On this special edition of The Six Five, hosts Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman examine the impact COVID-19 has had on events, major tech events to be specific, and best practices for digital events. 

 

Currently digital events haven’t been great. They haven’t necessarily evolved in the last few years, continuing taking a back seat to in-person events. But in the current situation that may end up lasting months, companies are realizing it’s time to make a change.

 

It's clear that people don’t want hours of boring footage with no engagement. Nobody wants to be talked at for long periods of time and hopefully companies will start to realize this. So what can companies do to make sure they get information across and keep audiences engaged? Let’s examine it further.

 

Style Matters

It’s important that companies leverage video right now and that does not mean PowerPoint slides via video with a monotone voice. It should be dynamic with multiple cameras and multiple people. Stage your production, take your narrative to the next level — it will make a big difference.

 

Google has always done a good job of this for their product announcements and developer events. They are the ones worth emulating now.

 

Engagement is Different Now

Zoom recently hosted an analyst day and according to Daniel, knocked it out of the park, when it came to engagement. He shared that they had giveaways and allowed attendees to ask questions. They forced participation without making it feel forced.

 

They also respected that people were in different timezones and likely were attending through meal times. Zoom offered DoorDash codes so people could have “lunch” during the event as if they were in person. It’s small things like that that make a difference.

 

Conversely, Patrick shared an experience that was not so stellar. The company requested that analysts turn off their own cameras. The issue with that is, people by nature, will get distracted. They will get up and go to the bathroom or start checking email. They’re not on camera so they don’t need to pay attention. Patrick emphasized that companies need to respect and understand the psychology about being at home.

 

Bite-Sized Content Wins

Companies are trying to compress 20 hours of content from the original event to 2 or 3 hours. It’s tough, but doable. Both Daniel and Patrick noted that companies need to be realistic about what people will want to consume.

Now that we are in our homes, there’s other noise and distractions that can be tough to deal with during the day. Companies should produce a well-designed, well thought out, 4K multi-camera, multi-dimensional keynote that tells the most important items. It’s also wise to make it available on demand, so if an attendee didn't get something, they can watch it again or if they want to work late at night they can watch it then when it’s quiet and they have fewer distractions. Think boiled down and simplified.

Daniel also noted that one-on-ones that were scheduled during events can and should still happen over video. A lot of people attend events for the face time. For the ability to connect with people who they have never met. Don’t eliminate that.

With bite-sized content and one-on-ones attendees can get a lot of the same value as if they were there in person.

 

Platforms and Security Matter

As events move online, security and privacy are coming front and center. Daniel pointed out that platforms like Zoom are more consumer-focused and don’t have a lot of security compared to Webex or Microsoft platforms. For most cases it’s fine. Zoom is a great platform, but it’s something to be mindful of if you’re disclosing private, proprietary, or financial information.

 

Patrick also noted that the size of the event might dictate the platform. YouTube and Twitch are good options for events that need to go out to thousands if not millions. Platforms like Zoom, Webex and Teams are limited in terms of scale.

 

All are great platforms, but several things should be taken into consideration when planning your digital event. The key takeaways are make it dynamic, consumable and easy to engage with and you’ll be on the path to success.

 

Over the next few months, Daniel and Patrick will be releasing more special editions of The Six Five with insights from executive all of the world on the current situation. Don’t miss out on any of the conversations that are headed your way, subscribe now.

 

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show. The contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.