For the past two years, the event industry has seen many uncertainties and disruptions. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused the rise of virtual events and 85% of companies believe that virtual events will stay beyond 2022.¹ The $1.5 trillion² worldwide event industry isn’t expected to fully return to normal until at least 2023.
There will continue to be major and permanent shifts in the industry for years to come. Hybrid events are considered to be the future of events and networking, especially with the rise of the metaverse. Also, in the past two years, there has been constant re-visiting of processes and thinking about how to do things better across events, and this includes sustainability. According to research by MeetGreen³, an in-person event that holds an average of 1000 attendees produces approximately 530 metric tons of CO2. The calculation includes emissions from factors such as single-use plastics, food, air, car and train travel, guest room, and venue energy.
With all the disruptions in the events industry in the past two years, now it’s become a mentality in how people live their lives: they weigh up what they will gain by attending in-person vs virtually. Both for virtual and in-person events, in order to attract attendees, it is important to make sure that these events have a real purpose and meaning to invest the time in.
Corporate event industry news source Event MB asserted a new order of priorities in 2022 and beyond for the corporate events:
- Meaningful connection
- Entertainment
- Content
A thoughtful planning of content and suitable lineup of speakers and experts could be the key to meaningful experiences at the corporate events. An ideal guest speaker will add credibility to your event, maximize its impact by creating transformational experiences to feel something is worth it.
Another important pillar for the success of your event is the moderator or the host of such events. With the transition of the majority of events into the digital world, virtual events have made the role of a moderator more important than ever.
If you are planning your next event, whether it is in-person or online, our dedicated research team at Zebra Insights can help you to select the best possible speakers and moderators that strongly align with the DNA of your event.
²The 2018 Global Economic Significance of Business Events report
