how comfortable are media with in-person events?
We’re no strangers to ambiguity these days, and everyone has varying levels of comfort as we decipher our new normal. COVID aside, we’ve seen the events landscape evolving in recent years as well. So rather than just guess who might show up to our events, or if we should stay virtual, we reached out to some of our closest contacts in the media to get an idea of how comfortable they are with attending in-person events.
Findings:
Simply put, people are still hesitant to attend in-person events, but they are optimistic that they’ll be more comfortable in the spring and summer. That said, there are a couple of key nuances that we’ll explore below.
how comfortable are the media right now? in the coming months?
Our survey went out to journalists in January, as the surge in the Omicron variant of COVID was very much on people’s minds, which unsurprisingly yielded more than half of our respondents on the less-comfortable end of the spectrum. As we moved the timeframe to spring, then summer, this number shrank from nearly 60% to 48%. By summer, 55% of our journalists surveyed said that they would be comfortable attending in-person events.
While we see some optimism here, it's important to recognize that a large percentage of people still have misgivings. Continuing to offer virtual options and finding creative solutions will continue to be a part of our work and lives for the foreseeable future. In fact, some people may never return to these events. One journalist told us, “I doubt I'll ever attend a show like OR again. I mean it's fun to see people face-to-face, but it's a pain to come out from the east coast.”
“I miss in-person press events but it’s difficult to plan ahead with the uncertainty of COVID... If in-person events are going to be organized, I think it’s best for everyone involved to follow an established protocol.”
what considerations do the media want for events?
So, we know events are beginning to return, but how do we make sure that we make as many people as possible feel good about attending? One common theme was the desire for clear and consistent policies established and communicated beforehand. Different places have different policies and everyone has their own personal views, which can make this feel a bit confusing. The important takeaway is to have a policy in place and have it visible throughout the event process. This can be anything from masks required to social distancing or verifying vaccination.
“My level of comfort drastically varies between indoor and outdoor events. I’m pretty much 100 percent comfortable outside, even with 10+ people there. Indoors, however, I’m a bit more gun-shy.”
event size & indoors vs. outdoors
The size of an event has a pretty large effect on how comfortable folks are in attending. 55% of the media we surveyed told us that they are only comfortable with attending small events, with 10 people or less. 31% were okay with medium events with 10-50 people, and only 14% said they’d attend large events. Some folks elaborated, saying “My level of comfort drastically varies between indoor and outdoor events. I'm pretty much 100 percent comfortable outside, even with 10+ people there. Indoors, however, I'm a bit more gun-shy.”
takeaways
Events may never be the same again, and for a lot of people, that is okay. It does mean that we need to continually check-in, rethink our approach, and be ready to accommodate various needs. Being adaptable and always learning will be a major differentiator going forwards for all brands, agencies, and media.