“Corona? I don’t want to hear it anymore.” Okay. This virus has forced many people to leave their comfort zone. And sent them straight into a crisis But it is what it is. Realists accept the situation and its challenges. However agitating and sometimes upsetting it all might be: We chose to take it as an impulse. We define events with even more precision, we expand our digital possibilities and generate an economic added value for our customers. The good news: As agency we improve our skills while expanding our services for our customers – irrespective of the size of our team! That’s the charm of “digital”.
Read all about it in our blog news:
- That’s how we define “event” – and we can’t help but notice: The basic conditions are changing, the core remains.
- • Alternative forms of events may be complex, but not complicated. However, we need more clarity and structure, information and communication.
- Attendance on-site or wherever one may currently be With a successful event it doesn’t matter: it moves everyone, always.
- Digitally enhanced formats provide the host with many advantages – especially: image boost.
Space and time
An event is always the product of a defined space and a set time. Fairs, seminars or events: These factors make the corresponding event attractive. Contacts become guests. The space becomes a portal. The appointment becomes an engagement.
An event isn’t just a casual date. It scores with reliability and exclusiveness. Those who are invited, want to be a part of it! It’s where they gather new information and find high-quality network partners. It’s where the personal development gains momentum.
It’s the reason that is important, not the occasion An example: The company jubilee is often taken as occasion for an event. As event agency we always ask for the real reason Why has the company been successful on the market for so many years? The answer to that question is what gives the event its spirit. The same applies to digital events!
Corona is changing events as we knew them. Events become more digital. But it has no influence on the factors of space and time. And it doesn’t change the impulse: to position the message accurately.
Be precise!
The times of Corona are not the time for puns On the other hand, language can make things so transparent. There are “contagious ideas”. That’s what an event is supposed to achieve: To fill guests with enthusiasm for something, to “infect them with an idea”.
That is why we will pay even more attention to the development stage of an event in the future. From our experience we will modify the following aspects:
Modern events gain precision in their content through
- stringent presentation,
- several short units of input,
- clear structures,
- refully planned agendas,
- proactive invitation management.
They gain in form through
- an orderly culture of discussion,
- respectful interaction
- clear articulation,
- personal body language.
They gain in presentation through
- clearly defined spatial structures,
- digitally working guidance systems,
- plain icons.
Social distancing requires this kind of clarity. Afterwards, light, sound and images overcome the distance between people and technology, bringing them together.
On-site, online or hybrid?
There are formats that just don’t work digitally. Staff parties with hundreds of celebrating people require direct contact. Online components would just feel like foreign matter. One solution: Celebrate in small groups and share the memory digitally afterwards. Events that have always worked in small groups, can be realised in Corona-compliant manner today.
Online seminars, webinars, video calls: Suddenly everything is possible Sender and receiver are open to new forms of communication. Webinar participants can easily learn and further their education. Great. The expectations of the participants, the content and the tool match perfectly Feelings and atmosphere however are nowhere to be found in these two-dimensional formats – even though camera and sound may be involved. The “zoom fatigue” phenomenon is spreading. During personal contact we stay focused, digitally we tire faster: We only see the upper body, eye contact doesn’t work and everybody speaks at the same time.
Hybrid events can change that. They work for the guests on-site as much as for online guests. At the chosen location guests attend the event while the same thing happens simultaneously online. In the process we ensure the following for the participants on-site and online:
- Guests want to feel an effect – they need interaction, the efficacy of their input, they are supposed to leave their “footprints” on the event.
- Guests want haptic experiences – through touch messages are really imprinted. Thus, online participants receive a box with same accessories as the other guests.
- • Guests want to decide for themselves – on-site as well as virtually everyone has the possibility to experience a personal programme. The “festival feeling” allows breaks, appointments and the attendance at the on-going lecture programme.
- Guests want to compete – event modules with appealing game ideas invite them to position themselves in the group. Online, that works just as well.
Virtual events are currently still limited technically. Hybrid events provide online participants with a familiar anchor and guarantee acceptance.
The event will become better in the future? Without a doubt: It will be different, but certainly not inferior!
Thanks to modern technology, locations can be virtualised: Then we can use them for the guests on-site as well as for virtual participation. The special atmosphere of a castle, hotel, congress centre can also be conveyed on-screen. Virtual participants enter, move around according to their own desire, and meet other people. Maybe they are even present on-site with their avatar.
Some advantages at a glance:
- Hosts multiply the number of guests without unleashing chaos.
- They protect the environment as there is less travelling.
- Contents can be summarised perfectly and held at everyone’s disposal digitally.
With hybrid events companies underline their innovative and future-oriented image.
You like the idea?
Let’s talk about it!
We invite you to our “MachBar” – a meeting in a virtual room of the EVENTAGENTUR artimage. Here, you can ask questions or tell us about your plans for alternative event forms. We are looking forward to hearing from you! Schedule an appointmenthere.