There are many trends in the virtual event landscape that are both temporary, or in some cases, here to stay. Below, we’ll recap some of our favorite virtual event trends, and what we deem to be the most relevant in today’s rapidly approaching post-Covid event landscape.
1. Virtual Microexperiences
Micro-experiences are smaller events that are usually part of a larger hybrid model, or can bring some sort of experiential element to the virtual space. Smaller and more intimate virtual events allow attendees to network and make strong connections with the content being shown. They also provide the opportunity to be fully immersive. We even have used our parallel.live platform to create a fully immersive concourse or trade show type of environment.. Having fewer people whether that be virtually or at a hybrid event means there are opportunities for your guests to network on a more personal level as well, or even have two-way communication. Attendees feel like part of the event, not just a number or attendee and you have the perfect opportunity to full put them in your hyper-branded world.
2, Hybrid is the Present & the Future
Hybrid events have many perks but perhaps the biggest benefit is that your guests can attend in-person one day and virtually the next day, creating their own event experiences based on their personal needs and comfort level! Combining the production quality of a smaller live event and pairing it with rich content and interactivity on a digital scale can open the gates to an increasing number of satisfied attendees. Having virtual attendees and live attendees partake in shared experiences will be the key to successful events in the near term.
3. Broadcast Quality Productions
We must raise the expectation of virtual event production, and this event trend does exactly that. A virtual event can’t just offer an individual or two pushing information out to an audience from their home office, while the audience experience lacks. We can’t go back to life before virtual events. Your virtual audience won’t accept one camera streamed from the back of house. Your attendees both in-person, and virtually will expect to experience a higher production value moving forward. However you deliver your content, it needs to be engaging to both audiences. This is why professional broadcasting will become much more prominent going forward. Bluewater offers streaming studios that can provide the perfect solution for this portion of your event.
4. Interactive Entertainment
We’ve seen everything from wine tastings, to interactive hip-hop improv, to gamification and contesting, and everything in-between. When Covid-19 first hit, anything was better than just canceling your event, so planners around the world did their best to take their events online, but they didn’t fully grasp that these events still needed to be engaging and leave the attendees satisfied with their experience. Now that we are settling into our new normal, attendees will expect more from their virtual event experiences. Because of this, we believe there will be an emphasis on interactive event entertainment moving forward. Event organizers will begin to think outside the box and push the boundaries of what is possible and even link on-line/offline themed entertainment.
5. Virtual Networking Can’t be Forgotten
Networking continues to be a challenge surrounding virtual events. We’ve seen brands try breakout, “speed-networking” etc… and each instance has a different need or demand that is expected. We expect some of this to be streamlined in 2021 and beyond as events launch virtual networking spaces, or even a cocktail room where attendees can pour their own beverage and interact with one another. Syncing with social networking platforms such as Linkedin are important too. This allows for ease of follow-up and the making of connections during the event or even afterwards.
The bottom-line is there are a plethora of trends that will be evolving in the virtual event space in the coming months and years. These are those that we feel are the “heavy hitters” If you’d like to continue the discussion with us please don’t hesitate to reach out, we love to discuss the virtual world!
