Part 4: Future Gazing

What does the New Marketing Mix Look Like Going forward and how prepared can we be?

Part 4: Future Gazing

Insight 1: Hybrid Events are on the Horizon; Incorporating Physical and Virtual Engagements
Insight 2: Collaboration Between Digital Marketing and Events Teams Provides Additional Opportunities, Creating a Truly Integrated Marketing Strategy

Insight 1: Hybrid Events are on the Horizon; Incorporating Physical and Virtual Engagements

In-person events will eventually return but there will more than a niche for virtual events in that world. Some events may simply make more sense as virtual than in-person

We will not return to purely physical events for the foreseeable future. Hybrid conferences actually enable us to reach out to a wider audience of delegates and sponsors by including those who would not be able to attend in-person

Far more content development and activation through digital media and 'virtual' events. In-person events will be far less used in our marketing mix as clients are now happy to engage with us virtually. However, I expect face to face events to increase again from 2022 onwards and the mix will change slightly.

It is clear that virtual events are here to stay and, as the world opens up and face-to-face events start taking place, more and more suppliers are incorporating virtual elements through hybrid models. The sentiment from our Barometer respondents shows that marketing teams are very much predicting this shift. Those B2B businesses that will be in a position of strength are those that have developed a marketing strategy integrating physical and virtual engagements. There has been a cultural shift in people's propensity and openness to engage with virtual. Those companies that have built a robust digital infrastructure for events will reap the rewards, with larger, more diverse audiences, as well as lower costs and greater speed to delivery.

The truly hybrid event model delivers additional benefits for business: the improved networking of physical conferences combined with the uplifted reach of virtual; higher audience retention levels and dwell times; amplified brand positioning; content longevity and audience analytics. However, there are additional considerations needed and it should be noted that success with hybrid events will require significantly more planning and logistics to ensure seamless delivery across both the digital and physical channels. EI is committed to helping clients understand key areas to consider.

Insight 2: Collaboration Between Digital Marketing and Events Teams Provides Additional Opportunities, Creating a Truly Integrated Marketing Strategy

Over recent years B2B marketers have been at different stages when it comes to creating an integrated marketing strategy across various channels and often events teams have operated in siloes. Tech firms have naturally been ahead of the curve in integrating events as a channel into the digital marketing mix but recent events have accelerated the need for all marketing teams to revisit their strategy, collaborate, and start to embed events into their marketing strategy, especially given the sentiment that the virtual/hybrid events channel is here to stay. With this comes the exciting opportunity to exploit event audience data and real-time analytics through martech and digital tools and crucially to plug this into ROI measurement.

There is also a real opportunity to integrate virtual events into wider content campaigns, leveraging digital assets for optimal impact. A higher number of assets can be generated which should be incorporated into content campaigns, through both supplier channels and proprietary platforms. From pre-event teaser podcasts to drive attendance, to published interviews and video content, virtual events allow firms to build brand awareness and content assets beyond the confines of the event itself, supporting a digital campaign end-to-end.

Digital is becoming more embedded into events. Events are not standing alone and being integrated into LOB marketing strategy. Hybrid events being the new normal.