Our Thoughts on 2020

While this year has definitely been difficult, we have witnessed the effort, love, and passion planners like you have for the event industry. Planners are resilient and adaptive, especially in trying times such as these. With that, cue the rise of the virtual event!

While many of the publicized virtual events lately have been fantastic and grand, they are quite honestly out of reach for a lot of clients, businesses, and planners. We totally get that - and want you to know that these are not the only option for you. There is a way for your community, regardless of need or size, to continue to productively meet and connect in a quality virtual environment that works for them.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to share with you examples of "real world" virtual events. Hopefully, they motivate you, help give you ideas, or even provide a bit of hope if needed.

Cheers and see you soon!

Jeannie and Josh

Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Marine Science Day 2020

Virtual Attendee Platform - Main Screen

Event Info:

• Years Virtual - None (First Time!)
• Live event - 5 hours (mix of live & pre-recorded)

• About - Annual hands-on outreach event with informative marine science programs, presentations, and live Q&A from VIMS scientists.

• Attendance: With a quick build and marketing time frame (only a month!), the virtual attendance numbers were about the same as the previous live events, but the audience was much different. Instead of only local attendees, VIMS was able to reach a worldwide audience consisting of science teachers and families across the nation, community partners, other marine science school departments, museums, and individuals around the world.

• BONUS: This new virtual platform also allowed VIMS to create a new "evergreen" experience. While past events were limited to the event day only, the event can now continue to live and be promoted continually throughout the year, as the live content was recorded and available on-demand.

Event Features:

• Event Registration
• Event Email Marketing
• Multiple Tracks
• Pre Recorded Sessions
• Live Interviews
• Live Presentations
• Cooking Demonstration
• Live Q&A
• Evergreen Educational Depository
• Attendee Chat
• Costume Contests
• Prize Giveaways
• Sponsor Ads

Tech Bits

"Real Life" Virtual Events