This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Name: Cara Del Duca
Company Name: parcelLab
Job Title: Event and Experiences Manager
Years of Experience: 9
How do you think you are positioned, after months of persevering with the pandemic, to take advantage of our new and disrupted meetings/events landscape?
This is a very exciting time for events, where we can really take all of our best practices from both in-person and virtual events to create engaging, safe and revenue-driving experiences for customers and prospects.
As our community moves forward with planning in-person meetings, what new technologies or processes are you implementing that you may have not looked at before?
We've invested into a very flexible and comprehensive webinar platform. We are really able to create the branded, custom experiences that we create in-person, and bring it to the screen for both virtual and hybrid events moving forward. While nothing will ever truly replace that in-person connection, new tech is coming really close. We're also looking more than ever at customer needs. It's easy to get caught up in your own company's branding, goals, and mission. But successful event marketing (and marketing in general) always puts the customer and their pain points first.
As we see virtual meetings transition back to face to face, hybrid meetings are beginning to be the vehicle to return to normalcy. What are your thoughts on hybrid meetings versus traditional fully in-person meetings?
As a planner, I much prefer in person events, and definitely had to learn the virtual component in 2020. As much complexity as hybrid-izing events adds, we as planners need to meet people where they are. People are less likely to take a few days away from their lives to attend a conference. Budgets are more limited. Now adding this element can be costly--but being creative in how you include a virtual component can increase ROI and inclusivity without a huge price tag. Consider IG Live sessions with speakers, or pre-recording some presentations to share virtually. This will create a work around for live production costs, but still have some virtual impact.
In your opinion, what do you think the biggest value for your attendees is in regards to returning to live events?
There is something to be said for in-person human connection. I think it is easier for people to trust, relate and form bonds with others in person. In a sales environment, this increased trust is priceless. For community-building, this face to face contact is a necessity. Cutting through the virtual niceties and online chatter gives a chance for focused attention that just can't be replicated via webinar.
As the pandemic fades away and we return to face-to-face events what do you hope changes, either for planners or hoteliers, in the traditional RFP and proposal process as a result of all of the learnings from the last 20+ months?
I hope that planners can be more flexible in their needs and how they can accomplish them. Due to inflation and decreased events budgets, planners need to collaborate with venues and hoteliers more to see how we can create impact while maintaining strong ROI for events. I think the ability to work more seamlessly together always creates the events magic we strive for.
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.