It is no secret that the live events industry was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in a big way. We here at Bluewater were front row as we talked with clients about postponing live events vs. moving them to a virtual model, how to host a successful and engaging conference virtually, and even created our own best-in-class virtual event platform that brought all the vital aspects of live events to the digital space.
But now that live events have returned to normal, we wanted to take a step back to reflect on where we have been the last year, how events have been forever changed by the pandemic, and what both live and virtual events will look like going forward.
This past Monday, Bluewater’s own Braden Graham (VP of Operations & Client Services for Live Events) and Bob Marsh (Chief Revenue Officer) hosted a webinar to chat about the return of live events and the new hybrid model that is starting to follow. Here is a quick look at their conversation as they discuss the conversations they are having with clients and what the future model of live events will look like. For the full webinar discussion, check out the entire video On Demand below.
A Look Back
While many people didn’t attend their first virtual event until after the pandemic had started, we here at Bluewater had been catering to remote audiences even before 2020. Teams and Zoom were familiar parts of our toolkit for clients who wanted a virtual option to their event, and we had already began dreaming up our own platform to cater to the needs of our clients before virtual events became the norm.
However, Covid-19 still made a significant impact on the way that both we (and our clients) will run both live and virtual events going forward. In the future, we are seeing many events still offering dual content and multiple ticket options for attendees who prefer to attend an event virtually, rather than in-person.
The need to be adaptable and be able to pivot are also more important than ever in today’s event landscape. While in-person events are back right now, there are still many unknowns in the future, and we don’t know what events will look like with 100% confidence moving forward. But we do know that businesses need to prepare for the long-term need to host remote participants, even once live events have returned for good.
So long as companies are prepared to adapt and pivot, they will be able to successfully navigate these new parameters of live events.
The Hybrid Event Model
As we have mentioned before, virtual events are here to stay in one form or another – either as a replacement to real-world events, or as an addition to them. Every company and event is going to have a different need. Thankfully, the pandemic has allowed us to think more flexibly and be ready for whatever the next pivot or requirement may be.
Our consultations with clients have now switched from asking questions like, “what is the capacity of our venue that we need to stick to?” to “what’s the right approach for our event and how many tickets should we allocate to in-person vs. online?” This represents the new global model of hybrid events that we are seeing, where a local event that was once limited to 1000 people is now a stage for the world to attend.
Our Definitive Virtual Event Platform
This new consultative process is one of the reasons why we created Parallel Live – Bluewater’s own virtual event platform that is designed to serve even the most event-savvy customers. Our platform is built by event professionals to help businesses stay connected when you physically cannot – and that rides alongside you when you can.
For an in-depth look at how some of the top brands in the world are using Parallel Live to host or supplement their events, be sure to watch our full webinar above, where our hosts walk you through how different brands are using Parallel Lie, and some of the hybrid live event concepts that we anticipate seeing more of as we move forward in the hybrid event space.
Have questions about how to get started with live events? Contact us today.
