It's time to rethink what the word "event" means in an almost post-pandemic world.

A long time ago, or more concretely before February 2020, it was a pretty safe bet that experiential marketers regarded an "event" as something organized to bring people together...in-person.

Yet somehow, events carried on over the past year, thanks to creativity and resiliency.

We saw brands use music and art to safely engage consumers from a distance. "Follow along" tutorials were deployed as fun, memorable activities. With the help of sponsorships and safe event design, going to a movie all of the sudden became a multisensory, outdoor novelty. And there are plenty of other examples beyond these.

Would these have been called events in the pre-pandemic time period? Probably not. But they were very much events—successful ones even, and for that reason, we think they're here to stay!

So, let's expand the meaning of the word "event," because it's time to accelerate these new strategies that experiential marketers were forced to create. They carried the weight while in-person wasn't possible, so their effectiveness is to be embraced.

Speaking of effectiveness, measurement and insights are just as important to this new world of events as in-person ones. Many of our clients have already begun scoring their new virtual strategies, and their performance compared to the in-person events they replaced has been truly eye opening.

Bottom line...with many new approaches to engaging consumers, it's critical to understand which type of event optimizes lead generation and consumer engagement.

How are you evaluating the new engagement strategies created in the past year?