“Every piece of feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive. It was nothing short of extraordinary.”
For the third year in a row Bright Vision Events supported iVendi, the multiple award-winning vehicle retailing providers with their Winter Conference. Historically, the conference was held at a venue in Europe, with Lisbon being the planned location for last years event, until Covid intervened. The solution, of course was to run a virtual conference. We might have missed the weather in Lisbon, but the show went on!!
This was the first time iVendi had delivered a live streamed virtual conference. Being a digital service provider themselves, they knew that this format would suit their presenters and audience. Having invested significantly in the hardware and software that is so vital to delivering professional quality virtual conferences, we were ready for the challenge. This is the story of how we delivered the event.
This is the feedback we received from Ivendi
“I gave my feedback and thanks on-site for what was another superb conference. Having had a few days to reflect and after seeing the event survey results and the various conversations I had had with the team since, I really need to thank you again. Every piece of feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive. We had some pre-event concerns about how certain team members would receive the event, but the survey is nothing short of extraordinary.
All comments, from the simplicity of the website to how the show was produced were first class. I even had one member of staff saying they preferred virtual over a real ‘face-to-face’ conference – given that we normally go abroad, that is really is saying something! For our summer conference we may look at virtual again. However, I hope next year (Winter 2021) we can go to abroad again and you guys will be on the plane with us. Thanks again.”
A huge amount of planning and technical know-how went into making this event a success
As the picture above shows, the control room to deliver this virtual conference looks like a BBC live broadcast unit. Which is exactly what it is, really. The key elements were:
- A personalised microsite was designed to host the event with all key presenters presenting from a studio we created in the iVendi offices, using what is traditionally their chill-out area.
- A team of 5 technicians delivered the event over 2 days, with a very small audience in attendance and most of the guests viewing the live stream online.
- A branded backdrop provided the scene, and a 3-camera rig provided the vision mixer with a variety of great camera shots to mix the most dynamic show possible.
- The show itself was built with a variety of PIPS and overlays providing a really engaging show for the guests at home.
- The technical solution involved a real mix of video outputs as we had to provide multiple screens for the audience, multiple screens for presenters and multiple outputs for the audience at home.
- The whole production was planned, scripted and prepared prior to arriving onsite to allow the most efficient set up and rehearsals possible when onsite.
The live audience saw the show live in the room but also had access to all online features such as polling, word clouds, reactions and even emojis! It meant both the live and remote audience received a similar experience and allowed presenters to engage with all delegates wherever they were watching from!
For the moment, a virtual conference is the solution
We geared up early to deliver virtual conferences, and for the moment all the conferences we are delivering are virtual ones. Click here to see some of our testimonials from delighted clients.
As and when lockdown restrictions are relaxed, it might well be that there is some return to ‘normal’ conferences. However, as our MD, Ben Hull, suggested in an earlier article, it is likely that a hybrid conference model will become popular, where a small socially distanced audience sees the conference live, with the rest joining in virtually. Quite what the proportion ends up being between ‘live’ and ‘virtual’ remains to be seen, but virtual is here to stay.
Contact us or call us on 01295 770933 to discuss your requirements for a virtual conference.
