Why in-person events need to be designed around the at-home experience

We’re in an age where consumers have an overwhelming number of options to choose from when it comes to the programs and events that are vying to grab their attention. Conscious or otherwise, every day decisions are made on what to consume and how and with the near limitless array of entertainment choices on offer, it’s a dog race to ensure you’re providing something that keeps them coming back.

In-person events have long been heralded as the ultimate and purest form of entertainment but, as the industry has grown bigger, the viewing experience has changed to accommodate the masses. After all, arenas and festival-allocated spaces can only get so big before costs associated with maintaining the same level of security, safety, and quality outweigh being able to accommodate a larger crowd.

Esports is an industry that was born digital and has evolved with an online first audience. While the calendars of esports titles (including the likes of Call of Duty, EA FC and Rocket League) are filled with a mix of online and in-person events, ultimately it’s the digital viewing experience that is prioritised as that’s where the lion’s share of the audience lives. That’s not to say the in-person experience should be neglected by any means, but that the weighting of every decision in event production should be split between the spectator in the crowd and the one behind the screen.

Esports has certainly benefitted from being digital first (the global esports audience is set to grow to 640M in 2025, Statista) but other entertainment verticals have also shown success in converting their product to the digital space. When it comes to live events the sports industry has long dominated by globalising its product and bringing matches out of stadium and into people’s homes. That said, a more recent problem being felt across industries is how to continue to engage primary audiences as they age up while remaining attractive to the newest generation of potential viewers.

One solution is to create a new format tailored to modern tastes. We’ve seen some success stories, (notably in football and cricket with the formation of Kings League, Ballers League and The Hundred) but the investment, planning and buy-in from additional stakeholders can often make this a risky endeavour that can take years for the ROI to realise, if it ever does.

One avenue we’ve pursued at NIP Group through one of our esports teams, Ninjas In Pyjamas (NIP), is galvanising fan engagement through our legacy players. Now operating as a brand ambassador, Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg is a former Counter Strike player that led NIP to a series of titles in the 2010s including a record breaking 87-0 map win streak that still stands today. The digital content strategy we developed together allows us to keep a constant stream of content coming, including our own highly partial broadcasts of official matches, creating a space for NIP fans to cheer together. As a result, we’ve been able to capture a significant portion of the official broadcast audience in a space where we can engage them further in our other digital touchpoints.

Of course this isn’t a cookie-cutter method that can be easily applied. Entertainment forms and the wants of their audience differ, but finding the balance between staying true to what you originally set out to deliver while catering to today’s tastes is essential to ensure neither audience ends up alienated.

Another hurdle in-person event organisers need to overcome, in the face of ever increasing costs, is maintaining a healthy revenue generation model. Dynamic pricing is a controversial measure that is increasingly being adopted and whilst in the short term it may keep the books balanced its long-term viability is a cause for concern with it potentially leading to a decreasing audience cap due to attendees progressively being priced out.

The digital viewing experience offers more flexibility in this space as there are more options when it comes to developing monetisation leads that offer benefits to viewers engaging with the event. It’s a space where establishing an online community that is engaged can deliver dividends and naturally introduce them to other products and services they would otherwise be unaware of. The Dojo is a loyalty ecosystem we’ve established that rewards fan engagement with co-streams and other experiences with tangible benefits that draws them closer to our brand. Ultimately, as viewing habits continue to change digital’s grip on the space will only grow stronger so if it’s not a central consideration when developing an entertainment package your product will never be complete.

Hicham Chahine is Ninjas In Pyjamas Group co-CEO