When Your Fear Means Your Audience Misses Out…

It’s been a minute. Where has summer gone? 

No matter your audience or industry– as we expected, this has been one non-stop season of events. September and October are no different. It’s exciting for event producers (we’re gearing up to produce one of the hottest parties during DMEXCO next month—if you’d like to join us there, just reply to me here to get on the list😉)– but the busyness of the summer can be a stressful time for event organizers.

There’s the fear of your event being lost in the shuffle and the worry that attendance and sponsor numbers might not reach expectations. But as event numbers continue to rebound, it’s not just the summer event season that organizers need to ensure their event stands out.

When your prospective attendees have more events on their calendar than they could possibly attend– there’s an easy answer– on-demand options for events. 

Unfortunately, it’s one that many organizers of in-person events decline to take.

Why? 

One reason I’ve heard time and time again– is the fear that digital attendance options will limit physical attendance numbers.

We’ve not found that to be the case–but if your target audience is looking for digital attendance options, then why not listen to them? Whose goal is your event concept serving– yours, or your attendees?

One of the biggest benefits of the digital turn-in events was the option not just to meet your audience wherever they are, but whenever it is convenient to attend. There’s no way to ensure your event date syncs appropriately with that of all you’d like to join you. But if you have something great to offer, don’t let your community miss out just because the timing isn’t right. 

With a little creative thought, it’s easy to make your event accessible on-demand in a way that is enduring and meaningful. The answer doesn’t have to be a hybrid event– but it should be more than a livestream recording. Think about how you can extend your event concept beyond just a date and a time– extend your idea of your event itself. Your audience and community is looking for this already– so meet them! On-demand and perpetual options will be a massive part of events going forward (partly why the metaverse is so hotly discussed)– so don’t miss out on a huge potential audience and reach right now. 

Here’s what I’ve been catching up on this week:

The event industry’s changing landscape:

• Forum Veranstaltungswirtschaft kritisiert Entwurf des neuen Infektionsschutzgesetzes [Event Partner] Germany’s event industry trade associations have called on the federal government to begin discussions about new draft legislation on coronavirus response this fall. The industry argues the government has refused to engage with its representatives over prospective coronavirus regulations as well as requested aid for the events industry in recovery. 
• Q4 Inc. lays off eight percent of staff to accelerate “path to profitability”[BetaKit] Publicly listed live communications company Q4 announces staff reductions, joining other technology co’s in restructuring after huge gains last year. Q4 focuses on digital communications and virtual webinar technologies and online event solutions for corporates and saw massive gains during the pandemic. 
• Meetings and Events Forecast to Fully Recover Next Year [Skift] Skift analyzes a new report by Knowland that suggests that the event industry will fully recover by next year, barring any further volatility. Citing the growth in recovery over the past 2 quarters, corporate events appear to be back on track in terms of volume, if the current trajectory continues, according to their research. But this measure of recovery looks at only the amount of events taking place– not necessarily the quality or scale of the events themselves. 
• Event Attendance at 65 Percent May Be As Good As It Gets, New Data Shows [Skift] Skift then highlights a new research report from Freeman which takes another look at the rebound of the event industry. Here, they see something a bit less positive than the previous study. They find a regular,  steady figure– lagging attendance numbers across the board. Comparing attendance across a range of industry events, planners are finding numbers reaching about 65% of what they were in 2019, and holding still. Frustratingly for organizers, discrepancies are found in registrations and attendance– with registrations slightly above what the actual attendance figures tend to be. The researchers argue that it is this period that is meaningful for event organizers to focus on more strongly–  continuing to encourage registrants to join, not just sign up for events. 

Tradeshows in 2022

• Wirtschaft: Elektronikmesse IFA will nach Pandemie-Pause durchstarten [Handelsblatt] Consumer Electronics fair IFA looks to a path of profitability and growth after pandemic delays and with a possible new contract. The IFA’s current contract expires next year, but some parties cite economic changes in buying behavior to potentially put the fair in its current location at risk of a move. The Berlin fair, Europe’s largest for consumer electronics, begins next week 
• Mobilitätsmesse: Genfer Autosalon 2023 wegen geopolitischer Unsicherheiten abgesagt [Handelsblatt] The Geneva Motor show has cancelled its flagship event in Switzerland in 2023, citing unspecific economic, geopolitical and and pandemic reasons. Organizers suggested that the risks of running the show overweighed opportunities, and have instead focused on hosting an event in Qatar in partnership with Qatar Tourism. The Geneva Motorshow has not been held since 2019 after the last edition in 2020 was canceled days ahead of the show, due to the coronavirus. The Geneva Motor Show was one of the largest automotive events in the world and attracted more than 600,000 visitors during the show. 
• Gamescom: Nun gibt es die Messe wieder als echtes Event in Köln [Welt] Gamescom returns to Cologne this week, returning in a hybrid style. The last two years of Gamescom were held virtually, but organizers cited an enthusiasm to return in person. Gamescom brought 370,000 people to Cologne when held in person in 2019. This year’s affair welcomes 1100 exhibitors, though will, unfortunately, miss some of the headline sponsors that the event attracted in the past, including Nintendo, Sony and Electronic Arts. 

How to do it:

• Zoe Amar: How can we make events more inclusive? [Third Sector] For many, hybrid options are an enabler of attendance for underrepresented people, who may be prevented from attending certain events in person. In this opinion piece, Zoe Amar argues how technology can greatly improve audience inclusion, but can’t be the only factor when designing an inclusive event. Organizers should consider accessibility from the beginning, and design with inclusion in mind. 
• Building community in online conferences, events (opinion) [Inside Higher Ed] Online doesn’t mean “isolated” and in person doesn’t necessarily mean included. Virtual events can be great facilitators of “Community” by helping to promote ownership, equity and agency among attendees.  
• How to plan a successful virtual event [Conference News] Virtual events look quite different in the second half of 2022 than they did at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s up to organizers to continue to evolve their concepts and technologies when it comes to keeping online experiences fresh for their audience. Here are a few useful takeaways for organizers when it comes to creating virtual experiences that feel new and effective in 2022. The author has also put together a handy virtual event starter kit for readers. 

Don’t miss it:

• Metaverse ist mehr als Virtual-Reality [Netzpalaver] The hype around the “metaverse” continues to grow. More than a buzzword, the growth and potential of these immersive virtual spaces have an incredible opportunity to change the way your people and audience connect and engage with one another. There’s still some time before they become omnipresent, though. In the meantime, there’s more to learn about how they can and will be used. This piece explores some of the critical concepts involved and describes what we can expect as metaverse spaces continue to evolve and grow.
• The Role Of Empathy In A Virtual-First World [Forbes Leadership] This piece has got me thinking this week. I feel we’re only at the beginning of what is possible with digital events and experiences, however, there’s a considerable gap between the exciting potential and the, unfortunately, sometimes limited reality. Right now, technology remains limited in helping facilitate those connections as they take place in person. While technology catches up– what will get us there in the meantime is empathy. I’d love to know what you thought about this piece.
  

Closing thoughts

Something that’s been keeping us busy this summer, beyond a calendar of packed events? An office move! PIRATEx has moved to a new location in Cologne where we have a full service studio on site. It lets us massively improve our offerings for video productions and event capabilities. If you’re in the neighborhood don’t hesitate to visit us at PIRATEx GmbH, Stolberger Str. 90d, 50933 Köln!

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The Lookout Newsletter #65

Written by:
Felix Josephi
PIRATEx Managing Director