Virtual events have become a mainstay in B2B in 2021, with new research from conference and event software Hubb showing 83% of event marketers have experience hosting and/or planning a virtual event. This is a significant increase from the 45% surveyed in Spring of 2020, highlighting the impact of virtual events on the event marketing landscape.
Hubb’s survey recorded responses from more than 1,600 event planners, with many respondents highlighting the impact of the pandemic had on event marketers. Additional insights from the survey include:
- 33% of event professionals have planned a large virtual event at least once in 2021, which increased 9.5% in 2020;
- 20% consider themselves “experts” at planning virtual events, an increase from 2020’s 4.2%; and
- Only 3% have not planned or attended a virtual event, which decreased from 14% in 2020.
The survey results show that many marketers believe that virtual events, or hybrid events, will be an integral part of their marketing, engagement and revenue strategies moving forward. Allie Magyar, CEO of Hubb, explained that virtual events are here to stay, and will remain viable even when in-person engagements return.
“These findings prove that event planners moved with urgency and flexibility this past year. The dramatic adoption in virtual event planning will no doubt shape how we proceed as an industry,” said Magyar in a statement. “We need to think of events, post-pandemic, in a much different way. Instead of virtual or in-person, events are simply events, and we need to curate the experiences and value based on where attendees will be physically located. And there is a big opportunity in how we connect those audiences”
For additional insights, check out Hubb’s analyst webinar Virtual Events Are Here to Stay: Are You Prepared?
