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Jan 03 2011

Got Free Milk? Virtual Events that Won’t Kill The Cash Cow

Despite their brave faces, the producers of live events are still frightened about the impact of virtual events to erode their attendee base and diminish their profit margins. After all, if you can get the milk for free, why buy the cow? There’s been talk about employees at some associations fearing they might lose their jobs and the subject has been on the agenda of more than a few executive meetings. Apparently the “There’s no substitute for face-to-face meetings” mantra hasn’t convinced everyone.

Next week’s Virtual Edge Summit will help attendees (both virtual and live) parse through the pros and cons of virtual and hybrid meetings (and trade shows). As part of a PCMA VES Joint Plenary Session on “Using Virtual and Hybrid Meetings to Develop More Value,” Chris Price, vice president, Graphic Arts Show Company, will help the audience understand the benefits, outcomes, and learning curve associated with using virtual events to drive attendance at live trade shows and conferences. When he’s finished, there won’t be a dry udder in the room.

Chris Price and his team are among the few brave souls to go down the virtual path despite producing the hugely successful Graph Expo live exhibition and conference. Over a year ago, after attending the ConnexLive Meeting where he was exposed to virtual technology, he decided to experiment a little and develop a virtual show using the INXPO platform prior to his live event. The main purpose was to provide visitors with a juicy preview of the live event and entice them to attend in person. He arranged for a three-phase virtual roll-out of content: the virtual preview to highlight the benefits of the live event, an archive of the preview which was shut down immediately prior to the live show, and a post-show wrap-up.

While there were lots of takeaways from his experience, Chris will discuss some of the main “lessons” learned from the experience, which he says earned him 182 attendees—people who attended the virtual preview and subsequently attended Graph Expo in real life:

  • Using virtual events as part of the mix of product offerings requires new metrics and new ways of looking at return on investment.
  • One of the highlights of a virtual platform is the richness of the metrics and the ability to use them as sales tools for future forays into the virtual realm.
  • The success of virtual exhibitors is dependent upon a number of factors: their own familiarity with the platform, use of video and other engagement techniques besides chat, and the speed with which visitors are engaged by exhibitors upon entering the booth.
  • The results of the virtual event—especially the availability of the metrics—have huge implications for refinements in the face-to-face event.

Price came away from his first virtual experience having invested “a painful amount of time,” but with insights about the next generation of attendees, the value of networking online vs. offline, and the agony and ecstasy of being the first to try a new technology. Next week at the Virtual Edge Summit, he will dish about those topics, plus how to use virtual platforms as sales engines, costs, partnering, and what he will never do again. Drink up!

Written by Michelle · Categorized: Archives, Strategy · Tagged: Featured, Michelle Bruno, Virtual Edge Summit, Virtual Trade Show

Feb 02 2010

3D Virtual Events: Child’s Play or Über Innovation?

Between the Avatar in 3D movie craze and the 3D televisions rolled out during the Consumer Electronic Show, “3D” may be the acronym of the year for 2010. Since virtual events are a hot ticket in the event industry this year, it makes sense to take a closer look at 3D virtual events to see where they fall on the event continuum.

Let’s first get the virtual vs. face-to-face discussion out of the way. There is a widely held belief (especially in the live event industry) that in general, a face-to-face event is superior to a virtual event. However, there are legitimate reasons why online trade shows, conferences and hybrid events will continue to grow in popularity. Several major trade show organizers including the Graphic Arts Show Company and Hanley-Wood are launching complementary virtual events to drive traffic to their live events and the revenue streams from virtual events are still untapped (read…lots of potential).

Let’s suppose, however, that you’re beyond the “should I launch a virtual event” decision and you’re deciding among the various virtual solutions, options and vendors. 3D event platforms should be in the running. Most of the platforms currently in use for virtual events are two-dimensional. In other words, they look more like a web site than an “environment.” In a 3D space, users interact with each other as avatars with features and behaviors that emulate the real world.

Scientific research has long ago confirmed the enhanced learning and e-commerce potential of immersive 3D environments. This is good news for event producers hoping to use 3D virtual events to drive traffic to their live events. Simply put, researchers say, by creating an online world in which humans can operate and socialize in the same way as they do in “real life,” they are more likely to behave as they do in the physical world, i.e. learning and purchasing.

James Parker, President of Digitell, a multi-media company with a 3D virtual event platform called VirtualU, explains the advantages of 3D in an event context. “3D events are more engaging. The interaction is more stimulating for the attendee. You can demonstrate equipment [the avatar can actually work the levers of the machinery], have private conversations or group breakouts and there are endless opportunities for sponsorships and promotion. Plus, the cost of 3D events is generally lower than similar events using 2D environments.”

At first glance, a 3D environment may seem more complex than it really is and the rationale for choosing a 3D platform might not be immediately clear. Some brief training, a user-friendly interface and available tech support can diminish the learning curve. However, “It isn’t until you enter the event space as an avatar and engage other avatars in conversation or view presenters and product demonstrations that you begin to understand the potential of 3D for enhancing the online event experience and promoting engagement,” Parker says.

Although there are plenty of case studies from the corporate, academic and medical fields describing success using 3D environments, The Virtual Edge Summit 2010 is a live conference on everything virtual for the events industry including 3D immersive technology. Summit organizers also offer a resource book for live event producers to help them parse through the various considerations surrounding virtual events.

3D virtual events are not new, according to Digitell’s Parker. However, they have recently come back into focus by overcoming some previous negatives of bandwidth, low user adoption and poor timing (the industry was still reeling from the introduction of the Internet a decade ago). It’s important, he says, to revisit the 3D option again for a couple of reasons:

  • After this year, the honeymoon on “standard” virtual events may be over. As with live events, online attendees will be looking for new features, new benefits and more engagement when they return next year. Organizers unsure of whether their audiences are ready for 3D, may offer attendees either a 2D or 3D attendance option before migrating the audience entirely to the 3D world in subsequent years.
  • The digital generations (X, Y, millennial and naught) are already accustomed to online gaming platforms and other immersive experiences and will expect the same level of stimulation from online events.
  • 3D environments are the perfect “Petri Dish” for low cost experimentation—a plus in these tough economic times. For example, pushing the envelope on show features, customer service tactics and promotional programs that may be useful for live events, is much easier and lower in cost in a controlled three-dimensional world.

The Takeaway: The movie, consumer electronics and online gaming industries are driving the renewed interest in 3D visuals. Continued growth in social media and the integration of virtual events, live events, MUVE (Multi-User Virtual Environments) and rich media have set the stage for sustained interest in immersive experiences. If the value of 3D events to drive attendance at live events and/or become stand-alone sources of revenue is proven, and the only obstacle to wider adoption is ease-of-use (easily solved), they have the potential to re-emerge as the event industry’s next über innovation.

Written by Michelle · Categorized: Archives, Tools · Tagged: 3D virtual events, Featured, Michelle Bruno, Virtual Edge Summit, Virtual Trade Show

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