Virtual events have been picking up for the past few weeks as event profs adapt to the current global situation and strive to continue putting on events online.
Shocklogic has been hosting online and virtual events for a few years now, and were invited to be a part of a webinar with Brightelm on 24th April.
The webinar focused on how to create value for sponsors and exhibitors when using online and virtual events. One aspect of many events is sponsorship, which in this current situation can be challenging. Without physical spaces that can be used for brand promotion, what are the options?
The webinar featured the following speakers:

• Rob Eveleigh, Managing Director at Brightelm
• Pritesh Mawdia, our Head of Technical Support & Development at Shocklogic
• Gabrielle Mouterde, Event Manager at ISUOG
• Dolores Cantelli Florido, Sr. Market Manager Women’s Healthcare Ultrasound at Philips Healthcare
• Caroline MacKenzie, Operations Director at Open Audience

One thing that was highlighted by Gabrielle Mouterde was that in order to join the virtual events journey, you need to rethink many aspects of the event planning process. When it comes to online content, we need to consider how people consume it, and think of additional options. We need to start having conversations with the people that are getting affected, such as sponsors.
Dolores Cantelli Florido mentioned that “We have a voice that we can use to exchange information”. We have to look into the new expectations that come with the shift to virtual events. She emphasised the need of having a platform that allows a fruitful gathering with both current customers and new prospects, and freedom to implement activities in which industry partners can show and prove the uniqueness of their offering.

Caroline MacKenzie discussed the topic of compliance in a virtual environment, and explained that one of the most common concerns of sponsors is the importance of a virtual event to be compliant. You need to have that discussion with the sponsors and establish the format and quality of the content and you as an organiser, you need to have an idea of what you are offering from advertising, static content, Q&A and meet the expert, or many others.

Finally, Pritesh Mawdia spoke about the importance of data management in a virtual environment. Nowadays, we can collect data at any point from the registration openings to the event itself broadcasted live which is a great opportunity for sponsors to collect data pre-event. These allow sponsors to create pre-recorded content which gives attendees more credibility.
If you missed it, you can watch the full webinar here.
Written by Lorena Fasui, Digital Marketing Associate