Optimize Your Technology And
Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid
Events-Dominated Future
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Retool And Invest For The Virtual
And Hybrid Event Future
The pandemic has forever redefined marketing event strategy.
COVID-19 forced marketers around the world to quickly pivot
to virtual events, and as the pandemic winds down, there’s no
returning back to “normal.”1
Digitalized events are here to stay.
Hybrid events will blend the best of both in-person and virtual
experiences.2 Marketers must reevaluate their virtual and hybrid
events strategies and technologies to successfully meet customer
expectations and achieve customer engagement, marketing, and
sales goals. Only with the right mindset and tools can marketers
successfully evolve their events from a marketing tactic to a series
of invaluable, reusable assets.
In 2020, BlueJeans commissioned a custom study from Forrester
Consulting to understand how marketers are delivering virtual and
hybrid events today
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
Key Findings
Marketers know that virtual events can deliver flexibility and analytics that in-person events can’t and plan to use virtual and hybrid events to drive customer engagement and loyalty in the future.
Two-thirds of marketers say their firms are struggling to achieve the same success from virtual events that they would get from in-person events.
Over 80% of decision-makers agree that with improvements to their virtual/ hybrid events strategies, they could achieve the same or greater success as in-person events.
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Digitizing Events Extends Flexibility, Engagement Opportunities, And Reach
Events are evolving from a marketing tactic with questionable measurable returns to a digitized customer experience that produces reusable and insight-rich marketing assets.3 Marketers recognize
that virtual events can deliver in ways that in-person events cannot. North American marketing event strategists agree that, compared to physical events, virtual events can allow for 1) greater flexibility for audiences to attend multiple sessions, 2) better event analytics, and 3) increased attendance. Hybrid events, in turn, can merge the best of both in-person and virtual events.
Going forward, marketers plan to use virtual and hybrid events to create and maintain customer interaction. Top goals for digital events in the next 12 months include increasing awareness of new products and services, driving customer engagement, and promoting brand loyalty.
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 202
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Virtual And Hybrid Events Are The Future
The future of events is virtual and hybrid. While digital events were part of some companies’ pre-pandemic event strategies, the pandemic forced everyone to go online. In a post-COVID world, virtual and hybrid events are expected to play a much larger role: Decision-makers anticipate an increase of 25%, representing two-thirds of organizations’ overall event mix.
The pandemic left marketers scrambling to figure out new virtual events strategies and to pivot their teams from working on physical events to virtual and hybrid events. After the pandemic, marketers anticipate increasing implementation of virtual events initiatives, including creating a personalization strategy, developing a new hybrid events strategy, and pivoting their events team from work on physical events to virtual and hybrid events.
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Marketers Struggle To Achieve The Same Success From Virtual Events As In-Person Events
However, two-thirds of surveyed marketers struggle to achieve the same success from virtual events that they get from in-person events: Most marketers find it challenging to replicate the interactive, compelling storytelling and lead-generating aspects of in-person events. The ramifications are clear: Over half of marketers agree that poor event delivery results in increased costs, missed opportunities, and poor CX.
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
“How challenging is it for your organization
to deliver on the following?”
Making hybrid or virtual events resemble all the interactive, human-to-human elements of an on-site event
Bringing our products, services, and story to life in a compelling format on a virtual/hybrid events platform
Effectively isolating the most engaged leads from a virtual/hybrid event to improve sales performance after the event
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Virtual/Hybrid Software Is Critical To Event Success
Choosing the right technology and knowing how to use it lie at the heart of a successful virtual or hybrid event; otherwise, event planning, content, and personalization efforts are all for naught. Nearly eight out of 10 decision-makers agree that technology platforms (78%) and tech support (79%) are critical to virtual events success.
Attendees and event staff alike are looking for flexibility and convenience, especially when accessing content and data insights. Decision-makers report the most important tech features to deliver successful virtual/hybrid events are 1) easy event registration management (87%), 2) quality video and audio (84%), 3) the ability for attendees to join on a wide range of devices (83%), 4) scalability (82%), and 5) connection to lead generation and management (82%).
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 202
“How important to your organization is each of the following tech features of your software in delivering successful virtual/hybrid events?”
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies
Note: Top 8 responses shown.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Take More Time To Choose Your Virtual/Hybrid Events Software
Despite the importance of technology, only about half of marketers are satisfied with their virtual events software. Specifically, the top three software issues marketers face are challenges with troubleshooting technical difficulties, personalizing aspects of events, and developing, managing, and delivering event content.
Marketers must be deliberate in researching and selecting the
right virtual events technology. Over half (57%) say they did not have enough time to select their virtual/hybrid events software. This is unsurprising as 61% say their organizations scrambled to purchase a virtual events platform in response to the pandemic. Even worse, a quarter of marketers are just using their existing general-purpose conferencing software to support virtual events. This lack of good tech shows: 94% of marketers have experienced issues with their current virtual/hybrid events software.
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
“Which of the following issues does your current virtual/hybrid events software have?”
Difficulty troubleshooting technical difficulties
Difficulty personalizing aspects of events
Difficulty developing, managing, and delivering
event content
Poor social networking capabilities
Difficult learning curve for use of software
Poor attendee experience
Poor navigation for attendees
Poor networking performance
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Improve Virtual/Hybrid Event Strategies To Achieve Greater Success
Over 80% of marketers agree that with improvements to their virtual and hybrid events strategies, they could achieve the same or greater success as in-person events. With better virtual/hybrid events, leaders expect significant or transformational benefits, such as a competitive advantage (80%), better customer engagement (77%), and greater brand loyalty and awareness (76%).
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
“To what extent do you expect your organization would receive the following benefits from being able to conduct better virtual/hybrid events?”
Base: 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BlueJeans, January 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Conclusion
Virtual and hybrid events are the future. They can offer greater flexibility, event analytics, and attendance. Refashioned as a personalized customer experience, digital events can be invaluable marketing assets in marketers’ toolboxes. Yet decision-makers are struggling to replicate the interactivity, storytelling, and lead surfacing aspects of in-person events due to limitations of their virtual and hybrid events software. If marketers reevaluate their mindset, strategy, and technology for virtual and hybrid events, they can untap a competitive advantage that furthers customer engagement, brand benefits, and sales opportunities.
Project Director:
Sandy Liang,
Associate Market Impact Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s Application Development
& Delivery research group
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
Optimize Your Technology And Strategy For A Virtual And Hybrid Events-Dominated Future
Methodology
This Opportunity Snapshot was commissioned by BlueJeans. To create this profile, Forrester Consulting supplemented this research with custom survey questions asked of 200 North American decision-makers of marketing event strategies. The custom survey began and was completed in January 2021.
ENDNOTES
1 A virtual event is an online experience that connects brands and services with their customers through real-time video streaming. Examples include marketing webinars, ticketed events, virtual conferences, and product launches.
2 A hybrid event combines traditional, on-site gatherings with livestreaming to maximize audience size and experience.
3 Source: “Increase B2B In-Person Event Payoff With Digital Immersion,” Forrester Research, Inc., August 14, 2019.
4 Ibid.
5 Source: “Virtual Event Experiences Position B2B Marketers For Post-Pandemic Success,” Forrester (https://www.forrester.com/fn/4m0OVdkI890VGHc2ha7hNb).
ABOUT FORRESTER CONSULTING
Forrester Consulting provides independent and objective research-based consulting to help leaders succeed in their organizations. Ranging in scope from a short strategy session to custom projects, Forrester’s Consulting services connect you directly with research analysts who apply expert insight to your specific business challenges. For more information, visit forrester.com/consulting.
© 2021, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, Technographics®, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. For additional information, go to forrester.com. [E-49921]
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY BLUEJEANS | MARCH 2021
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