Now What?!

A few weeks ago, I wrote a perspective on the New Normal for the Events Industry. Since that time, I've been helping agencies figure out the best way to scale back and keep the lights on in a time when all events are canceled or postponed until the fall of 2020, and mass gatherings, concerts and sporting events until 2021. I've also been helping brands pivot to virtual or digital activities to maintain relationships with their audiences, keep their pipeline active. More recently, however, I've been asked to help both brands and agencies use this down time for long-range planning.

As an update to perspective I shared about six weeks ago, and based on the many conversations I've been having with many of you, here's what I think happens next.

Many of you will leave the industry. Job prospects, especially for the production end of our business will be slim, with no events happening for six months or more. As brands tighten their belts and cancel events, internal event teams will join their supplier brethren and be reduced in the next round of cuts. Many will have to turn to alternate careers to gain meaningful employment. When we begin to come out of the pandemic, it will create new opportunities for others to join our ranks. For those who do plan on staying in the industry, I recommend you look at becoming an independent contractor. Demand will only increase as we come out of this, and brands and event companies alike will be hesitant to bring on full-time employees.

There will be fewer agencies, exhibit houses, and suppliers. Those that survive will take some time to ramp back up. Additionally, their service models will evolve, and they will diversify their offerings. Many have already rushed into the virtual events space, inundating technology partners who are now having trouble keeping up with demand. The reliance on contractors will be much higher, as many will focus on keeping minimal full-time staff employed to give them more flexibility on the fixed-costs side of things. On the bright side of this - more brands will rely on agencies and independent contractors to manage their event programs as they reduce their staffs due to the economic impacts.

Events will be different. For a time, we'll still need to be socially distant in public places – at least until testing, screening, and a vaccine is widely available. Fewer people will attend physical event. Look for expo floors to be more widely distributed with fewer partners and suppliers in attendance. Keynotes and speaking sessions will also be more spread out in setting and attendance. Parties, receptions, networking activities, will have different formats. Fewer people will attend events. Those that do will stay physically apart from one another. There will be gloves, masks, hand washing stations and hand sanitizer everywhere, not to mention the pervasive signage reminding us of personal safety protocols. F&B will also be carefully managed. There may be a social stigma attributed to those convention centers that were utilized as field hospitals for a while, and they will take longer to recover. Air travel will be weird.

We'll be more selective. Again, companies and people alike will choose the events they attend carefully. Events that offer the best opportunities to drive real pipeline will be paramount for companies. The impact of the economic recession will drive brands to focus on rebuilding their businesses quickly. This means that perceptibly 'nice-to-have' events focused on the opposite ends of the pipeline (Awareness / Thought Leadership, and Loyalty / Advocacy will be de-prioritized in knee-jerk fashion. Smarter companies won't sacrifice their future growth for immediate returns, and maintain a more balanced portfolio of activities. For people, they will prioritize those events that help them learn new skills, become more marketable, and give them access to the right people to maintain and gain employment. As I'm writing this article, now one in seven Americans is unemployed. The rest of us are worried we might be next.

Virtual (and hybrid) events are here to stay. In my previous perspective, I wrote that virtual events would rise for a time. What I failed to consider are the following trends that will support this once-nascent industry well into the future.

• An entire society has now been trained on the use of virtual event platforms to do their day-to-day jobs, and participate in education.
• Companies and Educational Institutions have learned that remote workforces and distance learning can work on a much grander scale than they ever imagined. This will have huge ramifications across multiple industries.
• We have figured out how to connect, communicate and share information with each other in a virtual environment.
• The psychological impacts of social distancing have made many comfortable in their own home, and hesitant to go to public places.
• While still not a true replacement for authentic human connection and interaction, virtual event platforms have matured, and offer experiences that may be 'good enough' for many purposes.
• Look for physical events to become far more accessible with far more hybridization and on-demand content.
• Marketers need a new channel to reach their audiences, and this might just be the one.

Friends, it's important to recognize here and now that things will become more difficult before they get better. As we look for ways to reopen the economy, we must apply an abundance of caution in rushing into action too early, or we will cause future waves of infection at great loss of human life – which we must protect at all costs. This will only compound our collective economic woes. Although many are heralding this as a 'temporary' down-turn, there are still more industries that will be impacted, companies that will close and jobs that will be lost – some for good. The reality is, we will be forever changed.

That said, with disruption, there is always opportunity. The future belongs to the bold, the nimble, and those who can imagine a different tomorrow, that while different, will shine even brighter.

While this article may come across as bearish for the events industry, at least in the short term, my intent is far different. I only wanted to drive understanding and recognition that things will be different as a waypoint. You cannot understand how to get to your destination, unless you know where you're starting from. We all need to be planning for, and taking action now that will help architect our future.

Where do you see the future of our industry going? Where do you see opportunities? What will you do to capitalize on the New Normal? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.