Incorporating a virtual event component concurrent with a physical event is an attractive and cost-effective way to capture more audience participation at your event. Purely standalone physical events have been disappearing for years due to economic downturns, tightening T&E budgets and the ability for anyone to spare enough time to travel to a physical event location.
In fact, an even bigger factor to consider is the cost for a company sponsoring an event to get all of their executives and other presenters in one location at one time. Many companies, maybe even your company, has dropped most of your events and are doing webinars. While this is one way to engage with your target audience, it doesn’t incorporate the networking and community feel of an event.
There are a number of excellent virtual event platforms out there but I recently viewed the demo for Cramer Digital’s Event Hub virtual platform. It’s six minutes and definitely demonstrates how easy it is to integrate a virtual component with your physical event. (http://www.cramereventmedia.com/vblast/EventHub/EventHub.html).
I also like the idea for global corporations to leverage a virtual/digital event platform for launching new products simultaneously in multiple markets. Perhaps the physical event is held in the region where the “push” for the product service is strongest and the virtual event is marketed extensively to include attendees from other regions. Also, integrating social media between both the physical and virtual event environments extends the reach of the event to networks of social networks.
With budgets continuing to tighten and driving the best ROI a “must-do” instead of just a “goal,” implementing a virtual event strategy in your marketing mix should be top on your list for 2010.
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