State of the Tech Nation
EVENT TECH EXPERT JACK GEDDES SPEAKS TO EVENT TECH LEADERS FOR THEIR VIEWS ON THE SECTOR ’ S FUTURE
D uring the pandemic , many event tech solutions popped up like mushrooms and the in-person solutions that couldn ’ t pivot fast enough to virtual , struggled to survive .
We can still see the aftermath of the pandemic on many in-person events and event tech solutions . One thing is for certain – adoption of event tech by event organisers has grown ten-fold .
The event tech landscape has completely changed in the span of two years . Big names in the sector Boomset and Attendify were bought by Hopin ; and seem now to have disappeared from the consideration of event organisers .
“ The lightspeed growth of the event tech industry in the past two years has pushed organisers beyond their comfort zone . In the next phase of event tech evolution is a pace much slower allowing us to normalise the adoption of digital in the event and marketing mix . The event tech industry needs to continue to educate and prove its worth , while keeping up with innovation ,” says Rachel Stephan , CEO of Canada based event marketing specialists Snoball .
The growth models have changed , and once unviable marketing channels have become profitable for event organisers .
Companies must now consider the carbon footprint of their events .
“ I believe that virtual events , although a temporary buzz word within the industry , will not continue to form a major priority for the delivery of events , but will in fact form part of the corporate narrative in ensuring that they continue to provide sustainable services by reducing carbon footprints and minimising the demands of hospitality costs in hotels , catering and transportation ,” says Cem Kocu , CEO of London-based event management software company Eventogy .
What ’ s changed ? The hard reality of in-person events is slowly coming back to bite those who reckoned that we would be in for an endlessly expanding virtual landscape at the same rate as during the pandemic .
Many event tech solutions appearing during the pandemic had to make rounds of layoffs . Hopin did several rounds and it seems that their event solution is at a standstill . Hubilo and Bizzabo also made layoffs of 10 % each .
“ For years , event tech companies have been scaremongering organisers that they should invest in digital to make sure that in-person pounds don ’ t become virtual pennies . What seems to be happening is the opposite . Virtual pounds are becoming in-person pennies as corporates and commercial organisers alike are re-shifting budgets to venues , catering and other vital needs with event tech significantly lower down the priority list ,” says Tim Groot , founder and CEO of Grip .
Will in-person fully return ? Was there a clear misunderstanding of where virtual events were going ? Webinars before the pandemic were not considered proper events and engagement metrics were not being looked at ; only the attendee count was king . Many virtual companies in the industry for a long time planned carefully , not knowing what event format would be preferred after the pandemic . However , it seems that in-person events have not fully revived .
“ We are seeing all events , including in-person , becoming digital first . In 2019 , securing your hotel was the priority . In 2022 , priorities are online and in-person audiences , digital touchpoints and success metrics . We see event tech poised to stay at the top of every marketer ’ s mind ,” says Pierre Metrailler , CEO of event marketing platform SpotMe .
During the pandemic , we often heard that event tech made 10 years of progress in only a few months . The hard reality is that event tech continued to evolve slowly , even during the pandemic . Now that the event tech investment fever has cooled down , it will be exciting to see real creative innovation .
48 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 121