How to Save the Events Industry in 10 Days

By Alison Baringer English, CFEE

Well wouldn’t this be a feat?! I am sorry to say this article will not, in fact, teach you how to save the events industry in 10 days. You should definitely read that article if you find it. However, it IS the task I felt was assigned to us when beginning our journey on the IFEA Covid-19 Task Force, Re-Presenting Events. We were about four months into the pandemic and, in true event industry norm – event professionals all across the world were showcasing the rock stars that they are by orchestrating re-presented events all across the globe. How were we ever going to collect all the information needed to safely guide others to save their events?

There were so many variables. Too many, honestly. Events of all sizes, with varying budgets, different staff support. Relationships with sponsors, communities, and stakeholders on all different levels. Covid-19 restrictions of varying intensities. Events with different missions – does re-presenting your event even still support that mission? And the final important question…just because we can pivot to a re-presented event…should we?

It was overwhelming to start, in all honesty. But thankfully we had a solid team of volunteers; event professionals just like you and I who saw an opportunity to help lead the charge in these chaotic times. Major props for all these helpers who stepped in when, just like the rest of us, their worlds were falling apart around them. These are the people who run in when everyone else is running out.

So what, exactly, is a re-presented event? We decided to start our research journey by pulling out examples of what we felt were re-presented events already happening around us. By the end of the first few weeks, we had 26 re-presented events we chose to shine some spotlights on. From there, we divided these into what “type” of re-represented event each was. Below you will find the five categories we divided these into, along with some key considerations and notable examples of each.

Reverse Formatting

Essentially defined as taking an existing event directly to the consumer at home with some type of direct consumer engagement.

• Concepts require minimal expense but can be labor intensive with staff or volunteers.

• Parking parade elements in various parts of a community is a safer and more effective strategy than attempting to take parade elements and drive them through parts of a community.

Notable Examples:

• Portland Rose Festival, Portland, OR - Parading in Place/Porch Parade

• National Cherry Festival, Traverse City MI - Porch Parade

• Home Builders Association of Metro Portland, OR - Portland Housing Month featuring the Fall Home + Garden Show “In Your Neighborhood Edition” (window displays)

Drive-In Entertainment

Defined as consumers using their own vehicle and staying within the vehicle to engage in some form of event experience.

• Concepts require amount of physical space and come with a larger expense model.

• Safety protocols need to be part of event plan along with specific event management plans that come with creating an assembly.

Notable Examples:

• Boijmans Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands – Drive Through Museum

• Pop-Up Drive-In Theatres

• Halloween themed haunted drive through experiences

Food Experiences

Producing elements of food and beverage that normally would be the featured attraction of a mass gathering and packaging into a COVID safe format. Specific mechanisms found to be successful included drive by food vending and customized packaged home delivery in a format customized for a particular event.

• Great way to keep local food and beverage establishments engaged with some economic value.

• Notable way to maintain food and beverage sponsorship support.

• Notably high on labor via staff time or volunteer support.

• Make sure you are familiar with state mailing protocols and laws if you produce an “Experience in a Box.”

Notable Examples:

• South Florida Fair – West Palm Beach, FL

• Yakima Fair Food Fest - Yakima, WA

• North Carolina Seafood Festival - Morehead City, NC

Virtual

By far, the most replicated event concept created in the first few months after the pandemic hit. Each one is customized to a particular producer.

• Despite the overall desire to produce virtually, not every event is transferable to a virtual format. Some events should be parked instead of virtual.

• Are greatly beneficial for maintaining a public presence and delivering sponsors benefits over a digital space.

• Wide range of effective technology tools available depending on budget and staff/volunteer resources.

• Ongoing effort is needed to define how you monetize the virtual space.

• Virtual Runs and Walks dominate the virtual event landscape and show promise of significant monetary return.

Notable Examples:

• Major League Sports – Virtual fan video boards for the NBA, virtual fans seated in MLB stadiums

• Virtual Performances

• Virtual Fundraising Galas

• Home Builders Association of Metro Portland, OR - Portland Housing Month

• 500 Festival - Mini Marathon and expanded running events, Indianapolis, IN

• Hood to Coast Relay - Oregon

Hybrid

Essentially defined as an alternative festival in a scaled back format to meet specific health guidelines for a particular local jurisdiction.

• The concept that emerged months after the pandemic hit and will likely be the most widely used event model.

• Think Simple- Avoid deviating from basics that make your existing event successful.

• Think Mission-Driven - Does the activity continue to meet the mission of the organization?

• Effective model for small VIP experiences that can be produced using social distancing guidelines.

Notable Examples:

• Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade - NYC, NY

• MusikFest, Bethleham, PA

• City of Frisco, Texas – Multiple small format events

Now that we had a solid understanding of some of the more popular styles of re-presenting, we needed to come up with some guidelines for the decisionmaking process.

Our committee outlined the following factors and considerations for decision-making when it comes to re-presenting an event.

Strategic Considerations

• Risks vs. Rewards

• Does it align with the mission of the organization/original event?

• What is the sentiment of the community the event/organization serves?

• Is the timing right?

• Landscape of competing events?

• Can these efforts be built upon into the future?

• Do these efforts advance the sustainability of the organization?

• Understand that preparation/planning will constantly be evolving.

I would like to pause a minute to pull out this last bullet, “Understand that preparation/planning will constantly be evolving.” As I sit here writing this article, just shy of a full year of dealing with a pandemic as an events planner, THIS may be the hardest one for me personally. I know, we are used to last-minute changes and evolutions; this is a skill our industry excels at. However, I have realized just how hard it is for me to have so few projects I can put a “finished” next to, a full complete period…stop…the end. Event professionals like to see and to feel their final product, we like to live in our event and soak in the final product of all our hard work. See the lights and sights all around us, hear the crowd noises and laughter…heck – we shoot off fireworks in celebration of our completed work!

So personally, this one has been difficult. I like to use the following analogy – I’m like a cat that someone is teasing with a laser pointer. My focus is continually being diverted and what ends up happening is my head just keeps spinning and spinning. But… we keep on planning!

Notes on Risk vs. Reward

Guiding Questions to Ask

Financial Impact:

• What are the costs?

• Can the reconfigured event remain financially viable with new format?

• Can you retain or bring on sponsors to help support? (especially important if ROI is a key factor)

• Legal Issues?

• Is there a charge for the event or will it be free of charge?

• Will the existing sponsorship model work for the re-imagined event?

• Are there any legal and insurance requirements?

Marketing:

• Does it align with the organization/ event brand?

• Are there competitor’s events? If so, how might this affect results?

• What is the purpose of the event?

• Who is the audience?

• What types of advertising and media support will be necessary?

• What would be the interest of the media? Media coverage opportunities?

Operations/Procedures:

• Assess Risk Management (Costs, Community Requirements, Legal)

• Availability of/Buy-in from Volunteers, BOD, Town, Fire, Police, Health Department, etc.

• What is the right venue?

• What are the safety restrictions on events in your state as health and safety measures are considered right now?

• Access to technology for new virtual elements?

Programming:

• When is the best timing?

• Is the new or re-presented event relevant to the Festival’s mission?

• What new or existing partnerships can you leverage to help with new format?

• Will the event be able to be iconic, engaging and relevant?

• Venue options.

• Pick a solid decision date – if you go beyond that, risk increases.

Staffing/Admin:

• What is the predicted staff time?

• Do you have adequate human resources (staff and/or volunteers) to make the event happen?

• Available volunteer support?

• Identify available contractors to support if needed.

At this point we felt we had solid guidelines and considerations for the decision-making process for re-presenting an event. Our committee then had a desire to look at things from a more academic, high-level viewpoint. Below are a few additional considerations for your decision-making process.

Consumer Psychology A sub-committee on our task force delved into consumer psychology and its changing landscape as to how this would affect our future events. Four areas of consumer behavior emerged as patterns and behavioral changes that could have an impact on the events industry:

• New consumer purchasing patterns have emerged due to necessity. The ways we shop and how we spend money have now changed, and these changes are likely to continue post pandemic because patterns

have now been established and are almost “normal” now. How events and festivals interact with ticket holders and attendees can be impacted by these changing patterns.

• Social dynamics, especially those in group settings, have adjusted to meet the pandemic restraints. Changing social interactions, interpersonal behaviors and lifestyle adjustments have all emerged. These changes could be massively impactful to festivals and events which rely on group gatherings, dynamics, and interactions.

• Consumers are more fearful, more uncertain and may lack trust (in general) coming off this pandemic, which will undoubtedly breed new behaviors that will stick post pandemic. How events handle these sensitive issues including safety and well-being of their attendees (and sponsors/partners) will be critical.

• Social justice issues and mental health awareness are now more prominently and openly discussed in society during this pandemic. Events will need to have strategies to show support,

Key Sponsorship Takeaways

As sponsorships are the banks behind most of our events, we also had a sub-committee dedicated to working out key sponsorship aspects and how they relate to re-presented events in the pandemic world.

• It always comes down to relationships.

• Enhanced internal and external communications are key.

• Develop new categories of sponsorship for those companies (entities) that are less (or more) financially impacted during the pandemic.

• Never underestimate the value of in-kind sponsorship or donations.

• Must consider new benefits for sponsors. Think more media assets, VIP treatment, and exclusivity.

• Look for alternative funding sources within a sponsoring company.

• Sponsors appreciate future and forward-thinking planning.

• Sponsors appreciate contingency plans for addressing changing environment now.

• Sponsors care deeply about events’ social justice and political alignments and safety plans.

So here we are, we made it to the end of this re-presenting journey. I doubt we can say we know how to save the events industry in 10 days, but we do have a solid foundation for our decision-making process for event life in the pandemic world. As stated at the top of this article, every event has an infinite number of variables that, when plugged into the considerations above, make your decision-making process unique. We wish there was a straight answer, but we can’t give that to you. We will leave you with a few guiding principles…and send some virtual fireworks your way to cheer you on.

Guiding Principles

Ultimately, the decision to re-present an event should achieve the following:

• Aligns with the mission and brand of the organization/event

• Rewards exceed risks

• Advances or contributes to the sustainability and financial health of the organization/event

• Provides positive impact on the community served

• Engages current audience and potentially reaches new audiences

• Provides opportunities of growth for the organization

Footnote: HUGE thanks to the Covid-19 Re-Presenting Task Force; much of this information and these words came straight from our committee’s work. A second, smaller thanks to the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days; an exciting fictional scientific study into relationships, and the inspiration for this article’s title.

Alison Baringer English, CFEE is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. She is a Leadership Wilmington graduate of 2013 and was President of the Junior League of Wilmington in 2014-2015. In 2019, Alison was selected into the inaugural class of the WilmingtonBiz 100, an initiative of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal to recognize the top power players, influencers, innovators, and connectors in the region. The Star News selected Alison as a Top 40 Under 40 business leader in 2020. Alison currently serves on the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA) Foundation Board as Chair-Elect and the UNC-Wilmington Alumni Board on the Executive Committee in the role of Secretary.

The IFEA Covid-19 Re-Present Task Force was are a collaborative effort by the Committee Chairs and the work of their committee team members including:

• Committee Co-Chair: Jeff Curtis, CEO, Portland Rose Festival Foundation

• Committee Co-Chair: Alison Baringer English, CFEE, Executive Director, North Carolina Azalea Festival

• Serri Ayers, City of Richardson

• Cara Blackmon Harting, City of Frisco

• Karen Churchard, CFEE, City of Scottsdale

• Mark Demko, ArtsQuest

• Jay Downie, CFEE Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives

• Kevin Grothe, Memphis in May

• Sharon Hoffman, Sunfest

• Andrea Hostetler, National Cherry Blossom Festival

• Kasey Kelly, Midland County Fair

• Hayden Kramer, City of Indian Trail

• Diana Mayhew, CFEE, National Cherry Blossom Festival

• Stephanie McIntryre, CFEE, The North Carolina Seafood Festival

• Debbie Rinckey, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce

• Lisa Tovar, City of Henderson

• Rachel Trice, CFEE, Portland Metro Home Builders Association

• Heather Tzairi-Blackham, Comcast, Denver Colorado Mkt.

• Joe Vera, CFEE, City of McAllen

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