Events Need Strong Production Value: Connect.IQ report 

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Engaging with audiences via digital can be a challenge because people watching remotely are just one click away from being distracted from a presentation. Hybrid events are becoming more commonplace and according to Gartner, by 2023, 60 per cent of businesses that pivoted to virtual events will incorporate physical real-time/real-space experiential elements into marketing experiences.

That’s why more businesses – and conferences – are taking imaginative approaches to how they deliver content with technology. This was seen at the 2021 CES, LG relied on a virtual influencer with around 6,000 Instagram followers to announce new products during a keynote address. A French multinational insurance firm relied on 3D and virtual reality to host its annual investor day. The company, like so many others, was challenged by the reality that its executives needed to present from remote locations that were not necessarily designed for a professional looking investor presentation. So, the company relied on 3D and virtual reality to literally place the presenters in a consistently visually appealing way that matched high production values while being able to present with a few bells and whistles.

Businesses need to treat every presentation as a movie shoot with proper lighting, sound, and integration of visual elements – and this is especially true when working with presenters who are operating remotely. Events are too important to leave anything to chance. You don’t want showtime ruined because a speaker presenting from their home did not have enough bandwidth or chose a poorly lit room to deliver a crucial talk. In addition, businesses need to keep the user experience in mind if they’re incorporating technology that requires any special instructions for the audience. Gartner suggests including a tutorial or providing direction on how to use a new feature. Gartner relates the story of how one virtual event used avatars on its log in page to help attendees navigate the experience but, they forgot to inform attendees that these avatars were actually “windows” into a deeper level of content, which left attendees feeling frustrated.

Investis Digital released its special Connect.IQ report on Virtual Events that evaluates five trends that are influencing the future of virtual and hybrid events as businesses learn how to make them better with key lessons learned during the pandemic.

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To uncover these trends, Investis Digital:

• Reviewed hundreds of companies to uncover how they’re approaching virtual events. We started with the top-scoring publicly traded companies based on its 2021 Connect.IQ Global 100 Report.
• Surveyed members of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) to understand how IR and Corporate Communications executives are using virtual events to support their business needs.
• Interviewed virtual events analysts and studied additional research from both Forrester and Gartner.

Using its proprietary Connect.IQ methodology, Investis Digital reviewed over 300 criteria that create an effective digital presence, including the use and integration of virtual events into their IR and corporate communications regime. In addition to the survey and analyst research, they studied what is driving stakeholder expectations and the way industry leaders support the needs of their stakeholder audiences with virtual events.

“At a time when audiences are raising their expectations for what virtual events can deliver, businesses that place a higher priority on engagement and content will have a distinct advantage over those that do not”, said Frank Persia, US Director of Webcasting, Investis Digital. “This report is a playbook for key decision-makers on how they can get the most from their virtual and hybrid events.”

The report also uncovers, hybrid events are becoming more commonplace and according to Gartner, by 2023, 60 per cent of businesses that pivoted to virtual events will incorporate physical real-time/real-space experiential elements into marketing experiences.