The COVID Impact on the Future of Events

23 June, 2020

At Curzon, we have decided to share information on the changing landscape of event management because of Covid-19. This includes an increase in online events during quarantine, and an emergence of hybrid events — events with both virtual and in-person audiences — post-COVID.

Importance of Event Management to Corporates

In-person events are a very important part of Corporate PR. According to the 2020 Demand Generation Benchmark Study in which 150 B2B marketing professionals participated, in-person events or trade shows were tagged to be the most effective in conversions, amongst all other sales and marketing channels like phone, email, product demos, and website.

Data and image source: Demand Gen Report, 2020

“(Tradeshows and conferences are) the hands-down best way to grow your list, move the needle with prospects in your CRM, and deepen relationships with existing customers,” wrote Don Knox, a managing partner at PR firm Blast PR, in an article on Marketing Profs.

However, in-person events also happened to be hotspots that spread the Covid-19 infection across countries and the world, like the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the global sales conference in Singapore.

Decrease in Offline Events due to Covid-19

Since February, some of the world’s biggest and significant events, including those by corporates, governments, and art and culture industries, have been cancelled or postponed.

As compared to last year, the spike in cancellations or postponements of significant events was 500% this February and 875% this March, according to research by PredictHQ.

 

Data and Image Source: Predict HQ

Some of the popular events to be cancelled include:

Increase in Online Events due to Covid-19

As the number of offline events went down, the number of online and virtual events rose. There has been a year-over-year increase of 2000+% in online events this April as compared to April 2019, according to Event Brite. Within this, business and professional online events increased by 1,100+%. 

Data and image source: Event Brite

These online events have come up either to replace the cancelled offline events, or have sprung up simply to connect with others in the time of social distancing to increase morale and productivity via podcasts, webinars, and e-courses.

Some of the popular and interesting virtual events are:

  • LGBT online exhibitions for pride month, as hundreds of pride events are cancelled across America. 
  • Obamas, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and more gave commencement speeches in a YouTube event, honouring students whose graduation ceremonies were cancelled this year.
  • Microsoft makes all its internal and external events digital-only until July 2021.
  • SXSW screening a selection of its movies on Amazon Prime Video, after the in-person event was cancelled.
  • One of the advertising industry’s biggest events Cannes Lions moved online and free, featuring masterclasses and hangouts with experts.
  • The Virtual PR Summit attended by 1,000 delegates, and which ran over 5 days, featuring 30 conversations.

 

Businesses focussing on video broadcasting are also seeing a huge jump — proving the increase in online events. Instagram Live usage increased by 70% in just one month in the US, and video broadcasting tool Socialive reportedly grew its customer base by 90% and revenue by 146% just in March.

Online Events Are Here to Stay

While one may question if the skyrocketing growth in virtual events would subside as economies open up and lockdowns are relaxed, 51% of marketing professionals expect virtual events to stick around, according to research by 614 Group.

The virtual events industry is expected to grow with a steady increase of 5% annually, from $14 billion in 2018 to $18 billion in 2023, according to Market Research Media.

This is likely because online events have lots of benefits besides just being an alternative to offline events in the times of a pandemic.

Benefits of Online Events

Some of the advantages of online events that corporates can benefit from even after the current situation blows over:

  • Cost-effective

Physical events are naturally more expensive than online events because they include travel, renting hotel space, hiring staff and caterers, booking entertainment, lunches, etc. Live events, though might require paying for the tech and streaming services and platforms used, would still be much cheaper in comparison.

  • Flexibility in terms of attendee’s location and time-constraints

Online events allow you to have attendees and sponsors from anywhere in the world. Online events could also be watched at replay at a time of the viewer’s convenience.

  • Better behavioural targeting

When registrants sign up, details like their gender, location, age, interests, etc is shared with the host, depending on their email provider’s privacy policies, allowing corporates to better retarget them with ads and segments — something that might be not so minute and detailed in in-person registrations.

  • Can be used after the event to market other things

Virtual events can stay online forever after the event comes to an end. Clips and videos from it can also be used to market other aspects of the company later.

Physical Events Cannot Be Totally Replaced

Research from Predict HQ shows that out of all the in-person event changes, only a third have been cancelled while 66% have been postponed.

Data and image source: Predict HQ

 

Benefits of Offline Events

  • The energy of being in the same room

There are several examples of conferences and events whose content is made available for free online later — but they still see a sold-out audience. One of them is Microsoft’s biggest event of the year, Microsoft Ignite, that has 30,000 attendees every year with registration costing a couple of thousand dollars.

The 4-Dimensional and full sensory experience and the networking opportunities that are available in an in-person event cannot be replaced by social media and chat options in webinars.

  • Ideal for long multi-day events without distraction

People have short attention spans, and it is hard to keep them hooked to a webinar or video if they can browse YouTube. While short, focussed content might work well with online events, long, multi-day events, with hour-long sessions are best suited for offline.

Virtual events average 16 presentations, which is “a far smaller number than most offline multi-track conference events”, according to Jason Michaels, B2B marketing managing director at Accenture Interactive.

  • Revenue

While there are many ways online events are cheaper, and many ways to generate revenue or cut costs by reusing material from past online events, virtual events — because of their lack of the above — will only likely bring in one-third to one-half the revenue of a physical event, according to events sponsorship consultant Larry Weil speaking to DigiDay.

Solution: Hybrid Events

A hybrid event has both an online and an offline component. It focuses on providing a valuable experience to both in-person and virtual audience. It is NOT just a straightforward adaptation of an offline event.

Different Types of Hybrid Events

  • Both in-person and virtual audience

Until the coronavirus restrictions completely end, this is the kind of hybrid event that we may see happening the most in the coming months when up to 50 people, and no more, can gather at a venue.

E-sports, as an industry, has been following this model for a long time successfully. For example, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) in Katowice, Poland, had an in-person attendance of 174,000 people while 46 million people watched online in 2017 — making it the largest event in esports history.

“The challenge is finding a balance that serves our fundamental human need for face-to-face meetings while also accommodating our new reality as a society,” says Bahareh Khezr, senior consultant at Curzon PR.

  • 100% of the audience is virtual

When the actual event with multiple people takes place at an offline place, but there is no live audience and the event is streamed online.

Example: Milan Fashion Week show was held in an empty theatre — with no in-person audience, buyers, or press.

The 2020 Democratic Party Presidential debate in the US would be held in a closed TV studio, making it the smallest Democratic debate of the campaign.

The IEM, which had the record live and virtual audience in 2017, would play with zero in-person audiences this year.

  • Virtual Reality

It allows people to try products and services from a virtual location.

 Example: Alibaba Cloud’s Online and VR showrooms bring the experience of its in-person exhibition centres in various locations in China to overseas customers.

Things to Keep in Mind While Hosting Hybrid Events

Hybrid events are still events. Besides the technical aspects of online shows and the social distancing aspect of physical events, other things to keep in mind are generic for all kinds of events at all times — pandemic or no pandemic.

  • Strategy

Decide on what type of event you would like to hold, when, what would you like to achieve, and the budget scope. Research your competitors to generate creative ideas and event concepts. Decide which offline sessions to stream and which not.

  • Tactical technological application

Choose the right platform to host the online aspect of the event, depending on the features you need. The features may range from personalisation, polling, chat, networking, scheduling, etc. Decide whether you need a high-quality production value, and which paid platforms might provide that.

  • Physical safety measures

Based on guidelines released by the US government that break the return to normalcy in three phases, meetings may need to consider: insurance, social distancing, thermal scanning, sanitation and disinfection, triage and handling of those who show symptoms, and vulnerable population management.

Undoubtedly, the involvement of health and safety experts and supplier scrutiny will become paramount.

  • Attendees engagement

Including Q&As at the end of live sessions, allowing attendees to network with one another, adding interactive touchpoints like live polls and discussion forums.  

  • Social media

Posting on social media leading up to the event, as well as sharing photos, clips, and screenshots from the event on your social channels.

  • Media coverage

Pitching your event to be covered by relevant news outlets.

  • Post-event analysis and ROI

Measure anticipated cost vs actual cost, and anticipated revenue vs actual revenue to know whether the event has been successful in reaching business goals. This would give data points as benchmarks for the next event.  

  • Follow up with attendees post-event

Thank all those who attended after the event to create another touchpoint in the buyer journey, by making them feel valued, build loyalty, and asking for important feedback.

According to Remarkety, thank-you emails lead to 10.34% conversion rates.

Data and image source: Remarkety

Conclusion

While most predictions suggest that in the coming future, events would have both online and offline components, the way to go about hosting them successfully remains the same basic fundamentals. Focus on attendee satisfaction and providing valuable experiences and unique content, whether offline, virtual, or hybrid.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team bd@curzonpr.com

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