Virtual Events are Still Exciting!

From the desk of: Caitlin Theall

I am sure everyone is tired and saddened by the impact of COVID-19. I know I certainly am. However, just like many other industries, the events and hospitality industry has been hit hard and negatively affected by the current pandemic. Although there is sadly no end in sight, I wanted to highlight some of the positives that I have seen come about over the past few months regarding events. 

It has been incredible to see how this industry has pushed on and adapted to all the constant changes all while trying to help each other along the way. When we dealt with having to move events from the spring to the fall and then adjusting them from live events to virtual events, everyone has been so helpful and understanding. Now that it has been approximately 5 months of living through a pandemic, virtual events are happening all the time. For the most part, organizations, businesses, and social parties have figured out what they need to do to pivot in these ever-changing times to move forward as best they can. Our team at AE has done the same and learned so much about virtual and hybrid events. Now that these style of events are more frequent and quite honestly, not as scary as they were back in April and May, I wanted to point out some of the main reasons why virtual events are exciting and something to look forward to! 

More Attendees

Just about every event has a limit as to how many guests can attend. Every indoor event space and most outdoor spaces have a maximum capacity, but when you go virtual, you can have as many guests as you want! This allows organizations and businesses the ability to invite attendees who typically may not be able to attend their in-person event. For example, maybe one of your board members has family out on the west coast and it’s too much for them to travel into town to attend your annual gala. Going virtual now gives them a chance to ‘attend’ the event!

Custom Gift Boxes 

Something we have seen a lot of since the pivot from live to virtual events are custom event boxes. These custom boxes are a great way to send guests, sponsors, donors, and staff a little something before your event to show them how much you appreciate them and their support. It also excites your guests about your upcoming event. And who doesn’t love to receive gifts in the mail?!

AE Events is now partnering with our clients to create custom event boxes that will be sent out to their guests prior to their virtual event. We love how creative we can get and that each event has a different box full of goodies.

Cost Effective

For the most part, virtual events are less expensive than live events. However, there seems to be a preconceived notion that every budget line will be reduced for a virtual event, unfortunately, that is not the case. While it is true that some costs will reduce substantially or even completely go away, there are still necessary costs that are needed to produce a successful virtual event. For example, food and beverage costs and room rental fees will substantially decrease, but technology and AV will remain similar to a live, if not even a tad bit more. What we have learned, is that it takes just as much time and effort to produce a  successful virtual event as it does a live event! 

Environmentally Friendly

Virtual events are one of the most sustainable ways you can host an event. One of the downside to hosting an in-person event is how much food waste there it. Whether it is a gala, conference or social event, once food is set out, it cannot be saved and must be thrown out at the end of the night. With virtual events there are no longer large amounts of food getting thrown out at the end of the event!

A few other positives-

·      Less paper waste- think about all the signs that are no longer needed! Some clients have even switched to digital program books too which are just as great.

·      Less travel to events = reducing carbon footprint 

·      Less water waste 

We can’t wait to be onsite setting up for in-person events again. We miss seeing our clients and vendors (as we like to call them ‘friendors’) face to face, but for now, virtual is what we are doing and we are embracing it!