Why virtual meetings and conferences will continue to thrive

MeetingPlay is a company that facilitates connections between meeting attendees and conference operators — driving interest before an event, maintaining connections during it and providing a continuing relationship afterward. Then why does Joe Schwinger, CEO, say that his go-to contact at clients has shifted from the meeting planner to the CMO?

The event industry, explained Schwinger, has experienced “an Uber moment” – meaning a fundamental shift. Just as there was a time when it was unimaginable to jump into a stranger’s car as is the case with Uber, it is now a time that companies are forced to reimagine meetings. When a deal needs to be done, said Schwinger, that will always involve a face-to-face session. Otherwise, virtual or hybrid conferences are the story for the future.

Deal-making aside, now is the time to focus on the marketing aspect and power being put into these virtual and hybrid events because of the sheer potential size of the audience. Large-scale meeting attendance has multiplied tenfold in some cases — with many “attendees” signing up just days in advance. Without having capacity limitations, ballroom size or any other constraints, attendance can leap from 10,000 to 30,000 four days before the opening speech.