tradeshowgypsy

Make your presentations visually epic!

Making the decision to host an event is a huge undertaking as is making the decision to spend budget dollars on events. With travel limited, venues under opening restrictions and lower percentages many things have to be taken into consideration to meet objectives and price points.

Hosting a hybrid evet seems like the most viable option, this will give the live version a chance to get back off the ground with the limited capacity and have live interaction. Adding in the streaming segment to reach the virtual attendees or participants can be a value add or a significant loss of money if it isn’t publicized enough to get Virtual attendance and draw in the live audience to give the event more engagement.

Some of what we found hosting Virtual events were the missing elements of interaction and physical energy that creates that feeling of excitement and show buzz.

Knowing what was missed helps define the issues, now to find the solutions.

Get your idea bag out this is going to call for creativity and skills in creating show buzz.

As a host it will be a collaborative effort with your sponsors/exhibitors. As an Exhibitor reach out to your show organizer.

Work together to create excitement with product launch announcements with games and contests. Send announcements, use social media with teasers for the event and new product launches. Free offers with sign-ups that will entice social media sharing.

Your live portion has to be exceptional in presentation skills. They have to be dynamic to garner the audience and create the excitement. Leaders in the industry or products that have everyone waiting to hear about. Keeping active in respective industries by presenting is always good, but in this environment you have to get the most skilled presenters in your groups.

At the live portion don’t skimp on presentation design, create an inviting atmosphere. Having a couple of chairs and a logo is just like every other Zoom meeting you attended this year. Create visuals behind each speaker that can change and give the viewer that wow factor. Add in audio that is unique before each presenter give an audio visual element that both attendee groups will remember. CES of course does fantastic with this just attend any of their shows and see where everyone congregates. The screen room with outstanding visuals. This is expensive but could be the main financial investment you make that can be used throughout the event. Work with AV teams and videographers who have those mad skills. For you smaller groups who are feeling left out – reach out to your colleges and see what they have available, some have graduating students with great ideas who would be able to meet your needs and price point.

Don’t forget to use your experienced staff too, many have seen and done many different styles of presentations and can contribute a skillset and ideas that may not come from the new kids on the team. Really, it will take a village to get the most out of your event.

Research a software that meets your needs for visibility and lead generation. There are quite a few now and many have upgraded to accommodate events with and without a show floor. Not all lead gen is created equal, make sure the stats gathered are useable and specific to your needs or can be tailored to what you are tracking.

Keep your positive show energy up! I just know that F2F shows will be back bigger and better than ever once we get past our unique situation. During this goooey time clean up those wagons, get rid of old emails and do research on hybrid events in all industries, that is a great way to be ready with ideas that you can adjust for your events. Be ready to add the hybrid element to your events or ready to launch full force into your live event. Keep your sills honed and your research up to date. Many are on furlough or have had to take jobs outside the events industry. If you love events like I do, don’t give up.

They can’t keep a good Tradeshowgypsy down!