Last year, as the economy struggled and many technology shows took a hit, CrossTech Media expanded the reach of its ITEC shows by launching a weekly Web TV show, ITEC TV. Formerly known as the Information Technology Exhibition and Conference, ITEC shows are oneday programs held in 12 cities across the country. The Web TV component, which builds on education from the live events and breaking news in the industry, allows the brand to reach attendees and potential attendees throughout the year.

“With the economy being what it is, face-to-face shows have transformed,” says Bill Sell,Vice President and General Manager of CrossTech Media, LLC. “We wanted to add some new resources, which have become not just complementary to the live events, but important programs in their own right.”

The TV show, launched last April, is one of those resources. Hosted by Sell and Tom Henderson, analyst at Extreme Labs, the show offers a weekly fix of the education provided by the ITEC conference portfolio on topics such as hardware, software, networking and mobility technology for businesses. CrossTech executives considered simply producing a weekly podcast, but their research showed that people were more likely to listen to videocasts in a timelier manner than audiocasts. Also, while people will remain engaged with an audiocast for six to eight minutes, research shows that they’ll remain engaged with video for up to 35 minutes, Sell says.

Using new technologies, CrossTech Media has been able to produce the TV show in-house. Sell says any Web camera will work with inexpensive video hosting services such as Blip.tv, Oovoo.com and Adobe Connect. Sell, who currently uses Blip.tv, has used all three.

ITEC’s show director added TV producer to his job description and is responsible for getting each show filmed and on the Web.“He’s got itdown to a system, and we can be completely set up in 15 minutes,” Sell says.

For the first year, CrossTech produced the shows with a basic Web camera. This year, they’re adding green-screen technology, which creates a virtual backdrop that looks like a news desk, no matter where the anchors are located. The company also recently purchased a Tricaster, which is a mobile studio on wheels with two cameras. Using Skype, the show can interview a guest located anywhere in the world and it will look like he or she is sitting at the desk with Sell.

Because CrossTech specializes in producing multimedia productions, the company has been able to produce ITEC TV in-house without much added expense. To produce similar shows for clients, ITEC charges $6,000 per episode. “We don’t charge viewers for our shows, but just like paid webinars and paid virtual events, a model that has people subscribe or register could be created,” Sell says. “We have a registration and event technologies business and have built-in capabilities to do those services as well.”

Not only does the show help ITEC keep in touch with its audience year-round, but it also offers an attractive value-add for event sponsors. “Now we’re talking to technology companies not just about getting a booth at a show, but also about being a guest on the TV show or sponsoring white papers produced by the organization and other things,” Sell says.

In 2009, ITEC salespeople offered a package that included a TV interview for those who purchased booths of a certain size. ITEC promotes the TV show at its live events, often filming an episode of ITEC TV at the show. The company also markets the TV show through its e-newsletter, which goes to 297,000 readers, and through cross-promotional programs with other publications.

Sell says response to ITEC TV has been overwhelmingly positive. Although the Blip.tv platform ITEC uses to develop the show doesn’t provide tracking to see how many people have watched each episode, based on feedback, click data and requests for e-mail reminders when each show is live, Sell estimates that several hundred people have viewed each show. “If we don’t do it, we get e-mails saying, ‘Where’s my show?’” he says.

By the end of the first quarter 2010, Sell expects that all of CrossTech Media’s live events, which span seven different industries, will have their own Web TV shows. “TV shows allow every event to become longer than that two- or three-day period,” he says. “There are many more opportunities for sponsors, and we can carry on a dialogue for many months. If we interview a CEO of a company every 90 days, the audience builds a relationship with that company, so having a booth at the show is almost secondary.”

ITEC’s Strategy

GOAL: To extend the education offered at live conferences, keeping ITEC on the minds of target audience members year-round and offering added value to sponsors.

STRATEGY: Launch a Web TV show that gives ITEC’s target audience a weekly fix of the technology news and education available at its annual conferences.

RESULTS: Several hundred viewers have watched each ITEC TV episode, and viewers continue to view the episodes, which have been archived.

Nancy Mann Jackson, a freelance writer and editor, writes for a number of trade and consumer publications. Contact her at www.nancyjackson.com.