Zipevent touts hybrid events
Virtual engagement creates opportunity
Hybrid online and offline events could be a new business opportunity for organisers as more people can join from anywhere online, says local event organiser startup Zipevent.
Parote Denskoon, chief executive and co-founder of Zipevent, said for offline events, the number of people in attendance may shrink because of the pandemic, while allocated space could decrease as a result of social distancing.
“As we help our clients go online, the audience and engagement for those who cannot physically come to the event increases. I think this is the new trend,” he said.
These are called hybrid events, presenting online and offline features for the audience.
Even people in foreign countries can join events, said Mr Parote.
“This is a new opportunity. If we can provide this service for customers, they will benefit,” he said.
An online feature could help complement offline events in the post-pandemic world, said Mr Parote.
The event organising business has taken a severe hit from the pandemic this year, with events postponed or cancelled starting from February.
During the crisis, he said Zipevent switched to providing services for webinars and virtual conference, as well as live events. The company had to optimise costs, proceed with marketing campaigns and reskill the workforce during the crisis.
For online events, Zipevent had to train employees on how to deal with live and streaming features.
“This required vigorous adjustment,” said Mr Parote.
He was speaking at a recent online seminar about startups dealing with the pandemic organised by District C, which is a startup hub under the National Innovation Agency.
According to Mr Parote, as the pandemic is taking a heavy toll on the event business and pushing Zipevent into survival mode, cash flow is being closely monitored.
He said there is still demand for online events and Zipevent would like to respond to this call.