Due to the unprecedented circumstances brought about by coronavirus, the whole event industry has been forced to put on pause. Events of all sizes, including physical exhibitions, seminars, conferences and trade shows, are being cancelled or postponed. Let’s explore more how the pandemic impacts the entire event industry.
According to the results of a survey conducted in April 2020 among event professionals and their suppliers in the US, it was found that due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, 87 percent of respondents had to cancel their planned events and 66 percent postponed them. The source reported that there were not a lot of events cancelled in February, but cancellation increased between March and June. The reasons for cancellations included social distancing and travel bans, but also the fear of putting participants at risk.
Event marketers from big firms are turning to digital delivery — particularly for large conferences and summits. The survey also found that the majority of planners believed that designing digital events is a highly anticipated skill among professionals in the industry nowadays.
Virtual events are nothing new. Yet, in order to pull off a virtual event that is every bit as exciting as your in-person plan, a change in strategic thinking and the right partners for content and technology is essential.. This means that the way you engage and connect with the audience, from content to tone of voice, will have to be changed in a totally different way.
From the bar chart above, for the companies who had moved at least portions of their physical events to a virtual platform (and some did it completely), 69 percent decided to use a webinar format instead of face-to-face, while 62 percent live streamed their speakers. Above all, They were most concerned about the interactive elements in the virtual events.
All in all, not only has the mode of event shifted to online, but the practice of event professionals have also changed a great deal during these turbulent times. They need to get acquainted with some new and advanced event management skills and technologies so as to adapt to the current scenario.