In Optimizing Your Virtual Even Strategy, corporate event specialist Lyne Branchaud explains that a virtual event requires more thought than simply “transposing” an in-person event onto the Web. The codes and spirit are different in many ways. Interview with the one who is also a teacher at Lasalle College in the Planning and Management of Events program, trainer, consultant and event organizer.
Isarta Infos: What basically differentiates a virtual event from an in-person event?
Lyne Branchaud: Several elements. On the one hand, a virtual event requires more scriptwriting. People are not “captive” in front of their screen as they might be in a conference room. They can do other things – clean, wash dishes! The event must therefore be more dynamic and fast-paced.
Secondly, organizing an online event requires a lot of openness and adaptation to the possibilities and limitations of computer and technological tools… Skills that planners have had to develop over the past few years.
After two years of the pandemic, what are the remaining challenges in organizing an online event?
L.B.: Of course, there is a certain “sickness” that sets in… People would like to go back to in-person events, but can’t. The other challenge is that many planners don’t adapt their event to the virtual – they pretend it’s a live event.
As I said, an online event needs to be broken down into smaller, more dynamic blocks with varying pacing. In spirit, it’s more like a TV show. It’s more scripted and thoughtful.
People are tired of Zoom calls… but are there still benefits to holding an event online?
L.B.: Yes! The great strength of online events is that there are no geographic limitations. We can attract speakers who might not otherwise have travelled and we can avoid the cost of transportation and accommodation to host them on site.
They also make it possible to bring together people from different branches or who live in different provinces or countries, and who would not normally travel to attend in-person events. It is conceivable that one-time online events, such as lunch and learns or training sessions, will remain relevant even after the pandemic is behind us.
Many companies are content to organize their corporate events on Zoom or Teams… Is this a good choice?
L. B.: Teams and Zoom are very easy to use, except that they are also very limited in their functionalities. For a simple conference, for example, it can be used. But when you’re organizing a conference or a trade show, you need a much more powerful platform. And there are hundreds of options: Swapcard, Hopin, Connexion.tv, Creativ nation, etc.
In this kind of platform, you can for example offer each exhibitor a virtual space to welcome visitors and present their products or services and make appointments in advance with the participants, create random or smart networking activities or virtual round tables.
In February, you will take the private or corporate training course Optimizing your virtual event strategy. Who is this training for? What can we expect in terms of content?
L. B.: The training is intended for people who have never held a virtual event or who have little experience in the field. We cover both the strategic aspect (the profile of the event, the added value of holding it online, the basics of an event) and the technical aspect, with an overview of the different event formats (virtual or hybrid) as well as the right questions to ask when choosing a platform.
