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For the annual scientific congress of Italian Academy of Prosthetic Odontology (AIOP), held virtually APRIL 30-May 2, organizer AIM Group International created an area dedicated to sponsors that allowed participants to follow thematic itineraries live and on-demand. An recent AIM Group survey showed that potential sponsors are interested in investing in digital events.
Nearly 80 percent of corporate sponsors would be interested in investing in digital events, but those events need to be interactive and “far from the usual video calls or webinars,” according to results from a new survey conducted by AIM Group International.
For its “Sponsoring Events During the Covid Crisis” survey, AIM Group asked 350 pharmaceutical and biomedical company representatives a series of questions to learn how willing they are to support events as sponsors during the COVID-19 crisis — particularly new opportunities offered by digital and hybrid events.
Despite 78 percent of respondents saying they would be interested in sponsoring fully virtual events, potential sponsors still believe face-to-face events offer a greater value than digital events. More than half of respondents — 58 percent — said they would sponsor a face-to-face event between September and December of this year.
Related: PCMA COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard Results, Survey 3
Gaia Santoro, head of the sponsorship unit at AIM Group International, said in a statement that it is “surprising that the majority of corporate sponsors are keen to see the return of face-to-face events by the autumn,” adding that sponsors don’t want to see face-to-face events abandoned or considered obsolete because of the digital opportunities.
When it comes to how much they would invest in virtual events, 56 percent of respondents said they want to invest less, 34 percent would invest the same amount, and 10 percent would be willing to increase budgets if the hosting organization could guarantee greater visibility.
Respondents said they want virtual events to be interactive, flexible, and with 3D and augmented reality capabilities. They also want to be able to track data from the events.
Here are some other survey findings:
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- 72 percent would like to see distance learning incorporated into the digital event, which would be available after the congress.
- 5 percent consider useful that the contents of digital events be available on demand after the congress.
- 72 percent would be interested in a hybrid solution that combine face-to-face with digital events.
What Events Professionals Need to Know About COVID-19
PCMA has created a COVID-19 resources page to help event professionals find reliable information about the pandemic and to share events industry-related resources to ensure they are prepared now and in the future.