Mice Affairs Media group, News Bureau, 14 April 2021
The
Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released
the second report in its three-part Global Virtual Event Trends
series, sponsored by Swapcard,
providing new, hotly sought-after details on virtual events. This global study
provides insights among organizations that traditionally run or manage
in-person business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions. Report Two – Lessons Learned To Date
and Technologies Used synthesizes open-ended
comments shared by executives on lessons learned and technology to run their
virtual events.
The
historic pandemic created another rare phenomenon: the emergence of a new
marketplace that appeared almost overnight like a volcanic eruption. When
COVID-19 brought the industry to a screeching halt, B2B exhibition organizers
who were forced to cancel in-person events flipped to offering events online.
It has been a mad dash to secure services to make these events happen, with
many market entrants responding and offering virtual event services. This
report uncovers a crowded market of virtual event providers – over 100 vendors
– vying for this high demand market.
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“I am
in awe of B2B exhibition organizers who took on the challenge and made
virtual events a reality to serve their communities during this time of crisis,” said CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “I thank
them for generously sharing their insights on what worked well and where they
believe improvements are needed moving forward. This report offers peer
learnings for executives searching for a resource for planning or to compare
their notes on what worked well or not for their events.” “CEIR
is appreciative of the collaboration and generous support from over a dozen
other associations that have made this research possible for the global B2B
exhibitions industry,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “We thank
them for enabling us to provide the industry with insights based on
objective, unbiased research that will help our stakeholders understand and
successfully respond to these trends.” Through
the generous financial support from Swapcard,
CEIR’s Global Virtual Event Trends
series reports are available to the industry at no cost from CEIR’s website. “Swapcard
is proud to have sponsored this survey,” commented Swapcard CEO
and Co-Founder Baptiste Boulard. “We sponsored the research because we
believe in industry-wide collaboration to keep lifting each other up,
learning and growing together. We hope that this study allows B2B exhibition
organizers to understand the value that virtual events can bring to the table
and that they need to become data-driven if they want to succeed in today's
changing world of events. We at Swapcard have certainly embraced the best of
technology to keep optimizing events for our clients and it's paying off.” Report Two – Lessons Learned To
Date and Technologies Used
provides insight on the following topics:
Differences
by region and commentary by industry sector are included in this report.
Remaining reports in the series include:
Methodology The
survey fielded in October 2020. It was multilingual, giving respondents the
choice of completing the survey in English, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic. The
sample was generated via the generous participation of multiple organizations
globally, which invited qualified members and contacts to participate in this
initiative. CEIR is grateful for their generous support that made this
research and reports for the global B2B exhibitions industry possible. These organizations
include:
A total
of 463 executives responded to the invitation to participate in the study, of
which 346 were qualified to participate and completed the survey. The
response rate is seven percent. Total percentage results provide
statistically reliable results of plus or minus five percent or better, at
the 95% interval. Click here to
download Report Two –
Lessons Learned To Date and Technologies Used at no cost. |