Events that Pivot with People's Changing Behaviours
Event enablers are adapting technological advancements to make events a seamless experience for both online and offline participants. Linkedin released a survey report highlighting the popular trends among event organisers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Over 1,800 marketers in the region participated in the study. Four out of five respondents agreed that […]
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Event enablers are adapting technological advancements to make events a seamless experience for both online and offline participants.
Linkedin released a survey report highlighting the popular trends among event organisers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Over 1,800 marketers in the region participated in the study. Four out of five respondents agreed that virtual events are here to stay long-term, and eight out of 10 said they would want to organise physical events again. Participants said that around two-thirds of events would likely have a virtual element, with 74 per cent of respondents expressing an interest in organising hybrid events.
Since the global pandemic, the events industry has witnessed a sea change. The industry propelled itself towards digital transformation and pivoted around virtual experiences when in-person events became impossible.
The changing landscape for the event industry has spurred innovations and inspired organisers to take a creative approach. Many event enablers are adapting technological advancements to make events a seamless experience for both online and offline participants. Enter Cvent – a SaaS solution for meetings, events, and hospitality.
– During the pandemic, the company pivoted to support event organisers. It automates and simplifies the entire event management process to maximise the impact of events.
One such event organiser was Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME), which held two annual events in 2020 and 2021 – one virtual, the other in a hybrid format. Priyanka Chatterjee, Co-Founder of WiCSME), said, “While organising the 2022 annual conference, our participants were from different countries. We recognise that not everyone can travel freely because of personal preferences and cultural requirements. So, offering a virtual event experience was critical. We wanted to empower all our delegates with the ability to attend and engage with our events.”
WiCSME partnered with Cvent to facilitate their annual event attended by WiCSME’s 11 affiliate chapters across the MENA region.
The pandemic drove massive digital transformation across the entire meetings and events industry…forcing organisations everywhere to re-imagine their events and event programmes. WiCSME was no exception.
Cvent offers software solutions for online event registration, venue selection, event management and marketing, virtual, hybrid, onsite solutions, and attendee engagement. Many event organisers juggle multiple technology providers and stakeholders. One end-to-end event management and marketing platform, like Cvent, can help organisations across all industries to optimise their event programmes, streamline processes, deliver a better attendee experience, and ultimately drive event ROI.
Gokul Bajaj, Director of Sales & General Manager, Cvent, said, “They were ready to go virtual but were cognizant of the magnitude of this transition and needed an end-to-end technology platform that would drive engagement and results.” They found the right partner in Cvent to make this event a success.
According to Chatterjee, since WiCSME had a dispersed organisation with members in 11 countries, a cloud was the only way to make their events work. “With Cvent, we could organise a virtual event in 2020 and a hybrid one in 2021. The experience from the platform was seamless. We had speakers from across the globe. And because it took place across a time zone, sometimes recorded sessions and ran them besides the Live sessions. We also had panels with speakers from all over the world. We utilised a host of different formats during our event. Having an accessible and secure solution on the cloud made it a seamless experience for us.”
“Over the past two years, WiCSME’s Cvent use has continued to expand, supporting their hybrid events. We ensured that this unique format was a success and opened the avenues for them to explore more possibilities on our platform to maximise the outcome of any future event”.
As the event landscape evolves, Cvent continues to power comprehensive event programmes – internal or external, small or large, simple or complex for recurring or one-time conferences and summits globally.
Cvent’s Attendee Hub supports all formats of events. It ensures continuity for organisations looking to renovate their event strategy and embrace the digital-first environment. Today, in-person events are bouncing back, and hybrid and virtual events remain critical to an event organiser’s total event program encompassing all the events they host and attend.
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