Are Virtual Events The Future For Event Agencies?

Virtual Events

Virtual Events – In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings have been discouraged by the government, travel bans have been set up, and everyone is advised to practice social distancing.

Needless to say, the public health crisis is causing significant changes in the way most industries operate and people work on a global scale. How can the events industry be an exception?

At PINGPONG MOMENTS our team have developed a reputation for producing bespoke events around the globe. Our unique insight into international markets has seen us work with some of the largest brands in a wide selection of industries. We are one of the top virtual event management companies in India, offers various events for private sector.

Many businesses are either canceling or postponing the events they’ve been planning to organize for so long – and this includes conferences, seminars, trade shows, and other business meetups. Based on recent industry reports, more than 45% of businesses have postponed their events to some point later in the year, 27% have canceled their events, while many giants like Microsoft and Facebook have decided not to host any major in-person events until summer 2021.

However, numerous event organizers have gladly accepted this challenge and have adopted newer approaches for organizing their events, particularly digital solutions that can be leveraged to organize virtual events in India. In this blog, we will learn more about what are virtual events and hybrid events, what does the future hold for such digital solutions, and whether virtual events are the future.

What is a Virtual Event?

A virtual event is a meeting that’s hosted online. Some common examples include online webinars, virtual meets via Zoom or other video conferencing tools, etc. Having said this, virtual events such as online conferences are expected to become increasingly popular shortly, given the availability of virtual event platforms such as Hopin and the general inability to hold public gatherings in-person.

How do Virtual Events Stack up against-Person Events?

Virtual events save the attendees a lot of time, as they don’t need to travel. Plus, they are way cheaper to organize since event organizers don’t have to spend as much on virtual event planning and logistics – things like hiring a venue for the event or dealing with caterers – which means ticket prices can be significantly lowered.

Apart from this, virtual events are more sustainable in comparison to in-person events. The best part? Attendees can participate from anywhere, regardless of their circumstances.

However, Online events come with their own set of drawbacks. More importantly, most industry-focused events rely on networking as their chief value proposition. Additionally, in the case of experiential events, product sampling, real-life activities, and live entertainment are essential – not to mention food and drinks. All of these are very tough, if not impossible, to replicate in digital or virtual environments.

If this wasn’t enough, most remote attendees are likely to get distracted by their emails, social media, or perhaps their families, since virtual events are still a relatively new concept. No wonder why some experts believe a virtual event will likely bring in no more than one-half the revenue of an in-person event.

Are Virtual Events the Future for Event Agencies?

Since the dynamics of in-person events are quite difficult to replicate in the case of a virtual event, it will be tough for businesses to extract sufficient value out of virtual events. If this continues to hold, we might notice a gradual drop in the demand for organizing virtual events in the post-pandemic era.

Since in-person events have become undeniably valuable for most businesses and Online events will never be able to take their place, they are still going to rule in the long term. But for now, many businesses may need to opt for Online events, until the world regains normalcy.

Virtual Event Management with PINGPONG MOMENTS – Over the years we’ve created and attended literally thousands of professional and corporate events, of all shapes and sizes in every industry sector. We live and breathe events, and that’s why we understand better than anyone how to help clients communicate whatever they need to say, to whoever they need to reach. We’d love to discuss your next event contact us.

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