Virtual Experience Dream Team
For the first few months, we all held out – to some degree – for live events to come back in full force, and quickly. We now know it’s going to be awhile, and when the live events industry does rebound it will assuredly come with new safety protocols, and the landscape will look different in terms of size and make-up.
So, “virtual” is here to stay, at least for the time being. We must adjust, keep up with all the new learnings available and be brave enough to try new things. So far, one thing is clear: translating live events into virtual ones 1:1 is not a winning strategy. If you’ve been responsible for putting one on, you know this firsthand! Chances are your stakeholders, and likely your clients, don’t REALLY know what it takes. There’s conflicting information and therefore perceptions about budget (“It should cost less!” “It actually costs more!” “Can’t we make it work for the same budget?” – we hear all of these, and the truth is, it all depends).
Regardless, you need your events to be successful – your business is counting on it. Beyond the top 10s and lists now available about how to design and execute a killer virtual event, none of these can happen without the right mix of roles. It’s time to talk about who you need on your virtual event dream team.
For starters, just having a handful of people to design, manage and produce your event won’t cut it (we know this first-hand, and have learned, quite quickly, through trial and error!). If you’ve been trying to make this work (and it’s not), give yourself a pass. One of the tricky things about the virtual world (read: digital), is that we’ve been conditioned to think it’s simple and on-demand. This may be true from a user perspective, but this is anything from accurate when you’re on the other side. There’s a lot more pressure to deliver what once was accomplished by a multi-sensory live experience on a 13” screen. When you’re in the control room, there’s no ‘tuning out’ – everyone is ON. 100%. It’s intense, active, demanding and intricate in a way the live events most of us are accustomed to producing aren’t.
In addition to an exceptional audio-visual partner (which we’ll save our thoughts on for another post), here are the five key roles you need, plus a handful of support staff:
Virtual Event Program Director
This crucial role is someone who is capable of corralling the full team to create a compelling virtual event and is detail-oriented to the degree that each item needed to remain on track does so effectively and efficiently – with or without a support staff. This person has enough experience with technology to understand how to troubleshoot when issues arise and effectively partner with the audio/video team to optimize the event for the virtual space.
Virtual Event Technical Specialist
This role advises the Virtual Event Program Director in all matters technical. This person knows the ins and outs of the platforms being considered and can advise as to which will be most appropriate to bring the clients’ objectives AND the agency’s vision to life. The Virtual Event Technical Specialist is also intimately familiar with the needs of the audio/visual partner both from a planning and day-of perspective.
Virtual Event Production Designer
The virtual event production designer conceptualizes what the event will look and feel like. This person has an eye for detail, understands what looks good on the camera/screen and can articulate how to bring the vision to life, including all elements of styling that might affect the final output. This person is in tune with the capabilities and limitations of the selected platform(s), and knows how to work within them to imagine and create stunning aesthetics for the entirety of the event, including promotional and follow-up materials as well as on-screen.
Virtual Event Host
This role has been called Virtual Event Moderator but a moderator doesn’t do justice to what a host does for her audience, which is to receive or entertain a guest (or attendee), socially, commercially, and/or officially. In the virtual events world, it behooves us to think about our guests this way, because the virtual space can be less inviting and warm than an in-person environment. Again, when you’re working with only a few of the senses, those few have to be on double-duty, so choose a host that is friendly, engaging, can read his/her audience and make them feel equally at ease and get them ready to receive the experience the team has created for them.
Virtual Event Concierge
The Virtual Event Concierge complements the Virtual Event host. This person ensures attendees are taken care of, individually, during a virtual event, primarily through the main chat room. This person is responsible for driving engagement, helping people feel included while they are at the event and even moderates breakout chat rooms when needed.
Support Staff
Virtual Event Program Managers partner closely with the Technical Specialist and the Program Director throughout the entire process and are tasked with a range of responsibilities including but not limited to:
Executing promotional messaging and communication
Keeping an inventory on progress of registration including outbound communication, follow-up and trouble-shooting
Speaker and sponsorship management
Being on-hand for technical issues that will arise during the event
Getting feedback from attendees during and after the event
Performing analyses on the data gathered at the virtual event
Following up once the event is over with a leave-behind message, asset or other deliverables
While live events may not make their come back for quite some time, the good news is, virtual event options ARE abundant and getting better every day. There’s no getting around the fact that businesses depend on people meeting, so it’s on us all to ensure the events we’re putting on are well designed, managed and executed – and the best way to do this is with the right team. If you’re in need of any of these roles internally or just looking to augment your staff while putting on your next virtual event, contact us at info@redvelvetevents.com – we’d love to help you out!
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