The document summarizes how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rise of virtual events. It discusses how the event industry was initially impacted by cancellations but then saw exponential growth in webinars and virtual platforms. Some key points mentioned are that virtual events saw growth rates of over 1000% on some platforms, and are projected to become a $504 billion industry by 2028. Hybrid events that combine both in-person and virtual components are also discussed as the future of the event industry. Data analytics are highlighted as a major advantage that virtual events provide for understanding audiences and marketing strategies.

1. Rise and Popularity of
Virtual Events: Exponential
Increase Posndemic

2. Slides 02
The event management industry can be righteously
parted into two: pre-pandemic and post-pandemic.
The unavoidable circumstances rushed an immediate
need for an alternative solution to uphold the stream of
education, employment, businesses, etc.
The Exponential Growth of Virtual Events - Post Pandemic Era
Webinars and virtual events served as the
superheroes that delivered a virtual platform to
transport all the in-person activities via mobile and
laptops. People quickly got accustomed to the
advancements of virtual workflow and environments.
And there, the era of remote networking has begun.

3. Slides 02
COVID 19 situation commercialized online business,
education, events into an everyday routine.
Otherwise, it would have been a transformative
process worth a decade. Technologies that made
everything easier, accessible, and advanced.
According to the Global virtual events market, by
2028, the annual growth of virtual and hybrid events
is estimated to be 23.7%, worth USD 504.76 billion.
Thus, accounting for the advantages of virtual
events, they are more likely to be endured by
business people, marketers, and users even when
the world gets covid-free.

4. HOW COVID-19 AFFECTED
THE EVENT INDUSTRY
The mandatory lockdowns caused a great deal
of change globally and, in particular, shook the
event industry.
Physical events were not practically possible
and plunged into immediate cancellation.
Businesses met with a materialistic loss,
employment risks, and low turnover that
ultimately jeopardized financial stability.

5. According to the EEMA- Events and Entertainment
Management Association, 52.91% of event companies
faced up to 90% business cancellations during mid-
2020.
There were 20-80% layoffs of the employees and some
businesses even hurled up to bankruptcy. Fundraising
and sponsorship campaigns suffered and fell on to the
shareholders.
Impact on event
industry business

6. Live events are a board category comprising trade
shows, fairs, exhibitions, sporting events, concerts,
festivals, etc.
Many exclusive events in 2020, from the Olympics, major
sports tournaments, the Broadway musicals to entire
film production, came to a halt. In turn, this affected
design and technology industries, rental shops,
production companies, etc.
Live shows and businesses
affiliated with events

7. Tour and concerts of artists also resulted in a loss, and
over hundreds of artists either postponed their live
shows or even canceled.
The concert trade publication Pollstar reports USD 30
billion loss in revenue for the live events in 2020.
This decline includes all economic tie-ups with the event
industry – ticketing, sponsors, hotels, food and
beverages, transportation, etc.

8. While the world is fighting the virus, the event industry is also
combating a battle within itself. Despite the heavy fall, the
events industry innovated a quick and efficient way to rise-
virtual events. The increasing demand pressured virtual events
to prosper instantly, and events had to be more spontaneous,
innovative, and dynamic.
The event industry strives to implement features like facial
recognition, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial
intelligence as simplified as possible.
THE EXPONENTIAL RISE
OF VIRTUAL EVENTS

9. Source: researchdive.com

10. According to the CEO of 6Connex, Ruben
Castano, their virtual events business grew by
1000% with unexpected demand from all fields
like- education, business, sport, etc.
Many other platforms renewed themselves with
high-end features and functionalities.
Some statistics that evidence the incredible
growth of virtual events are-

11. Zoom Video Communication Inc’ customer rate reported going
from 61.2%(81,900 attendees) to 353.7%(265,400 attendees) in the
first quarter of 2020.
According to Markletic, 80% of virtual events contribute to the
education sector, next to networking.
60% of companies seem to increase their number of webinars
G2 marked a 2,777% increase in virtual event platform reviews.
They hiked up from 15 to 119 platforms in a span of ten months.
(TOPO 2020)

12. According to ICCA, In 2020, out of 3,484 events held, 2,643
events were online or hybrid events.
A report by Research and markets says- that virtual events like
tradeshows and exhibitions encountered the largest revenue
share in 2020 by 30%.
By 2020 December, 12,000 events held weekly with half a million
attendees (marketingtechnews.net)
Data from LinkedIn filed a 400% year-on-year increase on Live
streams and 500% in live broadcasters.

13. In one word- ‘Benefits.’ They are the only illuminating
factor that drags the entrepreneurs into the web of
virtual events.
In a survey conducted by Markletic, 87% of marketers
aim for success through the various opportunities
laid out by the virtual environments, and 67% of
businesses use these benefits complementary to in-
person events.
WHY VIRTUAL EVENTS BECAME SO
POPULAR

14. The present
generations
THE INEVITABLE ADVANTAGES
OF VIRTUAL EVENTS
The present generations
It suits everybody. Technological advances familiarized
during the information age starting from the mid 20th
century, resulting in disturbed expertise among all
generations. Now, we live at a time where kindergarteners
begin their educational journey virtually. Almost all age
groups in the present era are effortlessly tech-savvy and
comfortable exploiting technology to the fullest. It has been
an auspicious time for virtual events to access all
generations X, Y, and Z ranging from 6 to 60 years old.

15. Virtual events dwell more engagement
Virtual event platforms thrive on
building an environment to
engage attendees with newer
innovations.
Studies show that the
involvement of the attendees is
either equal or higher when
compared to in-person events.
Some groundbreaking features
of the present-day events are:

16. 1:1 breakout sessions to engage with the attendees individually
Augmented reality (virtual booths, expo, immersive ambiance, etc.)
Gamification features that make boost engagement, marketing, and
performance development fun with scoreboard and incentives.
Polls, private chats, surveys, and Q/A sessions promote involvement and provide
crucial insights directly from the audience.
Group sessions to form a unity, team spirit, and sometimes healthy competitions
Platform integrations that make registration, payments, inter-platform
communication exchange easy. For example, most platforms integrate with
social media forums, ticketing websites, payment gateways for smooth UI.

17. AccuData published an article stating that
64% of marketing executives firmly believe in
data-driven strategies. Many surveys are
being conducted worldwide on the nature,
performance, challenges, and advantages of
the virtual events sector by sector. These act
as a one-stop hub for hosting successful
virtual events.
Data-driven practices
It induces marketing by bringing forth brand association, pointing out the platforms that acquire the most
qualified leads, and digitally scrutinizing the particular factors driving your company towards the desired
return on investment.

18. Data analytics is a crucial factor for which the
people go for virtual setup even after the pandemic.
It gives in-depth analysis and highlights the
individual contribution in every aspect of an event-
the success rate of each KPIs, features, and tactics,
understanding the audience, marketing, reach,
performance, ec.
Data analytics also draws a bigger picture on
understanding audience behavior and patterns by
making use of tools like:

19. Lead generation- Tracking the lead capturing and
retrieval is easier and precise digitally. For example,
email marketing sends automated notifications based
on subscription. Since most millennials use electronic
mail for any organizational interactions, it also keeps
track of how the audience responds to the emails, how
long they stay on subscription, and how many click-
throughs are processed successfully.
Engagement dashboard – Analyze audience and give individual performance reports for each feature.
Inputs for marketing strategy – The role played by each KPI and how effectively they achieve their objectives.
Marketing analysis- Analytics platforms address the demands of users, maintain a digital record of data,
track your performance and goals. It also focuses on social media engagement and ways to improve traffic.

20. As these aspects are automatically detected, it leaves much more room for employees to manually
bond with attendees, establishing effective grapevine communication. In turn, it increases productivity.
BETTER OPPORTUNITIES, BETTER REACH
Global reach
Virtual events break through the physical barrier with one click. Any information from anywhere
travels across the globe online.
It builds meaningful connections on an international level. For example, group meetings in
multinational companies can organize a single session in an office and webcast it to several
locations.
Although it is not a relatively new system, pandemics boosted the usability and frequency of virtual
conferences, events, etc.

21. In the educational field, virtual events swiped away
many issues. The demographics, physical distance, and
language barrier no longer serve as a hurdle. It
encourages foreign exchange students and tutors to
club together with the help of captions. Captioning
services also repurpose your video content into
transcripts and other forms instantly.
Accessibility and inclusivity
Virtual events became holistically global with accessible
and inclusive events. It covers a wide range of diversity – all
races, sex, age, sexual identities, body size, socio-
economical status, learning behavior, and difficulties. Virtual
platforms provide alternate options for any kind of
impairment, linguistic and locale differences, even for
learners with cognitive impairments like dyslexia, autism, etc.

22. Web accessibility is inclusive of designing and drafting accessible content, emails with large fonts, contrast
colors. Hiring a sign language interpreter, providing captions and recorded videos of the session to mutualize
accessibility for all.
Monetization
Sponsorship campaigns are held in the form of virtual
events. Social media profile endorsing, exclusive virtual trade
shows, and campaigns attract sponsors. Virtual focal
groups, branding waiting rooms, sponsored games, gifts,
and entertainment breaks, serve as a seamless method of
including sponsors into the events.
Increased ROI is undoubtedly one of the primary reasons to
opt for virtual events. The networking and sponsorship
opportunities are high in virtual events through cost-effective
marketing, and it automatically brings massive brand
awareness and association. Virtual events also cut off the
money spent on venue, food, beverages, and transportation.
With digital data analysis and follow-up sessions, virtual
events are cheaper, quick, and highly automated. Hence, it
results in yielding more profit on the whole.

23. THE FUTURE OF THE VIRTUAL EVENT INDUSTRY
As per a report by the Travel Daily News, 80% of corporate
sponsors are interested in investing in virtual events,
whereas 72% prefer hybrid solutions combining in-person
and digital events. Hybrid events are the future of the
event industry.
They successfully combine both digital and in-person
benefits of the program. It allows you to conduct an
event with a large-scale audience on a minimum
budget.
Hybrid events save on travel costs, catering,
accommodation costs, etc.

24. However, the digital advantages of an event will
not vanish, and more likely, would act as a
silhouette to future events.
And in that case, captions have become an
integral part of events to hit audiences on an
international level.
Check out CaptioningStar and add captioning
services to your to-do list before hosting your
event.

25. Thank
You
108-44 63rd Rd, Queens, NY 11375
(707) 200-4628
info@captioningstar.com