TODAY AND BEYOND 2021

The breaking out of the pandemic compelled businesses to come up with innovative ways to survive and sustain without succumbing to the challenges it posed. The Event industry was no exception and evolved in trendy formats to meet the need of the hour through its new ‘Hybrid’ avatar.

The pandemic followed by a global lockdown presented an unanticipated set of demanding situations to the Event industry. In the blink of an eye all physical exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences, and events were suddenly cancelled and postponed, leaving the stakeholders confounded. Though unsettling, every crisis creates incredible opportunities and leads to innovation, allowing innovators to think more freely to create an impactful change. In the wake of recent developments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several event organizers explored new ways to bring people together.

Adopting Change

For the Indian Events industry, that Change was adopting the ‘Hybrid’ format that combines the best of virtual and in-person experiences. According to Statista, the revenue of the organized Events industry across India has been estimated to be more than `100 billion in FY 2021. The industry employs around 20% of India’s workforce directly and indirectly and is a significant contributor to the Indian economy. As Indian Event Management professionals, we take pride in being champions of frugal innovation. We have re-invented and re-engineered ourselves into a new version.

Conceptualizing Experiential Ways

The Hybrid Event is a wonderful blend of a small crowd engaging with unlimited virtual guests armed with Smart Tools and leveraging the most from the virtual networking. The Hybrid Format is not just for the current times but is here to stay with virtual audiences, smart polls, online awards, walkthrough expos, gaming-based annual parties, and so on.

The ‘Made in India’ Hybrid Solution has arrived and is all set to reign over town halls to annual parties, boutiques to premium weddings, award nights to musical rhapsodies. The RoI of these hybrid events can be assessed from the crowd responses participating in these events.

Embracing Technology

Though there is an absence of live audiences, the Hybrid events are wellequipped with real-time and Artificial Intelligence simulated tools. The events continue to evolve bridging the gulf between the experiences that physical and virtual audiences have. Presently Hybrid events go beyond a live stream to engage both virtual and in-person audiences through chat, streaming, networking, and more.

From planning pre-event engagements to special experiences on the D-Day, the Hybrid experiences have brought a whole new meaning to experiential events. The Indian Event industry professionals are transforming the landscape of events. In true spirit, they are the torch bearers of change who pre-empt and offer solutions that are globally competitive, wholesome, holistic, simple, economical yet powerful.

Dr Deepak Swaminathan is the CEO of MediaPoint and can be reached on deepakswaminathan@mediapointevent.com