MAKING DISTINCTIONS
Captured contentis any program that is saved to be used later — video, audio and/or PowerPoint presentations, whether originally presented live at a conference or produced via remote or Web-based technologies. Some captured content is saved on CDs, but much is now captured for archiving on Web sites. Hybrid eventscombine live events, such as trade shows, conferences or other meetings, with various types of online productions, usually making live events available to remote audiences and sometimes giving live audiences access to remotely produced content, all in real time.

VALUE OF CAPTURED CONTENT AND HYBRID EVENTS
• The primary value to the producer is extended reach to audiences, with new revenue possibilities
from off-site participants and from sponsors of archived content.
• Online participants provide more qualified leads. Tracking their online actions (what booths, advertisers or sponsors they click on) can help match them more accurately with potential business partners.
• The value to users not attending is money and time saved, especially when travel and professional education budgets are limited or when staff can’t take time away from the office.
• In situations in which all conference sessions are captured, even those who physically attend can benefit by having access to concurrent sessions they couldn’t attend on-site.

USES FORCAPTURED CONTENT
WEB SITE LIBRARIES that audiences can search and read or listen to on demand
PROGRAMMING for continuing education credits available at scheduled times or on demand
PODCASTS downloadable from a Web site
CONFERENCE AND/OR TRADE SHOW ONLINE, in which participants who couldn’t physically attend an event may watch particular sessions in real time or at their leisure
REVENUE STREAMS. All these uses can carry a subscription or pay-perview element to create new sources of revenue, while creating a valuable service for participants.

WHAT LIVE EVENTS TO CAPTURE
■ Start small and give yourself and your audience time to learn the ropes. Do a chapter event or educational sessions online a few times a year before investing in an entire virtual conference.
■ Plan ahead. Start at least two months in advance to ensure the best results.
■ Limit each captured content session to an hour or less.
■ Consider a mix of live and on-demand content, using different formats to keep interest.
■ Educate participants about how to register for and access content.
■ Have a customer service person ready to assist.
■ Set up a kiosk at your live event to show how participants can use captured content later. Walk-throughs and demos work better than instructions on paper or in e-mails.
■ Create community around online conferences. Set up chat rooms and communities so participants (and even speakers) can have ongoing contact.
■ Initially, set fees to cover costs and marketing. Look for sponsorships and expect profits later.

TIPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
■ Historically, the most commonly captured events have been those that require little audience participation, such as keynote speakers at general sessions. Many organizations offer these on a live feed to a Web site.
■ Sessions with PowerPoint presentations using a single or a few speakers can be easily captured. Even Q&A sessions are possible if you do some training to ensure that microphones pick up all questions and/or speakers repeat questions.
■ Remote presentations can be fed live to audiences and to Web participants. For example, you may want to incorporate in a general session live remarks from a CEO or much-in-demand expert, legislative updates from the organization’s lobbyistor a celebrity appearance to spice up an awards presentation, anniversary celebration or charitable effort. These work when the immediacy of response or information is important, and they can accommodate VIP’s schedules because a live feed can be set up almost anywhere and the recording archived for later access.
■ Not suitable for capturing are roundtable discussions, networking sessions, role-playing or other types of events that wouldn’t give remote participants the same value as if they were sitting in the room.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRODUCTION OF HYBRIDSOR CAPTURED CONTENT
■ What do you want to achieve? What do you want to capture? Do you want live feed or recording for later use? What are the priorities if your desires exceed your budget?
■ What internal resources does your organization have to commit to producing captured content?
■ Do you have the resources for marketing and customer support or will a vendor need to handle it?
■ Can your IT team manage the Web setup, registrations and log-in issues?
■ Who will do the editing and hosting?
■ How many participants do you expect? Will you limit the number of participants?
■ Are you planning to use audioconference lines (billed by the minute and number of lines) involving toll-free numbers and dial-in codes or will participants listen via the Internet?
■ Will you charge for participants? If so, how much?
■ Who will handle on-site issues like ensuring microphones are used properly?

QUESTIONS TO ASK A VENDOR
How many on-site staff will be required to accomplish what we want to achieve?
■ Are expenses billed separately and itemized?
■ What does it cost to include interactive elements such as Q&A or survey feedback from online, real-time participants? Can you handle remote production into the conference as well as on-site recording at the event? If so, what are the costs of using a studio versus a Web cam and what are the advantages or disadvantages?
■ How far in advance do you want to have PowerPoint slides or can they be captured
during the presentation?
■ What will the final product look like? Will it be just the slides with the speaker voice-over or
will the speaker be edited into the slides (if there are slides)?
■ What can you do to enable post-event chats, satisfaction surveys and follow-ups?
■ What similar clients do you have who have similar needs and may we speak with them and see their productions?
■ What’s included in a turnkey approach and what does that cost?

MORE on EXPOWEB.COM

Newest applications

Virtual environments for trade shows and events can take on the attraction of video games, using avatars and other popular gaming features, making them 3D events, says James Parker, President of Digitell. Participants and exhibitors can create virtual personalities that interact with others in a virtual conference/trade show environment, visiting exhibitors, seeing products and features and commenting on them to exhibitors and other participants, exchanging information and building relationships. The possibilities add a new dimension to the concept of community. “It takes about 10 minutes to learn and the reward in the experience is phenomenal,” Parker says.

Case study: Vocus online event one month after live conference

Vocus, a company specializing in public relations software, followed its June 2009 user conference with a one-day virtual conference produced by ON24 in July. The virtual conference featured videotapes of seven exciting sessions about social media from the June conference along with live Q&A with the presenters. Chat rooms allowed for ongoing discussion, and breaks were built in. 

The event extended content to people whose budgets prohibited their travel to the June conference. In fact, the attractive price points of $99 for clients and $129 for others drew twice as many online participants as attendees in June. In keeping with the subject matter, much of the “buzz” about the online event was created through social media. The response was enough to offset most of the production and marketing costs. And the reaction was astounding. According to Inga Broerman, Vice President of marketing for Vocus, 75 to 80 percent of registrants participated in the entire day.

A cost comparison

Stream57 put the pencil to a “lunch and learn” scenario based on 25 locations and 15 attendees at each site, 375 total participants. Here’s how it shaped up for four types of meetings.

Traditional (speaker live at each site)
Speaker $  37,500
Travel  $  25,000
Meeting room $  10,000
On-site AV $  40,000
F&B  $  37,500
Manager $  12,500
Misc.   $   2,500
Total  $165,000
Per location $    6,600 
Per attendee $       440

Satellite Broadcast (single studio speaker broadcast to all sites)
Speaker $    1,500
Travel  $    1,000
Meeting room $  10,000
On-site AV $  45,000
F&B  $  37,500
Producer $    1,575
Misc.  $    2,500
Video produc $    8,500
Satellite $  62,500
Uplink connec $    2,550
Total  $172,625
Per location $    6,905 
Per attendee $       460

Hybrid Webcast (single speaker live, streamed to all sites and 50 online attendees)
Speaker $    1,500
Travel  $    1,000
Meeting room $  10,000
On-site AV $  40,000
F&B  $  37,500
Producer $    1,575
Misc.  $    2,500
Video produc $    2,500
Webcast $    3,000
Total  $  99,575
Per location $    3,983
Per attendee $       234

Webcast only (local speaker connected by Webcam)
Speaker $    1,500
Webcast $    3,000
Tech/webcam $       900
Total  $    5,400
Per location N/A
Per attendee $         14