Despite it being the hottest month of the year and Delhi suffering a heat wave, this May has been choc-a-block full of events. The month began with the India Art Fair, which ended on May 1, but continued through its many parallel exhibits at different art galleries and public spaces. It almost immediately gave way to the India Design 2022 ID which concluded last weekend. These were largescale trade fairs open to public on the purchase of a ticket, and the tremendous crowds that thronged both of them, displayed the extent to which people craved the physicality of events. However, these major events were not the only ones taking place in Delhi – many smaller events are also being organised across the industries of food, travel, education, fashion, and hospitality. As an independent journalist I am invited to many of these, and this has given me the opportunity to observe these events up close and take note of a few things.
Firstly, it is delightful to see the events industry up and running once again, after a couple of very difficult years. Secondly, there is an amazing wealth of detail going into the curation of every event. The third and most prominent change that I have noticed in the events industry is the widespread adoption of technology leading to all events being hybrid in some way or another.
Even though we complain about the online medium, there is no denying that it has many factors working in its favour. It allowed us to function even while we were stuck at home under lockdown, it kept us sane by connecting us with loved ones in tough times, and most importantly, it allowed us to reach parts of the world we found difficult to access easily earlier. Keeping these advantages in mind – especially the increase in reach – the switch to a hybrid format for events makes complete sense. However, not every event company has the capability of successfully adopting this medium. One company that stands out in this regard is Delhi-NCR based ShowCase Events. Founded by Nanni Singh in the year 2018, the company had made itself known in the space of cultural events pre-pandemic. Once Covid struck, their operations shut down for a while, but they took the opportunity to reinvent themselves by turning to digital events. Now, with everything opening up, they have become experts at conducting hybrid events.
“For hybrid events, we need a great sync between the on-ground team and the 2D or 3D platform. We also need great internet bandwidth for the streaming and a good sound set-up. Things like video mixers and switchers are very important. Cameras have to be placed all over and the event management team has to be focussed so they can keep switching between the on-ground live requirements and the virtual field. Ultimately, great communication and coordination is required. I think this is why we stand apart from our competitors in this field – it is because we have good experience of conducting hybrid events and a well-oiled team that works beautifully together. We make the entire procedure very user-friendly which is why almost all our clients come back to us for more events,” explains Naina Kukreja, Head of Events at ShowCase Events.
The USP of ShowCase Events is certainly their ability to create customised experiences on any platform – whether it is on-ground, virtual or hybrid. Kukreja shares, “We hand hold people through every step – the size of the event doesn’t matter. We give it a personal touch and believe in delivering quality. Plus, we create an entire social media marketing campaign for them with every event and they really appreciate the results of that.” With an impressive list of hybrid events in their kitty including convocation ceremonies, medical events, tributes to musical stalwarts like Lata Mangeshkar and Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma where they gather the biggest names of the music industry, exclusive private events at embassies and hotels, and a host of others; it is clear that ShowCase Events is the foremost name in the hybrid events space. This is a wonderful thing, as the future of this industry relies almost certainly on the capability of events to be hybrid in nature.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for her various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.