Hi there, I hope you’re easing into the new year happy and healthy. 

It feels like we’re entering 2021 with more questions than answers right now. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show will host its first sessions next Monday. Virtually. No ostentatious Las Vegas spectacle this year. 

When live events return will depend on vaccines, writes my colleague Andrew Blustein. But rolling out vaccines in an equitable and safe way seems like it could be tougher than developing them. A frustration sandwich.

Over the year, hosting or attending in-person events will become a matter of “corporate responsibility.” Check out Andrew's piece for more clarity on how adtech insiders are viewing the 2021 events calendar. 

As we have written about before, publishers and other businesses had a large chunk of their revenues cut when the pandemic decimated live events. Figuring out a decent economic model in the virtual world is a work in progress with a few publishers like The Information and Bloomberg Media seeing results. For business-focused publishers, the path to a healthy virtual-physical hybrid business makes sense. But it’s harder to imagine for consumer publishers. Time will tell!

Please get in touch with your thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Lucinda

Lucinda.southern@adweek.com

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