In connection with recent events in the world, it becomes clear that the world will no longer be the same. Many changes will be prolonged, and some will remain forever. One of the first changes was felt by the event industry. The regime of self-isolation and remote work has affected the event sphere by canceling all upcoming events.
However, it is important to note that the event niche has not lost its relevance; in some respects, on the contrary, it has gained special significance. Evgenia Glushenkova, executive director of the event agency Aventura, spoke about the trends and changes in the event industry in 2020 at our webinar “Event Trends of the New Reality”, which took place on April 27 this year. For those who missed the meeting and for those who want to recap the main points, we have written this summary article.Evgenia notes that the team must be motivated and supported, regardless of what is happening around them. After all, everyone is tired, everyone is lost and needs support like never before. That is why the event industry must quickly adapt to a new remote-virtual mode. And this is already happening. Let's look at the main features of the event sphere in such an ambiguous 2020.
Online Services Are Our Everything
Even before the pandemic began, many services were being moved online. With the arrival of quarantine, this process accelerated and expanded many times over. Hence the huge demand for online platforms and special platforms where a team from different cities can be brought together. Work meetings, conferences, entertainment, and even parties take place here.
“If we don't go online today, we'll go nowhere,” notes Evgenia Glushenkova. And it is hard to disagree with that.
It is important to consider not just the presence of participants on the platform, but also to achieve their engagement. Online tools for these tasks already exist; they are workable and effective. These include chatbots, online team building, strategy games, online parties, culinary and art master classes, and quizzes. They motivate each participant to be interactive: not just to watch the screen, but to attend the online event.
For example, on May 6 our event agency held a culinary online show with master class elements, “Online Kitchen”. Anyone from anywhere in the world could try their hand as a chef. The show participants, together with a sparkling host and under the clear guidance of a famous chef, prepared 3 exquisite dishes. They also listened to fiery sets from a popular DJ, enjoyed a bartender show and had a pleasant conversation with each other. Not to mention the quite tangible result in the form of a delicious offline dinner.
Event Hunger
When most events were cancelled, people felt how important “live” events are. Digitalization is good, but offline social interaction cannot be fully replaced.
Hence the huge excitement about future events. Event agencies will face challenging work to maintain their priority and operability after the quarantine ends. Retaining your rental, venue, and contractors is no easy task amid growing competition.
Social Responsibility Will Save the World
Major global brands are contributing to helping society to get through difficult times. Fashion houses sew protective masks and medical suits, alcohol brands produce sanitizers, and car factories manufacture ventilators.
Tent rental companies rent out tents for charitable purposes. Restaurants offer free food to medical workers and people in need. Some event organizers volunteered. After all, for organizing aid efforts, such qualities of an event manager as communication skills, stress resistance, mobility and others are important.
Of course, charity does not bring profit, and not everyone will survive the crisis. But on the other hand, by providing support, companies will earn a “reserve” of customer loyalty that will play in their favor in the future.
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Tent rental companies rent out tents for charitable purposes |
Lifestyle marketing
Companies strive to build a system of additional services and offerings based on an analysis of clients' lifestyles. Now the brand does not adapt to each consumer; instead, it offers a kind of “ecosystem” that the consumer has to adapt to. A striking example is Tinkoff and Yandex, which offer clients, in addition to their core services, air tickets, food, cinema tickets, restaurants, etc.
Wow effect
The desire to surprise, go beyond the usual, and exceed expectations continues to be one of the priority areas of event marketing. But new conditions create a shortage of tools — or rather, generate strong demand for new developments and technologies. Large companies adapt to the new rules of the game, changing their usual brand tone.
Engagement through gamification and merch
Game elements and mechanics from computer games (gamification) have long been actively used at various events. So why not use this proven tool in today's conditions as well? Moreover, it is interesting, exciting, and varied. And as a reward for participating in gamified events, you can use merch (gifts featuring the brand's logo). The main thing is that they are practical and stylish.
As an example, Evgenia Glushenkova cites an online strategy where all participants, placed in a game world, complete various tasks, build new locations, set objectives, and achieve success.
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Engagement through gamification and merch
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Brevity Is the Soul of Wit
In a massive flow of information, complex names, slogans and headlines are not perceived by most people. Modern society wants everything to be extremely simple, clear and accessible. To “hook” a client, the message must be as informative as possible and, at the same time, simple and short. You have only a couple of seconds to get the main message across and spark interest.
No Credit
The time when event agencies waited months for their fee for the work done is gone. You need to get used to working on a prepayment basis, because event agencies are not credit institutions or charities. They also need to pay rent, salaries to artists, contractors and employees. We don’t go shopping without money, do we? Such measures will help survive in the new reality and keep the business afloat.
Yes, it is hard for everyone right now. But such ambiguous times build strength of spirit and endurance, forcing us to adapt to new trends and do our job even better. The event agency “Aventura” always stays on trend and uses new opportunities for its development. We will help your team get through this difficult time without losses or damages.
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