7 giu 2021, 15:34:44
What are virtual experiences?
Virtual experiences are forms of entertainment, communication or training held over video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype and Blue Jeans. Generally, there is a host, with several participants often split into different virtual rooms engaging in an activity or talk.
What experiences can be hosted virtually?
Virtual experiences come in many forms from online escape games (many escape rooms have developed online versions), cookery demonstrations, zoom party crashers (where a musican or entertainer "crashes" your online meeting), yoga classes, virtual training, remote tours of famous destinations such as cities or attractions, and online hosted quizzes.
Is there a difference between virtual and hybrid experiences?
The pandemic has seen a huge shift towards zoom meetings and virtual events such as virtual team building and online training. This has meant that companies have been able to cope without in-person to a degree, but these fantastic solutions cannot fully replace in-person meetings for most businesses and people.
What was the impact of Covid-19 on the virtual experience market?
The market for virtual experiences had been growing for several years, with ever increasing bandwidth, easier access to mobile technology, the growth of flexible working, and multi-national companies using them as a cost-effective means of keeping offices in touch, but Covid-19 certainly had an impact in the virtual experience market, as companies around the world quickly moved to remote working. During 2020 the virtual events market was valued at $78 billion, with some platforms seeing a 1000% growth in demand, and the market is expected to grow by 23% in the next 4 years (Forbes).
Has the pivot to virtual been a success for everyone?
The pandemic has led to a boom in the number of suppliers pivoting to virtual and hybrid events, but has it been successful for everyone? The recent “State of the Events Industry” report discovered that over 43% of participants in the survey had seen a profit from the virtual events they had hosted. We have certainly seen the quick adaption by so many suppliers of Evendo to virtual events and impressed not only with turnaround but also the quality of experiences.
When in-personal events return will virtual experiences continue to be popular?
As mentioned, virtual experiences are expected to grow by 23% in the coming years but the concerns over vaccinations and growth of covid variants could see that number even higher. As restrictions ease, some experiences such as beer tasting, escape rooms and cookery classes, as well as occasions such as bachelor parties may quicky number to in-person. We should see the growth in virtual experiences for corporate events to continue as the pandemic has led many businesses to move full time to remote working, and many multinational businesses having concerns over international travel. Skift found that over 70% of event suppliers and event bookers considered that future events would be virtual or hybrid. As more events are held in person, there may be a drop in hybrid experiences as virtual shifts to a global audience.
