Reintroducing physical events
Physical events are what most companies are familiar with, so it makes sense that they might be itching to get back to them – especially with the vaccine now being administered.
In August 2020, Integrate conducted a research study with 500 senior B2B marketers across the US and UK to uncover the impact of coronavirus on event strategies this year and how this will shape 2021 plans.
80% of B2B marketers were expected to run or participate in hybrid events in 2021. Of the 80% of marketers, 32% suggest they’ll return in Q1, with another 29% in Q2. Chris Wickson says they’re currently living in a particularly fast-paced environment as he reflects on some of the results.
He says: “The thing that stuck out to me was that there was a real confidence when in-person events would be returning. People were by predicting Q4, but we also had a significant number of people predicting Q1 and Q2 for 2021. I think the reality is that it’s pointing toward the second half of this year from safely being able to get back to in-person.”
So how do we re-introduce them, and what can we do in the meantime?
Chris mentions that there are events happening in other parts of the world, such as the US and Asia, and they are setting the precedent for safely running physical events.
Chris says: “I think there will be a lot of waiting and watching to see what the big organisers do first, and much like we had to do last year with virtual events, learning fast what does and doesn’t work when it comes to hybrid and in-person events returning.”
According to a Marriott Bonvoy survey, about 50% of event organisers across the Asia Pacific region (excluding China) are planning on hosting physical events.
While this might be good news for event planners, visiting several venues in person might not be an option for safety reasons. The Marriott International properties are now offering virtual solutions for event planners who are unable or prefer to not travel. Through these solutions, event planners will not have to be onsite to get an idea of the properties and meeting facilities.
For marketing the event, it is essential that, during the planning process of a physical event, companies address any Covid-19 concerns. The survey showed a major concern for hygiene at the venue, which calls for safety requirements.
For the 2021 3rd Asia Pacific Information Technology Conference, which is a physical event being held this month, the company has already addressed that they will be holding an online session for those not comfortable attending in person.
Some safety regulations for in-person attendees included:
- Masks and hand sanitisers being made available on request for attendees.
- Regular temperature checks at the venue.
- Staff being required to wear masks.
With the current state of Covid-19, most marketers in the UK will have to simply observe what others do with physical events now.
Chris says: “There will be a lot of contingency planning as well, as we go through the year, organisers and marketers are going to have to switch from in-person to virtual in a relatively short period notice. These next few months with the vaccine rollout are going to be so critical to how people plan for the second half of the year. Hopefully by April or May, we’ll have a much better idea of if a return to in-person events later this year is achievable, or if we’ll need to continue on this virtual-only path for the remainder of the year.”
Introducing hybrid events
A hybrid event is an event that takes place partially in-person while simultaneously being live streamed to a wider audience.
At our last roundtable about the state of events, there was an overwhelming sentiment about hybrid events – while marketers are certainly intrigued by hybrid events, they’re also reluctant to take the plunge because it’s such a foreign concept.
Chris says: “It is a really daunting task for marketers and organisers to get their heads around. You’re effectively organising two events in one and potentially doubling the costs, and there’s a lot more heavy lifting on the technology side of things to make it work, and no one really has the experience of running a successful hybrid event in their true form.”
Chris advises marketers to plan with the objectives and strategy in mind. All the important elements of your events, including the target audience, sponsors, and budget still stand. So be sure to make that the priority, and then you can focus on a vendor to supplement your event needs.
He says: “One of my pieces of advice would be to keep close to the tech side of things – the virtual and hybrid event tech landscape understandably exploded last year and whilst still at a relatively immature stage, things are evolving fast. The choice of platform will be so critical, so stay up to date with the content they’re putting out. It gives you a chance to see how companies are using those vendors in different ways. After all, no one has the answer, but it’s going to parallel a lot to how we handled virtual events in 2020.”
Besides the technology aspects, Chris cited budgeting to be a potential challenge as well.
“I think it’s a bit of a myth that running a virtual event will be significantly cheaper than an in-person event. I think the costs just often move around. If you want to run a really good high quality virtual event, then the costs from venues and all those costs goes into production and a vendor.”
Virtual events have such a broad spectrum. You can call a Zoom call an event, or you can run a high quality virtual event with pre-recorded content, mixed with live content. With so many moving parts to the online event, it comes down to striking the right balance between the two. It’s important not to go all in on the in-person element and then to treat the virtual part as an afterthought, or vice versa.
Continuing virtual events
Then there’s virtual events, which might be the safe, more conservative approach to events, but an appropriate one nevertheless. Whether or not you’re considering a physical or hybrid event, virtual events will serve as the backup plan regardless.
2020 was all about virtual events finding their footing, and now that they have, there is room for growth. Some challenges that organisers have cited have included: turning attendees into leads, increasing engagement, and recreating networking opportunities.
While many have invested in virtual expo halls and booths, Chris says he has really yet to hear about an event where these have even come close to replicating the in-person experience, particularly from the perspective of enabling true conversations and delivering qualified leads to exhibitors and sponsors. In addition, burnout was starting to be widely reported in audiences. By Q4 of last year, engagement levels were starting to drop due to Zoom fatigue.
Chris advises: “Two of the major benefits of virtual events are the ability to reach a much wider, potentially global audience, and the fact that we can now broaden the scope of our thinking from events being these one-off, in-person occasions to part of the digital buyer’s journey. With that in mind, I think one thing to consider is how you’re building that community before, during and after events. Event tech vendor Bizzabo did this really well as an example for their own recent virtual event. They set up a Slack workspace so as soon as you registered for the event, you were invited to the workspace and it quickly became an active community of peers, engaging with each other, sharing ideas and content, before, during and after the event itself.”
Another piece of advice is to work towards content in shorter formats made available on demand quickly. Chris explains: “With the B2B buying process becoming more complex, more buyers are clamouring over shorter, digestible content in their own time. Be sure to record any virtual event content and be ready to slice and dice that content up and re-use across other channels, such as content syndication and equipping your sales or SDR team for new outreach.”
The future of events
Regardless of what you’re planning for, it’s important to stay agile and flexible for the time being as the event space continues to look uncertain.
Chris says: “Clearly we still have this cloud of uncertainty hanging over us, however I do think there have been a lot of learnings from the virtual events in 2020 that we can take forward into 2021 regardless of the event format. There is without doubt a strong desire amongst marketers, buyers, vendors to get back to in-person events when we can, but that is not to say hybrid and virtual events in their different formats won’t continue to play an important role going forward. We’re going to see more innovation in the space and as in-person events start to return, I think there’s an exciting future ahead that harnesses the best of both worlds.”
