The pandemic has hit us all hard, that cannot be denied, but the events and hospitality industry fared particularly badly, shutting down completely for the last 18 months or so, in line with government lockdown restrictions enforced from March 2020 until relatively recently.
And, although the world has slowly started opening up once again and venues are reopening their doors, it is being done with a certain level of caution - understandably, of course - and the landscape has definitely changed for both event organisers and those keen to start attending more concerts, conferences, exhibitions and so on.
For professionals in the industry, the internet has really come into its own since the start of the pandemic, allowing them to hold events in some kind of guise by taking their offerings online - and, no doubt, digital events are sure to continue to be part of the provision well into the future.
However, it’s likely that hybrid events will become commonplace as time goes on, combining both the virtual and the real world so that everyone can participate, whether they’re confident about heading outside and mingling with others or not.
Up till now, hybrid events had more of a focus on the live component, rather than the digital one, but organisers would perhaps be wise to switch this around for this year and beyond, devising online events with a live offering instead, just in case the covid situation changes once again.
There are all sorts of benefits associated with hybrid events, everything from being able to reach a wider audience, improving your return on investment, reducing your future marketing costs by using recorded content for promotional purposes and providing you with better data for your future events.
Are you looking for corporate event hire at the moment? Get in touch with The Ridgeway Centre today.
