In the span of a month, the event and experiential marketing industries have experienced at least a year's worth of change. While, on one hand, we've encountered perhaps the greatest challenges our business has ever seen... On the other, we've been presented with incredible opportunities for brand exposure with relatively minimal effort.
Our team of experts at Impact Point Group has been conducting an in-depth analysis of 50+ digital events—here's a brief overview of our observations in advance of the full report.
Registration & Fees
-
Most of the events we analyzed have required some sort of minimal registration to capture participant demographics and track conversions.
-
Very few are charging any fee at all. Some are experimenting with charging for live workshops or hands-on training ($150 or less).
Content
-
Live vs. Recorded—With the exception of a few that took place the first two weeks of March, all of the digital events we’ve audited have been pre-recorded from home offices (due to shelter-in-place orders) with simulated live broadcasts. This is a trend we will continue to watch as COVID-19 restrictions evolve. Some are hedging bets and delaying their events in the hope that they can record live from a studio setting.
-
Duration—The duration of each event has varied quite a bit. We’ve seen everything from shorter, simulated live broadcasts to multi-day, in-platform events. All offer an extensive on-demand experience after the simulcast.
-
Speakers and Sessions—Keynotes have been averaging 90 minutes in total length, broken into smaller segments. Breakout sessions are averaging 30 minutes in length.
-
Interaction—Many are still experimenting with what audience engagement and interaction look like, as it’s a variable that seems hard for event producers to predict and control.
Technology
-
Of the events we’ve analyzed, more are going with a “build-your-own” approach that uses a website front-end with a combination of event, broadcast, video and social technology providers on the back-end, in lieu of an off-the-shelf, self-contained platform.
Measurement
-
We’ll offer deeper insight into digital event measures in a future article, but what we’ll say in the meantime is that we are seeing higher total views and longer view times than most of our clients expected. And most have exceeded existing benchmarks for their webinar activities.
-
The big debate underway is quality vs. quantity: do you go for easy access and broad reach—with many viewers touching in and perhaps not staying—or do you want fewer viewers that stay longer, do more and are, theoretically, higher quality?
-
Overall, your target metrics need to be specific to your digital strategy and will be influenced by your specific brand, product, industry and target audience. Impact Point Group works closely with clients to identify the right KPIs and measurements for their specific business objectives.
With only a few exceptions, all of the digital events we’ve audited have been pre-recorded from home offices with simulated live broadcasts.
______________________________________________________________________
It’s time for a new blueprint
The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We had one client host a 90-minute simulated broadcast featuring their CEO as the keynote speaker, product demos, customer case study videos and a live musical performance—and it was wildly successful! One of our other clients took a different approach with a two-day event in an immersive platform with a blend of technical and business programming. They also knocked it out of the park! What works for one brand, may not for another depending on audience needs and business objectives. That is why your goals must drive and inform the metrics.
What does this look like in the long term?
As event strategists, we’ll need to have a wide lens when we look to adopt digital into our long-term strategies. I’ve heard many comparisons to the 2008 recession but, while many factors are similar, our current situation is much different in that society has wholly and completely been forced to adapt to digital. In 2008, the event industry shift to digital didn’t really have staying power because it was a temporary blip in a social system that was still largely face-to-face. Now, these changes are ubiquitous. Our behaviors have evolved completely and we will be more likely to embrace technology moving forward… opening even more opportunities to engage with a whole new set of audiences.
Stay tuned for the release of our new Digital Event Landscape and Forecast report. In the meantime, if you need help launching a digital event, developing content and engagement strategies or defining metrics, take a look at our Digital Event Strategy Services.
—Erica Spoor