The Current Impact of Covid-19 on Event Marketing – A Word from the Directors
The Tag Digital marketing team chatted with the Directors, Laura and Craig, to find out how the company is adapting to deal with the current Coronavirus situation and the impact it has had on marketing events.
How are things?
Craig: Good. It’s obviously been terrible to see what has gone on in the world over the last couple of months, but I’m hopeful that there is light at the end of the tunnel now. I think some positivity and hope can go a long way and I’m sure by late summer or early autumn things will be feeling a lot more normal again
Laura: Whilst the last few months have had their challenges, there is so much good that has come out of this. We have innovated quickly, found ways to support our team and be useful to others and as a group, our investment in our own health has been great to see. For us personally, we have been able to spend so much more time with our kids which has been lovely, if not chaotic. Customer confidence has taken a turn for the positive in May, which has been very encouraging for us
What impact has the coronavirus had on Tag Digital?
Craig: Naturally it has had a big impact on us, but I wouldn’t say it has all been negative. There has been a temporary dip in revenue throughout April and May but lots of great work has been happening as well. We’ve seen our incredible team maintain positivity throughout and implement lots of exciting innovations across the company. From implementing new processes that improve clients campaigns, to starting a podcast, it’s been amazing to see and lots of it will help drive us on to the next level post-Covid. We have an infinite mindset, so whilst you’ll see a lot of people being really negative and fearful, we try to always remain positive and find the opportunities in every difficult situation
What innovations has Tag Digital implemented?
Laura: We have always tried to look at what challenges our clients in the events sector may have and how we can provide solutions. Whilst this has all been happening, we have developed webinars on relevant topics like cancelled events, pivoting to virtual and making sense of the data. These have been well received and we will make this a permanent feature.
Also one of our Squads, ‘The Wolves’, have started their own event marketing podcast, which is now on episode 5. With our team at home we wanted to keep everyone focused and motivated so started a goal framework, with the pillars of work, health, help and learning – in the last 10 weeks we have completed over 1000 goals across our team including supporting the local community with food shopping for neighbours, food bank volunteering and donations, built a new training and onboarding system, client response library and much more.
We have also created and rolled out new services around virtual events, digital sponsorship, which has allowed our clients to keep building data and generating revenue whilst they can’t hold live events
Download Your Essential Guide to Marketing Virtual Events (Top 10 Tips) Ebook
How will Tag Digital adapt to the ‘new normal’ in the global event sector?
Craig: We will take the lead from our clients on this; what requirements will be placed on them in future? Will they have to use venues that are bio-certified? Will they have to have traffic flow systems in place? Thermal imaging on entry? Virtual or Hybrid events? We can work with them and adapt their campaigns to include this messaging
Laura: Our focus remains on providing value to our customers and a supportive working environment for our staff – so helping with building data, promoting virtual events, helping ignite the demand for live/hybrid events will be where we can assist. Making sure our team have enough time for work on client work, with strong mental and physical health support from us as well as getting some time with the wider team
How can this upgraded version of Tag Digital help the event sector?
Craig: The current pandemic has given us the opportunity to optimise our company. Our team is now better trained, our processes have improved and our service offering is more robust. Our clients that have postponed events to later in the year are going to be entering a very busy and competitive time in the market and whilst right now is a cheap time to run ads, it’s going to be pricier in the later part of the year. With our industry leading benchmarking tool, we will be able to help our clients maximise effectiveness of budget and ensure success of their events
What does Tag Digital look like 12 months from now?
Laura: Quite good dancers .. based on the latest company Tik Tok Challenge!
We will be more resilient than ever, we have future proofed our business in terms of the time spent on content, listening more than ever to our customers and giving our team that much needed time to create products of value that we can use. So we have laid strong foundations for our next phase and are entering this as a more mature company.
We will be humble and take small steps to get back to where we were financially. We had been growing at 92% YoY, but will accept that is not going to happen this year.
A more diverse product mix that again supports our customers, whether it’s growing into new markets, allowing them to generate revenue from their own data, or ensuring their video content is best practice – we have solutions for that.
We will maintain our work, health, help and learning goal structure so that our team remains the smartest, happiest, healthiest people around.
Finally – never forget this time, learn from it and be grateful for all that we have.
For more information related to the current impact of Covid-19 on event marketing, take a look at our latest blog posts or contact us on info@tagdigital.co.uk.
