Last week marked our return to the office after almost nine months.
When we left the office in March, we had no idea what to expect. All we knew was that we were facing ‘unprecedented’ times and our year was about to be turned upside down. While we had already grieved 2020 and what the year had planned, the return to the office brought up new emotions. It reminded us of how much our world, our industry and our community had lost. However, it also highlighted these important practices and helped define our new outlook for a new world.
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While many of us attended or delivered webinars in the past, 2020 certainly opened our eyes to what makes an engaging and successful virtual event.
While live events start back up, virtual (and hybrid) events will still be front and centre throughout 2021 and beyond, due to convenience, audience reach, travel restrictions, change in working locations and company event policies. This won’t be a hangover from 2020, it will be an exciting new phase. With change comes learning and we have listed our top tips for enhancing the attendee experience, that you can take into 2021. Five reasons why an event and communications partner agency might just be the right fit for you19/11/2020
2020 has certainly forced many organisations to work differently – not only physically but strategically and operationally.
As we look to 2021, planning for the future can be difficult when the goal posts keeping changing and the workload is fluid. Many organisations will find themselves having a clear vision, but loose plan. What does this mean though when trying to plan your staffing and resources? Partnering with an event, communications or volunteer engagement agency like Fetching Events & Communications, could be just the right fit for you. Want to know why? Here are our top five reasons why partnering with an agency could be the solution to your challenges. As we return to events and event planning ramps up, it is crucial we remember that events are not a one size fits all.
Event formats, protocols and experiences will all shift and change in this new world and what might have been the ‘norm’ for your previous events, now need to be reimagined. What might work for one organisation, won’t be the right fit for another. What might work for one audience, might not work for another. What might work for one of your events, will be out of place for another event. Every event should be considered and planned on an event by event basis. My love of the Olympic Games was cemented in 1992 when I was completely captivated by the Barcelona games.
I videotaped nearly every event, had every magazine that featured the games and even took the day off school to attend the athletes parade. I knew then that my dream job would be to one day be part of the action. To all the businesses who have closed today in Melbourne, as part of Stage 4 restrictions, and to all the other businesses around Australia who continue to be impacted by closures, we send our love and support.
It is now over four months since our world was turned upside down and our core industry was 'shut down'. We have been (and still are) where you now find yourself so we wanted to share our advice and top tips on how to get through this. A silent and almost invisible damaging side effect of COVID-19, and the (necessary) social distancing, is the divide it is creating between the young and the old - as well as those located in and out of 'hot spots'.
This is becoming more evident as restrictions start to ease and some parts of the community return to a new type of normal, while other parts of the community continue to lock down for their safety. Over nine weeks ago, when the world changed, organisations rushed to move their events online - and did a great job to do this.
However in the scramble to adjust, many simple considerations have been overlooked. Now is the time to stop, take stock and review how you are managing your online events. This week marks National Volunteer Week, an annual initiative that sees the work of volunteers across Australia recognised and celebrated - and it has been heartening to see the extensive media coverage the week has already received.
While the contribution of volunteer workforces should be recognised and celebrated every day, there is definitely a place for a dedicated week that brings attention to the hundreds of millions of hours donated by millions of people each year. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” Albert Einstein
The COVID-19 crisis has had an undisputed impact on the events industry, as events have been cancelled, postponed or moved online. However this has also provided the perfect opportunity to stop, challenge, question and rethink how organisations plan and deliver events. |