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Nacho Capelo via Unsplash / Nacho Capela via Unsplash
From rapidly-realized virtual festivals to crowd-less concerts heard by millions, the live events industry has had to act fast and move as much of its business as possible out of the physical realm this past year.
Johnny Boufarhat started online events platform Hopin two years ago after an autoimmune disease forced him to spend his days indoors. Housebound, he very quickly found himself longing for the chat and the gossip and the new names and faces he’d found at industry events over the years.
Sure, there were plenty webinars he could tune in to, “but in the real world, you’re networking and handing out business cards and properly creating connections, whereas in the online event space there was nothing like that – there’s no concurrency around the event”. And sure, he could always message people on LinkedIn, reach out to those in the same industry with the same interests, “but that can be quite awkward and comes across as very salesy”.
What he was looking for was “some sort of online event where everyone is there at the same time to be in individual calls and to be connecting with each other like they would at a physical event”. It didn’t exist though. So he invented it. And he’ll be glad he did. The service has been working round the clock to keep up with demand as conferences and events the world over investigate digital alternatives to their live livelihoods.
Boufarhat is talking to us on a video call that’s being streamed on thedrum.com as part of The Drum’s Digital Transformation Festival. He’s just one of dozens of panelists and interviewees to virtually join us through as brands including Barclays and Britvic, IBM and the BBC help us explore just how restriction of movement will accelerate the digital transformation of our industries.
The rapidly-realized festival kicked off when many of them had planned to be at 2020’s SXSW. The Drum was meant to be heading to Austin too, but as editor-in-chief Gordon Young puts it: “It’s a bit ironic that everyone had for so long rushed off to this physical event, burning hydrocarbons just to get there, and all so they can talk about a digital economy.” In the event, of course, SXSW was canceled, along with pretty much every other physical gathering planned for 2020.
An unexpected turn of events
Many of the companies and brands involved in the Digital Transformation Festival, and many of those approaching Hopin, are urgently looking at how they can take their physical events and businesses online. “It will be a game-changer,” says Young. “There will be a lot of pain, but in order to change the game, companies have been having to move incredibly fast. People have been acting within days and weeks to move as much of their business as possible out of the physical realm.”
The Marketing Society is among them. Every year the organization puts on about 120 events around the world, from breakfasts to awards shows to golf meets. And as outgoing chief executive Gemma Greaves tells us, it has had to cancel everything. Or, more accurately, it has had to postpone everything. “I think it is really key to say ‘postpone’ and not ‘cancel’, particularly in the events industry.” Greaves explains that the organization is now having to think differently. “We have to create a new normal. We have to find a different way of doing things because we can’t rely on just physical events. But through that, there is perhaps opportunity to create more virtual events and use digital platforms to bring people together.”
In Boston meanwhile, software company Pega had been working towards its flagship show of the year, the multi-day PegaWorld iNspire. From 30 May to 2 June 2020, it had been set to play host to 6,000 attendees and had even lined up local legends the Dropkick Murphys to entertain them. In the end, though, registration fees were refunded and the decision taken to replace it with a free, one-day online event.
When Michael Brenner, the vice-president of brand and client experience at Pega, explained to the Dropkicks’ manager Jeff Castelaz that he wanted them to instead play his virtual conference, he found out that the band was already looking at how to take their gigs online. Having been a fixture of their native Boston’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations for 21 years straight, in 2020 pretty much every bar and music venue had called last orders by the time 17 March rolled around. “Also, Jeff shared how their crew rely on live events to earn a living and so wouldn’t be compensated during this unprecedented time,” Brenner tells us. “And knowing that live events were being canceled for the foreseeable future, we saw an opportunity to extend our partnership with the band and sponsor the concert to help support those impacted.”
And so, what was initially intended as an intimidate set in someone’s sitting room, shot on an iPhone, quickly became the definitive early quarantine stream, watched by millions around the world. The sponsorship money allowed the brand to rent a space and pay a crew to film and broadcast the show. And with big-budget production in place and commitment from all the major streaming sites to make sure the performance got prime placement, combined viewership across YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter came in at 322,000 during the show, and there were 9.44m views of the video within the first 24 hours.
Learning experiences
Castelaz is quick to praise Pega, telling us how the company’s “immediate dedication to making it happen, no matter what, allowed us to smoothly pull off an incredibly complex task so quickly”. But the benefits ran both ways. Brenner got to see first-hand just how big a challenge it is going to be to transition PegaWorld iNspire from a live event to a virtual one. “You can’t just rework a few things – you have to rethink your entire approach,” he says, adding how he’s realized just how essential production value and interactivity are for a successful and engaging virtual event.
“Essentially, we’ve had to start over and rethink our approach. A live event brings a high level of energy, and we now need to think about successfully maintaining audience interest through a digital platform. Audiences only stay engaged if the content is interesting. The moment that it’s not, people have the ability to switch their attention to nearly infinite content options.”
We’ve since saw all manner of events taken online, but few would claim to stack up against a live one. And while virtual wine tastings, pub quizzes and DJ sets have all become normal these last few weeks, “we’re never going to replicate the experiential value of going to a rave and partying and getting wasted and having a really good time” says Boufarhat. “Even for a concert, the experience is maybe 50% less – it’s why we’ve not had a major shift in the past, because there is a massive experiential motive to these things.”
For business meet-ups and networking though, where content is key, it’s perhaps a different story. “You maybe lose 10% in one way, but you also gain 10% in another way,” he says. “So while you lose out on going for a beer with other attendees afterwards, you gain in the amount of time you saved by not having to travel there in the first place.”
In all likelihood, the future holds a bit of both for organizers. Brenner, for example, has high hopes for the virtual version of PegaWorld iNspire, but still he says “there’s something truly special about in-person events that can never be replicated online”. What we can likely expect is for The Drum, the Marketing Society, Pega and countless others to learn a lot from these virtual experiences they are creating. And then, as Brenner puts it, “leverage those learnings to drive more engaging online content that complements and enhances in-person events”. These are interesting times to be live.
