Above: MC Jack Tame opening XPAS 2025.
Craig Muller, founder and co-general manager of Uno Loco, shares tips on hosting events and insights into global B2B event spending trends.
Looking at global trends in B2B marketing, it’s clear that NZ marketers are under-investing in events. I wanted to share some of the data we’re seeing, and also some of the best-practice we’re seeing from clients locally who treat business events as a core part of their marketing mix.
As I highlighted in the March 2026 issue of NZ Marketing magazine, according to 2026 trend reports, about 58% of B2B marketers expect to increase their event budgets this year. In the tech sector alone, events now account for nearly 25% of total marketing spend. And globally, the events industry is on track to hit $2.33 trillion in value.
Those are some big numbers.
The post pandemic hunger for genuine, in-person connection certainly hasn’t faded. Just ask any event companies how hard it is to find a good venue on the dates you need!
Designed to inspire and connect
According to Kande* over 78% of organisers now rate in-person events as their most impactful marketing channel, ahead of paid media and digital advertising. Our attendees have also reset their expectations with 54% saying they plan to attend more in-person events than last year**, arriving with much higher standards for experience quality and meaningful networking.
At Uno Loco, we run a wide variety of business events for corporates from conferences to nationwide roadshows, incentives. However, increasingly our B2B clients are designing events with us that are a core part of their marketing funnel.
Xero, a long standing client of ours runs their Xero Partners Advisory Summit (XPAS) and is a wonderful standout example of B2B event strategy done right in our market.
Bringing together Xero’s top accounting partners, directors and key decision makers, XPAS isn’t a conference in the traditional sense. It’s a carefully curated experience designed to inspire, build genuine connection and drive meaningful conversations within Xero’s most important professional community.
These aren’t passive attendees filling seats. They’re the people who influence how thousands of businesses across New Zealand engage with Xero’s platform every day.
Invest in face-to-face experiences
Getting that room right – and getting the experience right for that room – is both a relationship investment and a business-critical one.
“In a world where everyone is time-poor and digitally saturated, the value of getting the right people in the same room – genuinely connecting and having real conversations – is irreplaceable. That’s why we continue to invest in face-to-face experiences at this level,” says Maree Lawrence, head of events, ANZ, Xero.
Having that simple mindset of ‘audience first’ – I know right, who would have thought? – is what I believe separates brands who treat events as a line item from those who treat them as a genuine lever.
The marketers getting the most from their event investment in 2026 aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most. They are the ones being most intentional – about their audience, their outcomes and who they trust to bring it to life.
Xero’s approach to XPAS is a great example of exactly that thinking in action. And if you’d like to talk about what that could look like for your brand, you know where to find us. And trust me, we always up for a chat!
* Kande Event Statistics 2026
** Bizzabo State of Events Benchmark Report 2026
*** Bizzabo State of Events Benchmark Report 2026
