Virtual Event Roundup: 12 Programs That Conquered Zoom Fatigue
As the third year of a volatile pandemic unfolds, virtual events will again be an invaluable resource for the many brands that rely on experiences to drive their business forward. And while, at this stage in the game, it seems like every event marketer has become a broadcasting wizard, it never hurts to jog the memory and draw a little inspiration from past virtual event wins. Following are 12 steal-worthy strategies, from conferences, to festivals, to trade shows, to hospitality experiences.
More Virtual Event Strategies:
- How Amex Delivered 40 Virtual Consumer Experiences in Six Months
- Practice Makes Perfect: Inside Veritas’ Live Virtual Global Sales Meeting
SEPHORiA 2021: How Sephora Transformed its Flagship Event into a Virtual Beauty Playground
Sephora’s tagline is “We belong to something beautiful,” and for one afternoon at its SEPHORiA: Virtual House of Beauty experience, we felt those words come to life. From the inclusive messaging to the tutorials to the luxurious 3D environment the event was hosted in, it felt like a cohesive, well-oiled machine built for consumers of...
What We Learned About Hybrid Events From Two Weekends of Essence Fest
Surprise content, concierge service and a sense of place and mission—these were among the elements that led to the success of the Essence Festival of Culture, which took place as a hybrid event over two weekends, June 25 to 27 and July 2 to 4. The hybrid gathering combined elements of Essence magazine’s wildly popular...
ComplexLand 2.0: How Complex Networks Engaged Streetwear Fans with a Gamified 3D Platform
ComplexCon is a tentpole event for Complex Networks that attracts nearly 60,000 rabid streetwear fans each year, so when COVID shut down the in-person festival in 2020, cancelling altogether wasn’t an option. But the resulting pivot to digital needed to go far beyond Zoom calls and flash sales to appeal to the event’s young, discerning...
Inside Facebook’s Accessible and Purposefully Thematic Internal Virtual Event
Among the next big challenges for event marketers is fighting the urge to lean on retrospective pandemic content and messaging and to instead embrace fresh marketing themes and branding. For Facebook’s annual internal event, the GMS Summit, this year themed “Reconnect,” the goal was to inspire audiences with a higher energy, festival-like virtual platform that...
The Gouda Life: Inside Wisconsin Cheese’s Virtual Sampling Event at SXSW
When Wisconsin Cheese activates at SXSW, the brand goes big. Real big. In 2018, it built the world’s largest cheese board, spanning 70 feet and featuring more than 2,000 pounds and 100 different types of cheese, all made with Wisconsin milk.
Desktops Be Gone: How SXSW Online is Adopting a Roving Approach
The typical virtual attendee of 2020 was confined to a home office. But in 2021, remote comes in a variety of flavors. It’s an insight the SXSW Online team embraced in its monumental task of transforming… LOGIN Please contact [email protected] if you are unable to login. Forgot Password?
OMEN by HP Livestreams a Video ‘Game Show’ to Casual and Competitive Gamers
Courting competitive gamers had been its specialty for years. But with an eye on additional accessible markets, OMEN by HP in 2019 decided to expand its marketing focus to include casual gamers, too. The… LOGIN Please contact [email protected] if you are unable to login. Forgot Password?
P&G’s Chief Design Officer Talks Scalable Virtual Events for CES and Beyond
As a “consumer-obsessed” brand, P&G had only joined the ranks of exhibiting brands at CES in 2019 when it stood up the LifeLab experience that offered multiple product spaces, hands-on demos and an amphitheater. When CES announced its 2021 pivot to digital, P&G saw opportunity—in not only keeping a foothold in the high-profile show, but...
Inside Walmart’s Attendee-curated Virtual Holiday Meeting Strategy
Jenifer Bice is senior director of event solutions at Walmart. Her co-author, Bryan Mizelle is also senior director of event solutions with the company. The 2020 U.S. Holiday Meeting was activated in partnership… LOGIN Please contact [email protected] if you are unable to login. Forgot Password?
How HBO Delivered a Groundbreaking Social VR Experience for 100 Influencers
The pandemic has required event marketers to not only master the virtual event realm, but to keep up with the emerging technologies that fuel compelling virtual experiences. For HBO, that challenge has also served as an opportunity to connect with consumers in fresh and meaningful ways while largescale in-person events are on hold. The network...
How AdventHealth Leveraged a Virtual Hospitality Event to Engage its Partners
Hospitality is an important piece of the sponsorship puzzle for NASCAR’s brand partners, affording them the opportunity to both thank and interact with key stakeholders and VIPs. Typically, the sponsor provides clients with unprecedented access to the track, the garage and the talent. But for the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race on May 24,...
How Facebook and IBM Took Conferences Digital in Different Ways
In the two weeks that it became clear COVID-19 would be choking out events in North America, with travel restrictions and quarantine orders setting off in domino effect, event teams behind their season’s b-to-b events had a big decision to make: to postpone or to pivot. For those companies that pivoted, it was a race...