5 Event Trends to watch in 2021

5 Event Trends to watch in 2021 was initially published in our Newsletter on February 11th, 2021.

Hello,
quick question:

How will the future look like?

I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves this question.

It’s one of the hardest answers somebody could give. Lately, we’ve seen how things can go south without any warning. However, in the long term, we can identify directions that are followed even if temporary circumstances force things to go off track.
During the last few weeks, we’ve tried to see the directions events will go in 2021. We’ve directly spoken with tens of event organizers and read many articles written by the industry’s top professionals. And although nobody can say for sure that there is a stable track that we should all follow, we’ve identified the most important trends that will probably mark 2021’s event industry. 

Photo by Polina Kovaleva from Pexels

 
Hybrid events

When discussing with event professionals, hybrid events were the most common answer as a 2021 trend. Regardless of how things will evolve, hybrid events are here to stay. 
Why? Even if restrictions are fully lifted, and this will probably not be the case for 2021,  we are not yet ready to go back to the way we used to act before the pandemic. Most of us will still choose to attend from the safety of our homes. And that’s fine. Events can now offer meaningful experiences for both in-person and virtual attendees. 
How? Even if you are hosting an in-person event, make sure that you offer online participants a way of attending your event. Most likely, a big part of your community is still not able (or ready) to attend physically, and that’s ok! You can easily allow people to virtually attend your experience. With Streams.live you can easily set up online and hybrid events – it automatically imports data from Oveit and you can use the same username (email address) and password to access the account. 
 

Micro-experiences

Even if you have the opportunity to host in-person experiences, they will probably take the form of micro-experiences.  
Why? Due to travel bans, in-person attendance will probably be limited to locals. Small get-togethers will replace classic events, at least for this year. Having fewer physical attendees will allow you to not only make sure that sanitary measurements are properly implemented but also to focus on delivering tailored, attendee-centric, experiences. With few exceptions, just local supporters of your events will be able to attend in-person.
How? Make sure that you follow all sanitary recommendations, I cannot stress out enough this. Also, make sure that you collect all needed information from your attendees. This will help you deliver safe and tailored experiences. 
 

Contactless experiences 

In 2021, paper and money should not change hands. Transform your events into cash (and paper) free experiences and keep everybody safe.
Why? Money changing hands is definitely something that we should avoid by all means. It’s expensive and allows for fraud and human errors to occur. It’s also unsafe from a medical point of view. But going touchless offers many operational benefits as well.
How? Event registration and management solution allow you to go fully digital and eliminate the need for printed tickets, cash, or plastic tokens.  It may sound complicated, but it’s even easier (not to mention safer) than how things used to be. Read this article and see how easy it is to transform your event into a touchless experience.
 

Live shopping as event trends to watch in 2021

gentleman performing in front of a camera

This experience, which, at first sight, may seem that has nothing to do with event trends, is the result of mixing entertainment and shopping. It’s used to describe online shopping journeys that have engaging live video experiences as their starting point. 
Why? The last few years gave us the possibility to see live how entertainment (live events) and purchases go hand in hand. Better said…people spend more while having fun. And we saw how more and more brands have included events and festivals not only in their marketing strategies but as selling channels as well. New revenue streams were initiated through this kind of live experiences. Moving your experience online doesn’t mean that these revenue streams will be lost.
How? By creating shoppable experiences within your virtual events, viewers can purchase products and services straight from the live experience. Without being forced to leave it. Streams.live allows you to easily make your content shoppable.
 

Sustainability

The general opinion is that sustainability is not just a 2021 trend. It’s here to stay. Unlike some of the other trends (mentioned or missed from this message), sustainability has, in the long term, a much greater impact on our lives and businesses. Luckily, event organizers not only see sustainability as important but are also taking action in this direction. 
Why? Because environmental problems are a fact and it’s up to us into making a difference. We can not only make our events more environmentally friendly but we can also spread the word throughout the community. 
How? You can start small: encourage your attendees not to print their tickets as they can easily be scanned straight from their smartphones. Next – find a solution for your left-over food. There are so many solutions to eliminate waste. Single-use plastics should be a thing of the past, we have so many eco-friendly alternatives these days. You can go further and find a partner that is willing to educate your attendees on sustainability and the benefits of circular economies. 


 
These are just 5 event trends we think you should take a look at in 2021. Of course, while documenting, you will find comprehensive lists of what to expect from 2021. Some trends are here to stay, some are just temporary. Some are pandemic-inducted (or accelerated), some are not. But they are all equally important.

February 19, 2021 Access management, Event registration No comments yet

Frictionless Event Payment System

Having a straight forward event payment system can be the difference between failure and success. Making sure that your customers can easily register for you paid events is one of the first things that you need to check while opting for an event registration software. But you need to also check and see if you can use that money prior to your event. Having a solid cash flow will help your business grow; having cash flow problems can crush your business.

Over the last few months, the event management industry was one of the most affected industries by the COVID 19 pandemic. Live events have been postponed or canceled, and the ones that took place were limited to a small number of attendees. Sponsors withdraw their offers as many companies decided to use part of their marketing budgets for day to day operations. Some event organizers moved the experience to online events, facing new challenges, but at the same time continuing to deliver incredible experiences to their communities. 

But having an event payment system that allows you to easily access your funds is something that every event organizer should have in mind. Regardless of the current global situation. 

At Oveit, our goal was to use technology to empower event planners that put all their work into bringing people together. Offline and online. We wanted to create a tool that makes everything fully automated, but also lets you have full control. And payments were one of the first things that we focused on.

photo showing the green "register" button on a computer keyboard
Image by bastiaan from pixabay

Direct debit for event payments

Using our event registration software, our partners have instant access to their ticketing income. All our pricing plans have the direct debit feature activated, meaning that each time a customer places an order, money goes straight into your account. For us, this is how an event payment system should look. This way, even if a customer places an order for an event that will take place one year from now, you can use that money to support your efforts. 

Secure Payments for Events

Let’s face it, paying over the internet can sometimes be an issue. For you and your customers as well. This is why we have decided to work with some of the most important payment processors in the world. This way, each time an order is placed, we can be sure that the client’s credit information is in safe hands. We do not process or store any credit information. Yet tickets are issued only after the payment is confirmed.

Multiple payment processors

Live events bring people together all over the world, so it was essential for us to provide an event registration software that supports multiple currencies and payment methods. We haven’t limited payment methods to just credit or debit card transactions. We added bank transfers as an option as well. And frankly, the option was used more than we have initially expected.

After creating their account, our partners can choose to easily integrate PayPal or Stripe as their payment processor. The Integrations are straight forward, allowing event organizers to receive money from each order straight into their account. 

As a tech company, we couldn’t neglect cryptocurrencies. Especially after running a survey with part of our partners as seeing that over 50% said that they would consider allowing customers to pay with cryptocurrencies for their future events. From March 2020, we have partnered with Crypto.com, allowing our partners to sell tickets using cryptocurrencies.

Having an event payment system that allows you to process payments in a secure environment is crucial. Your customers need to feel safe each time they share their credit information. But at the same time, it’s important to have a system that is flexible and works for you. 

November 11, 2020 Event registration No comments yet

Event booking systems – a must-have tool for organizers

Organizing an event comes with great levels of satisfaction, especially when it ends up being a success. However, there are many things to consider along the road, but today we’ll place the focus on how important it is to rely on the available features that event booking systems might be equipped with.

An event booking system takes off many burdens from the organizer’s shoulders. Having the attendee’s information in one place, available anytime, anywhere is at the core of such solutions.

Let’s go over some of the main benefits that professional event booking systems come with.

Participants can register from anywhere, 24/7

Thanks to event booking systems, participants don’t have to register in a physical location for your event. They can purchase tickets from their own comfort and usually from any device. At home, in their office, in public transportation, or basically anywhere if they have a device and internet connectivity. Physical ticket kiosks are a thing of the past and event booking systems are the answer to that.

Depending on which solution you choose, attendees can even secure their favorite seats if you decide to link ticket categories with seats within a venue. With Oveit’s event booking system, setting up a seated event is fun and intuitive.

Fully customizable

Closing deals with potential sponsors can be a lot easier when using an event booking system. Advanced solutions come with customization options and give organizers the option to add images like their logo or their sponsor’s logo on tickets, in the confirmation email, or in other important stages of the checkout process. It can be a great way to strengthen your brand’s awareness, leading to a more personalized experience. 

On top of that, more advanced event booking systems enable users to customize the confirmation e-mail as they desire. Thus, this feature is very useful because important event-related information (links, further instructions, media) are sent automatically to every participant, immediately after completing the registration process. With our event booking system, customizing the confirmation e-mail is as easy as possible.

Custom registration forms

Some event booking systems make it seamless for organizers to customize digital registration forms. Besides the necessary information (name, address, contact number), such systems enable users to require additional information. They provide the flexibility to add those fields as mandatory or optional, based on how important that information might be for the organizer and for future marketing purposes. 

With Oveit’s event booking system, users can choose between various form types:

  • Text field (one line text input)
  • Multi-line text field (a text area)
  • Email address (the input checks for email formats)
  • Date (Day/Month/Year field)
  • Dropdown list (single or multiple option dropdowns)
  • File upload (upload .doc, .pdf or image files)

Don’t overwhelm your attendees and try to require only relevant information from them. For this reason, include mandatory fields, only if you truly need that piece of information. 

The form setup. You can choose from text, drop-down lists, email, dates and file uploads

Freemium plans available

Beginning of the journey! We’ve all been there. Most event booking systems come with freemium plans for free events. It is a way to support event organizers and provide them with a tool that keeps event-related information in one place, allowing them to focus on what really matters. The big day, the day of the event! With Oveit’s event booking system, organizers can use the tool without any costs, even for paid events. If you sell up to 300 tickets, you can price your tickets as you want, without owing us a single penny.

Multiple currencies available

Large events tend to bring people together, from all over the world. According to a recent study, allowing customers to pay in their own currency can lower cart abandonment by up to 50%. So, with the continuous fluctuation of foreign exchange rates, pricing can be really confusing. Especially when it’s only available in a foreign currency.

With Oveit, attendees can choose between 135 available currencies. Likewise, the price of a ticket can be automatically displayed based on the attendee’s IP location. 

Direct and safe deposits

Ticketing is one of the most common forms of event revenue. Essentials, such as hiring the venue, provision of appropriate equipment and event administration can be directly related to ticket sales. Therefore, professional event booking systems integrate with payment processors, enabling organizers to receive funds in the form of a direct deposit. It is the easiest and fastest option to receive payments from ticket sales. 

At Oveit, we have active integrations with three main payment processors: Stripe, PayPal, and Crypto.com. Simply connect your payment processor’s account to Oveit and accept all major debit and credit cards. All the funds are sent instantly, straight into your account. It is as easy as it sounds!

On the whole, event booking systems are equipped with a variety of features, making the life of event organizers a lot easier. From easily obtaining attendee information to using it for delivering personalized experiences for future editions, the benefits are countless. If you plan to host a relatively small event, you can use our professional event booking system with no strings or costs attached!

October 30, 2020 Event registration No comments yet

Conference Registration – a Full Guide

We’ve seen literally hundreds of conferences registrations and we’ve noticed one thing: no one talks about the best ones. You only hear about the lousy ones. The ones where people couldn’t register. Or didn’t get their confirmation mail. Maybe they couldn’t pay. Perhaps the live stream didn’t start. Do you know of a conference registration where the lines were long and boring? Yeah, we’ve seen some.

It’s easy to get lost in what not to do. But that’s not really useful. The prepared conference planner has to know what exactly to do prior to the event and during the day of the event. She knows what are the best strategies and in what order they should be applied, what are the potential bottlenecks and how to avoid the pitfalls.

We’ve put together a simple, straight forward guide on how to navigate the conference registration process to arrive at a successful event day.

October 23, 2020 Event management, Event registration 1 comment