A recent report from the CMO Council, a global network for chief marketing officers, has found that 64% of its 16,000-plus members admit to only being 'moderately effective' or 'not effective at all' at executing virtual events that deliver value to their organisations.
Worse still, 36% of marketers are experiencing severe virtual event registration fatigue and a loss of connection with customers.
The value problem is likely the result of mismanaged expectations. When the pandemic forced events online, marketers wanted virtual events to deliver the same outcomes as in-person events. But virtual and in-person events play different roles.
The study, sponsored by Cvent, urges CMOs to take advantage of what it calls the ‘NextGen’ event channel by ensuring that virtual, in-person, hybrid and webinar formats are firmly aligned with individual business outcomes, such as brand awareness, lead generation, retention and loyalty.
“When it comes to top of the funnel and you want to reach more people, digital events will stick around,” says Gonzalo Garcia Villanueva, Global CMO at GfK. “The ratio of digital to live will be skewed toward digital, because digital has proven it will get you those numbers. Audiences are enjoying the flexibility of being able to register for a virtual event and then choose whether to watch ‘live’ or to play the recording at a time that is more convenient to them.”
Yet, after nearly two years of virtual-only, marketers seem to be champing at the bit to restart in-person events, with 60% of CMO Council respondents stating it’s 'very important', even 'critical', to restart in-person or hybrid events in order to nurture face-to-face customer relationships for higher conversion rates.
“Virtual events are about presenting knowledge to a wide audience, whereas in-person events are about interactivity and are good for executive briefings and product rollouts,” says Tony Arnold, CMO North America and Head of Strategy at HCL Software.
Lessons From The Pandemic
One positive to have come from the pandemic years appears to be that event planners and marketers no longer operate in silos. When virtual event technology and digital marketing practices came together in order to execute digital-only events, so too it seems did organisers and CMOs.
According to the CMO Council study, 57% of marketers now say their events are owned and managed by marketing, orchestrated across the company and aligned to a holistic marketing plan.
The future looks even brighter too, with 65% believing event marketing will continue to mature and include a holistic view of all events that are better aligned to marketing outcomes.
A Hybrid Future?
Eying the best of both worlds, many CMOs say they’re now planning to run hybrid formats in order to gain the benefits of customer intimacy and brand reach. For one reason or another, many people are still unable to travel to an in-person event. A hybrid format opens registration to them.
However, CMO Council members warn of two factors to keep in mind when planning for hybrid events - the financial reality and the potential cannibalisation of in-person registrations.
If marketers promote the virtual path too much or send-out hybrid-event invitations haphazardly, fewer people may physically attend the event. Hybrid events therefore require savvy orchestration.
“A hybrid event is double the cost, double the resources, because you’re essentially doing what you did in 2019 and adding a virtual presence like you did in 2020,” explains Sonia Sahney, CMO of MI and CT at GE Healthcare. “At least in my marketing budget for next year, I’ve allocated close to 1.8x for hybrid events.”
GfK’s Garcia Villanueva says: “For hybrid events, you know who you want to form closer bonds with, so you invite those people only to the live event. You know who’s probably not going to travel, so you invite those to the digital one. For those who haven’t engaged with your communications, you offer digital at the last minute. That was a massive learning for us.”
Reimagining The NextGen Event
If marketers can infuse in-person events with digital elements, they can create a more immersive attendee experience.
According to the study, the top three digital components that marketers plan to add to in- person events are online platforms (both web and mobile), on-demand content and connecting digital and in-person audiences.
Digital components also lead to richer attendee profiling and ROI measurement, better digital content delivery, deeper engagement and better outcomes.
HCL Software’s Arnold for instance, plans to have his video editing team produce high-quality videos of presentations at in-person events. This will extend the value of in- person events long after everyone goes home.
Also, NextGen in-person events are more likely to be smaller, more numerous, and more specialised. When the CMO Council asked how in-person/hybrid events will compare with pre-pandemic in-person events, marketers overwhelming said they’ll be smaller in size.
Moreover, there are still a lot of unknowns with NextGen events.
Which event formats best match which event types? What digital components and content produce a more immersive attendee experience? Which event activities lead to attendee satisfaction, higher engagement rates, and lead volume and conversion?
CMOs are taking measures to find answers to these questions.
When respondents were asked how they’re preparing for NextGen events, 71% said they plan to experiment and trial new event formats, agendas or designs. This will be a year of learning.
“We know events are going to be a massive channel for not only lead-generation but brand-building and retention, and that’s why I’ve restructured my team and put into place a much more strategic play,” says CMO Roni Millard of Equifax Australia. “Throughout 2022, we’re going to be testing and learning about different event types and technology to see what’s working and to track how we’re doing. We need to be smarter in the formulation of ROI.”
In terms of the events themselves, Millard plans to inject hybrid elements. This way, she can deliver face-to-face customer interactions while still informing others virtually.
“The pandemic has shown us what we can do virtually, how we can have presenters on different screens and has educated us on how to use technology a lot smarter,” she says.
For HCL Software’s Arnold however, he plans to take a more cautious approach - tracking attendance and engagement before pivoting to a hybrid format.
“We need to first get some data around live events before we make any major changes,” he says. “We’re going to keep virtual and live events separate for now and maybe shift down the road when we understand what attendance is going to look like.”
In Summary
Cvent’s CMO, Patrick Smith summarises the report’s findings by saying: “The digital transformation within the meetings and events channel has driven positive changes that will remain, even after in-person events fully come back. Engagement will remain top of mind, event ROI will be more accurate and teams will know how to deliver compelling events regardless of format or type. It has also created event teams that are more tech savvy and aligned more closely with the marketing department, and it has also fostered an evolution of the technology used to support them.
“This tighter alignment between teams and tech will allow CMOs to look closer and more holistically across an entire channel of events, aiming to draw out deep insights and scrutinise both single-event and cross-event performance of any format or type.”
Download a free copy of NextGen Events - Optimised for Outcomes Aligning Strategy, Teams and Tech for Success in a New Era of Events via the CMO Council website.
