Speaking at a virtual event, organised by The Economic Times India, the Virtual Events Institute’s CEO, Sophie Ahmed, gave a keynote talk on monetizing digital events.
In the session, part of the global ETBrandEquity Event Tech Virtual Summit, Ahmed shared her insights on hybrid events.
She said: “As the industry develops and hybrid becomes a certainty, the more an event can perfect the virtual component and master the art of monetization through digitization, it will create additional long-term revenue streams.
“Hybrid will allow us to generate new data with no global restrictions, tap into new sectors with less entry barriers and increase the opportunity to funnel into bigger ticket items.”
Ahmed also spoke about the purpose of events. She explained that there are fundamentally two core objectives. “The first one is to create a marketplace for buyers and sellers to come together and do business, so events facilitate business and networking.
“The second main objective is to create a platform for content, to facilitate knowledge, education and sharing of best practice. It is about creating the vision for the future of that industry together.”
Ahmed went on to explore monetization and the importance of community building, sponsorship, delegates, content, data and, of course, hybrid.
On the hot topic of communities, she told the audience: “Community building is event building. Create an omnichannel approach to events. It is a way to generate both indirect and direct revenue. Communities will interact through the combination of virtual and face-to-face experiences in ways that will increase return on investments and improve efficiencies. It is about taking an always-on approach, which will drive new revenues.”