​How is the events industry bouncing back?.

​Corporate conferences and tradeshows have come back with a vengeance. People want to meet more often, they want to shake hands and connect with others in their industry. A lot of summit model events companies have been able to allow people to access digitally but on the other end, we have trade shows that don’t have as many digital offerings, so the transition back to in-person is a must for them.

Our clients in the events space have been using the following techniques to regain momentum:

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Enable digital access

Companies are offering digital access to their events, hosting hybrid events, and allowing people to tune in from a remote location. Some delegates may not feel as safe meeting so many people at one venue, so this has been a viable solution during the pandemic. It also enables international reach, meaning people can access events without having to spend time and money on travel.

Digital event delegates can also be tracked for their attendance and easily re-marketed. This also opens up additional types of sponsorship opportunities for companies that would like to sponsor events digitally.

Event hosting platforms are also benefitting, offering split screens to show multiple views at once, playback to stop, start and re-watch relevant seminars, and also the ability to explore the exhibit floor virtually using technology such as drones.

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Maximise opportunities

Networking

The heart of the events industry is networking. It’s not about opening your wallet or signing contracts on the spot, it’s about meeting people and creating long-lasting relationships and partnerships. This benefit of hosting traditional events is still very much alive and irreplaceable.

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Demonstrations

Some industries such as automotive or tech require the ability to physically test new products or allow customers to see things working in person. Whether it is to show off products or demonstrate an experience, events are valuable for launches or market research.

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Lead generation

Tying everything together; networking, demonstrating, and learning creates opportunities for stakeholders to generate leads, start conversations, and better understand their customers’ challenges that their product or service can solve.

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​Invest into sales

It has been an uphill battle for the Events industry to put bums on seats and have an audience to showcase to. Whether that is through digital or traditional means, event management teams should continue to invest in their sales departments. Cleverly creating an interest for events, encouraging ticket sales, and seeing that result in bottom-line profit.

As well as marketing to delegates, it is wise to give attention to sponsorship sales too. Create sponsorship packages to allow key influencers to stand in as leaders of your industry. It is often that delegates attend events for the purpose of meeting certain speakers, so it pays to create attractive sponsorship subscriptions. Consider inviting the movers and shakers who not only help your industry forecast ahead, but help leverage the reputation of the event too.

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We hear positives for the return of events and the audience numbers attending. While it’s yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, it’s well on the way to swing back in 2023 and beyond.

If you’re looking to hire for events management, delegate sales, or sponsorship sales roles, get in touch.

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