Mass casualties triggered by the novel coronavirus, officially named as COVID-19, have already crossed 150,000 mark with a whopping 2.5 million-plus active infections reported worldwide. Having affected more than 210 countries across the globe, the pandemic has brought the world to its knees.
With complete lockdown ongoing in several countries, the economy has already suffered a massive blow. These are unprecedented times in which every industry is suffering and uncertain; event management is no exception. The times have certainly hit the Event industry hard, but there are a few robust remedial measures through which it is challenging and overcoming them fiercely. Let us have a look at the few.
Online Events:
Since the deadly COVID-19 spreads from person to person, the entire nation has been put under the lockdown mode to contain the spread and flatten the curve. The move has automatically put a curb on the range of corporate events and social gatherings too.
The most effective way to counter this situation is to go digital. Already several reputable event management companies are conducting online events such as webinars, video conferencing, and live engagements using platforms and technologies such as Zoom meetings, WebX, 360-degree photo experiences, Projection-Mapping and much more to keep the ball rolling for their clients.
Digital Activities:
Employee engagement programs and social events do not have to suffer the onslaught of physical distancing when the event management industry has already equipped itself to keep the workforce and clients involved even during the lockdown, albeit virtually.
From conducting Emotional Intelligence, Smart Investment / Financial Planning workshops to Personality Development, dance sessions, and Stress Management sessions, now everything is feasible at a mere click of a button. No wonder, digital activities are picking up in a big way during the lockdown, coming out as the most powerful means in the present times to keep your employees, as well as clients, engaged right inside the security of their homes.
Social Media Platform Support:
By making use of a potent and impressive live streaming feature of Facebook, YouTube, and IG, one can easily do away with the need for a venue and still pull off an engaging event to remember. The event industry has already made substantial inroads here, and many companies are already making progressive use of these compelling and engaging social networking platforms, leading to an unprecedented rise in the count of virtual activities being conducted across the globe.
The arrangement is conducive from the client perspective too— live performance or class via a social media platform doesn’t put a cap on the number of participants, and is pretty affordable also.
The Way Forward
With transportation, hospitality, and catering industries being totally shut, too many challenges have been thrown in all of a sudden, where the event management industry needs to reinvent itself and restructure its services in-tune with the approaching times.
Companies like Bold Marketing are already leading the way managing Virtual Events and Employee Engagement programs while making liberal use of virtual engagement technology and online platforms like Facebook, IG, YouTube, etc. to conduct live sessions and webinars. In the current times, these happen to be the best means to revolutionize the way proceedings are managed, without endangering lives and keeping the businesses afloat too – until, of course, we can go back to the ‘normal’ times.
