For the first time since 2020 (yes really, it has been that long!), in-person medical congresses and events are happening this season.

Some of our clients have told us they’re going ahead as normal – but truth is things aren’t quite ‘normal’.

Some have nerves around the still-significant numbers of Covid-19 in circulation, and whether that will interfere with their plans. Others who’ve invested serious money on stalls and symposia have concerns about how populated and how successful the events will be.

Ultimately, the pandemic has given us all a chance to reflect on the way we do things. What do we want to take forward, and what do we want to do differently?

Ecologically and logistically, the wisdom of sending delegates across the world for a two or three-day event has been thrown into question. As a business, we’ve certainly had a wake-up call in regard to regularly travelling on planes for meetings.

What is the solution?

As we see it, the best way forwards for brands is two-fold.

First, to create a more balanced event strategy that fuses more traditional in-person interaction (which will always be valuable and have its place) with digital offerings. Combining these offerings helps reach more people, boost attendance, and can elevate the experience for all visitors.

Secondly – though perhaps more controversially – we advocate moving to a more always-on attitude to eventing and experiential.

Always-on experiential

What would your social media strategy look like if it was over 4 weeks of the year? How would your email campaigning fare if you only sent emails out a couple of times a year?

Sounds strange, doesn’t it? The concept of restricting a certain channel of marketing to a short period of time. Yet that’s how exactly we’ve always looked at event season. A brilliant flash-in-the-pan.

But switching to digital events over the pandemic has allowed us to realise that there’s no real reason why digital experiences need to start and end with such strict dates. Indeed, if you’ve invested in content, why simply retire it after a few days?

We’re strong believers that more and more brands will move towards having digital experience hubs, where engaging digital assets combine with a more familiar booth look and feel, recorded symposia, and the ability to engage with the brand.

And we think it’ll be a real winner.

The antidote to dull events: Hyperfair

We have partnered with an incredible new e-event and e-training platform, Hyperfair.

A far cry from some of the e-conferences formats you may have shelled out for in 2020 or 2021, Hyperfair combines a huge number of engaging functionalities like chat-bots and edu-gaming with 3D visuals, avatars, and much more.

Moreover, it’s accessible and easy-to-use. Participants don’t need to download a thing, as it’s web-based. Endlessly flexible and scalable, you can custom-build the right event by putting together whichever modules and functions you require each time.

From operating theatre simulations to a virtual congress hall and auditorium, it leaves you wanting for nothing. And you can track engagement easily at any time through the digital dashboard.

If that piques your interest, let’s chat.

And if for whatever reason digital isn’t your bag, we still offer great experiential ideas and asset creation for your eventing needs. Check out our work for Rayner and ConvaTec.