Live Exhibitions Are Returning, Helped by Virtual: New Research

Encouraging vaccine rollouts have exhibition event organizers in many areas determined to go back onsite. However, they’ll need exhibitors on board. Against a backdrop of new variants and virtual alternatives, will they come back? Here’s what the data says. Trade shows have had a rough go of virtual, forcing many sponsors and exhibitors to re-evaluate[…]

How Can the Events Industry Forge a Gender Equal World?

US Government data from 2018 states the role of “meeting, convention and event planners” to be 79.5% female and 20.5% male, yet the average salary for males is $50,531 but only $46,526 for females — a 8.6% difference. The salary difference may be explained by the fact that the balance shifts to being male dominated[…]

Unbundling Events: Why It Won’t Be Easy

Virtual events lack the perks of in-person events; by unbundling them, we may be creating unattractive packages that lack emotional appeal. On the other hand, is there any way back? The enforced pivot to virtual has accelerated the unbundling of business events, a process that Martin Recke argues was already in motion long before the[…]

The Event Tech Market Has Changed Forever. Where Does It Go From Here?

Event tech is currently surging in response to an anomalous increase in demand, but with so much uncertainty about what lies ahead, how are tech companies restrategizing and preparing for the future? Over the past 12 months, the pandemic has forced a widespread use of virtual tools on the event industry, which has historically been[…]

Events Are Not Dead, But They Need to Change

Skift CEO Rafat Ali published a piece last week on how the event industry is facing its Napster moment. Is the industry really doomed in favor of virtual events? Not really, but change is required. I was watching a documentary on the phenomenon of the hikikomori. If you are not familiar, it is about kids[…]

Do We Really Need to Stay 6 Feet Apart at Events?

Social distancing has been both the crux of Covid-19 safety measures and the single biggest bane to events, but new research suggests that the six-foot rule needs revising: planners may be more restricted in some ways, less in others. Here’s why. Although ‘social distancing’ is a term that dates back to 2003, it didn’t enter[…]

5 Factors to Consider Before Cancelling Your Event

The coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually every event scheduled after Q1 of 2020, and has forced many to cancel. But with alternative formats and rising competition, is cancelling outright ever the best decision? Here’s our take. Event organizers have been under an incredible amount of stress and pressure over the last few months — many[…]

Are You Ready for Post-Lockdown Events? Here Is What They Look Like

Business events are making a timid comeback with a whole new set of rules and recommendations from international and local health organizations. The first events will look very different. These telling images shed light on the first in-person events. Events are slowly coming back in areas that have decided to reopen. While most large events[…]

The Future of Events Is Definitely Hybrid: What Will They Look Like?

There is one question on the minds of event professionals looking at getting back to live events, what will hybrid look like? Here is a potential scenario. 62% of event planners say that the future of events is hybrid. When we asked the direct question in our latest report, The Virtual Event Tech Guide, the[…]

How Revenge Attending Could Help Events Bounce Back

After months in lockdown, many will flock back to events. Will revenge attending save the event industry from the deepest crisis ever faced? A few weeks ago, Hermès, a luxury brand in fashion, reopened its flagship store in the southern region of Guangzhou, China. It managed to sell inventory for $2.7M, the highest ever figure[…]