… it is real.

With the consistency with which Corona has sent the event industry to its home office, the pandemic is calling for digitalization. The live event industry can be buried. The future is digital. Everybody in the world, and also the clients of the event industry, would notice that projects can be communicated more cheaply, more simply in terms of organization and, in part, more broadly if events take place online instead of offline. Everyone who feels called has been enriching the network with digital (semi) knowledge for weeks or months and praising glorious lighthouse projects as examples. We want to counter this digital herd instinct with a clear NO. No, the future of the event industry is by no means digital, but live, and real.

The more digitized our lives, the more valuable real encounters are

Corona is a unique and extremely negative special situation. A pandemic that (fortunately) has not occurred to this extent in modern times. The almost global shutdown brings our society to a standstill in many areas. The event industry suffers from this like hardly any other business sector. Many companies active in this area are fighting for their existence. Digitalization is also modifying the event industry well before Corona. It is not too difficult to predict that this trend will continue. This is to be welcomed if digital integration makes sense and is enriching. Digitalization for its own sake, however, cannot be. The core of live marketing is the personal and real encounter between people and brands. Digital or online can support, expand, extend etc. However, the real encounter cannot be substituted. But this is exactly the core of our business. Even before Corona, budget and time restrictions led to an “increase in value” of personal encounters. The current shutdown is driving “performance”. The more digitalized and faster our lives become, the more precious personal and real encounters become.

Digitally supported, but is not a substitute for real encounters

The experience of the past few months clearly shows that the good and sensible aspects of digital options are being adopted across society. Not every meeting requires a personal meeting. In many cases, private life is already organized on a mobile basis across generations. Thanks to new technologies, work can be done anywhere. The result counts. When and how is (mandatory compliance with (new) labor law rules) left to everyone. Not because employees and companies have to, but because more and more people and companies want it that way. Digitally supported but cannot be a substitute for real encounters. Much of what influences the communicative exchange and the decision is discussed and decided on the interpersonal level. At lunch, during a coffee break or in the evening at the bar. These are not soft arguments, but hard facts.

Agencies and customers have to think more digitally

The future will be live. Digital will enrich live marketing in a meaningful way. The industry will do its homework, but so do customers. In reality, they often have no interest in excessively digitalizing their events. Be it because of fear of outside glances or other security questions or concerns, about additional costs. Because it is or should be clear to all players that e.g. a zoom meeting can save money, but a hybrid etc. event requires additional budget. Good work costs money. Good digital concepts and modules need reasonable budgets. However, digital concepts must not be a 1: 1 broadcast of a live event on the Internet. They require an individual concept. As a result, the structure will have to be different from that of the presence event. Nobody sits in front of the computer for days or hours. The integration of meaningful digital structures must be sensitive and project-related – less is often more. You can’t put in everything that is technically possible.

Bring brands and people together emotionally

What is the conclusion for the event industry? We all have to learn to think more digitally. However, the focus of our work is still on people and the real. Brands want and need to reach real people who consider these brands desirable – for real life. Our industry, live marketing, has supported companies and their brands competently and creatively for decades. We always use the latest technical options and trends. Everything, but really everything, only ever serves to enable the holistic, emotional live experience. For the consumer, the customer, the people. Live, real and honest. Emotions are directed communicatively in such a way that they go beyond the ratio to the heart. The reason? Just to offer the best that our industry has to offer: live events.