How Publishers Plan to Recoup Lost Event Revenue

For all the talk of lower overheads and limitless audience size, the truth is very few companies have been able to make the same amount of money from virtual events. But as more publishers plan in-person events for the fall, recouping that revenue while holding onto the benefits of virtual events is now in sight. Condé Nast is planning 500 virtual and in-person events this year, after hosting 400 in 2020. The publisher is bullish it will reach 2019 levels of event revenue by 2022, said Eric Johnson, senior vice president of global commercial marketing and events. “People are eager to get in front of their favorite band, to show up to a cooking class or attend a thoughtful panel discussion around a cultural topic in a hall in New York City,” said Johnson. “We have a unique opportunity and we’re putting in place the support structure and team to capitalize on that.” In previous times, some publishers generated up to a third of their revenue from events, recouping that through sponsorship and ticket sales for virtual equivalents has been a challenge. Less than 40% of event professionals have been able to pivot from in-person to virtual profitably, according to research from events firm EventMB. About 60% of planners will recoup less than 25% of lost revenue for 2020. Only 8% expect to recoup more than 75%. For a lot of companies, these numbers do not support a comeback, leading many to experiment with variable ticket pricing, especially in the consumer-facing category. Source: Splash Over the last year, the price companies charge for virtual events has wildly varied, according to Ben Hindman, CEO at event marketing firm Splash. In the third quarter of 2020, the average ticket price was $100. At its lowest, this average dropped to under $40 in the first quarter of 2021. As with in-person events, seasonality likely plays some part. “The economic model for ticket pricing, especially for publishers, is fast-evolving,” said Hindman, pointing to consumer events charging for ticketed access, such as South by Southwest and Daybreaker. Although some publishers like Group Nine have offered consumer-facing events for free to get the maximum reach and tinker with the value proposition. For those who charge, the tension is trying to work out how many people will pay to attend virtual consumer-facing events once they are free to attend in person. Behavior over the last year, when all companies have experimented with virtual events, offers some indication of what to expect. Attendance, retention and surveys Meredith has typically hosted free events, although it charged $25 for a Food & Wine Classic at Home holiday event in December. The ticket price was chosen by surveying previous event attendees. For all its events, close to 30% of attendees stay for the full duration of the event, said Nancy Weber, evp of marketing & integrated communications. Condé Nast's first Vanity Fair Cocktail Hour Live ticketed event in April–featuring celebrity guests like Michael B. Jordan, Julianne Moore and Gal Gadot (involving more than standard talking-head interviews)—had an average watch time of over 94 minutes per night, according to Johnson. Nearly 23,000 guests attended the 2020 New Yorker Festival, which included ticket buyers from all 50 states and more than 50 countries. In the week after, it had more than 100,000 views of various parts of the festival programming. Vogue hosted more than 2,600 guests at its virtual Forces of Fashion event last summer—that's more than four times the number of guests compared with its in person equivalent. Over 34% of the audience was from outside of the U.S. Publishers “can continue to charge premiums for in-person experiences while capturing a great deal of long-tail revenue from selling on-demand virtual content at basically no variable cost to them,” said Hindman, while in-person events have obvious variable costs. Condé also surveyed its users on whether they wanted a virtual element to events and their propensity to pay. Post-pandemic, 53% of the general population are keen to attend virtual events, this grew to 82% for the Condé Nast audience. Of that group, 83% of consumers were willing to pay for virtual events following the pandemic. Historical factors of retention and attendance plus surveys responses mean Condé is bullish revenues will return since virtual offers new audiences and new ways to monetize. Johnson estimates around 35% of Condé events are ticketed. Over the last year, it’s played around with different price points, ranging between $19 and $125. Overall, it's slightly raised the price, said Johnson, as the audience began to understand there could be a rich experience in the format. “A few factors play into pricing strategy," he added, "like access to best talent, imagine people like Jerry Seinfeld on stage and people can ask whatever question they like, to the consumer provides an incredible opportunity.” How to Create Impactful Virtual Events That Cultivate Community

Publishing News

How Publishers Plan to Recoup Lost Event Revenue

Only 4 in 10 event teams have pivoted from in-person to virtual profitably

Lucinda Southern

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Lucinda Southern