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The shift to virtual events
To respond to the constraints associated with COVID-19, organizers of (paying) events are opting for a 100% online format. Examples include " The HR virtual summit ", " thenextweb " and the BAM marketing congress (to name but a few).
Also internal corporate events such as: staff parties, seminars, team building activities, "the day of" , sales meetings, product launches.... necessarily organize a digital congress or event.
The opportunities
Online events have many advantages:
Scalable: an online event is not location- and/or time-bound. There is no limit on the number of participants. Will a session be missed? All sessions are recorded and the participant chooses when, where and which piece he or she wants to rewatch.
Personalization: a virtual event allows you to tailor the content to the demand of your target audience. You can completely customize the virtual environment to your needs.
Interaction: digital tools allow you to increase interaction. Make use of live Q&A sessions, surveys, polls and break-out rooms.
Reporting: get detailed insight and optimize your next event.
Cost-saving: reduce costs for venue, décor, technology, catering, transportation, hotels and more.
Sustainable: the carbon footprint is reduced, as less travel, less food is wasted and less paper is printed.
The challenges
The benefits are clear. But it remains a challenge to match the charm of a physical event digitally.
Total experience: emotions that a venue triggers such as happiness, amazement, pride, emotion, group feeling... These are difficult to facilitate digitally.
Catering: a must-have because it satisfies our basic needs. Hungry and thirsty people are not paying attention. Delivering timely and fresh meals to each participant's home is a challenge.
Social contact: the break time also provides that other basic need: social contact. An ideal time to network with existing and new relationships.
Casual encounters: meeting new people and exchanging ideas is perfectly possible online and efficiently thanks to an app such as "Conversation Starter. But unfortunately, an algorithm cannot take care of chance encounters.
Focus: daytime events last 8 hours on average. Keeping someone captivated offline for that long is easy through movement, breaks and interaction in between. But achieving this online is a lot harder.
Some tips & tricks
Catering: be careful with fresh food and timely delivery. A breakfast box with an omelet that doesn't arrive until the afternoon and no longer looks fresh is not doing anyone any favors.
Technology: try to avoid technical problems. Choose a reliable partner to support you and invest in the right (software) tools.
Length: the attention span is much shorter online. Therefore, choose short formats and sessions. Also provide sufficient breaks. Increase the attention and energy level of your participants through small workouts in between.
Extend the experience offline: surprise your participants and make them happy. Deliver them a relevant gift at home. Especially for a paying event: besides interesting content, give them 'value for money'.
Why not our gift box with healthy tasty snacks and a drink?
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Provide healthy snacks to eat during the break: hunger satisfied, everyone happy and attentive
- Surprise them with an original content (healthy unknown snacks)
- Avoid mistakes with timely delivery of freshly prepared snacks. Our snacks have a long shelf life
- Reinforce your brand experience (even after the event) with a gift box in your corporate identity
- Show that you care and add a personal message
Hungry for a healthier snack?
Healthier snacks at the office
Healthier snacks as a corporate gift
