Virtual Events Trends for 2024

Navigate the evolving landscape of virtual events with On-air by IDX. Explore the latest statistics and trends shaping the industry. Read on.

After a year of tentative approaches due in large part to reduced budgets, an overspend during the pandemic, and a certain amount of monotony, corporate live events are back.

Now more than ever, businesses seize the advantages of incorporating virtual events into their marketing and sales strategies, going far beyond the original results presentations. According to Grand View Research, the global virtual events market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.8 percent from 2023 to 2030, achieving $262.52 billion in value.

The On-air by IDX team can attest to that growth. We produced just under 1,000 events last year. Behind the numbers are some big changes. Every day presents a new challenge in a sector that’s in perpetual transformation but don’t worry, we can help you through it.

Here are some trends shaping the industry in 2024:

A Greater Interest in Sustainability

The events industry has been under scrutiny for its impact on the environment. Changing from in-person to virtual or hybrid is a big step in the right ESG direction -- reducing travel, which is also good for budgets, and let’s not forget about the amount of time you can save, especially if the event includes your C-suite.

Virtual events offer an opportunity to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, but choosing the right partner is crucial. Not all platforms aim to be carbon neutral. The future of virtual events will prioritise sustainability through eco-friendly practices such as virtual exhibitions and carbon offsetting.

For example, Patagonia uses renewable energy-powered platforms for hosting its virtual events, minimising the carbon footprint of the online infrastructure. Unilever, like many companies, makes event recordings readily available on-demand, reducing the need for multiple live sessions and their energy requirements. Unilever also streamlines its virtual events, optimising video resolutions, minimising graphics, and focusing on relevant content to reduce data usage and energy consumption.

Greater Personalisation

2024 is the year when Google restricts the use of third-party cookies completely, forcing businesses to make use of first-party data only (the data their audience shares with them) to create more personalised experiences. This broader trend toward personalisation is reflected in virtual events.

For example, attendees may receive more personalised recommendations for sessions or networking opportunities based on their interests and preferences. Salesforce holds its annual Dreamforce conference as a hybrid event, combining in-person and virtual experiences. The event planners use data to create personalised experiences for attendees, offering an engaging event that caters to each attendee’s interests and preferences.

Salesforce’s virtual platform features an AI-powered personalised recommendation engine that uses attendee data to suggest relevant sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Attendees can also customise their experience by creating a personalised schedule based on their preferences and interests.

In addition, Salesforce uses a digital concierge service to offer attendees personalised recommendations and assistance throughout the event.

Better Analytics

Virtual events generate vast amounts of data, and event organisers will need to start using that data to optimise future events. Analytics are available to gain insights into attendee behaviour, preferences, and engagement, enabling event planners to make data-driven decisions about future events.

For example, at IBM’s annual Think conference, the event organisers are doing exactly that. IBM’s virtual platform features advanced data analytics tools that track attendee engagement, providing event organisers with insights into attendee preferences and interests.

Better Immersion and Engagement

We are well past the days when off-the-shelf platforms such as Zoom were considered state-of-the-art in immersion. When the onset of Covid-19 caused businesses to rapidly go virtual with zero advance notice in 2020, audiences tolerated a certain amount of low-fidelity production values. But by now businesses have had time to improve. Our expectations have been raised by the experiences we’ve enjoyed in industries such as entertainment.

Engagement is crucial, and many organisers run the risk of content that is too long for online audiences. On-site experiences do not necessarily translate as-is to online audiences. Content must become tighter, more varied, and to the point. Engaging the audience with Q&A and polls is key.

At On-air by IDX, we’re exploring and adopting several ways of making events more immersive and engaging. They include:

3D immersive space: creating a virtual experience fit for your brand in our immersive platform with bespoke spaces and three-dimensional animations without the need for VR sets.
Gamification: incorporating game-like elements such as quizzes and scavenger hunts can make virtual events more engaging. Attendees can earn points or rewards for participating in different activities, encouraging more active involvement.
Live polling and Q&A sessions: real-time polling and Q&A sessions enable attendees to interact directly with speakers and panellists, making the event more interactive and responsive to the audience's interests.
Taking a leaf out of TV productions’ playbook: varied, short, and to the point will keep your audience engaged for longer. If content is long and boring, you may lose your audience after 10 minutes. If you deliver a great experience inside 30 minutes instead of expecting your audience to sit through 60 minutes of content, they’re more likely to stay with you and engage with you the entire time. Think quality, not quantity of time spent. So, even though your event is reduced from 60 minutes to 30 minutes, you will not lose your audience after 10 minutes. People are more likely to commit to a shorter time frame up front.
Changing it up: Is a general presentation with your leadership and VPs really the best way to keep your stakeholders informed? One size does not fit all in your audience, and you may be better off having an in-depth technology panel to expound on the finer details of a product, or an explainer session with the operations team on-site at your plant.

These methods and technologies not only enhance the attendee experience but also expand the reach of events, making them accessible to a global audience, and they provide valuable data insights for the hosting organizations. However, they do incur a certain amount of risk. Businesses will need to redouble their efforts to provide a durable, secure platform that accommodates these kinds of experiences -- which is what On-air by IDX provides.

Learn More

Want to learn more? I invite you to download The Ultimate Guide to Corporate Virtual Events, which is based on the in-depth experiences of On-air by IDX. Learn more about On-air by IDX on our website.