26 Mar Let’s Get Real About Going Virtual!
Dear Friends:
I’m excited to share with you some lessons learned from producing online events during the past year – 2020 and into 2021. A favorite of mine that we worked on, well part one, is called The Aspen Challenge, produced with the Aspen Institute.
In normal times, this event is held in two different U.S. cities each year – a new location, and a repeat city. But I think we can all agree these aren’t normal times! Instead, this year it was based in Miami and streamed across the nation.
The Challenge begins with a Forum Event for students and teachers from partner high schools. At the Forum, leaders pioneering change for some of the world’s most pressing issues present challenges to the student teams. Teams are formed to design a solution to a self-selected challenge. Eight weeks later they come back together for a day-long Solution Showcase. During the event, teams are selected, scholarships are awarded (up to $60,000), and the participants are given further opportunity to showcase their work at the Aspen Institute.
It’s an inspiring event to be part of and we wanted to bring energy, fresh ideas and unity to the program. Our main objectives were to keep the students engaged and to have them feel like we were doing something special for them. We successfully reached our goals by using these three tools that made the virtual experience just as exciting as a live event.
One: A VIRTUAL EMCEE
A professional emcee can keep the show rolling along and tie everything together. For this event we create a live TV studio in Houston, Texas, and cut to the emcees between activities. Music, introductions, and a live element added energy and Zyng!
Two: FACE MORPHING
When we do this event in -person, we produce student posters that are on display around the room. To replace that this year, we created an online effect to acknowledge the students in the program. Our inspiration came from Michael Jackson’s Black or White Music Video and had the students’ faces morph from one to the other. It was super cool and very well received!
Three: MICROSITES AND ZOOM
What I’ve learned: Zoom is still one of the best platforms for virtual events – hands down, due to costs, participant familiarity, and guest interaction. Zoom is also mobile and tablet friendly, which was one of the reasons we moved forward with Zoom as the event platform. We’ve found the best way to use it is to frame it within a powerful main platform that can handle registration, the agenda and attendee engagement functions (microsite – https://aspenchallengemiami.org). We then direct attendees to an internal Zoom platform for the actual event and programming. With the help of a professional production assistant, we can play videos, add music, slides, and other engaging online tools that help replicate a close second to an in-person experience. It’s win-win. We get all the features of a custom program but experience a great savings that we can then pass along to our client.
Four: SWAG BAGS
I know I said I’d tell you about three things and this is the fourth. Bonus! Literally. Swag bags are that bonus item that all attendees love. We’ve had fun creating them and finding ways to extend the brand, the event and the memory into the attendees’ lifestyle.
In this case, because it was for students, a backpack made a lot of sense. We filled it with fun – and useful — gifts from pens, stickers and T-shirts to whiteboards, branded air pods and even a link to get free snacks. We all know events run on snacks! All was packaged in a custom box that we sent out to the youth in advance of the first on-line event.
Are you considering taking your fundraiser, conference, or summit virtually in 2021? Or, if later in the year we might be looking at hybrid events with some in person elements mixed with virtual. Give me a call for a free consultation. I’d love to hear what you are planning and how we can add the ZYNG that will keep your attendees engaged.
Let’s get real about going virtual!
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