A survey conducted by the #WeCreateExperiences campaign found that the absence of live events and experiences due to the Covid‐19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on staff’s engagement and internal communications.
However, 96 per cent of survey respondents said events and experiences were still integral to their businesses and that they added value, which translated into an increasing demand from brands for events and experiences.
However, the survey indicated that attendee confidence is still low but 36 per cent of respondents said on-site-testing would give them the confidence boost they need to attend live events again.
The survey findings have been released ahead of the launch of the #WeCreateExperiences campaign which is set to launch on 7 December.
“This is a crucial moment in the campaign’s lifecycle,” said Simon Hughes, chair of the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP), the organisation fronting the campaign.
“We have had overwhelming support from the industry, and to date, our social media clips from our high‐profile personalities have seen more than 12,000 views. But we need everyone on side to push these messages as far as they can on 7 December.
Since late November, the campaign has pushed out a series of clips of support from high‐profile personalities who champion the power of experiences, including Harvey Goldsmith, Tom Kerridge, Jonny Wilkinson, and David Gower, as well as John Dutton, CEO of the Rugby League World Cup and Claire Rowney, executive director of Macmillan Cancer Support.
However, the organisers behind the #WeCreateExperiences campaign are still urging all meetings and events professionals to get involved by sharing a short video or image of the proudest event experience.
“We need to remind decision-makers who book events of the importance of live event experiences and the value they bring to their businesses, encouraging them to look ahead to 2021 and commit budget to events,” Hughes added.
Here’s how to get involved:
- Find an image or a short video clip (max 60 seconds & landscape sized) of your favourite and proudest experiences that you have helped to create (Please ensure you have the rights to share this content on your own social media accounts or you credit the relevant source). It can be from an awards ceremony, a product launch or brand activation, a trade show, conference, exhibition, or charity fundraiser, anything at all that has created a memorable experience for a client.
- Create a post that includes your image and/or video, as well as the #WeCreateExperiences hashtag and a tag to the relevant One Industry One Voice channel linked below.
- On 7 December, share your posts on any or all of your social media channels: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Ask your friends, family, colleagues and clients to engage and reshare your posts once they are live.
- Use and engage with the following social media channels in your social posts: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
