ELE in Conversation with Lisa Davis

ON VIRTUAL SPONSOR BUY-IN, LESSONS LEARNED DURING COVID-19, AND THE WAY FORWARD FOR ‘NEW NORMAL’ EVENTS.

Last week, Erin sat down (virtually) with a friend, event sponsorship specialist, and new ELE partner, Lisa Davis. Despite the chaotic times we are living in and the uncertainty facing the events industry, Lisa presented a vision of opportunity that we, as event pros, can take to work to be smarter and provide more value to our sponsors and attendees. 

First of all, what are you seeing from a sponsor sales perspective? What are sponsors looking for, what are sponsors struggling with? Are you seeing a difference between for-profit and not-for-profit sponsors? 

Across the board, you are seeing a hesitance to put money down. Very few, maybe 10% of what you’d normally see, are out there really putting money down into 2022. The struggle here is that they are just not seeing as many sales opportunities at these things. [For non-profits], they are just seeing their budgets tighten as fundraising dips. 

So, knowing this general slow down and uncertainty, what are sponsors looking for in events? Sales? Speaking roles? Has what they are looking for changed due to COVID?

It has not changed. They really want to be part of the content, be seen as industry experts, even more so now if anything. The idea of being a speaker at an event is very attractive to sponsors, particularly in a world without all of the in-person opportunities to close the sale. Sponsors want an opportunity to network. As far as branding is concerned? Eh. I don’t think it’s as important to sponsors as we sometimes think it is. The bottom line is that they have to come away from an event with sales. Even in virtual. 

As we continue to evolve the large-scale virtual event, we’re seeing a lot more pre-event engagement. Are you finding that sponsors are interested in the opportunity in the longer engagement timeline of virtual events?  

There is some interest in that, but definitely not at the same level that you’d see at a live event. In a live event, they’d be setting up sales appointments and intake calls ahead of time, and we’re just not seeing the same level of engagement with virtual. 

Our conversation turned to the role that programmers and content producers can play for sponsors and exhibitors. Programmers have the power to connect the dots - connect audiences to the sponsors who have the solutions that they need. Sponsor salespeople know the market best, they know what’s really important right now to audiences. And of course, we can’t forget our exhibitors. 

So let’s talk about our tried and true exhibitors because while we love our sponsors we can’t forget our exhibit halls. What are you seeing there? Are virtual exhibit halls working? 

Well, although these “virtual exhibit halls” are staying open after events, no one is visiting the exhibitor hall after the event - and they’re getting little traction from pop up forms or other digital means of collecting attendee information and interest. Generally, whereas at an in-person event you’d cast a wide net, we’re seeing that’s not working in the virtual space. 

What do you think the fix is there?

I think in-person is more about quantity, not necessarily quality. There’s an opportunity here for exhibitors and sponsors to have more targeted lists. That is, find those connection points where they are meeting people who are already interested or in need of their services instead of handing out branded swag to thousands of people in an exhibit hall, most of whom won’t even stick around to hear their pitch. I think there’s an opportunity to segment the exhibit hall in a more digital way. 

Are there any advantages to virtual events that you can see from an exhibitor's perspective?

I think that in some ways, moving large conferences virtual lowers the barrier to entry for an exhibitor to participate. It’s not cheap for a company to be an exhibitor at an in-person event. Overall, it’s a huge turning point for the industry and an opportunity to bring a lot of smaller players to the table. Think of it this way, a minimum cost for an exhibitor at a live event is around $10,000. Not including the booth, tchotchkes, travel, hotel, and all of the other expenses that add up around that! I also think that if you do the legwork, there’s a greater opportunity to micro-target those customers that have the highest potential to convert to a sale. 

We wrapped up our conversation looking at the big picture, the overall impact that our new normal has had on the events industry and the way forward. 

What is your overall takeaway from the last 6 months as you look at the events industry? 

After 25 years in the industry, I’d say my overall takeaway is that we all need to be more supportive of the content we’re producing and value it at a higher level than we have been. We have conferences right now that are $100, but that content is worth a lot more than $100. As an industry, we have to get back to valuing these events. For example, I’ve worked on a few conferences that can be $2,000, $3,000, even $4,000, suddenly we’re seeing $200, $300 tickets. That’s undervaluing the content that the conference is providing! The same thing should apply to exhibitors and sponsors. You’re paying to play, to be connected to the audiences and resources that have been carefully curated for you. With virtual, you can add that virtual community, it can be a whole new revenue stream. There’s lots of opportunity to create value here, so I’d hate to see us as an industry continue to undervalue this much-needed content and connection. 

What does the way forward look like? 

We’re hoping that attendance at live events will increase in 2022, but I think there’s a tremendous opportunity for hybrid events in the meantime that can continue on once we’re back in person. It’s another way of adding value to the experience. Especially for smaller exhibitors that can’t go to a $10,000 show - they now have opportunities to participate and add more value to the conference. The same goes for attendees. Like I said, the barrier to entry can be lowered if we’re smart about how we move forward. 

Any final thoughts? 

Look, COVID threw the whole industry for a loop. But I believe that with adversity comes opportunity. I think we all got comfortable with the way events were held, so we as an industry were due for a shake-up. You have to adapt, you have to think, embrace new technologies...it’s kind of exciting! I also think that when events do come back, people will be hungry for live events, and I am hoping we’ll be ready for them when they do, back and better than before. 

Overall, our conversation was one of opportunity and hope for the future of our industry. At ELE, we are continuing to adapt and find ways to engage all participants in events - from sponsors to speakers to attendees to exhibitors. Whether in-person or virtual, experts like Lisa Davis help us create those meaningful moments that make exceptional events.