Ohio Virtual Fatherhood Summit

Pivoting Towards Virtual Can Enable Broader Access

Over the last few months, as plans have continued to change, we’ve helped new and long-time clients create virtual experiences that help capture their attendee’s attention and challenge what’s possible by going virtual. One of these events was the Ohio Virtual Fatherhood Summit. When the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood, a long-time partner, reached out to start planning their annual summit, it was an in-person event for around 200 people. But as with many events in 2020, they had to make the decision to create a completely virtual event. Their main goal was to stay as true to that original event as possible.

As with in-person events, we’ve found that pre-production for virtual events is crucial to identifying possible problems, managing virtual platforms, coaching speakers and anticipating technical support needs. We follow a multi-step process that allows us to assess each client’s individual virtual meeting needs including streaming, custom websites, virtual event platforms, location options, a/v support, moderation and creative content creation. This attention to detail helps everything run smoothly on event day.

For the Virtual Fatherhood Summit, we were able to provide our client with a customized event platform including an exhibit hall, technical support for attendees and presenters, branding, edited videos from all sessions and metrics to review the success of the event. We were able to provide those services utilizing our on-site control room and their headquarters and assigning two teams to support the event. Our event platform team was responsible for setting up the platform and tailoring it to the client’s specific branding requirements. Additionally, they served as the technical help desk for anyone having issues with the platform. Our creative team elevated the quality of the sessions by creating graphics, lower thirds and editing video compilations.

Part of our event day support included switching between presenters who were in different locations. Weaving presenters from multiple locations together can be a challenge but having a knowledgeable production partner removes the stress. Our approach and expertise with the event platform allowed everyone to come together in an interactive way. One way we accomplished that was by using PiP (picture in picture) during the live event so that attendees could see the presenter during the PowerPoint presentations or could see both people speaking on-screen at once.

A wow factor for this client was the exhibit hall feature we created within the event platform. The exhibit hall included a custom map and each exhibitor was given their own dedicated web page for information, polls, conversations and the option to jump instantly into a Zoom call at the press of a button to interact live with the exhibit representatives. Nearly 20 virtual vendor booths were ready to greet visitors during the all-day event. This solution allowed our client to keep something from the live event that was important to their success, but in a way that kept it effective for their virtual meeting.

Overall, this event was a big success. Over 450 people visited the website and generated nearly 30 thousand page views. Feedback from attendees and vendors was positive with lots of comments on how much like the in-person event we were able to make the virtual summit. The summit also logged record attendance because they weren’t bound by typical financial barriers that often stifle events of this size, such as venue capacity, travel, lodging and catering costs.

Our award-winning design team partnered with our experienced team of technicians helped the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood reach their goals and create an impactful experience. With our turnkey solutions and impressive support, they were able to connect with more attendees than in years past and reach higher than before.

We can’t wait to see what we’re able to do next.

Venue:
Virtual
Location:
Columbus, OH
Year:
2020
Attendees:
+450
Share