Alexander Shumovich, partner and founder of Eventum Premo, talks about the Achilles heel of online events - the lack of so-called “weak ties”. And it offers options for how organizers can hold out until the full offline format of events returns.
One day I became acquainted with the work of the American sociologist Mark Granovetter. His most famous article, “The Power of Weak Ties,” perfectly describes the magic of events.
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The point of the article is this. A person has “strong” and “weak” connections with society. “Strong” are friends, relatives, colleagues, that is, people with whom you are closely connected, whom you know well and who have approximately the same information as you.
“Weak” ties are your acquaintances with whom you, although you do not maintain intensive communication, are the driving force for your self-development and broadening your horizons in general. People in your circle of “weak” connections have more extensive information from a variety of other areas. It is thanks to this phenomenon that social networks have become so significant in our lives. This is a channel that allows us to go out into the big world and expand our “weak” connections.
The key idea of almost all offline events is precisely based on the formation of these “weak” ties and the element of spontaneity. You can accidentally meet someone and start an interesting conversation that will help you make a responsible decision: buy a car, open a business, etc. Or meet an old acquaintance at the next social event, who will casually talk about new “topics” and opportunities for “their own”.
It is this random information that influences our decisions much more significantly, in contrast to long official speeches during well-orchestrated events. The very opportunity to start a random dialogue that will radically change something in your life is the very magic of “weak” ties.
The rise and fall of online formats
During the period of lockdown and forced ban on events, everyone switched to online formats. We really believed that online events could be exciting and fun! And so it was - online events transformed from simple broadcasts into competently staged and elegant shows with cool pictures!
Of course, they also have their own serious advantages. In general, there are no restrictions on “attending” such an event, so the potential audience is many times higher. You don’t need to drag yourself through traffic jams for two hours to get to Crocus - now it only takes a couple of mouse clicks. And you will also be able to listen to all the reports and even chat with other people.
For example, when we were initially preparing for the largest offline e-commerce forum IDRF, we expected to gather about 1000 participants. But when the lockdown came, we quickly adapted to an online event. As a result, 7,000 people “came” to the forum, which was many times higher than our expectations.
Globalization reduces the geographical gap between people and makes it possible to listen to experts from different parts of the world. At the same IDRF, we managed to attract 61 speakers from a variety of countries.
The new stars of the event market are top bloggers who know how to create a real show and hold the audience’s attention online. They have their own style and a subtle ability to create relevant and interesting content.
But...
With online events we have lost that magical element of chance. This strength of “weak” ties does not arise online in the same way as it does offline. That is, it is almost non-existent. In addition, we are seeing a drop in interest in online events. Each time, the number of viewers and engagement fall exponentially. People don’t just leave “online” - they don’t even reach them.
This is the significant difference between the effect of online and offline events.
The logic of organizations and the logic of individuals
Companies hosting online events formally achieve their goals of communicating new products, news, and expanding their audience. Presentation of a new smartphone, for example, as we did for Xiaomi, or Audi evening show with celebrities fits perfectly into the online format - the audience for these products is very wide.
Involving IT bloggers can give millions of views in the “unpacked” format, and in real time, right in the chat, you can discuss everything that is happening on the screen with other enthusiasts and fans of the brand.
However, for us as individuals, such events do not expand “weak” ties and do not create the desired effect of new opportunities.
Events that rely on personal relationships - industry conferences, closed presentations and others - should return to offline as soon as possible. It is no coincidence that the organizers of such significant events as SPIEF or the World Economic Forum announce their return as soon as news appears about the lifting of restrictions related to the pandemic.
What does all this mean for us? Battle of motivations!
At the moment we see a gap of interest between people and brands. People are tired of looking at the screen and want live communication. But it’s more convenient for companies to hold online events and try to attract as many participants as possible. At the same time, many of them for some reason still do not understand that, first of all, they need to take into account the motivations and interests of their users. The coverage of online events and engagement are falling, and people don’t even come to “online events.”
For some reason, companies are afraid of restrictions, but look at any nightclub or bar - classic events are already being held there. Why can’t companies fully go offline?
It is this battle of motivation that we will be keeping an eye on in an exciting 2021.
We see several ways to solve this problem.
Bet on hybrid formats
Many have been talking about this for a long time, but we really hope that brands will finally come to at least hybrid event formats in order to, on the one hand, ensure the emergence of “weak ties” and, at the same time, fulfill business goals of gaining coverage.
For example, previously we, together with the S7 Airlines team, held an immersive Night Flight Show, where we gave away 1,000,000 airline bonus miles. Friends of the brand offline and millions of eyes who followed the event thanks to the online broadcast were invited to participate in the drawing. The total reach of the project’s online audience was 5,359,196 contacts.
Similar events are held by our friends from Phygitalism. They organize their closed educational Phygital Nights parties in such a way that the “core” of the audience is on the site, and a 360° broadcast on YouTube is available for the rest of the audience.
Surprise online
People have had enough of a pretty picture - now that’s not enough either. Chats and other engagement tools are in the mix. Need a "wow"
The virtual and augmented reality market is growing rapidly, and its tools have long been used in events. In the era of total digitalization, it’s time to move to the so-called “phygital” - integrated communications at the intersection of digital and physical spaces, providing consumers with a new experience.
For example, immerse viewers in a VR experience, as HTC did. Of course, the graphics still leave much to be desired, but given the pace of development of the industry, in the near future we will see new and most realistic solutions on the market, available to everyone.
It's time to gradually return to offline. Only then will the event industry flourish again and continue to develop rapidly. Our “weak ties”, new partnerships, opportunities and prospects will return again.
Original published at https://www.cossa.ru/152/284340/
