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

How to organize safe events during a global pandemic?

Being an event planner during a global pandemic might be the worst nightmare that you can ever think of. However, these are things that we have little control over and require us to adapt accordingly. As we get used with living under imposed government restrictions, we can see several precautionary measures being removed from our daily lives.

Unfortunately, this new virus is directly related to mass gatherings, which are at the forefront of hosting events. Among the first precautionary measures imposed by governments was to restrict and put on pause the world of live events. During these challenging times, members of the meetings industry create complicated scenarios and endless debates on what it takes to organize events in such a global pandemic.

Therefore, this article is going to focus on different measures that can help our beloved world of live events to get back to normal during these unprecedented times. It is important to keep in mind that precautionary measures are extremely important, and we will only succeed by following strict guidelines. As we speak, an increasing number of events are either cancelled or postponed. Those that are postponed will soon have to take place and event organizers should be prepared to host them accordingly.

Pre-event safety measures

  • Implement attendance policies and restrictions

Stay up to date and determine which countries may experience an upward trend in terms of Coronavirus cases. The John Hopkins live-tracker is a great tool that keeps you updated in real time. Try to impose restrictions and limit potential attendees that visited in the past 60 days countries with a high-risk of infection.

  • Filter participants based on country of origin

It might be a good idea to require international attendees to bring their passports for an additional layer of safety. Those participants that visited a high-risk country in the past 60 days should not be allowed to enter the event premises. However, make sure to consult local travel restrictions and guidelines before taking such decision.

  • Provide flexible cancellation policies given the current situation

If for some reason you decide to postpone or cancel your event, show that you care and enable participants to use tickets for future editions or apply refunds if there will be no future editions anytime soon.

  • Consider hosting a Hybrid event

In our previous posts, we’ve talked about the benefits of hosting hybrid events. Given the current situation that we all deal with, that of a global pandemic, hybrid events might be the answer to deliver events to a broad audience. This way, those failing the screening process can attend the event virtually from all over the world. Streams.live is a streaming solution designed to accommodate the needs of a hybrid event and it can keep your audience engaged with little to no effort.

  • Public health tracking through data collection waivers

Follow global privacy regulations and collect necessary information from your participants. If any incidents occur during your event, public officials should at least have a name and a contact number from those attending. In the given context of a global pandemic, this information is required to conduct epidemiological investigations. With Oveit, relevant data can be collected through registration forms (GDPR compliant) and attendees are required to fill those details before they receive their electronic tickets.

The form setup. You can choose from text, dropdown lists, email, dates and file uploads
  • Keep attendees updated with special event rules

Make sure that participants are well-informed and aware of any uncommon precautionary measures implemented. It can take the form of a newsletter and most organizers send these updates two-weeks in advance, one-week prior, three-days prior, one day prior and a small recap during the event day.

Impose day of event precautionary measures

  • Temperature screenings at the event venue

As you already know, one common Coronavirus symptom is high body temperature. Therefore, before entering the event premises, staff members should screen attendees with thermal scanners to decrease the risk of infection. Those with temperatures higher than 37.8C must be escorted to an isolation room for additional investigations.

  • Designated isolation holding room

Together with health agencies, event organizers might have to prepare an isolation holding room for suspected cases. This room should follow strict disinfection procedures and medical staff must be present.

  • Regular deep cleaning throughout the venue

Contract an experienced cleaning team that gets the job done. Make sure that high-touch areas, such as door knobs, stairs handrails, chairs, registration areas and bathrooms are cleaned more often. Appropriate disinfectant substance should be used for deep cleaning.

  • Display health notices at the venue

Place health notices throughout the venue, especially in areas where attendees tend to crowd. These should include social distancing reminders, frequent hygiene practices, and other relevant precautionary measures.

  • Safety measures for Food & Beverage providers

Communicate with food vendors well in advance and educate them on best practices on how food should be served during your event. For example, instead of open buffets, advise them to serve individually wrapped food. If your F&B providers insist on using open buffets, make sure that they use splash and sneeze guards or other relevant food safety measures.

  • Hand sanitization devices around communal areas

Forcing people to use bathrooms for hand hygiene is not a good option since it compromises social distancing rules. Instead, a good backup plan is to place hand sanitizer dispensers in key areas, especially nearby meal, and beverage stations.

Follow-up after the event

  • Post-event surveys

Use these surveys to analyse your event’s success, but also to find out if any of those who attended are feeling unwell to avoid the spread of the virus.

  • Prepare attendee data if necessary

If public officials need the attendee data to conduct an epidemiological investigation, make sure that you have it handy and ready to go. Time is extremely important in such investigations.

In summary

Remember, these are general guidelines and before applying any of them make sure to double check with local authorities. We hope that events will get back to normal as soon as possible, but before that, better be safe than sorry.

At Oveit, our mission is to help event organizers accomplish their goals, even during challenging times. We try to find innovative ways in which our technology can be used in force majeure situations. Hopefully, these guidelines will help you get back and running.

Stay safe!

June 24, 2020 Access management, Event management, Event professionals, Event spotlight, Event tech, Events, Oveit Features, Technology, Uncategorized No comments yet

Are Hybrid Events the new normal?

In the last couple of weeks, we saw a “pros & cons” contest between in-person and online events. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, no doubt here. But instead of having a fight between in-person versus online experiences, why don’t we turn the rhetorics toward in-person and online experiences? Why don’t we embrace the hybrid events just like retail embraced the Omni-channel strategy?

“An Omni-channel retail strategy is an approach to sales and marketing that provides customers with a fully-integrated shopping experience by uniting user experiences from brick-and-mortar to mobile-browsing and everything in between”

Today we want to showcase some of the benefits of combining in-person and virtual experiences. This “alliance” is not new and over the years it evolved from a one-way broadcast to today’s engaging activity.

Going back into history, the 1939 baseball game between the Columbia Lions and Princeton Tigers was the first USA televised sports event (and one of the first in the world). Of course, it was ‘just’ a televised event,  different from what we have now.  But events started having both in-person and remote attendees and it was one of the first steps that brought us here today.

Going to the 70s, “The Rumble in the Jungle” and “Thrilla in Manila” were two sporting events that made history. While over 80.000 people had the privilege of attending the fights in person, over 150 Million virtual attendees watched live on a pay-per-view system. Access for the event was bought for both experiences. Yes, still far from what we now call hybrid events, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Today’s technology allows us to create interactive hybrid-events, where attendees do not just watch a live broadcast but are also able to interact with the hosts or to each other. They can ask questions using chat features, buy access to private rooms, or even buy merchandise straight from the stream. A lot has changed over the years, transforming what once was a unidirectional message into an engaging experience.

Let’s take a look at the main benefits of creating Hybrid Events:

Increased attendance

Hybrid events are designed to provide engaging content for two separate audiences: those attending in-person and those attending virtually. For this reason, marketers can reach beyond their typical audience and promote the event anywhere in the world. Among the various reasons for someone not being able to attend the in-person event, the main one seems to be related to distance limitations. By hosting a hybrid event, location barriers are removed, and your audience can be as diverse as possible.

As an event organizer, you might think that hosting a hybrid event will cause physical attendance to decrease. Although it might seem natural, the good news is that’s not the case at all! According to a survey conducted by Digitell, Inc., over 100 professionals shared some interesting data related to attending hybrid events. It was concluded that 83% of virtual attendees had no intention of attending the in-person event due to various limitations.

Secure your online community

Today, having an online presence for your business is a must. And with 55% of customers checking for online reviews and 47% visiting the company’s website before making a purchase, it is easy to understand why. Your event’s website and social medial platforms will help create and nurture your community, making it easy to engage your existing followers and to attract new ones. But a hybrid event will do more. It will open a new revenue stream while consolidating your connection with the online community.

For some reason, part of your online community will never attend your in-person events. But will gladly buy a ticket to access the online experience. Will ask questions, will give feedback, and purchase event merchandise. From the comfort of their homes. 

This event format will tighten the bonds – the part of your community that was unable to physically attend the event can now be an integrated part of the experience. 

Valuable information

As a tech company, we focused on data from Day 1. As part of hundreds of events during the last years, we saw how relevant data can increase the overall experience. This is why we always focused on creating a tool that gathers all the relevant information. We have created a system that uses NFC technology, not just for cashless payments, but for access control and engagement as well. We saw this information being used to better understand the customer journey and purchasing habits, all in order to deliver personalized, high-octane experiences. Knowing what your attendees like is the perfect (and probably the only) way to create better and better events.

More than often, the in-person experience is different from the virtual one. And what we consider to be the best parts of our events are not necessarily the most appealing ones when viewed online. This is why the online part of a hybrid event is the one that will give us a better understanding of how the content can be used in our post-event communication. A powerful tool allows virtual attendees to interact during the online stream. Viewers can mark the most inspiring moments and offer relevant feedback.

Based on this information we see what works best for in-person experiences and what people appreciate from a virtual perspective.  

In-stream purchases

For the last 2 years, here at Oveit we focused on developing the closed-loop payment system that allows people to effortlessly buy the desired products. Now, given the circumstances, our focus is centered around online experiences and seamless transactions. By looking more into hybrid events and what it takes to host one, we came to the conclusion that our technology used for in-person experiences is a great fit in a virtual context as well. 

Hybrid events are not just events that are streamed live to an online audience. A real hybrid event uses technology to create similar experiences and opportunities for both online audiences and live participants. In other words, online participants get to participate in the event in the same way that live attendees do. 

Based on the event’s purpose and topic, participants might have the chance to purchase products or services for a discounted price during in-person events. To host a successful and authentic hybrid event, virtual attendees should have the same opportunities with in-person participants, including the ability to purchase featured products and services within the event’s venue. With Oveit, the in-stream purchase feature together with the ‘Perks, benefits, and add-ons’ feature enables virtual participants to order products in real-time within the live-streamed event. Addons are optional and they can be purchased during the registration process. On the other side, perks are usually included in the ticket price and might be offered only by purchasing a specific ticket category (e.g.: Gold Pass).

Improved ROI

Just because you decide to host a hybrid event, it doesn’t mean that online audiences are expected to pay $0 for the content you’ve prepared. Among other techniques, you can sell virtual access for a discounted price and boost your event ROI. To do that, you must assure that your audience is engaged throughout the event for a positive retention rate. As previously mentioned, it is not enough to simply broadcast your live event without providing the virtual audience with the right tools for engagement. To be able to monetize and expect paid tickets from online participants, utilize technology to provide them with similar in-person experiences.

Another way to improve the ROI for a hybrid event is to include sponsored content during sessions or other gaps. It can be any educational or event-related topic that provides value for virtual attendees and that enables sponsors to meet their marketing objectives. For example: A mobile provider might talk about the impact of smartphones on our daily lives. The topic is related to their expertise and it can educate virtual audiences while promoting its brand.

Since hybrid events are always recorded, improving ROI through captured content is another way that proves to be efficient. The available content within hybrid events tends to provide great value in return for those attending. For this reason, why not monetize recorded content and sell it after the event to attendees and others interested? One interesting finding is that free content has a low consumption rate among organizations vs. when they charge for it, meaning that viewers consider paid content to bring more value in return. 

Remote speakers

A hybrid event can bring new opportunities. So why have just virtual attendees, why not virtual speakers as well? While it’s uncommon for in-person events to have virtual sessions, the offline/online format lets your creativity sparkle. Create special sessions designed for the online attendees, but allow those that are physically present to take a look – you can have a very pleasant surprise. This option will allow new collaborations, with speakers and artists from all over the world. For example, create an interactive training session for your online attendance but imagine a special environment from which in-person attendees can watch the session  – some may find the information very useful. And some may want to want to use space to charge their powers – mingling can be exhausting.

Final thoughts

By focusing more on the digital side of an event, organizers can create opportunities, connect to a broader audience, increase ROI, and enable virtual attendees to feel like they almost attend in-person from all over the world. Of course, this can only be achieved by utilizing solutions that can accommodate those needs. As previously mentioned, Oveit was initially designed for mid-sized to large festivals and conferences. However, the current situation that we all deal with made us think out of the box and forced us to use our technology in a different context, that being online. For this reason, we came up with what we call Streams.live. It is a solution that enables content creators and event organizers to talk about their passions to a broad audience in real-time.

We are very positive, and we like to believe that in-person events will come back ASAP. However, people might get reluctant in the near future and might decide to stay away from large in-person gatherings. That’s why we believe that hybrid events can keep a balance and entertain large audiences from all over the world.

May 21, 2020 Event management, Event professionals, Event tech, Oveit Features, Technology, Uncategorized 2 comments