At a time when “six is a crowd”, how is a business that capitalises on gatherings of thousands of people expected to turn a profit with strict restrictions on public gatherings?
With post-circuit breaker Phase 2 in effect at the time of writing, congregations, conferences and trade fairs remain prohibited, as do live music performances and other large cultural and entertainment events.
Even when Phase 3 sets in and these activities are allowed to resume, gatherings will still have to be limited to prevent new outbreaks.
While “the show must go on” for the myriad event management companies in Singapore and the rest of the world, it begs the question of the industry’s survival during the new normal. Like many other industries that were forced to digitise, almost overnight, event management has taken to the Internet, but is going online all there is to it in ensuring a complete recovery?
The Event Management Ecosystem
Event management isn’t just about the event management companies with planners running around looking for suppliers and putting the event together—it’s an entire ecosystem involving venues, travel, entertainment, media, creative production and design, catering, merchandising and so much more.
When event management takes a hit, so do all these verticals, making it that much more vital for the industry to recover as a whole. And the hit from the pandemic, so far has been a substantial one to an industry worth USD1 trillion.
Event planning generates USD325 billion and supports over 5.9 million jobs in the US, with experts expecting the events industry to lose USD12 billion, and the local concert industry to lose USD9 billion. In India, the virus was reported to affect 60 million events-related livelihoods.
Crisis Communications
The World Economic Forum also mentions how postponed or cancelled events could lead to a decline in revenues for event organisers. The best that many event management companies have done to cope with Covid-19 is to postpone events rather than cancel outright.
Like their counterparts in other industries, event management companies have also been careful to maintain considerate communications. Event cancellations and postponements cause inconvenience at best, and as such must be handled with an extra modicum of empathy and tact when it comes to communicating with clients and other affected parties.
Event managers have likewise been advised to suspend their advertising activities at this time, and to use their ad spend for education and brand-building instead. Companies are having to review and adjust their messaging to remove images, for instance, of large groups of people clustered together, sharing food or shaking hands.
Adaptation Through Digitisation
Given the current situation, there are several sterling examples of how the resilience and innovation of event management professionals are making it possible for the industry to keep the show going, albeit under limited conditions.
Convene features several case studies involving VR-style exhibition halls, an online learning & development conference and an online dance party. There are several key takeaways from these and other successful online events that have taken place during the circuit breaker and other countries’ respective lockdown measures.
● Optimising platform use. While there are tools and platforms that both enable and embellish online events (such as VR), the success of an event lies mainly in making the most creative use of them.
● Pre-event troubleshooting. Event managers are having to foresee and address the technical difficulties specific to online events.
● Encouraging engagement. Event managers are also doing their best to make online events more interactive, rather than “sit and listen” slideshow sessions
● Pre-recorded events. Some event managers add production value and make it easier for more people to attend by pre-recording their events.
While virtual events are, in many ways, no substitute for the real thing, there are undeniable and decided advantages to holding events online.
● Lower cost. Without having to pay for locations, accommodation, transportation and so on, the cost of holding an event online is significantly lower than holding one at a brick-and-mortar venue.
● Wider audience. Where event participation may have been geographically limited, going digital makes it possible for anyone in the world to attend an event.
● Data gathering. Using digital platforms makes measuring event performance in real time much easier and more accurate.
● Adaptability. The data gathering advantage of online events also makes it possible to make real-time adjustments to an event set-up.
“New Normal” Events
As Singapore and other countries slowly begin to reopen their establishments and reconvene in public spaces, hybrid events, which may be attended in person as well as online, are likely to become more popular.
In use by large companies and other businesses well before the outbreak, hybrid events combine the best of both online and digital worlds—meaning they require twice as much preparation.
While the number of in-person attendees remains relatively small, there’s no limit to number of registrants, and (depending on your infrastructure’s capacity) a potentially much higher number of (extra) participants.
After more time passes, i.e. Phase 3 and onward, online and hybrid events are likely to remain, but in-person events may begin to resume with a view to being held “safely”. Some of the safety measures event managers are looking at putting in place include:
● Limiting the number of attendees
● Limiting attendees to a certain geographical area
● Limiting the duration of the event
● Choosing open-air venues or venues with more space
● Thermal scanning
● Requiring or providing masks and other protective equipment
● Providing hand sanitisers
● Seating arrangements with social distancing
● Seated dining / no buffets, dip bowls and the like
● Training food servers in safe food handling
● Regular cleaning / disinfecting
● Contact tracing protocols
During this time, organisations that engage the services of event management companies will also be expected to hold in-person events only when absolutely necessary.
The event managers themselves will be expected to coordinate with the local authorities for any events they happen to be working on to make sure they comply with official regulations. In Singapore, they may get in touch with GoBusiness under the Singapore Tourism Board.
Event managers will also be expected to have measures in place in case any attendees happen to show symptoms onsite, as well as provide visible reminders for attendees regarding coughing etiquette and other precautions.
In marketing these future events, event managers will need to be open, honest and clear about the risks of attending an event, as well as the steps they’re taking to ensure everyone’s safety.
Event management may be down at the moment, but it definitely isn’t out. Full recovery may take some time but it is possible, and event management professionals are making good use of this time to find ways to improve the current online and hybrid experience for participants and for post-pandemic planning.
The Advanced Certificate in Event Management & Entertainment course at SMU Academy is all about the kind of planning and execution needed to create successful events. Course participants gain an in-depth understanding of the different aspects of event planning at different levels and gain experience through immersive learning.
Course instructor Danny Loong is co-founder and director of the Timbre Group, which is behind Singapore’s best-known live music venue and includes the Timbre Music Academy, F&B enterprises, event and artist management, and various lifestyle brands. He is also an entrepreneur, event producer, creative director and musician who led the band, Ublues.
Click or tap here for details of this six-module course that covers Creative Concepts & New Technology Levers, Event Budgeting & Profit Strategy, Event Sales Pitching, Sponsorship & Brand Marketing, and more—to prepare for an exciting future in event management, today.
