Virtual Events

Finally Past the Tipping Point

A friend once told me that there are three phases in the adoption of a new idea:

  1. 1. That’s a terrible idea; you’re crazy to even think about it.
  2. 2. It’s a good idea, but it will never work.
  3. 3. It’s a brilliant idea, and I’m glad I thought of it.

We are now entering phase three with virtual events.

Looking back, it’s no shock to see why the adoption of virtual events skyrocketed in 2009. The worst economic downturn in recent history resulted in dramatic budget cuts across industries. Marketing budgets were slashed, and live events with costly travel were the first to get the axe. Marketing leadership was in a quandary with no funds to support vital programs at a time when the sales force needed be talking to customers more than ever.

Virtual events were suddenly very appealing. The c-suite could approve the expense for a virtual event program that promised to cost less while reaching more people, yielding better metrics, and enabling meaningful two-way communications with audiences -- at 50 to 80 percent of the cost of physical events! So marketers decided to test the waters by migrating cancelled face-to-face programs online. This is why we saw a huge increase in virtual conferences and tradeshows in 2009.

And because there were more virtual events taking place, audiences started to get more comfortable with the idea of participating in a virtual experience. They began to see the value in online participation, which meant no travel, increased convenience, and better social networking. Customers, forced to use this new technology, discovered that virtual events are engaging, user-friendly, and highly interactive. Marketers discovered that virtual events yield some of the richest audience metrics available while delivering a personalized, ongoing sales and marketing experience for customers.

So virtual events hit the tipping point and are now here to stay. While face to face events will always be an important part of a company's overall strategy, virtual events are now a vital part of the marketing mix. And 2010 will see more growth, innovation, and adoption of virtual experiences on a global scale.