Events 2025: Insights from Starcom & Untold Festival Community 

In a post-pandemic, digital-saturated world, events are making a strong comeback, but with new expectations, motivations, and behaviors.

According to Starcom’s Events Behavior Study 2025, 82% of Romanians attended at least one event in 2024, and 80% plan to attend in 2025. The appetite is high, especially for music festivals, cultural happenings, and brand activations. But how people choose, experience, and remember these events has changed. 

“Events are no longer just moments of passive consumption. They are social spaces, contexts in which brands can build authentic connections if they know how to listen and add value,” explains the research team.

Search is digital, early, and influential
Attendees start researching events weeks in advance, primarily through websites, social media, and influencer content. Visibility isn’t optional – it’s infrastructure. Organizers must move beyond posters and embrace digital ecosystems.

Experience matters as much as content
Top attendance drivers include the line-up, ticket price, organization quality, and buzz. But a strong experience is non-negotiable:

• 75% of attendees care about space design;
• they value comfort, social zones, and Instagrammable moments;
• branded chill areas and interactive activations drive exploration.

Events today are not just watched – they’re lived and shared.

Brand involvement is welcome, if it adds value
An impressive 95% of Romanians are open to brand-organized events, but authenticity is key. People want experiences, not just logos. Preferred categories include food & drink, fashion, tech, entertainment.

The Untold Festival 2025 community echoed this: fans praised diversity of stages, good organization, and friendly crowds. But they also voiced disappointment when expectations weren’t met – especially regarding lack of transparency (e.g. not announcing the removal of a stage), or perceived favoritism toward certain genres over others.
The takeaway: clarity, diversity, and respect for sub-communities can make or break loyalty.

Social responsibility is now a differentiator
Sustainability, cause-driven support, and ethical practices matter more than ever. Audiences now weigh a brand’s presence against its purpose.

Social media extends the lifecycle
From behind-the-scenes content to real-time updates and user-generated content, attendees want to engage before, during, and after the event. Your event’s digital footprint is as important as the main stage.

Why some still stay home
For those not attending, reasons include logistics, lack of interest, or feeling overwhelmed. Organizers must meet people where they are, not just design for the masses.

What it all means for brands and event organizers
Events in 2025 aren’t about filling seats – they’re about curated experiences built around relevance, inclusion, and emotion. Brands that win will be those who:

• design for human connection;
• communicate with transparency and personality;
• show up with purpose, not just presence;
• respect and reflect the diversity of their audience.

In 2025, events aren’t just attended, they’re remembered.
More insights are available upon request (consumer@starcomww.com), including event behaviors between 2021 and 2025, interests in cultural, sports, and music events, both local and international, demographic data comparisons, etc.

Methodology

The “Events Behavior Study 2025” was conducted by the agency Starcom Romania between May 13–19, 2025, on a sample of 1015 respondents, using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviews) method. The study is part of the HumanGraph Experience series, a research tool for analyzing and understanding human behavior in different contexts, focused on collecting and visualizing relevant data.

Photo header @Unsplash