Why I Chose Swapcard & Events

Why would anyone in their right mind choose to work in event tech right now given the global crisis? 

Because I believe in the power of Events.

Events create meaningful connections between human beings. Technology is the catalyst. The bridge to align common interests, be it virtually or in real life. 

What we would all give for a face to face event; be it connecting with friends, a family gathering, an in person business meeting or an event with other likeminded folk. Heavier travel scrutiny, tightened budgets and ongoing restrictions mean Events of the future will have an even greater focus on desired outcomes. They will have a laser focus on delivering value to the attendee, exhibitor and host like never before. Those objectives are the focus of the events not just the experience, a quirky feature, new technology or to have a good time (who doesn't love a post event party though?!)

Thats some of the context; why Swapcard? When I visited the office in Paris prior to lockdown, there was an energy which reminded me of my time at DoubleDutch. The team that I met were sharp, talented and ready to learn. During these times, the pace of innovation required to pivot to address virtual event needs such as the incorporation of live video streaming and calls within a virtual event platform has been so impressive. All live in the Swapcard platform, it is insane how fast it has been completed.

The co-founders, Baptiste, Damien and Godefroy are hugely talented, engaging and inspiring with their vision. They care about their people (the Swapcard family) and are heavily invested in the team's success, professional development and of course the future of the business. Just as importantly, they care deeply about client success and making their events the best they can possibly be, by delivering an intuitive technically advanced platform that delivers to business objectives.

We have all been to at least one event which has had a hugely positive effect on our professional or personal life. The power of live connections with like-minded people is utterly inspiring. From an organisers perspective, for those of you who run events, I am sure you have had that one event that went off seamlessly, ticked everything on the list and exceeded expectations across the board.

There is an ongoing debate about the merging of Live, Virtual or Hybrid events. Some of my thoughts are below;

Historically digital and In Real Life experiences have been kept separate but with current world events, the merging of the two I think will finally happen. Despite the horrible current situation, events remain important to many people and business around the world. This will create a push towards digital for virtual connections in the short to mid-term and this will remain, even when we do return to in person events. Reason being that digital can accelerate business outcomes, facilitates connection and delivers quantifiable ROI irrespective of format.

Virtual is about Brand engagement. Measurement is different here but a connected and intuitive attendee journey which drives Virtual audiences, via content to the Brand, then on to the Products and ultimately towards an eMarketPlace.

Hybrid is about achieving the same in both the digital and real world scenarios.

Some dismiss hybrid as not possible and certainly it is challenging to have a mixed audience, though with the right engagement mechanisms, parameters and measures it is possible to incorporate and satisfy both audiences.  Covering the aforementioned journey but for a Live experience, facilitated by digital as well as retaining the engagement of the Virtual audience.

In both cases I believe we will see a redefinition of revenue streams and associated margins. Traditional event revenue streams will be hit but with a heavier digital element you can recover this. Happy to discuss monetization strategies further of course, but won't go in to detail here.

Critical to the success of any event is finding the platform that can deliver to all audience types, adapt to the changing event operating model and one that ultimately delivers to the core goals of the event. The ability to switch between a live or virtual environment, where you can incorporate virtual attendees into a live event scenario will be critical for you to remain inclusive and capture the widest audience possible.

In all cases, Live, Virtual or Hybrid; ROI is king and the platform that can capture definitive proof points of brand engagement, Sponsor interactions and throughput to the eMarketPlace where people buy. This is the new "Event Sales Funnel" for Host/Exhibitor ROI.

Love to discuss further with anyone who has an opinion, questions or just wants to catch up!

As Darwin said, The ones who can adapt will survive. Your event needs to adapt, focus on its true goals and leverage a platform that can deliver this irrespective of format. See what Swapcard can do during our very own virtual event May 12-14. Register here: Evolve