Margaux Ancel

by Margaux Ancel – December 2020.

Where were you when the Covid-19 pandemic began? That day, eight months ago when offices closed, lines at the grocery store tripled, and toilet paper ran scarce? I had been looking forward to my organization’s first fundraiser of the year for weeks, putting the finishing touches on décor orders, guest lists, and name tags, before the calendar reached Friday, March 13^th and everything came to a screeching halt.

The first error we made was imagining this situation would only last two weeks and things would return to normal soon after. I can now visualize with some irony the plants left behind on the office windowsill, the extra pair of shoes below the desk, and the too few supplies I stuffed in my bag before heading home that Friday night. The following week, our much-anticipated event was rescheduled to June, to the disappointment yet understanding of many, leaving us with three additional major events to reinvent in a span of five months. As this unprecedented year finally comes to an end, I wanted to share my experience in re-imagining special events for a nonprofit. Don’t forget to reach out to your fellow development professionals; they are the greatest source of ideas and resources!

I worked with a small but mighty team of three to develop a unique experience for each of our major events, making this, I hope, a useful case study. The three events were as follows:

• The Zoom Event, using the now famous platform we’ve loved to hate for the last eight months
• The Conference-Style Event, using a one-stop-shop software that combines a program livestream, video meeting rooms, and networking
• The Microsite Event, using a combination of softwares for a uniquely branded finish

TL,DR: So what did we learn?:

• Pre-record your “live” programs or presentations and invest in a good videographer for a more polished and professional look
• Incorporate an interactive element through a chat or video meeting rooms for multiple small groups of attendees
• Differentiate your event from your usual website platform by creating a temporary microsite or investing in a platform you can brand

The Zoom Event

Oh Zoom, the wonderful platform that has given us virtual meetings that could be emails and too many happy hours during the months of March and April. Yet after a few months of use, people of all ages have learned to use the platform, making it the easiest way to dip our toes into the virtual event world and reach a larger and more diverse audience.

Program

• Cocktail Hour – 30min, for a VIP group of 35 attendees
• Interactive Pictionary Game – 1.5 hours, for up to 150 attendees, with 8 teams playing, 4 sketchers, and 1 MC

Logistics

We used RingCentral, operated through Zoom, in two formats: meeting and webinar. The meeting function hosts as many users as needed, all with camera and audio access. The webinar function only gives audio and video access to panelists who receive individual links to access the webinar. 

We used the meeting function to host the VIP reception, allowing a smaller group of attendees to engage with each other prior to the event first in a general meeting room, then in smaller breakout rooms. Only VIP ticketed attendees received access to this portion of the event. These attendees were then directed to a different link to join the main program.

The Pictionary game worked through the webinar function. In order to view each person well while streaming, we limited ourselves to four people on screen at a time. To do so, we divided the Pictionary game into multiple rounds. Each round featured one sketcher, the MC, and two captains representing their teams. Each team advanced to the next round after guessing correctly three times. All other attendees were able to view the event live and talk to each other and take guesses on the drawings through the chat.

The entire program was livestreamed on Facebook, giving limited access to non-paying attendees and reaching an audience who typically does not attend the event. 

All attendees received a mail-merge email from us with links to join the main program. Our VIP attendees received individual notes on how to access the virtual reception and the program later on.

Pros & Cons: VIP Reception

• We wanted to create a unique and exclusive feel to this part of the event, by welcoming in a more intimate setting our higher-level supporters. To that extent, the private Zoom meeting worked well and allowed these attendees to mingle briefly before the main event.
• However, like any meeting surpassing 10 people, it is unrealistic to expect anyone to be able to hold multiple conversations amongst each other. In order to combat this issue, we divided attendees into smaller breakout rooms. The primary issue with this feature is that attendees are unable to change rooms or reach out to attendees in other rooms. They were only able to return to the main meeting.
• Most of the feedback we received pertained to this portion of the event being too brief.

Pros & Cons: The Webinar Game

• We held multiple rehearsals with all relevant presenters, but it is simply impossible to predict when an internet outage may happen for one of the presenters, or an audio issue may arise. 
• In anticipation of this, the MC was able to keep the audience entertained whenever an issue arose. We also had a backup person off video and audio on standby ready to take over in case the MC also ran into a technical fiasco.
• We made the chat feature accessible to all audience members. Most of the time, this led to great conversations among attendees and fun commentary as the game took place. But it also required at least one person to monitor activity and keep all conversations friendly and appropriate.

Overall

Zoom provides an inexpensive and user-friendly solution to live program types of events with very basic interaction opportunities. Most people already had the platform downloaded on their computers, making this a more readily accessible to all.

As a nonprofit, recognizing our donors is paramount and the platform does not allow for an easy way to do so. We created a basic presentation which we showed through a screenshare prior to the start of the game as a means to display our supporters. 

The Conference Style Event

After receiving many positive reviews on the concept of a pre-event networking room, we considered a variety of platforms offering multiple video-meeting rooms, the challenge being to offer smaller meetings for a crowd of over 300 attendees. We wanted to integrate a live program as well, and an opportunity for people to access the experience of seating at an event table and network with other guests. 

After much research and quite a few demos, we selected Swapcard for our purposes. It offered everything we were looking for: a self-sustained platform for the event, networking opportunities for guests, video rooms for mingling, sponsor advertising opportunities, and a way to stream our general program, all for a very reasonable cost. 

Program

• Networking reception – 1 hour 
• Live program with virtual tables – 1 hour
• Virtual booths for organizations being recognized at the program, available to view anytime.

Logistics

The platform is customizable, allowing us to add our graphic identity and logo in all key areas. We organized the welcome page to have direct links to our full attendees list, the networking rooms, the Live Program, the virtual booths, a section to recognize our sponsors, and a guide on how to navigate the event. 

Swapcard offers virtual booths to feature honorees, vendors, or organizations. We used this to highlight organizations we recognized during our main program. There are also opportunities for advertising on the main page, although only three to four ads can be run. 

In order to access the event platform, attendees had to be registered. We uploaded our guest list to the system in order to pre-register all invitees. The system’s basic communication integration gave us the ability to send out emails to invite people to register and create a profile prior to the event, as well as send reminders leading up to it. The downside of the system was the inability to track emails that were invalid or bounced, thus leading to some issues with attendees unaware that they had not received anything on the day of the event. Manually adding guests was a simple process, but time consuming.

All attendees had to register on the platform for access and create a profile. The platform was available for a few days prior to the official event start, allowing attendees to connect via a chat function. 

The event was then broken up in two parts: the cocktail hour and the general program with virtual tables to “watch from.” The cocktail hour consisted of multiple video meeting rooms attendees could visit for an hour prior to the start of the event. The program stream combined live and pre-recorded elements, which were all shared through one computer through a Zoom meeting.

Higher-level donors were assigned to virtual tables (also known as video meetings of up to 12 people) and were able to talk with other attendees while watching the program. General attendees were not assigned to a table but were able to visit others and participate through a chat function.

Pros & Cons: The Platform

• The platform is primarily used for conferences, with the ability to stream multiple presentations in one day and “pin” live ones to the home page, as well as offer networking opportunities for all attendees. The upside is that these features expend the opportunity to offer more to donors and make the event a “one stop shop.” The downside? Too many bells and whistles. 
• To start, the platform was only accessible to attendees who had finished their registration process and created a profile. Without the ability to simply click a link and access the program, several attendees required one-on-one calls to get themselves set up as they ran into technical issues. To add to that, the platform, like many websites these days, did not operate on Internet Explorer and had difficulties with browsers other than Chrome. 
• On the communication end, since attendees received their registration email through the platform directly and the email address was branded as Swapcard, many went directly to their spam folder and the system did not offer an opportunity to create a registration link to send to the attendee directly. 
• On the positive side, statistics also came with the territory, allowing for feedback on the usage of some of the features. Most attendees set up profiles and accessed some of our virtual booths, but almost none bothered to send messages to other attendees directly.
• As with many virtual events, the drop off between registration and attendance hovered around 10%. That difference increased to almost 30% when looking at attendees who only joined for the program viewing vs. attendees who joined earlier to take advantage of the cocktail rooms.

Pros & Cons: Networking “Cocktail Hour”

• We did not pre-assign anyone to the networking rooms, instead allowing attendees to jump from one room to the next. We had suggested that people move on to the next room if the first one they went to was full, but many ended up clicking on the first three rooms anyways. 
• The process to access the room was very easy, no additional software downloads were necessary.
• Most guests really enjoyed being able to see friends and colleagues at random and mingling virtually. 

Pros & Cons: Main Program

• The live video portion was a workaround system. We used our beloved Zoom to host our presenters and our screenshare with the pre-recorded portions. The video was then embedded and stream on the platform. 
• As with any virtual live event, the usual internet connection issues got in the way, delaying the start of the program and creating significant sound issues.
• In our enthusiasm to maintain the feel of “tables” we did not consider the logistics of having multiple people on camera watching a video at the same time while trying to talk to each other. We recommended they use headphones while at their tables or mute themselves which worked for some, while others chose to use this time to continue networking and watch the video at a later time.

Overall

The platform gave a very professional and exclusive feel to the event, giving us a significant upgrade from the Zoom event. The pricing was steep for one event, but minimal in comparison to a traditional venue. 

The nature of a complex platform is that it requires some more work on the part of our attendees to register. People have become so used to clicking on a link to join virtual meetings that unfamiliar registration systems was an issue for about 15% of our attendees. Although we thought we were prepared with our “How To Guide,” the influx of calls and emails to solve some of our attendees’ IT issues were much higher than anticipated. 

The Microsite Event

By the third event, we gathered all the lessons we learned in the first two and simplified our formula to include our attendees’ favorite components:

• Networking rooms with a list of attendees
• A presentation program
• Sponsor recognition opportunities

And removed the things that did not work:

• Live components in the main program
• Complicated software systems that require attendees to create a profile  
• Software that requires attendees to download something 

Program

• Networking Room – 1 hour
• Main Program – 30 minutes
• After Party – 1 hour 

Logistics

In an effort to minimize the work on the part of our attendees, we hired a designer and a developer to create a microsite for the event. The microsite included a welcome page featuring the event program, our sponsors, and donation opportunities.

On a separate page, we created different boxes linking out to the same type of networking room as our previous event with Swapcard. The meeting room vendor, called Whereby, allowed us to create as many rooms as we needed. This Networking Room page, accessible through a password provided to registered attendees via email, was only available for one hour. We used about 30 rooms, powered by Whereby, capable of hosting up to 12 people on camera at once and a chat feature. 

The Program page, also accessible via password only, streamed a video that was pre-recorded and put together by a videographer in the weeks prior to the event. The program lasted about 30 minutes, shorter than most episodes on Netflix.

The After party was streamed on yet another page within the microsite and was accessible to the general public. It featured artists from the tri-state area for sets of 15 minutes each, with short games of trivia between each performance. This portion was a live Zoom meeting we streamed directly to the website. 

Pros & Cons: The Microsite

• Based on the feedback we received, we realized that our event system needed to be simplified as much as possible. By using a microsite, we were able to create a uniquely branded virtual space where attendees could enjoy their digital event experience.
• For the after party, we hosted our artists in a Zoom meeting and streamed it to the microsite. We did not pre-record this section of the event and unfortunately ran into many technical and sound issues. 

Pros & Cons: The Networking Rooms

• The networking rooms provided by Whereby did not require any download or registration, a simple click to join the meeting within the browser. It also allowed attendees to visit multiple meeting rooms without leaving the site by returning to the general networking room page.
• We pre-assigned attendees to networking rooms and provided a list of all attendees and their “assigned seats” on the Networking Room page, allowing people to find each other at the start of the event.
• Because of the virtual aspect of the event, many attendees entirely skipped this section of the program and joined towards the end or just in time for the presentation. 

Pros & Cons: Main Program 

• We developed a presentation based on what we would have normally shown at the in-person event, coordinating with each presenter to receive their pre-recorded videos. We provided some with prompts and others with scripts, which proved to be very helpful for all.
• Our videographer created a beautiful and professional product that we were able to easily stream on the website. By using the pre-recording, we were able to curve any internet outage issues and make the program available for people to watch again immediately after it had ended. 

Pros & Cons: The After Party

Overall

• The combination of a microsite, pre-recorded presentation, and networking rooms seemed to be our best formula yet. With this set up, we were able to send attendees direct emails through a mail merge with their networking room assignments, the link to the website, and the password. The lack of complicated registration made for a much smoother user experience. 
• This also allowed us to add, confirm, and swap attendees up to a few minutes prior to the event by simply emailing them the relevant information.
• Our attendee list was done through a Google Sheet which could also be updated live.
• The program presentation looked very professional, breaking away the live presentation feel that was prone to reminding us of our Zoom fatigue.
• We provided free access to the After Party to our general audience and made the program video available on the event website a day after the event, removing the password protection. 
• In order to keep our microsite’s identity focused on the event, we offered partnership advertising opportunities through Instagram Stories, which were very well received by our corporate sponsors.

In creating affordable and accessible virtual events, simplicity is key. While the pandemic has created a barrier for interactions, embracing the idea that this new version of the virtual world is here to stay is essential to understanding and developing better events. Just as with any online interaction, each step matters. First, consider your registration system; how many links and page loads are required? The longer the process takes, the more your audience will reconsider or grow frustrated, regardless of how beautiful the end result is.