DURING this time of the year, marketing professionals would normally be busy organizing conferences, trade shows, concerts, and on-site events. They would also be preparing plans for Christmas, which for many businesses is the happiest time of the year. But that was it seems, in another life—meaning before March this year, when the impact of the coronavirus struck like a bolt out of the blue.
But health concerns, and the restrictions that go with it—like social distancing and travel constraints—have put live events on a temporary hold. What, we ask, is the outlook on marketing events in the new normal?
In a marktingprofs.com article, “The Future of Marketing Events in the Age of Covid-19,” Don Knox says that now, “they face an uncertain future,” as there’s no telling when large crowds will be able to gather for events.
To begin with, event planning has become more challenging during these times. This is what preparing for an event today would look like:
- Knox says that “time will be needed to sanitize and clean exhibit halls, session rooms, and other gathering areas.” And this can be tedious—wiping down and sanitizing high-touch points, microphones, presentation laptops, door handles, restrooms, registration counters, dining tables—the list goes on.
- Likewise, “social distancing/spacing will need enforcement in expo areas, receptions, session rooms, meeting rooms, and registration areas.” This means fewer people will be able to attend live events.
- Knox observes that “additional items must be provided…including hand sanitizers, masks, keyless check-in at hotels, and boxed food, as well as other resources that will be needed, such as attendant-assisted coffee stations or water stations.” Additional items will entail an additional budget.
All of these will entail more time consumed, bigger budgets, and less attendees.
Indeed, “the challenge for events in the rest of 2020 is how they can remain profitable while keeping the best interests of the industry they serve—and the safety of speakers, sponsors, and attendees—at the forefront.”
With this, Knox sees more of hybrid and virtual events, with gamification as a tool.
Hybrid events, which have both in-person and remote audiences and speakers, would give producers an opportunity to satisfy multiple audiences.
The hybrid approach “presents challenges and opportunities as organizers may have new tactical gating factors to consider, but this is how you can reach new audiences. Remote attendees may be willing to pay for the repurposed content—even if they’re unable to hop on a plane to join in person.”
Virtual events, on the other hand, “are already gaining traction, thanks to accessible and effective technology/solutions being launched daily-in good part due to low-code/no code development platforms giving us virtual experiences on our mobile devices in weeks instead of months.”
Virtual events have been helpful in creating awareness about brands and bringing people together. While these have been generally no-frills occasions, we can see that in time their production will be more sleek and creative.
Gamification, which is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts, is a widely applied tool in marketing. This has been used for loyalty programs, as well as for customer engagement and encouraging desirable web site behavior.
All in all, “it comes down to which technology the organizers choose and how they opt to engage their attendees.”
While Knox admits that as marketers, “we are all weathering the same storm, even if in different boats,” he is “confident that as an industry we’re going to come together with plans and precautions, with the hope that everyone can strike a balance between staying healthy, protecting the vulnerable, and moving our industry forward.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
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