DIGITAL EVENT FORECAST | Version 1
April 2020 | Audit & analysis of 60+ digital events
The Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent global pandemic has been a devastating shock to the health and well-being of our society. Everything was impacted―our families, our businesses, our daily activities—and its lasting impact has already taken hold of the global economy. In the nearly 25 years that I’ve worked in marketing and event strategy, I have often been tasked with helping a brand pivot strategy, but I have never experienced such a swift and profound stress to the system as we are experiencing now.
The finish line continues to shift (and extend) for the return of in-person events. Brands must pivot fast in order to retain their audiences and come up with new platforms and approaches that will support the marquee conferences, roadshows and other properties in their event portfolio. All this, while also trying to color in and tape together an idea of what these changes mean for their long-term engagement strategy—and their bottom lines.
As with most adversity, there is also opportunity—an inflection point forcing companies to pivot, innovate and think differently about what it takes to provide real, tangible and human connection to their brands. From my perspective, we have a unique opportunity to capture broader online mindshare, design cohesive digital experiences and determine how and when digital and in-person will work together in THE new model of brand engagement.
Our team of advisors at Impact Point Group has put together this Digital Event Forecast to be used as a compass along that journey—as you plan for the next few months and beyond. These reflections represent activities we’ve observed as of April 30, 2020, and our analysis of their success, influence and opportunities for growth. We’ll continue to update this report and add to our library of resources, as we discover new information, ideas, platforms, challenges and solutions.
In every way, I encourage you to keep pressing. Keep working together, supporting each other, being considerate of what our audiences and stakeholders need from us—to keep building and tackling big problems. We’re confident that the event and experiential marketing industries will adapt and excel amid these challenging times. Indeed, there may be no one better positioned to lead in this transformation than event and engagement professionals like you.
Erica Spoor
Chief Event Strategist
Impact Point Group
This report is the first edition of our findings.
DOWNLOAD VERSION 2 | DOWNLOAD VERSION 3