A Splitting of the Events Industry

After serving thousands of events over the last 6 years, we’ve seen and played a part in the many shifts in the ways people meet. It goes without saying though that no one in our industry, or outside it, expected the events of the last 18 months and the incredible scale of change left in its wake. COVID-19 has, perhaps, forever changed the way humans meet, and hopefully for the better.

A trend we’re very clearly noticing now is a splitting of the events industry. There are countless events that have determined that they are never going to go back to in-person experiences and have discovered that the cost, accessibility, reach, sustainability and future outlook of virtual experiences is where they want to invest. There are just as many events itching to get back in-person, as they’ve determined that there is simply no replacing the physical experience of meeting face to face, and at most are contemplating some sort of a hybrid event format but definitely not virtual-only.

For us, we’re thrilled and excited about both paths. There is merit and logic to both, and anyone that argues one is better than the other has not been to enough events to realize that every event has its own energy, culture and goals and there’s no one-size fits all approach.

Returning to In-Person Safer Than Before

As countless events do return on-site, we are eager to be at the forefront of their long-awaited return by providing as many technological solutions as possible to make the experience safe and meaningful.

We’re so excited to announce that we have integrated a one-click function in PheedLoop OnSight (our on-site check-in and badge printing kiosk experience) that allows you to embed a COVID-19 screening survey directly into the check-in flow for your attendees.

Starting next week, in your event’s dashboard in the Forms & Surveys section, you will be able to click a single button to generate and attach a COVID-19 screening survey to OnSight.

Attendees will be able to rapidly answer questions, and with built-in conditional logic will be alerted if their responses determine that they should not enter the event. The COVID-19 screening survey will be 100% customizable, so you can adjust the questions and logic as you please.

You can couple this with our touchless check-in feature as well, so that there is an absolute minimum of physical contact required when checking in as all attendees need to do is scan their eBadge sent via email or in their mobile event app.

Why is Screening for COVID-19 Important?

It’s tough to argue that there is a cloud of uncertainty, still, for attendees wanting to return to in-person events. A cloud that may take years to fully lift, or may forever change attendee behavior. The key in the short-term is to inspire confidence, and demonstrate to your event’s stakeholders that you are taking the health and safety at your event seriously. Naturally, this starts at the gate. Screening for COVID-19 will:

• Help you comply with local rules and regulations
• Provide attendees with confidence that you are considering their health and safety
• Reduce risk and liability by helping minimize the chance of an outbreak at your event
• Prepare your event in case there is a spike in COVID cases in your area
• Provide your stakeholders like exhibitors, speakers, and even your own staff with confidence
• Assist with contact tracing should it be required
• Help you play a role in reducing the spread of COVID-19

It’s important to keep in mind that screening for COVID-19 is not a silver bullet or perfectly accurate. We’re glad to offer this an option for you to add another tool to your arsenal, but it is just one of many tools you should consider to keep your event safe.

Next Steps

Regardless of which side of the issues you are on when it comes to measures to combat COVID-19, our goal is to provide you with as many options as possible given the surging demand from the events industry.

With an increasing number of countries, states, provinces, and territories introducing vaccine passports, you can expect us to roll out features to help you track vaccine passports as well in the not too distant future.

Attendee a Free PheedLoop Powered Event - October 7th

If you'd like to learn more about this and countless other new products and features to help your events be they hybrid, in-person, or virtual, then you won't want to miss the free PheedLoop Gamechangers Summit happening this October 7th. Learn more and register here!