VouchPro was founded in 2016 and today it is one of India’s fastest-growing virtual and hybrid events service providers.VouchPro offers one-stop-solution for its customers as it provides an array of services right from virtual and hybrid events including live streaming solutions, video APIs, and digital activations, and customer engagement enablers.
Manish Singh, co-founder & MD, VouchPro, in an exclusive chat with Medianews4U talks about the growth of the virtual events industry, enabling banks to reach out to their customers and much more.
How has the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown affected the Events Industry?
COVID-19 had an impact on almost all aspects of life. Naturally, the events business was one of the most hit by the pandemic. Many important festivals, athletic events, exhibits, and concerts were cancelled in 2020 to halt the spread of the illness. However, the pandemic has put us in a new sphere where leading virtual lives has become the new normal. This is where hybrid events come into the limelight. To start, hybrid events are events that can engage both physical as well as virtual audiences alike. To put it simply, these events are a mix of in-person and live events.
Now though the country is opening up, how are you seeing the events industry shaping up?
The post-pandemic world has confirmed the bright future of business engagements through strategically planned virtual events. As we all know, virtual events were positively affecting business engagements even in the pre-pandemic world. In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed a large-scale adoption of virtual events. Businesses are now facing unique challenges, yet this is the time to understand how to shape the future with virtual events. The adoption of virtual events and their popularity growth comes from a higher level of communications and interactions, with the undeniable potential of positive business growth.
How different are Virtual events from physical events?
Digital events provide better ROI and audience insights than physical events ever could, hence they complement and supplement a digital-first approach. Companies are shifting to a digital-first, hybrid engagement model to bring all the benefits of digital engagement to their physical events and extend reach to audiences of any size, anywhere in the world — no matter if they’re in-person or virtual.
How has the industry innovated the offerings in the virtual world?
Integration of artificial intelligence and mixed reality in virtual events has made things even better. From conferences to award shows, to meetings and whatnot, AI-powered bots drive virtual partnerships for audiences and deliver customer engagement because of the personalized experience they offer. Adapting technologies like machine learning helps in observing and learning customer behaviour to enhance engagement. With the use of mixed reality, the content is being made more interesting and intuitive.
How are you ensuring attendance? Also, how do you monetize virtual events?
One of the most successful ways to increase event attendance is personalized communication like sending interactive and exciting content through social media, SMS, emails, personalized calls, etc. Monetization may be achieved in two ways, by connecting users, or rather buyers, with sellers. Apart from this, Sponsorship opportunities in virtual events also help organizers to monetize the events. Additionally, selling ad space can be used to start a business.
Are sponsors open to partner virtual events?
Yes, sponsors are open to partner with virtual events. The kind of eyeballs brands can get in virtual events is immense. By involving sponsors in virtual events increases ROI. Such sponsors can aid in gaining exposure in the event sector as a whole.
What is the way forward for the industry on the whole?
The coming year will see the increased adoption of Hybrid Events, a mix of virtual and online events. The culmination will reap benefits for the brand and give a new addition to the essence of experiential marketing. Hybrid events will be an essential tool for helping brands stand out from the noise. It is safe to say that the disruption of virtual events has reinvented experiential marketing. Virtual events have provided memorable experiences for attendees, making an event impactful by connecting with participants and taking it beyond a computer screen. It’s time to experience an event virtually and then give a definitive answer.
