We learned a lot about ourselves and how we communicate and engage over lockdown. Technology made it easy to collaborate from near and far, which was positive, yet good old-fashioned face-to-face communication certainly has its place.
Events are a powerful way to connect and engage and have conversations that matter. We are operating in an uncertain environment which can be destabilising for staff, customers, partners and other stakeholders. The need to communicate and connect in times of change is higher than normal to protect engagement, trust, loyalty and sales.
Many organisations switched to virtual events in the COVID era. However, can they be just as effective as face-to-face engagements? The benefit of online conversations is that they can provide greater access due to lower admission and travel costs, they reduce environmental impacts and enable organisations to invest more into speakers, content and frequency.
Acumen focuses on the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of events. What do you hope to achieve and why would people want to attend? Our approach is to maximise the impact of events by campaigning them so the conversation and engagement continues in the lead up to, during and after the events themselves.
Importantly, ensuring events are interactive and two-way is key. There is a raft of online and in-person mechanisms to help get a read on audiences, where they are at and what they want and need to know.
New Zealand is a small, intimate market and bringing people together – whether in person or online – is a powerful way to collaborate and expedite outcomes. Events are an effective way of experiencing brands and strengthening relationships. Done right, they provide a platform to proactively capture compelling content to help share stories through owned, earned and paid channels, which is even more important in an environment where the media landscape is shrinking.
