Once an entirely physical event, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) national convention this year introduced a virtual component including trade show exhibits and live streaming video content. The reason? To connect with attendees who couldn’t make it to the face-to-face event, naturally. “Our members were feeling the general state of the economy big time,” says Christopher Gribbs, Managing Director, Convention, for AIA. “The decision was made top down that we needed an alternative to the physical event more than ever.” Producer: InXpo.

As with most hybrid events, the virtual sessions ran concurrent to the show (held April 30-May 2), giving attendees the chance to check out sessions and exhibits at the same time as their counterparts were doing the same things at the show. But AIA also integrated its robust social networking initiatives into the mix. Some sessions allowed attendees to ask presenters questions via Twitter, for example. And a
Twitter hashtag was created so users could easily find and follow colleagues who were attending the show live or virtually.

This year, AIA offered free access to the virtual convention to anyone interested. Free access included both the trade show as well as the streaming video of keynotes and educational sessions. Advertisements for the virtual convention began just a few weeks in advance of the event and it was promoted as a value-added membership benefit.

Another benefit of having a virtual component for the event was the ability to easily allow both attendees and those who couldn’t make it the opportunity to download content “on demand” after the convention.
Next year, the show will promote both the physical event in Miami and the online virtual event simultaneously, and attendees can register for either/both using the same registration process. The virtual show will again be free to anyone to attend. AIA will offer 36 video sessions with educational
content, more than double the number offered in 2009, and will charge a one-time subscription fee for the streaming video.

AIA 2009 BY THE NUMBERS

Live:
AIA MEMBERS 6,606
OTHER PROFESSIONALS 7,252
NONPROFESSIONALS 8,542
TOTAL REGISTRANTS 22,400
TOTAL ATTENDANCE 17,977

Virtual:
AIA MEMBERS 4,440
OTHER PROFESSIONALS 1,036
TOTAL VIRTUAL REGISTRANTS 5,476
TOTAL ATTENDANCE 3,517