It happened so fast.

Months of planning, designing and dreaming went out the window with a slow—then fast—cascade of bad news.

COVID-19 was here with a vengeance.  No doubt you feel the pain this pandemic has brought on. While the casualty of canceled events pales in comparison to the horrible loss of life we are seeing, it does represent a huge industry that, for some, powers the celebration of life and love, and for others, is a steady stream of revenue to maintain a healthy business.

How should PR and event planning agencies start to think about events with so much unresolved about our future?

I say, take a moment to think about the future because at some point, when Shelter-in-Place ends and life starts to get back to a “new normal,” everyone—and I mean everyone—is going to be off to the races to reschedule life.  Every canceled dentist appointment, hair cut, surgery, wedding, graduation…everyone will rush to make up for lost time and that means one thing:  event exhaustion.

For those of us living in South Florida, we experienced this in 2018 after hurricane Irma canceled every September party from the Keys to Atlanta.  Then after the air cleared, everyone was inundated with so many rescheduled events and appointments that communities became like over-caffeinated teenagers heading for a sugar crash.  No one could keep up.  In my hometown of Miami, event fatigue was a real issue, even though our great city was shut down for a “mere” three weeks.  There wasn’t enough time in the day, week or year to make up for what was missed – and that was just a few weeks at a standstill in one part of the country!  Now the entire world is at a standstill.  So now what?  What is your fallback plan for that important meeting, conference, or fundraising event where in-person connecting is important?

It’s not too early to start planning and thinking through what an organization or company can do to avoid getting caught up in event fatigue and answer questions like:

Should I just wait out COVID-19?

Should I reschedule?

Should I just cancel and if I do, how do I make up for the lost impact/revenue that meeting or event would have brought in?

There are no perfect answers, but here are some questions you should ask yourself as you weigh the pros and cons:

• How far out can you push your event without compromising its purpose or stepping on an annual event taking place the following year?  The farther out you push the event, the more likely you can find a clear pocket of time that is less cluttered.
• How might you bring technology to the table to create some sort of virtual event that might satisfy your end goal? The truth is, many people have time on their hands these days.  If you are a county or municipality, Zoom or Meet Now are great tools that allow you to host meetings without having to wait until shelter-in-place is lifted.
• How can you acknowledge and then work with your target audience’s over-scheduled days?
• Rather than reschedule, can you use the canceled event as a reason to make personal calls and engage with those important audiences who would have attended?  Maybe that’s worth more than rescheduling.
• If you have shot video of past fundraising events or taken professional photos, consider a “Flashback Fundraiser.” Produce and distribute a video that reminds people of the wonderful times had at past events to ignite a charitable heart.   Feature the people you want to give.  Make it fun, happy, humorous – we could all use a little cheer!

Yes, canceling events after months of planning hurts, but it can be redeemable.  Get creative (better yet, bring in your advertising or PR agency to help you get creative).  Consider your audience and their needs.  Then rethink the expected.  I believe this difficult year, full of loss and change could end up netting some of the most creative and notable meetings and fundraising events yet.