Let's save the event industry, together.

In these last days, I've been connecting with almost 200 people in various slack channels (featuring the Field Marketing Slack Group with almost 800 members), Event Agencies, Event Planners, Concert Organizers, Artists, and Entertainers, trying to understand what will happen to our beloved event industry.

Massive lay-offs, stellar talent unemployed, canceled events, and the whole industry wondering how to survive in such a critical time like the COVID-19.

The Events Industry Council CEO,

Amy Calvert, recently wrote a letter asking to "Unify Our Voice", in the ask of reaching "out to your elected officials and key decision makers, who are looking at ways to provide economic relief. We may not be able to control what’s happening in the world right now, but we absolutely control how and with whom we share our message."

Now is time to set a solutions-oriented mindset, and figure how we can bring the best technology, ideas, and innovation to keep event experiences and make them alive.

As seen featured in New York Times, Governments are fighting to keep there economy alive:

Half a world away, in Copenhagen, workers in Mr. Candia’s situation face a different reality. The Danish government has promised to cover 75 percent to 90 percent of salaries if businesses do not lay off their employees. Better to pay to keep people employed than to pay for the disruption caused by mass layoffs and unemployment, the government has said.

Myself, with more than 15 years of experience in the event and entertainment industry as former music performer, catering server, bartender, nightclub manager, amongst all the other things that everyone does in the event industry, I've never seen an industry to be dismantled and put at risk in just a matter of 2 months.

Yesterday I spoke at a live-webinar organized by Vasil Azarov the Founder of the Growth Marketing Conference, and I was so surprised/grateful for seeing thousands of people putting their hands together and try to save the industry to make events online.

Now one thing that I'd like to share my perspective on is that events online are not video conferencing calls, live-webinars, or online chat rooms.

Online tech platforms are on their favor attracting desperate event organizers that are looking to recreate their beloved in-real-life experience in video conferencing calls or basic live-streaming solutions and selling this for ten's of thousands of dollars...

How an event agency that got an exhibition canceled for a budget ranging the $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 will stay in business with video conferencing calls or live webinars that you can do for free?

How an event organizer will attract sponsors, promise them engagement, and make their brand shine for all the hundreds or thousands of attendees that usually come to the real-life experience?

That's not the power of an in-real-life experience or an event.

Worse than that, I'm seeing these companies taking advantage to use the word "virtual event", when in fact that has nothing more than an online agenda or video calls...

I make this question, if this global social isolation extends for the next 12 months, what will happen to the industry?

Today I'd like to share with you a different approach and suggestion for this global problem.

People that know me, know that I love people, and that I love in-real-life experiences (I even have a tattoo that shares that passion, and songs on Spotify that sing that passion), and that I'll dedicate my life to protect and always preserve the most beautiful thing we have: real human engagement.

During this social isolation period, we were pushed to leverage our technology to save the industry and help event organizers, event agencies, event vendors, sponsors, exhibitors to turn In Real Life experiences virtually with the same level of quality and engagement.

How?

Youcanevent.com has developed a playbook that mixes online video streaming, Web virtual reality and engagement tools that allow you to host your event online.

For event organizers

Better than using video conferencing tools like Zoom or Youtube, where you can't actually measure engagement between attendees, create breakout rooms, why don't you recreate a venue or conference in a virtual environment?

Why not having a live-streaming presentation inside of the virtual venue, and engage in real-time in a live Q&A?

Why not engaging with attendees around you in a private format?

Each attendee joining the virtual event environment has an avatar that allows you to interact with other attendees and watch live-streaming presentations from keynote speakers inside of the environment.

Now you might be wondering:

"Ok Antonio, so then what? You want everyone to spend money with your company in virtual events now?"

Yes and no.

Yes, because that means that we will be recreating In-Real-life experiences with the same level of quality and engagement virtually.

No, because we want to leverage our technology to all the industry players world-wide.

We want event agencies, event planners, and conference organizers to sell virtual exhibitions, conferences, holiday parties, big or medium events, with the same level of confidence and quality as an in-real-life experience.

We want you, and everyone organizing events to confidently get a sponsor to invest $100,000 in your booth, because the ROI of exposure and engagement is real.

Better than that, we want you and everyone organizing events that after this global crisis, that by default you organize events In-Real-Life that also available virtually for anyone to attend. Two ways of monetization.

As of today, we have several Event Agencies, Planners and Conference Organizers, working on a commission model to help them monetize their customers during this period of crisis.

And, we are waiting to help you next!

Do you know why we have created this technology?

Not because of the COVID-19 situation, but because we wanted you (event creator) to have the ability to visualize your event venue, furniture, catering, AV, decor, etc, before the event happening. To build trust with vendors, to build trust with partners, sponsors, and literally show them 100% how it will look like their event.

Now with the COVID-19 catastrophe, we were pushed to host them virtually, and from a personal perspective, I want all of us to collaborate and show the best booth designs, keynote speaking presentations, artist performances, or even virtual stores online.

Summary:

In order to save the industry, we have to still host event experiences (now virtually) with the same level of quality as in-real-life, and allow the industry players (such as event agencies, event planners, conference organizers), and the parties involved (sponsors, exhibitors, attendees etc), to confidently participate in these experiences with the same quality as in-real-life, we have to recreate an event virtually.

Interested to learn more?

Click here.

Antonio Trincao,

CEO Youcanevent.com