The document discusses how the events industry is transitioning to focus on building virtual communities. It notes that COVID-19 accelerated existing trends of people spending more time online. Virtual events allow for larger audiences, richer data collection, and building a stronger year-round experience compared to traditional in-person events. Successful companies will transform into offering a 365-day community experience beyond singular events.

1. The Future of Events:
What's Next and Why Everyone's
Focused on Building Community
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Baptiste Boulard
CEO
Swapcard
@BaptBoulard
Un Yavanian
Strategic Acct Manager
Swapcard

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Housekeeping Notes

3. We saw a +400% growth in 6 months
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1,263 events - 2,06M attendees - 53K exhibitors used Swapcard

4. Attendees were already spending
more time online than offline
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COVID accelerated this change in our customers’ behavior
NETWORKING LEARNING
SOURCING
BUSINESS

5. COVID-19 forced us to
change our behavior
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Retail example: 35% of Americans are glad to avoid traditional, in-store shopping*
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/one-in-three-americans-happy-to-only-shop-online-2020-9?IR=T&mc_cid=26c8ec34ab&mc_eid=fa56cfea6e
Source: BCG & Google Research on B2B buyers and Marketers: survey of 1,200 B2B buyers across three industries
Participants less
likely to travel
Without treatment or vaccines,
how far from home would you
travel for a business event?
11%
Within a two-hour drive
20%
Within a four-hour drive
28%
I would not travel
10%
Within a five-hour flight
31%
Any distance
necessary if the
program was worth it.

6. What are the benefits of virtual events?
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A stronger, scalable and pandemic-proof business model
Virtual events can host
3X more attendees
than in-person events
90%
Exhibitors
75%
Attendees
Higher engagement

7. What are the benefits of virtual events?
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A stronger, scalable and pandemic-proof business model
60%
Demographic data
Behavioral data
Capture more data
Higher
margin
Lower
operating
expenses

8. Think bigger 🚀
Turn your events into a 365-day community

9. Virtual Events will be part of
a bigger Experience
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The event industry is at the beginning of a digital transformation journey
F2F EVENTS VIRTUAL HYBRID
365
INTERACTIONS
OMNICHANNEL
Business as usual
Removing event
borders
Integrated O2O2O
experience*
365-day community
experience
Marketplace
experience
BUSINESS MATURITY
STRATEGIC
VALUE
2020 - 2021 2022 - 2023
*O2O2O - offline to online to offline

10. Old World vs New World
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Community - Global Experience
Event - Silo Experience
SERVICES
CUSTOMERS
EXPERIENCE
CHANNEL
Social Feeds
All Exhibitors
& products
All members
All Event Content
Events
Data
All Events

11. Offer a 365-day experience
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Monthly virtual events with one annual in-person event
Your
Brand
Short webinars
Hosted-Buyer for Partners
Conferences
Job fairs
Watch and Learn
Discuss with peers
Discover brands
Find products to buy
Many virtual events - Online interactions Few in-person events - On-site interactions

12. What value can your community
platform offer?
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People come to
meet and
exchange with
peers
People come to
source and buy
new products &
services
People come to
learn and
discover trends
in their industry
Networking Marketplace
Media
A gathering of
people
online/onsite
Events

13. The largest brands have
a community approach
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14. Acquisition without retention is a waste of money
1. Community lowers the cost of attendee acquisition and increases retention
2. Community helps you better understand your attendees
3. Community helps you to nurture your relationships and grow your audience
My Top Takeaways
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15. What would you have
done differently?
IMAGINE
if you had been told 3 years ago that COVID-19 would hit
and that it would affect your business…
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16. THANK YOU
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