When the COVID crisis hit, I wrote about using our imaginations; pushing boundaries and getting creative in terms of how we could fundraise when we couldn’t gather in groups. At that time, we thought this was temporary, resulting in many organizations simply pushing their Spring event to the Fall, or postponing it to the following year.
Now, we know we are not looking for a temporary solution for a temporary problem, but rather a solution to a problem that has changed the event landscape and what we knew as the typical event.
We know the in-person event is now going to be different than what we have always known. And maybe that is okay. Maybe what we had wasn’t completely working for us and NOW is the time to experiment, try new things and learn what really works for us and what doesn’t – audiences are more understanding now as they know we are all navigating our way through this.
Eventually we will be able to gather in large groups, but in groups of how many is the question. Even if it is permitted, will our guests want to share a table with 8 others in a sea of 250+?
With that question at the forefront of our minds, we are now looking at virtual events and hybrid events as a real solution – a Plan A – instead of a Plan B.
This is scary because I’m sure by now we’ve all attended a “virtual event”, whether is it a zoom meeting, a webinar, a transitioned fundraiser that was pre-taped, etc. These events are all around us and when I speak to clients now, their two biggest concerns about moving to a virtual platform are tech fails and lack of engagement. These are very real pain points.
Maybe you have seen for yourself, or heard through others about virtual events, both live and pre-recorded, where the bandwidth just isn’t strong enough, delays occur, lighting and sound is off and random family members walk around in the background in various states of dress, etc.
That’s why it’s important to stress the fact that virtual events are still events. This is not opportunity for a board member with limited technical skills to host a zoom event, or have a friend with editing software help you deliver a pre-recorded event by cutting together existing videos and delivering a long-winded organizational video with zero opportunity for the viewer to engage live.
The solution to these concerns is easy. As an organization, you need to partner with a producer who understands the tech, just like you would with your in-person events. Use the same mindset you had when developing your in-person event and create an experience.
How do you do that? Well, you need to start at the beginning. Determine your goals and develop the concept. Find the right event producer who can build a team. They will help find your technical partner, just like they would for an in-person event. Both of these roles specialize in these live online experiences and can deliver you something high-quality. Use these two partners to help build in guest and sponsor activations, consider your show flow and production (spend a lot of time here folks – this is where you need to run a tight show) and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
Like I said 10 weeks ago – it's time to get creative and put those imaginations to work!
Virtual events are fun once you embrace the opportunities.
If you want to learn more, connect with me and we can build out the ideation and concept to give you a Better Plan A! Ashlee Livingstone CEO & Chief Ideation Officer Our Forte Inc. ashlee@ourforte.ca www.ourforte.ca
