The past year has been a roller coaster for the events industry. With the initial cancellation of all on-ground events, virtual events worked as immunity boosters for the industry. Event organisers are betting on enhancing virtual experiences that are much more expressive and immersive. With technological disruptions in the sector, virtual events are predicted to stay even after the pandemic subdues.

Ticketing platform- Paytm Insider has taken the pandemic as a blessing in disguise to further build capabilities on its platform and to help creators engage more meaningfully with their fans.

In an interaction with BW Marketing World, Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder & CEO, Paytm Insider shares what worked well for the industry in the year, his plans and outlook for 2021 and more.

Excerpts:

Q1. How has the year 2020 been for Paytm Insider?

In March we were posed with a bunch of challenges from cancellation of live events, to translating what was earlier a physical experience into an engaging digital format. We'd been quick to move and update our event publishing and ticketing solution, helping organisers take their events online in 3 simple steps. This move, along with our early efforts to develop digital events starting last year, has helped us scale up digital events swiftly. The focus for the events sector is now on further developing the ability to deliver a great experience for fans in new and interactive digital formats.

Q2. How has the impact of the pandemic been on the sector? What worked well for the events industry?

Digital events is currently a one-time engagement format, similar to a physical experience - a person buys a ticket and heads over to the platform, attends the event, and comes back for another. Given the nature of consumption has changed, the next step is to explore events assisted by new technology and monetisation formats which enable fans and creators to continue to stay engaged over longer periods of time. This could take the form of the erstwhile, “season pass” for physical events changing to subscription to events and communities. 

The other opportunity is on the creative side. By its nature, an event is a shared social experience. We believe digital events shouldn’t aim to be a replica of physical events. The experience of a digital event can be richer than it is currently, with more two-way interactions with the audience and between the audience. This gives way for different show formats to experiment and further their experience. A recent example of this is the BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender that gave an immersive and seamless festival experience to over 50,000 fans from across the country. This opens up possibilities for what digital events look like going forward.

Q3. How has the response to digital events been from the audience?

Over the last few months, we have hosted 10,000+ digital events providing technical expertise along with pricing and marketing insights to assist organisers in building these formats. With the understanding that the consumer mindset is one of learning, growth and wellness at this time, we expanded the range of events available to consumers in these categories, even as we have continued to provide new digital experiences in live music and comedy. One will now find a range of digital workshops from yoga and meditation, to financial planning workshops, theatres, dance, and courses on building your own business, marketing and more. 60% of the events we list now are workshops focused. 

Q4. As things are slowly going back to normal, how do you see the future of offline events?

Even as offline events come back, it’s still going to take some time for it to return to the scale it was Pre-Covid. We think digital events will continue to exist as they allow a greater number of people to interact with artists and ideas simply by removing the limitation of reaching a set location. This is an opportunity to grow attending audiences from a local to a global scale. We also see hybrid variations of physical events and digital events going forward.

Q5. What are some of your plans for the year 2021? Also, tell us your outlook for the upcoming year?

We will continue to stay focused on delivering the full scale and experience of what a digital event could be in the upcoming year. We are further building capabilities on our platform to help creators engage more meaningfully with their fans and helping organisers create more engaging digital formats for their communities.

2021 looks promising for the events sector as more and more organisers are adapting to outdoor events with the government safety guidelines. We can see a combination of digital as well as offline experiences being available for people to choose from.