Eric Holmen is the Chief Executive Officer of Splash, a next-generation event marketing platform designed to help teams build and host virtual, in-person and hybrid events. He is responsible for driving the company’s transformative growth and positioning Splash to help its customers do what they love: create memorable experiences, new connections and business value. Download “Getting Back to Business: An Outlook on Events in 2022” at splashthat.com/resources/2022-outlook.

It’s been a tumultuous two years for events professionals and the industry in general, but the outlook for the rest of 2022 is optimistic. We should expect a higher volume of events, more kinds of events, and more efficient events. But, we can’t say this year will be a return to business as usual — and that’s OK. Events professionals have embraced what’s working during the pandemic, and are incorporating those activities into their ongoing strategies.

I’m talking about virtual and hybrid events, of course. What was once considered a temporary solution has become a driving force for the future of the industry.

The fact that virtual and hybrid events have become permanent parts of events strategies wasn’t the only finding we uncovered in our annual survey. Our research report, “Getting Back to Business: An Outlook on Events in 2022,” is based on the perspectives of 253 U.S. events professionals across a variety of industries reflecting on the past year and what they expect for 2022.

We found numerous signs of optimism — increased budgets, preparations already underway for more events in 2022, and a broader embrace of digital tools — as well as some opportunities for improvement. But overall, we saw an industry that’s resilient and adaptive, and poised for a true rebound in 2022.

Event Quantity and Quality Increase With the Help of Digital Tools

A rebound in event volume is one thing, but companies also want the events they host to produce results. The professionals we surveyed say they are making it a higher priority to attract the right attendees to their events, rather than simply attracting more attendees, and 43% now measure event success based on revenue impact. They also acknowledged the importance of hybrid events to overall event performance in 2022, and the need to have compelling content.

That said, the total number of events held will almost certainly increase. Compared to 2021, 50% of companies anticipate hosting more in-person events, and 46% anticipate hosting more virtual events this year. After nearly two years of dealing with pandemic restrictions, marketing professionals have grasped managing their digital tools and incorporating them into their event processes, letting them support more events throughout the year.

More events require more resources to run, which is why 38% of companies reported increasing their events marketing budgets last year, significantly more than the 28% that did so in 2020. The survey also revealed that 59% of companies plan to grow their investment in events technology in 2022.

But are those investments flowing to the right technology platforms to make virtual, hybrid and in-person events as efficient as possible? The survey is inconclusive on this point. Budgets are bigger and tech investments are planned, but 67% of respondents reported using the same events marketing tools in 2021 that they had in place before the pandemic; this didn’t change from 2020. That indicates there’s an opportunity to optimize events if companies invest in events marketing tools that can unify communications, streamline processes and connect event data to existing Customer Relationship Management systems.

Capturing Data to Measure Real Business Outcomes

That last point is a clear need across the industry. In the past, events data collected was largely limited to how many people registered, who attended and how attendees felt about the event experience. Events were considered a tool for brands to stay connected to their audience, and this is still true.

But more events marketers are now looking to virtual events to help them drive sales and revenue growth. Virtual hosting and events platforms allow them to track new metrics and data, such as pipeline development, giving brands the ability to measure real business outcomes from their events. The smartest marketers will apply these learnings to their in-person and hybrid events, too.

In 2022, marketers will continue using this data to plan and execute their events, because virtual will be a permanent part of the events mix. By getting familiar with virtual events, marketers know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to attracting and impacting their audience. Attendees have also become comfortable with virtual events and well-versed in popular hosting platforms.

In part, this will fuel the popularity of hybrid events in 2022. It’s up to the event marketers to decide what exactly constitutes a hybrid event for their brand, but the integration of virtual and in-person event programs on one platform is sure to be a major growth-driver in the events industry moving forward.

Familiar Challenges, and New Ones Too

If we’ve learned anything in the past two years, it’s that the future is unpredictable. After COVID-19 restrictions were eased in 2021, large in-person events, such as conferences and trade shows, were scheduled and held again. But the Omicron variant fueled a fresh wave of cancellations and postponements in early 2022.

The industry needs to be prepared for uncertainty, but the fact remains: People are eager to attend events of all types this year. Fully 63% of people were already registered for two or more virtual events in 2022, and 64% were registered to attend two or more in-person events.

Businesses spent the last year preparing for an increase in events volume and dealing with related challenges. In 2021, companies of all sizes innovated, changed and grew from the events they hosted as they dealt with unique circumstances. Companies with more than 1,000 employees were more likely to leverage large virtual events last year than smaller companies. Mid-sized brands struggled the most with driving attendance to their events, and smaller brands were the most likely to adopt new event marketing technology. Obstacles that everyone faced in 2021 were virtual event fatigue from attendees, producing high-quality events content, and measuring event ROI effectively.

Find What Works For Your Brand

No matter which event challenges companies faced in 2021, all companies will encounter competition with events this year. As virtual and hybrid events become easier to navigate for marketing professionals, and more events run successfully, the space will also get more competitive. Attendees will be in high demand, and brands can now more effectively target them with smarter marketing tools.

This means companies need to stand out and stay relevant to ensure attendance. This year is likely to have as many ups and downs as the last, so for events to succeed, they need to feature tightly curated content and consistently great experiences for attendees.

Companies formalizing their events plans for 2022 should incorporate a mix of virtual, in-person and hybrid to maximize the quantity and quality of attendees they can attract. More importantly, they should plan more events that align with their goals and desired outcomes, and have the tools in place to track events’ impact on them. What type of event resonates best with the target audience? Are attendees responding well to the content? What kind of events are driving sales? The right events technology platform that facilitates event data collection and analysis can help answer these questions, and turn events into a powerful business tool. | AC&F |