The 2020 global pandemic has caused brands to rethink their approach to event marketing. Due to health guidelines, most in-person events have been canceled for the foreseeable future; yet, the event channel is still required to fill the sales funnel. As such, we have seen the “Big Pivot” to virtual to help reach the marketplace.

Brands sponsor face-to-face events because they want to connect with key audiences. They want to increase brand awareness and improve brand perception. They want to generate leads and drive sales. And every single one of these goals remains relevant and achievable, even now that coronavirus has driven face-to-face events into the virtual sphere. 

Consider these best practices to seamlessly integrate sponsors into your virtual experience and maximize the value you deliver.

Event marketers have long specialized in creating unique one-to-one engagement between brands and attendees. Enabling that same engagement digitally, however, requires a clear understanding of attendees’ digital behaviors.

We have to account not only for the nature and volume of the content they will want to consume in an online environment, but also their preferences and expectations for the environment itself. The five best practices below will help you design a digital event platform that delivers on just that.

COVID-19 came up quickly and took our industry by storm. We had to shut down immediately with no clear return to the “business as usual” that other industries are now getting to experience. There are some businesses that have been able to return to a semblance of normal with new adjustments to their procedures. The event industry, however, is being forced to do what we challenge our clients to do on a regular basis: Be inventive and creative.

With everyone adapting to working from home, there has never been a better time to host a virtual (and regularly scheduled!) employee engagement event, and it’s not as difficult as it may seem. 

Here’s how you do it:

Everyone is anxious to start replacing Zoom calls with face-to-face interactions and making personal connections once again. When that time comes, will you be ready to hit the ground running and plan and execute event experiences that will not only engage but leave attendees motivated and inspired? Now more than ever, ITA Group’s legal team is working to ensure our clients are protected by mitigating risk with well-executed hotel contracts.

COVID-19 has made a devastating impact on all the aspects of our lives, but it is also prompting an outpouring of creativity in the events industry.

The way we communicate and interact with colleagues, professionals and members of the public in trade shows is, in fact, playing a more and more relevant role. It’s key to streamline the way we present ourselves to others, making sure that without even interacting with them, they are already aware of where we are standing.

This is why the launch of the new social bands in the industry has been received with success.

Did you know that event management consistently ranks within the top 10 most stressful jobs each year – alongside the likes of enlisted military personnel, firefighters, pilots and police offers?

For event managers, there’s no shortage of things to do: finding a venue, hiring staff, getting equipment, organizing travel, liaising with speakers, enlisting caterers – the list goes on.

And to make matters more complicated, each year brings with it new challenges and new trends. 

Many trade show and conference producers have found themselves in unchartered territory as they’ve made the in-person to online event pivot over the past several months. These professionals have been reading about best practices, researching new vendors, consulting with industry peers and otherwise learning as they go. Meanwhile, there’s another group of industry professionals—a subset of Freeman called Freeman Digital Ventures—that has been producing digital events since 2015.

Do you know how large of a role the live events industry plays in our nation’s economy? If you’re in the events industry, you likely do — but not all Americans are aware. As Congress prepares to deliver new business relief legislation in the upcoming weeks, it’s important to note how big that impact is, as well as the critical characteristics for that legislation to be most effective — for all small businesses and especially those in the events business.