How can you create a positive event experience in a crisis?

1 Assess the situation

Before you make any decisions, you need to assess the situation and its impact on your event. What is the nature and severity of the crisis? How does it affect your venue, travel, logistics, and safety? How long will it last and how likely is it to change? Gather as much information as possible from reliable sources and consult with your stakeholders, such as your event team, partners, suppliers, and clients. You also need to review your event contracts, policies, and insurance to understand your rights and obligations.

2 Communicate with your audience

One of the most important steps in creating a positive event experience in a crisis is to communicate with your audience. Your attendees, speakers, sponsors, and staff need to know what is happening, what you are doing, and what they can expect. Be transparent, honest, and empathetic in your messages and use multiple channels, such as email, social media, website, and mobile app. Provide regular updates and answer any questions or concerns. You also need to communicate your event goals, values, and vision to remind your audience why they are attending and what they can gain from it.

3 Adapt your event format

Depending on the nature and impact of the crisis, you may need to adapt your event format to suit the changing circumstances. For example, you may need to postpone, cancel, relocate, or hybridize your event. Each option has its pros and cons, so you need to weigh them carefully and consider your audience's preferences and needs. If you decide to postpone or cancel your event, you need to offer refunds, transfers, or credits to your attendees and negotiate with your suppliers and partners. If you decide to relocate or hybridize your event, you need to ensure the quality and accessibility of your new venue and technology.

4 Enhance your event experience

Even if you have to change your event format, you can still create a positive event experience for your audience by enhancing the content, engagement, and value of your event. For example, you can offer more diverse and relevant sessions, speakers, and topics that address the current situation and provide solutions. You can also use interactive tools and platforms, such as polls, quizzes, chats, and gamification, to increase the participation and feedback of your attendees. Moreover, you can provide additional benefits and incentives, such as discounts, vouchers, certificates, or memberships, to reward and retain your audience.

5 Prepare for contingencies

No matter how well you plan and adapt your event, you should always be prepared for contingencies and emergencies. You need to have a backup plan and a crisis management team that can handle any unexpected issues or incidents that may arise during your event. You also need to have a clear and effective communication system and protocol that can inform and instruct your audience and staff in case of any problems. Furthermore, you need to have a contingency budget and a risk assessment that can cover any potential costs and damages.

6 Evaluate and improve

After your event, you should evaluate and improve your event experience and crisis response. You can collect feedback and data from your audience, speakers, sponsors, and staff using surveys, interviews, or analytics. You can also review your event performance, outcomes, and impact using metrics, such as attendance, satisfaction, engagement, revenue, or ROI. Based on your findings, you can identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and use them to improve your future events. You can also share your learnings and best practices with your event community and stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?