3 Ways that Covid-19 Has Impacted Events Management

A study conducted by Reed Exhibitions in December 2020 describes some striking changes in consumer behaviour caused by Covid-19.

1. Consumer attitudes towards online events represents an increased readiness to embrace digital events. 93% of visitors reported in September 2020 that they would like to carry out more online events activities digitally if necessary or convenient.

2. The percentage of people who believe they can carry out most of their event activities online has increased significantly from 52% in June to 57% in December.

3. Users are progressively more accepting of hybrid events experiences. 65% of visitors and 57% of exhibitors believe digital will continue to work for events after Covid-19.

According to the Reed 2020 report, 84% of their visitors have tried a new online service since the beginning of lockdown. The image above represents different forms of online services and how many Reed visitors tried each one since the beginning of lockdown.

While these changes don’t seem dramatic, they have important implications for the nature of the events industry. A more prevalent acceptance of virtual interaction will mean a long-term diminishing of geographical barriers. Essentially, events can be scaled up to reach a larger audience and also become more frequent due to the cost effectiveness of virtual services. Companies with a smaller budget can match their larger counter-parts in terms of client interaction.

As well as the change in scale, events can be refined to a more sophisticated degree. Events with any sort of online element allow the opportunity to imminently provide a wealth of data regarding attendee experience through the ease of online polls. This allows you to continually improve and maximise the efficiency of each event.

Eventogy is one of the platforms which reinforce the widening of the digital sphere with regards to events organisation. Our service integrates virtual and in-person attendance to accommodate a variety of clients.

These options facilitate each stage of the worlds return to normalcy and even allows us to bounce back to another lockdown if necessary. It also enables us to put into action the important lessons we’ve learned collectively during the pandemic. There is no longer a need to attend an event while feeling under the weather, or conversely to miss it entirely. Digital attendance hubs are a safe alternative, allowing us to maximise attendance while prioritising our health.

Read the full Reed report here: https://reedexhibitions.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/COVID-19 and How it’s Changing the Event Industry.pdf