A visionary in his ideas, Paras Lohani is the Founder and CEO of B2B Sales Arrow. A staunch believer of ‘Actions should speak Louder than Words’, Paras is stimulating the rapid growth and preserving the core of this organization. B2B Sales Arrow is a research-based digital technology organization that believes in nurturing business with passion. The company has specialization in end-to-end Virtual Events, Live Streaming, and Media Production, Bespoke Market Research and Analysis, Deep Database Research, and Lead Generation.
The Automate 2022 Show and Conference in Detroit-Michigan, North America’s largest robotics and automation show, marked the most prosperous event in its history when it returned to its in-person format this year. The event exceeded all of the organisers’ expectations during its four-day run from June 6–9, 2022, setting new records for registrations, exhibit booths, and internet engagement. A3’s president, Jeff Burnstein, remarked that the energy in the room was unlike anything he had ever seen. The newest developments in robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence (AI), motion control, and other fields were fascinating to observe in person. The number of attendees at this trade expo was the highest ever.
Since the Detroit expo is a “return with a vengeance” to face-to-face meetings for people anxious to shed the tiredness of meeting online during the epidemic times, it is indicative of how B2B and B2C on-ground events will look like in the months ahead. It would be fascinating to explore into the anticipated blooming environment of B2B events in the post-Covid era as corporate events, especially in their in-person avatar, make a strong comeback.
A continuous increase is anticipated
As individuals are now more prepared and accustomed to overcoming hurdles like COVID, in-person events will once again reach their former heights. According to Emerald’s “B2B Events Industry Outlook 2022 research,” there will be 50% more in-person events and attendees in 2022 than there were in 2020. Event organisers are also very anxious to start organising live events again. According to a poll conducted by Northstar Meetings Group in February 2022, 96% of event organisers planned to have an in-person event this year, with 4% waiting until 2023.
Similar excitement for live events is seen in India as well. Consider the anticipated change in hotel reservations for the corporate MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, and exposition) events segment, which includes approximately one-third B2B events. According to an ITB research, MICE events in India are expected to increase in 2022, particularly starting in the second quarter. B2B events account for about 50% of the Indian event and exhibition market, which is anticipated to rise strongly this year.
Expect larger-scale events
Companies are being encouraged to loosen their budget restrictions for events this year by record-high earnings, a stronger economic recovery, and pent-up demand for in-person events. According to a recent CVent poll, about 65% of event planners reported their budgets for both in-person and hybrid events are higher than they were before the pandemic. The amount of those expenditures devoted to locations, event technology, and A/V production has also grown.
Thus, after two years of disruptions brought on by the pandemic, events that have triumphantly returned to their on-ground or hybrid formats are bigger and grander. For instance, more than 61,000 people from approximately 200 nations attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 of the GSMA, which was held in Barcelona in March 2022, as opposed to just 20,000 people the year before.
Thus, events that have successfully returned to their on-ground or hybrid formats are bigger and grander after two years of disruptions brought on by the pandemic. For instance, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 of the GSMA, which was held in Barcelona in March 2022, attracted more than 61,000 attendees from about 200 countries as opposed to merely 20,000 the year before.
The third wave of COVID-19 caused the largest car exhibition in India, “Auto Expo,” in Pragati Maidan in Delhi, to be postponed from its original February date. The previous iteration of this show, Auto Expo 2020, attracted more than six lakh attendees overall, although the majority of luxury automobile makers and well-known two-wheeler manufacturers skipped the event. Now scheduled to return in 2023 on a significantly larger scale and with participation from everyone who was unable to attend in 2020
Hybrid vehicles are here to stay
Marketers’ ambitions for live events are expected to remain “cautiously optimistic.” As a risk-reducing measure, they nevertheless desire a virtual platform integrated into conventional on-ground arrangements. According to a survey by Aventri, 89 percent of event planners believe that virtual or hybrid events will continue to be a key component of their event strategy even once in-person meetings resume after the epidemic.
The reason is that including a virtual component in a live event benefits everyone. While it enables organisers to benefit from the advantages of the virtual format, such as increased attendance, cheaper international speakers, and reduced spending on travel and guest accommodations, participants also get the advantage of attending the best international events from the comfort of their homes.
Prioritize your attention on your health and safety
Event organisers will continue to invest in precautions and include health and safety standards, such as vaccination requirements, masks, and social seclusion in their live events. Consider how the CES Summit anticipated all 45,000 of its participants to be completely immunised when it returned this year. Additionally, it made investments in better ventilation systems and on-site health screening and testing.
Additionally, we are witnessing original developments in safety measures being applied. For instance, guests at the Render-Atlanta software engineering conference in September 2021 might customise their masks at decorating stations. Participants were also permitted to wear bracelets in black and white to indicate how well-versed they were in social situations. Dots denoted agreement while stripes denoted caution.
Just like Justin Samuels, Render-Atlanta’s Chief Experience Officer was quoted in a USA Today article: “It’s worth the extra hoops to gather in person.”
Conclusion
B2B marketers have expressed a desire to attend live events again. Even said, this desire in returning to live events hasn’t come without the realisation that virtual and hybrid events would still be at the centre of their marketing plans even after COVID, since similar disruptions are likely to be taken into account going forward.