The Future of Events isn't Digital (First)

I grew up reading the news from my phone. I only order groceries online. I even met my husband on Tinder. Point is: I’m not typically one to argue that digital doesn’t mean better - in my experience it usually does.

But then came COVID-19, and along with it the sudden collapse of an industry I’ve been entrenched in for the last year: live events. And with that, the question of what the future of events is going to look like when we can safely congregate again.

I’ve been thinking about this question nonstop. It’s existential of us, of course, as a start up built on the premise that the experience economy will continue to grow, and with it a sea of small businesses serving the companies who throw these real-world events. I’ve walked through all the permutations - when people will start gathering again, what company will be brave enough to host an event, or on the flip side what events will look like if transitioned to more digital mediums.

And with all my future-thinking, all I can keep coming back to is this. Most digital events...excuse my language...they suck. I hate to throw more negativity into the world right now, but I’ll twist this one into arguing that maybe acknowledging that digital events don’t hold a candle to IRL is a beautiful thing. Maybe not everything has to go digital, maybe us humans are social animals who can’t replace that magic of in-real-life connection.

I get the positives: digital events are cheaper and more accessible. I’m not arguing that they don’t have an important future ahead. In fact, at The Vendry we’ve been playing around with some digital event formats that have worked well and we’ll continue to host. But they serve very specific purposes: education with a motivated audience (read: not most conference attendees, who are there for the networking not the content), or intimate networking with a curated, small group of attendees and a moderator (since there isn’t a shared meal or drink to bond over).

I’m arguing that as an experience they simply don’t stand a chance against an IRL event. Do I need to explain why? Have you attended a digital event? After 10 minutes I find myself drifting off to lala land, turning off the video as I check my phone or switch to a different browser tab. Watching people speak to a computer from the comfort of my home - no crowds, no food and drink, no entertainment or swag bag to go through, no coffee-station networking to fall back on, no afterparty to get a drink at with someone you just signed a contract with - turns out it isn’t that fun, which makes me not want to go.

What that means is that when Company A and B are competing for the same client’s attention, the company that throws the cool IRL event will stand a better chance of winning it. Which means that all companies that can afford to will continue to host IRL events for all the reasons they have in the past: to recruit and retain employees, to attract and retain users and customers. It’s interesting to consider what long term impact COVID will have on the events industry, but I don’t think it’ll be that events go digital. What is it? I’ll share the words from Austin Johnston of AKJOHNSTON Group since he said it best:

"So here is my outlook: Moving forward, clients are going to ask for a new “rain contingency plan” that will cover a digital version of their event, and it will be up to event producers to provide that. Just like having a “tented plan” or a back-up venue when it rains, clients will expect you to be able to pivot easily if an event needs to become remotely accessible.

Already we are seeing clients pivoting to this strategy and doing this even in a virtual world: After canceling its I/O Summit, for example, Google asked us to build playful, branded studio sets to live stream the announcements, technology, and workshops to their developers and partners. Is it the same? No—but neither is the impact of tenting your event location, yet both still require planning and production. 

The fundamentals behind gathering, touching, exploring, and playing aren’t going anywhere soon—and neither is the live events industry. Stay strong and carry on."