Managing Digital Events: what we have learnt from 2020

Long gone are the days of in-person events.

The world of events was hit hard last year. Events teams had to make the difficult decision of cancelling their flagship events or navigating the unknown territory of virtual events.

At the CBI we decided to go with the latter and adapt to the virtual world. Our main challenge was keeping the level of prestige associated with our in-person events. With that aim in mind, we began the tendering process, reaching out to different companies with our specific brief.

ITN Productions have over 65 years of experience in television broadcasting, with a history of innovation in live TV and news. They regularly produce a broad range of content from TV commercials and entertainment, to news-style programming. Bringing together live broadcasting and B2B storytelling enabled us to deliver a successful conference series and highlighted the genuine value virtual events can have on our audience size and footprint.

Key takeaways:

Audience engagement

It is no surprise that keeping audiences engaged online is a big challenge. The audience is restricted to sitting in front of a screen all day, no leaning over and talking to the person sitting next to you during a session, no sociable lunch breaks, no in-person networking. There needs to be a shift in thinking from an events perspective to a live show perspective; put yourself in front of the TV and thinking how long one show can hold your attention. By keeping the sessions short and experimenting with different media formats (panels, pre-records, live sessions, breakouts, running order) we can create engaging and flexible content.

Thinking about each session as its own event will enable you to ensure you have a diverse and inclusive session, whether that be a panel with BAME representation or having a female host. It is important to remember the delegates may only be logging on for one session, so each session should leave a lasting impression.

Event platforms and software

Event platforms and software can be pivotal in differentiating between your webinar and conference. These platforms try to replicate the same experience you would have at an in-person event, from the keynotes and breakout sessions to networking and expo halls.

All events should have three timeframes in which organisations can interact with the delegates, pre-event, during event and post-event. Using a platform is key in creating excitement around the event as the opportunity for networking and engaging with content continues throughout the pre-event and post-event timeframes.

Within platforms, it is easy to track metrics, including networking activity, which sessions people are engaging with more and what time of the day is busiest/quiet.

In some ways, it helps to visualise the platform or digital space as the venue to fully ensure you are making the most out of the platform. Have I built the platform right for my brief? Have I added enough content for delegates to interact with?

Networking

We can all agree that the networking from in-person events is invaluable and very difficult to capture online, successful digital networking takes effort from both the organisation and the delegates. Now there needs to be an immense amount of pre-planning and thought to get meetings booked and to ensure you are networking with the right people. Networking is no longer just part of an event; it has become its own entity entirely. The onus of successful networking has fallen into the hands of the delegates, event organisers can only do so much in implementing the software and facilitating the conversations.

Looking at events from a new perspective

Exploring all avenues is paramount. As previously mentioned the world of virtual events can be unknown territory, so do not pressure yourself to become a virtual events expert. Reach out to organisations that are the experts and work with them to deliver some amazing content for your budget.

Last year a lot of organisations were pushed into hosting their event virtually either via Zoom or through event platforms which they little experience in using, thinking outside the box as to how other digital content is streamed may present new opportunities and solutions to your biggest challenges.

The events world was very much running business as usual, in-person events worked well enough that there was no need for innovation. Before the pandemic, the thought to use the knowledge and expertise of live broadcasting to deliver virtual events would have never crossed people’s minds.

That being said in-person event will come back, the value from in-person networking assures this, but we can look toward the future of hybrid events and our ability to grow the size of our audience and increase the reach of our footprint.