The Return of Live Events
Before: In a matter of hours, an empty field is transformed by a large crew of hardworking production staff into a festival site with multiple stages, sponsor tents, concessions, and chill out spaces. Thousands of fans roll in. The opening band’s soundcheck can be heard from the main stage. An array of food booth options emit enticing aromas. The excitement is palpable — anything could happen. New relationships blossom and memories are made.
Today: A concertgoer buys a ticket online for a streaming event from their favorite artist. They sit alone in their home — or maybe with a pod-mate or partner — chatting with other participants on the event website or via social media. Maybe they have purchased a VIP package, and get to participate in a live Q&A with the artist after the show. Once the event is over, they log off.
Here’s the reality: Live events will be back - but with a new flavor.
Vaccines are rolling out. Festivals are being planned and tickets going on sale. Safety measures are being put into place. We are largely social beings with a need to interact and experience work, life, and entertainment, first-hand. We desire the energy of connection and the thrill of the unknown. Plus, the talented people who produce these events and experiences are eager to reclaim their industry and get back to work.
But the future of events will look different.
Live events will resume, but they will include a virtual component, providing an option for those who are not comfortable attending events in person just yet as well as an opportunity for audience expansion — a boon for both event production companies, who can add virtual and hybrid event production to their service menus, and marketers, who will have a potentially much larger audience for their brands.
According to Live Nation’s Q4 2020 earning call, it appears likely that concerts and music festivals will exist in some form this summer and fall. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino expressed confidence that 75–100% capacity events would return to key U.S. states later this year. He added that the prospect of a 75%-plus capacity re-opening in the largest U.S. markets was “within sight.”
The 2020 Inside Look Report, published by Eventbrite, indicates that half of respondents they surveyed plan to attend both virtual and in-person events when it is safe to gather again.
Brands should begin planning fall events NOW, and in July turn their focus toward planning for 2022. Marketers would be wise to plan to deliver hybrid experiences — in-person and virtual — for the foreseeable future, because while many consumers will be out en masse to connect with each other, feel the energy of live events, and reclaim the world in real life this fall, some may not feel ready to participate in person, yet still have that fear of missing out.
According to the Inside Look Report, with the future of COVID-19 still uncertain, virtual events are likely to remain a popular supplement to in-person events. The results of the report make it clear that creators may miss out unless they invest in virtual events. When the pandemic draws to a close — whenever that may be — creators with strong online presences will be better positioned to leverage their demonstrated successes and improve their businesses’ long-term bottom lines. But the benefits of online programming go beyond financial incentives.
Consumer demands have changed and will continue to evolve, so the experiential industry needs to evolve as well. Things will look different. Dollars will need to be spent in other sectors, such as 5G, telecom, interactive kiosks, VR and AR content creation, and new technologies and gear.
Events will definitely become hybrid experiences, with both opportunities for consumers to attend in person and online. Interactivity will increase as those participating online are able to interact with the brand and with one another and be measured by how long they are engaged. Technology investment will increase on-site at events as well: event producers must ensure there is ample connectivity by deploying 5G infrastructure to accommodate the myriad AR and VR aspects that performers and brands will integrate into their activations, as well as increased social media activity that will accompany the return to live.
According to Portada.com, a networking solutions platform for marketing, tech, and media companies, “the measurement of conversion (e.g., product sales online and in-store) has also shifted with the preponderance of virtual events. Metrics are no longer about the consumer on-site or at the event, but rather the actions they are retaking during or, in many more cases, before the experience.”
Innovation is key and event creators will need to join hands with their technology counterparts and create new kinds of experiences to embrace the new paradigm and a new consumer mindset.
