Businesses having to pivot is a hot topic right now, but what next for experiential and event agencies? 

The outbreak of COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis that has led to cities and event organisers to postpone or cancel mass gatherings like festivals, concerts, sports and brand events. This has single-handedly turned the event industry on its head, but what can we do to respond? How do we pivot our thinking and strategy? All agencies are now trying to find effective and, more importantly, safe solutions for clients that had previously planned physical activations for 2020. While we do this, we need to be extremely cognizant of the consumer mindset. Does a mass audience care about engaging with a brand during a time of crisis like this? Or should we wait until it’s safe to hold a physical event again? 

If there is one thing I have learned in the past few weeks it is that there is no one correct answer for all of this. The main area of consideration is that with physical experiences temporarily not an option, agencies are looking for ways to pivot to alternatives. The most obvious option is going virtual or digital. Most agencies or brands have been tight lipped on sharing their new strategies but there are some that can be done relatively quickly, for example: 

Live to Digital 

It’s more important than ever to connect with audiences in authentic and meaningful ways. Virtual or streaming events have always offered significant benefits, most notably amplifying reach to a wider audience. Amidst COVID-19 concerns, it’s critical to consider how to leverage both live and virtual event formats to deliver the biggest impact.  

No Audience Events 

Live activity with huge audiences may be on pause but we can shift our focus to deliver high impact content to roll out and capture social media attention. We can deliver impactful forms of content marketing that involves a mix of IRL and video production that delivers remarkable experiences. 

Digital Festivals 

“A new kind of festival for a rapidly changing world”. The Drum have launched their digital transformation festival which plays host to a vast array of panel sessions, talks, roundtables, bringing you insights from the world’s biggest brand and thinkers. A great mix of content to keep people engaged and entertained.   

The biggest challenge with the above solutions are that the beauty of a live event is the coming together of like-minded people, sharing their experience and spreading the word. Now that events aren’t happening, the challenge is targeting that same audience in a digital or virtual setting and delivering that same meaningful experience.  

We have seen some really innovative thinking from some companies providing guidance on exactly how to pivot, based on brand objectives. For example, InVision Communication released a revamped version of its Pivot Playbook, a resource guide for clients on how to adapt and leverage an existing event investment for a new audience engagement strategy. Particularly valuable is the decision tree that helps you navigate decisions and identify trigger points in your contingency plan. With clear recommendations and suggestions depending on where you are in your event life cycle it provides a great degree of clarity in a very clouded space.  

While there is a clear shift in focus and thinking toward virtual and digital in the short term there is still a lot of optimism for Q3 and Q4 for physical activations. What we have seen is a postponement of events and festivals to the second half of the year, these are going to be extremely important for brands to connect with their audience. There will of course be a shift in thinking within these events. Agencies will introduce reworked planning processes, from how to sanitize an activation to bulking up contingency plans.  

Overall, it is clear that the coronavirus has presented an opportunity for agencies and brands to reinvent what an experience means and how best it can be delivered to a mass audience. What we need to do in the short term is be respectful that people have bigger concerns right now than being marketed to about live events, pivot your strategy to find new opportunities to connect with your audience but be responsible in doing so.  

- PD