Welcome to Our Online Event Future

The latest on everything online, virtual, digital or hybrid in the event world by PIRATEx

Happy Friday,

Welcome the inaugural edition of The Lookout, a new newsletter from PIRATEx. Here, we will be sharing what we have been thinking about when it comes to digital events, and how this industry is evolving from our perspective.

This week at PIRATEx we’ve been happy to produce two exciting projects for our partners Digitale Leute and BW-i. It has been a pleasure to work with Digitale Leute to help bring their event remote for the first time this year. The event brought together over 2000 participants during two days with over 16 hours of livestream production from our team.

BW-i brought PIRATEx to China for the first in a series of events helping open business opportunities for Baden-Württemberg firms in the region. “BW Meets the world” will next reach audiences in Nigeria, the US, and beyond later this month.

Check out our latest Deep Dive: Meeting In The Middle – Is Hybrid The New Thing?

Check out our latest Deep Dive conversation on all things remote events with PIRATEx’s Laura Koliska interviewing Deutsche Messe AG’s Daniela Stack.

Daniela is a long time veteran of the events industry, now leading New Fairs and Events at one of the world’s leading organizers of tradefairs and exhibitions. Daniela shares how they’re incorporating more digital solutions in their event offerings, and how embracing hybrid events are the future of the tradeshow and fairs industry.

Listen on demand at  YouTube or Spotify and don’t miss the next episode in our discussion series.

Remote event takeaway of the week: Animate your audience!

Engage your audience by breaking up the static imagery on your platform interface through moving pictures and jingles to keep attention high. PIRATEx Head of Production Vadim Mierzicki worked with the Digitale Leute team to develop logo animations for their event to increase engagement and create elements of surprise. Digitale Leute also sought to engage their audience through some interactive experiences, including lunchtime cooking demonstrations and morning wake-up DJ sessions.

Latest happenings on remote events:

Hopin raises $125M for its online events platform on the back of surging growth: This latest investment in online event platform Hopin demonstrates a significant amount of confidence in the future of the digital event industry.

A holly jolly virtual Christmas: While some might object, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has meant businesses are looking for digital solutions to replace the traditional end of year celebration (especially in the UK, where Christmas parties receive a special tax break). Event organizers are going all out coming up with special ideas to bring teams together after a high unusual, and socially distanced year. PIRATEx is no exception, and we’ve come up with some very special ideas to keep teams feeling close and connected this holiday season.

A new report out from IFES International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services on the impact of CoVid-19 analyzes the impact on their members. Some of the survey responses are stark, with 38% of respondents indicating they have experienced a drop of earnings of 91% or more since the beginning of the CoVid pandemic, and 71% of respondents expect skilled workers to migrate to other industries while the event slowdown takes hold. A major conclusion of the report suggests CoVid’s leading impact is the acceleration of digital disruption of the event industry, including remote and hybrid event solutions. For more insights, the report can be found here.

Top reads:

• Events are gone (for a while), but the show must go on: PR Week
• Paid virtual events are the new golden ticket for publishers: Digiday
• Virtual Event Planning May Present New Opportunities for Software Developers: Entrepreneur
• Why companies are now aiming to use virtual events for recruiting: Glossy
• ‘Our Strength Has Always Been Our Community’: The Information Invests in Virtual Events: Adweek
• 94% of UK businesses plan to run an online event within the next 12 months: Conference and Event News
• Online Events Require a Fundamental Rethink: CMS Wire
• 15 tips for hosting a virtual offsite for your remote team: The Next Web

Thanks for reading!

That’s it for this edition of the Remote Events insider. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out our Guidebook and you can subscribe to our weekly newsletter to always be updated on the news from the online event world!

If there’s anything you would like to read about when it comes to remote, or digital events, let us know! We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.

The Lookout Newsletter #1

Written by:
Felix Josephi
PIRATEx Managing Director