Chapter 04
Early Adopters and the Future of Virtual Events
Virtual events were a necessity during lockdown, but the benefits of these events mean they are here to stay. Most marketers believe that the coming years will see more and better virtual events, giving audiences the chance to connect and build relationships without paying for travel and taking days out of the office.
Even if someone waved a magic wand and it was possible to switch back to live events, companies should not forget what their experience of virtual events has taught them, says Llewellyn. “I think we would definitely keep virtual events a large part of our marketing mix going forward, and I hope that other organisations realise how efficient they can be and integrate them with live event strategy. It’d be a huge shame to spend a year upskilling in something just to forget about it and go back to the way we were.”
I think we would definitely keep virtual events a large part of our marketing mix going forward, and I hope that other organisations realise how efficient they can be and integrate them with live event strategy. It’d be a huge shame to spend a year upskilling in something just to forget about it and go back to the way we were.
Whether events will be virtual or live in the future probably comes down to the purpose of the event. Some events happen because people want to generate revenue by taking sales, while other events are accelerating the pipeline, or to generate new leads. “I’m always interested in the rationale behind an event. What’s the objective of the business and what’s the value to the audience attending? Does it make sense to have a virtual event, or will I need a face-to-face element?” says Ingrid Strobl, Director, Marketing & Global Events at Graebel Companies. “Virtual events are attractive because everyone is online and they are low cost. If my goal is for the sales team to have influential quality conversations my preferred method would be to move to an in-person format. While virtual events can be a great way to generate high volume leads.”
Virtual events are attractive because everyone is online and they are low cost. If my goal is for the sales team to have influential quality conversations my preferred method would be to move to an in-person format. While virtual events can be a great way to generate high volume leads.
Early Adopters’ Experiences of Virtual Events
When software company Puppet increased the number of virtual events it hosted, the company didn’t just see an increase in the number of people attending, says Paul Heywood, the company’s chief revenue officer. “We saw different people attending, people we hadn’t engaged with in a year or more. This might have included people who were too busy or where their employer didn’t allow them to attend physical events,” Heywood says. “Off the back of that, we also saw new people engaging with us via our Slack channel, who had attended the virtual events.”
We saw different people attending, people we hadn’t engaged within a year or more. This might have included people who were too busy or where their employer didn’t allow them to attend physical events. Off the back of that, we also saw new people engaging with us via our Slack channel, who had attended the virtual events.
Ingram Micro has found particularly strong demand for virtual events offering learning and development content, says Jackson. The company is offering a range of webinars, panel discussions and round tables alongside some more creative, fun events. This includes virtual escape rooms, where the virtual attendees are placed into a room with locked doors and are required to ask questions and solve problems to find their way out. “It’s really fun, and brilliant seeing people willing to participate across the leadership,” says Jackson. “People are much more comfortable now in virtual environments, and we’ve seen a 600% increase in the use of Microsoft Teams, across the organisation.”
In many cases, companies are using this time to experiment on a small scale with various virtual event formats, identifying what management is required for each, and the relative benefits. SAP has begun experimenting with virtual video conferences and events on a small scale, using projects to gather audience feedback and look at ways to maximise the opportunity. “For us effective virtual events is about how do you deliver an amazing attendee experience while engaging with all the chat, using polls more effectively, incorporating audience questions into the content,” says Vaidyan.
