In light of the COVID-19 health crisis and to prioritize the well being and safety of our attendees, community, and the residents of Boston, we are making changes to the INBOUND 2020 experience. For the first time in our 9-year history, INBOUND will not host an in-person experience. Instead, we are creating a new immersive online experience that will take place over the course of two days: September 22 & 23, 2020. 

Announcing that an in-person event is moving online is not unique in this current climate. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended an industry where it is no longer safe to gather in large groups. Many of our industry peers who had events scheduled in the last few weeks and months have had to scramble to pivot and take their events virtual overnight. To those people who have worked around the clock to make that happen, we salute you. 

However, as we have watched the world around us change rapidly and as we considered our options for INBOUND 2020, simply moving our event online was not an option. The magic of INBOUND is and always has been the “it” factor that happens when you bring together incredible speakers covering unique and interesting topics, creative activations & experiences and a uniquely engaged attendee base that brings it all to life -- meeting, connecting and learning from each other just as much as they do the content delivered from the stage. So just as we have never settled for the status quo in our in-person experience, we’ve put a stake in the ground that an online INBOUND experience will be no different.

INBOUND 2020 will go beyond simply broadcasting content sessions. INBOUND 2020 will be more than a singular, individual experience. INBOUND 2020 will bring attendees together no matter where they are physically with connection, energy, personality, and excitement. We believe that events should create a shared moment in time that unites a community and create space for uplifting energy to percolate, enabling conversation and connection, allowing everyone to feel part of something bigger, something that’s worth getting excited about and rallying around, no matter the medium. That’s the secret sauce that has always made INBOUND special and as we think about how we are going to deliver INBOUND via this new, online, immersive experience, creating a way for this to happen is top of mind for us. 

This is the new frontier. We are not approaching the 2020 online experience as a “patch” until life as we know it returns to normal. The truth of the matter is that we’re not sure what the future holds and while we’re optimistic about when we’ll be able to gather in-person again, we are adjusting our strategy entirely so that moving forward all INBOUND events will have a significant online experience. Being online allows us to invite more people to be part of the INBOUND community. With travel costs eliminated we can reach attendees all around the globe. We can offer translated content in multiple languages and schedule sessions and experiences across time zones. As we look out to 2021, we’ve also started thinking about how we can adapt our approach to ensure that attendees from all around the world will be able to connect and share experiences together, no matter how they are joining us -- in-person or online. It’s a whole new world of possibilities that we are very excited about. 

You might be reading this and thinking, “okay, how are they going to replicate an in-person interaction online and achieve that same special energy and connection?” The truth is we are figuring it out as we go and we want your help. Think interactivity built into sessions with speakers, unique Q&A opportunities, creative activations, and custom-built functionality that allows for casual conversation, meeting by chance, joining experiences with other like-minded individuals and so much more. INBOUND, which is hosted with love by HubSpot, has always aimed to be an open, inclusive community of passionate professionals who are eager to look forward and solve problems together, so we’re excited to invite you all to co-create this experience with us and inspire what’s next. When new tickets are released on June 1, we’ll also be publishing ways for you all to get involved. 

We are excited about the future and are excited to welcome you all online in September! 

INBOUND2020. Inspire what’s next.