The events industry landscape has taken many turns in the past year. No one’s certain where things are headed. Experts say that purely physical events have become a thing of the past and will not be able to dominate the post-pandemic world.
Early pandemic days saw quick adoption of virtual events to keep people safe while protecting business health as well. Regular operations moved online, and we saw everything from conferences and trade shows to career fairs and onboardings moved online. Consequently, distance was not a restriction anymore. People could attend events from anywhere in the world, allowing companies to take their events to global audiences.
CEO at vFairs
Then, the vaccine rollouts started. And yet again, events started to shape-shift. A new format started to emerge: hybrid events. These took center stage so organizers could bring back coffee conversations while engaging global audiences. With new COVID-19 variants preventing hybrid from picking up pace like virtual, what will events look like in the future?
To prepare ourselves for the changing tides, we thought we’d get a more in-depth look from an expert. We sat down with vFairs CEO, Muhammad Younas, to explore the event landscape.
What are hybrid events and why is the world transitioning to them?
Hybrid events are events that feature both an on-site experience and a virtual experience. They’re popular because of their promise for high ROI and large audience reach.
Hybrid events enable organizers to take a small-scale physical event to a global audience, all at the additional cost of software. They also give attendees the freedom to choose how they’d like to participate. They’re free to make the trip to the venue or just attend the event from the comfort of their homes.
Many don’t realize that hybrid events have been around for a long time. Not everyone can fly to Tokyo to attend the Olympics which is why so many of us watch them online.
We’re already comfortable with this format. It’s just that more and more industries have realized that they too can benefit from them.
Who should go hybrid?
Hybrid events are for event organizers that want to boost their reach, tap into global audiences, or scale while saving costs.
What is vFairs?
vFairs is a virtual and hybrid events platform designed for events across all industry verticals. We host everything from large-scale events such as conferences, trade shows, career fairs, open days, and product launches to more niche events such as company summits, onboardings, and workshops.
vFairs is primarily known for two things:
- Our life-like virtual events are customized and perfected to the last detail for each client.
- We offer end-to-end project management with free consultation and 24/7 support for every event.
We also have the widest feature set of any virtual event platform. Our platform boasts webinar options, networking features, matchmaking, accessibility features, games, event marketing, integrations, and even specialized features such as job boards, shopping carts, candidate profile search, and more. Our A/V production partners also make sure that every hybrid event we host is perfect, both online and on-site.
Why is a platform like vFairs important?
Virtual events have existed long before the pandemic. But vFairs was one of the first few dedicated virtual events platforms, and we’ve seen a lot of companies follow in our footsteps over the years. But that begs the question, why did I feel the need for such a platform?
At my first job right after college, I was tasked with setting up a virtual event. We wanted to host one that was packed with features and offered a realistic and immersive experience.
So, I started going through various technology vendors, signing up for demos, and watching tutorials. But much to my surprise, every platform either offered a flat, disconnected experience or lacked the breadth of features we needed.
That’s why I set out to create the virtual event platform that my company needed. Turns out, thousands of event organizers needed the same and that’s why vFairs is now an industry leader.
How can event organizers get in touch with you?
Contact us if you’re looking for advice or need to see what vFairs can do for your event. Our representatives will walk through everything with you so you can feel confident about virtual or hybrid events.
What can organizers expect from events moving forward?
Well, 2021 has been full of surprises so far. But based on our talks with thousands of customers and the changing pandemic landscape, here are my five predictions for the future of events.
- 75% hiring events will go virtual: Three out of every four hiring events will be virtual in 2022. The rise of remote work and global talent sourcing are major contributing factors to this. Based on our talks with hundreds of Fortune 500s and global universities, many organizations are already planning three out of four of their career fairs to be completely virtual.
- In-person & hybrid will pick up in Q1 2022: New COVID-19 variants are making it hard to return to packed physical venues. While some people are contending with travel restrictions, others are still worried about exposing themselves by attending gatherings. Most physical events so far in 2021 have had very low turn-outs. The full return of hybrid events is delayed for now and will pick up pace by end of Q1.
- Light hybrid events will be the favorite: 75% of our clients who plan to do hybrid events in the near future will mainly opt for light hybrid events. Light hybrid events are mostly physical events that broadcast the sessions online to multiply reach. They are easy to set up, cost-effective, and immersive. You might not know it but you’ve probably attended at least one light hybrid event (think the Super Bowl or the Olympics or even the Oscars!).
- Knowledge sharing will become more important: Webinars and in-person sessions will be more objective-based. Speakers will work towards a single goal and interact with their audience via live Q&As, polls, surveys, and so on. Sessions will be much more interactive as both the physical and virtual audiences will share their experiences, ideas, and thoughts.
- Organizers will keep optimizing the virtual experience: Event organizers familiar with virtual events are now realizing that the sky’s the limit with hybrid events. Previously, people struggled to engage their online audiences, but now features like physical simulation rooms, virtual games, and leaderboards have completely changed the landscape.
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