Open your calendar on any given day, and chances are good that it looks nearly identical to the day before: chock full of video meetings and conferences. Meeting after meeting can be taxing enough, but those held in the digital realm are leading to a phenomenon known as “Zoom fatigue.” 

It comes as no surprise that the past year has significantly slowed down group and business travel. While digital platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have proven an effective mode of keeping in touch, there is no replacing an in-person conversation. We all have an inherent desire to travel, explore and feel connected. With more than half of the U.S.

In the past several weeks, I have traveled to several cities across the U.S. for different-sized trade shows and industry meetings. As a frequent business traveler pre-pandemic – at least a few times a month – I will tell you that traveling right now is simply not quite the same as it used to be in more ways than one.

In short – PACK YOUR PATIENCE – and realize that everyone, and I mean everyone, is doing the best that they can in a challenging environment.  

“Become comfortable with permanent uncertainty.” ~ Unknown

Since March 2020, your lives as planners, show managers and suppliers have been nothing short of topsy-turvy. For many seasoned event professionals, the last 19 months are new to someone whose planning cycle is three to five years in the future. 

While many are touting a “new normal,” what is that exactly? And how do you pivot when your local, state or federal government changes direction with COVID-19 guidelines or mandates? One guiding principle is to stay calm and always make safety a top priority. 

As we all know, the in-person event industry was brought to a halt by the pandemic, and many live events have been missing from the business schedule for more than 18 months as a result.

The events industry (among others) has certainly taken its share of hits over the past 18 months. Just as we’ve discussed change and resilience in this space, I now want to challenge us all to start to move forward and shift! Below I detail some of how we can efficiently handle chaos and start to shift through our most difficult moments.

The future is hybrid! You must have heard this statement repeatedly over the last few months, and rightly so. We are now moving into a world where people are warming up and getting excited to go back to the physical events, though there are still those who aren’t ready to attend a physical event (whether for safety or resource/expense) but have embraced virtual events. Hence, welcome to the world of hybrid. Now, how do you generate the maximum ROI in this blend of virtual and offline events?

COVID-19’s imprint on in-person gatherings is noticeable — and it has the potential to be long-lasting. An Aventri study revealed that 89% of event organizers expect to still rely on virtual meetings even when face-to-face gatherings resume.

Thanks to the pandemic, companies worldwide embraced unconventional event marketing methods. Those out-of-the-box tactics aside, event marketing’s intent remains unchanged: providing unique and memorable brand experiences.

I think I speak for most of us when I say that in-person events are one of those things we didn’t realize we loved until they were gone. And when events and other face-to-face gatherings started shutting down over the last year, an incredibly important channel for personalized conversations and relationship-deepening evaporated.