a search engine

A key point was that most of the value still comes from the human side - knowing what problem matters, what success looks like, and what constraints exist.

AI accelerates clarity and exploration, but it doesn’t remove the need for judgement.

Operational creativity is often about removing friction

Perhaps the most reassuring insight for operations teams was that creativity doesn’t always mean adding something new. In many cases, it’s about making things simpler, clearer or more enjoyable.

Across the panel discussion, some of the most impactful examples involved:

Improving queue experiences rather than eliminating queues
Empowering temp staff to become part of the experience
Designing processes that reduce repeated questions and manual workload
Allowing teams to adapt and pivot during live events

These moments rarely require large budgets - but they do require curiosity, permission and a willingness to rethink “how it’s always been done”.

Focus creates impact more than scale

A final, grounding theme was the importance of focus. Not every touchpoint needs to be immersive or memorable - and trying to do too much can dilute impact.

Instead, the most effective events: