With Covid Cases Rising, Publishers' In-Person Events Face a Curveball

For publishers planning to bring back in-person events this fall, the delta variant has posed an unwelcome hurdle. Group Nine brand Thrillist announced its return to in-person events this morning with a new franchise, the Thrillist Block Party, a celebration of local culture and commerce that will kick off with an outdoor festival in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood on Sept. 12, then traveling to New Orleans, Atlanta and Los Angeles in 2022. The publisher has partnered in the effort with Tren’ness Woods-Black, the granddaughter of Sylvia Woods, founder of the iconic Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvia’s. The event has already generated seven-figure revenue, according to the publisher. Coordinators began planning the event months ago, when Covid rates across the country were decreasing, but the recent uptick in infections due to the highly contagious delta variant has complicated the situation. Creative Agency Madwell and Visible Say In-Person Events Are In Demand “The precautions that we have put in place––including working with a disease specialist, hosting the event outside and following city protocol––all provide a level of reassurance,” said Thrillist chief revenue officer Geoff Schiller, adding that attendees will be required to provide proof of vaccination. “Rest assured we are monitoring the situation very closely.” The Block Party, which will host roughly 1,000 attendees throughout the day, is an early indication that publishers’ hopes for a return to events-as-usual might still be premature. With a host of in-person and hybrid affairs on the horizon, including The Atlantic Festival in September, Ozy Fest in October and Refinery29’s 29Rooms in December, publishers have found themselves once again revisiting their plans as they try to predict an uncertain future. Compliant at a maximum level The Thrillist Block Party will be the first physical gathering the publisher has organized since December 2019. Depending on public health directives, the event organizers are prepared to issue a mask mandate, as well as use air filtration systems, temperature checks, sanitation stations and questionnaires for contact-tracing purposes. As a rule of thumb, coordinators will err on the side of caution, according to chief content officer Meghan Kirsch. “We are not only compliant at a minimum level, but at a maximum level,” Kirsch said. “Every precaution that can potentially be taken is being taken.” 75% of respondents believe it will be good for their mental health to interact with people outside their bubble.Katherine Tooley, svp of experiential, Vice Media Group Block Party aims to be a community party with a purpose, reigniting communities by bringing people back together, but in a way that brings safety to the forefront. The Harlem celebration will include a Black Greek fraternity and sorority stroll, a gospel open mic, voguing and ballroom exhibitions, and more. It will also feature a marketplace of local small businesses, four of which will receive monetary donations, coupled with video and written profiles created by Thrillist as part of its DoorDash sponsorship. Thrillist is also donating pro-bono creative services and millions of ad impressions to four local Black businesses, which will be hand-picked by Woods-Black, Harlem Park to Park and the Harlem Business Alliance. By supporting the communities that drive culture, Thrillist hopes to exemplify its brand promise to celebrate the local. When it comes to events in the Covid-era, momentum can play a big role in determining their viability, said Miguel Neves, the editor in chief of the event professionals publisher EventMB. If a company has already committed to an in-person gathering, there is pressure to see the project through, whereas those with built-in backdoors might prefer to postpone. “Everybody is basically waiting for each other to make a decision,” Neves said. “Once one person cancels or goes virtual, others follow from there. It’s a trickle-down effect.” Hybrid and virtual events account for uncertainty While Thrillist's organizers are confident the celebration will go smoothly, other publishers have accounted for pandemic-related unpredictability by keeping their events entirely remote or hybrid. The team behind The Atlantic Festival, which will be held at the end of September, decided months ago to keep it hybrid, in part because of the traction they had with virtual events last year. The publisher generated 4.5 million views to the more than 40 virtual events it hosted in 2020 and had 50% more attendees than it did in 2019, according to COO Aretae Wyler. This year, it anticipates a 40% year-over-year growth in events revenue. In light of complications related to the delta variant, the publisher has scaled back the in-person portion of The Atlantic Festival. Now, it will only host between 50 and 75 people, all of whom must present vaccination cards, for what Wyler calls “high-value in-person experiences.” “The reason for coming will be really compelling––you’re going to want to engage with that in-person content,” Wyler said. “It will be small, it will be intimate, and it will be a really engaging experience.” Refinery29, a Vice Media brand, will hold its 29Rooms event in-person and has also mandated attendees provide proof of vaccination; organizers are continuing to monitor public health directives. After surveying young people to gauge their interest in physical gatherings, the organizers cited mental health as one reason they decided to host the event in-person. “Seventy-five percent [of respondents] believe it will be good for their mental health to interact with people outside their bubble,” Katherine Tooley, svp of experiential for Vice Media Group, told Adweek. “And 69% say it will boost their mental state to break out of their pandemic ruts and try new things.” Given that the event is months in the future, the transmission threat the virus will pose at that time is impossible to predict. As the pandemic drags into its 18th month though, one assumption is safe to make: So long as Covid persists to any degree, virtual events will remain the only guaranteed option. Condé Nast Unveils 500 Virtual and In-Person Events for 2021