The future of events is not in-person or virtual; it’s a combination of the two
Tobias Raper, CEO of Babl APAC, looks at what 2020 may have meant for events in 2021 and beyond.
2020 and the impacts of COVID-19 brought about huge challenges and ultimately changes to the events industry. At the start of the pandemic I was working at a company that ran large events for business owners across Australia and in March, at an event in Brisbane, I distinctly remember thinking how strange it was that I was ordering 50 bottles of hand sanitiser. The following week I was calling up conference venues asking them to refund the tens of thousands of dollars we had paid them.
Fast forward six weeks and I joined Babl, a global video conferencing and virtual events technology company being inundated with requests to use our technology globally. We have run virtual Christmas parties, education events, corporate client entertainment events, member association networking and AGMs.
As we move into a post-lockdown scenario, I have heard people make bold statements saying that the industry will move back or stay where it is, but in truth it will be neither. People have been exposed to a new way to consume events and some loved it. Others get a thrill ‘from being there’ and experiencing it in person. The matter of the fact is that events are a consumer driven product, and event organisers must abide by the demand. As such the ideal solution is a hybrid one and this is a practical scenario, not just a theory.
