In the thick of the coronavirus pandemic, Lucas Guariglia, owner of Rowboat Creative (asi/313715), was on the phone with the Chicago Blackhawks trying to solve a riddle: How do you create a memorable, in-person, experiential marketing event without causing too much hype?

Guariglia and the marketer for the NHL team batted around ideas like playing Santa Claus and going door to door to drop off branded surprises in different parts of the city, with no warning. There was potential there, but then doubts started creeping in. What if the effort still ended up attracting crowds despite its hush-hush nature?

Social distancing and stay-at-home orders meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic brought the event industry – the lifeblood of many distributors and decorators – to a grinding halt. Trade shows and sporting events were canceled. Concerts, festivals, 5K runs and more were postponed indefinitely. And nobody can be quite certain when they’ll return, or what they’ll look like when they do.

Guariglia vacillates between cautious optimism and a deep well of pessimism when he contemplates the future of events. “I can flip-flop literally on the hour and feel like it’s the demise of everything, then feel like that can’t be true,” he says. “Part of me wants to believe that everyone will throw open their doors and take part in everything [when stay-at-home orders are lifted]. Part of me thinks people will be really tentative.

“What we’re trying to wrap our minds around is even when the haze lifts, are people going to feel comfortable rushing into a large-scale event?”

It’s the million-dollar, crystal-ball question on so many people’s minds. Promo pros speculate that certain events could start making a comeback by early summer, depending on factors like region, event size, venue and type. “The events I suspect will return first will be outdoor ones, where there can be sufficient social distancing,” says Patrick Black, president/CEO of Perfect Imprints (asi/293567) in Fort Walton Beach, FL. “Attendance in the coming months will be much lower than in past years for the same events due to many people being in fear of crowds.” He predicts that 5K runs will be among the first type of events to return.

Nicole McNamee, the Memphis-based managing director of global accounts for Top 40 distributor Boundless (asi/143717), thinks “getaway” trips – business meetings in NFL suites or on-site professional training at a luxe ski lodge, for example – will be among the first type to crop back up. And that’s likely to happen sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, when air travel takes off again – a timeline she’s gleaned from reviewing recent market research and by talking with her own clients in the hospitality and tourism business. However, large-scale trade shows and gatherings of a similar nature might not be back until after the new year.

Whether it’s next month or next year, distributors shouldn’t give their event planner clients the cold shoulder. “You’ve got to stay on everybody’s radars, but do it in a compassionate way, without it being very salesy and sharkish,” Guariglia says. “They’re just as confused as we might be about what’s happening right now, but if we’re there and helping them, there will be some good ideas that flesh out.”

For the foreseeable future, though, distributors may have to rethink their strategy when it comes to event giveaways. Online meetups and virtual races, for example, still have a need for swag. T-shirts, medals and other prizes can be mailed out to runners who complete a virtual race, Black says. “The sponsors will likely receive a lot more exposure through social media with this process,” he adds. “We have to show our clients we can still achieve a similar ROI with a different platform.”

And when in-person events begin to proliferate, distributors can help attendees feel safer about rejoining the crowd by focusing on promotions with a health and safety bent, like hand sanitizer or switching from reusable to disposable bags to reduce the chance of spreading the virus. It’s even possible that sporting events or concerts could be required to provide attendees with face masks before they enter a venue – which are already starting to be branded by various teams and musical acts.

Says Black: “This is a time to get creative and show our clients that we have much more to offer than simply products.”