As Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge runs on gatherings: legislative sessions, association conferences, industry summits along the river, and corporate events that pull people in from across the state. So a new spending report should catch the eye of anyone here who plans them. Companies put a record $138.94 billion into live, in-person experiences worldwide in 2025, and the forecast calls for another double-digit jump in 2026.
The figure comes from PQ Media’s biennial Global B2C & B2B Experiential Marketing Forecast, released June 9. Spending rose 8.3% globally, and the United States accounts for nearly half of it, climbing 9% to $64.43 billion. The fastest-growing slice was business-to-business exhibit and trade show space, up more than 10% as companies built out elaborate booth programs and invite-only VIP sessions.
PQ Media’s Patrick Quinn put the trend in plain terms: with screens saturated and online attention harder than ever to hold, brands are going where attention is undivided. He also pointed to booths getting smarter, with AI, augmented reality, and touchscreens making activations more interactive. The forecast expects 2026 to run even hotter, propelled by the Winter Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, and heavy political spending.
PQ Media reports U.S. experiential marketing grew 9% to $64.43 billion in 2025, nearly half of all global spend in the category.
Strip away the dollar signs and the story is about attention. Online reach keeps getting more expensive while delivering less, and a well-run live moment skips that whole equation. It puts a company in the same room as the exact audience it wants, at a time those people chose to show up. In a marketing world starved for genuine attention, that is rare and valuable.
The other half of the shift is accountability. Brands no longer want a fun booth and nothing to show for it. They want interaction they can measure and content they can reuse.
This is the practical part. A booth is the spot on a convention floor or at a downtown corporate event where people actually stop, lean in, and trade a few minutes of full attention for something they want to keep. For a capital-city audience of legislators, executives, and association members, that pause is worth a lot.
It also works twice. You get the live engagement in the room, then a second wave of reach when guests post their branded photos afterward. Layer in custom layouts, an opt-in or lead-capture step, and instant text-and-QR delivery, and the booth stops being a party favor and starts being an activation that returns both content and contacts. Our Corporate Photo Booths are designed for exactly that, and we handle delivery, setup, an on-site attendant, and breakdown so your team can stay focused on the event.
The budget is following attention, and attention is moving back into the room. If your organization is planning a conference, gala, or activation in Baton Rouge this year, the smart move is to build a moment worth engaging with and worth sharing. Let’s design the part of your event nobody walks past.
Sources: PRWeb / PQ Media, PQ Media Forecast.
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