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VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 

Brave, uplifting, or plain ‘ole cringeworthy? What do you think of Randi Zuckerberg vamping for the women’s Ethereum/NFT revolution with this take on Twisted Sister? 

 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31 | 12pm EST | ZOOM
 
Join the Great Vii Escape Room
 

Maybe you’ve been to a real world escape room, but escaping a virtual world? Find out what it’s like at our next meeting, where Vii’s CEO Stas Zaslavsky will act like Houdini getting us into and out of his fantastic 3D world. RSVP Today.

 
RSVP Today
 
 
The Events Industry and Russia
 

Before we even had time to take off our pandemic masks and relish the moment, the unthinkable Russian invasion of Ukraine began. We lost 6 million people around the world to COVID 19. Now we’re watching the senseless killing of brave Ukrainians who, just days ago, were busy taking their lives back from the pandemic. 


Sports, arts, and cultural events have already barred Russia and Belarus from participating. At MWC in Barcelona, Russian exhibitors were barred from their exhibit area. Others have followed. While it may seem like a small step in the face of such a massive atrocity, the events business can and should do its part to ostracize Russia. 🇺🇦 Event (a Skift Brand) does a yeoman’s job of covering what various events companies and associations are doing to show solidarity with Ukraine.

 
 
 
Where We’re At
 

In January we held a Town Hall, convening events stakeholders to look for a path forward as we emerge from COVID-19. That was January. Here’s what we’re seeing in March.

  • Virtual events will have a price tag. We’re seeing less free access. You will not be able to charge anything like what you charge for an in-person event. We’re seeing access to most virtual or hybrid virtual events costing anywhere from $50 to $200, unless there’s some VIP component. So, virtual will go wide for larger attendance, but won’t bring in the same per-head revenue that on-site events do.
  • In-person events are going to need to step up the experience in order to create desire. MWC, is a case in point. Just showcasing your new phone or laptop didn’t cut it. SK Telecomm’s exhibit took you on a ride through Barcelona. Other exhibitors, even those with complicated new technologies to explain, did it using metaverse-like activations from swatting giant insects to climbing Notre Dame. If people are going to travel they’re going to want to be wowed.
  • Hybrid gets a black eye. Whether you’re looking at staffing, technology stacks, budgets, or other metrics, it seems unsustainable to hold two simultaneous full fledged events. Cherry picking what content and experiences should be packaged for whom will be the secret sauce and will require trial and error.
  • Travel budgets are in question. Companies saved a lot of money by not traveling during the pandemic and they need to put some big $ into teching-up their remote and hybrid work operations. That may not bode well for sending fleets of workers to the next big show. 
  • Market corrections are continuing. When we began reviewing virtual events platforms in 2020 as new platforms were sprouting like weeds. We’re seeing now that experience pays off (Cvent and ON24), M&A pays off (Cisco and Socio), Partnerships pay off (Hubilo and Freeman) and so does building a platform (Zoom). But much of the virtual events market might disappear as quickly as it appeared. In 2020, event planners had no choice but to pay the cost of expensive platforms. In 2022, they will adjust. 
 
 
 
Cinamaker: A Software Video Switcher for Zoom
 

Imagine you’ve got 5 speakers on the stage and you want to create a great live stream, or you’ve got a mix of in-person guests and remote guests, or you're streaming a live exercise class or concert. Typically making something look decent requires hardware horsepower and a video switching console. Cinamaker lets you use a pretty simple app (iOS only) to select and pull from multiple Zoom meeting participants in real time. You can connect up to 8 cameras or mobile phones, and 8 audio streams, and then call the directorial shots. Watch the video and you’ll see some mouthwatering capabilities. 14 day free trial and then $30/month.

 
 
 
Member News
 

Big week for Virtual Events Group members. Nostalgia gets a makeover as LoopedLive teams up with Reading Rainbow to bring a new experience Reading Rainbow Live to the stage. The 25 minute live event is filled with interactivity and has already sold out for Sunday’s performance. Kudos to Faisel Durani and his LoopedLive team. 


Freeman announced its strategic partnership with Hubilo, one of the rock solid virtual event platforms in the biz. Rather than leave it to event planners to choose and integrate a platform, Freeman can now make it turn-key. A much needed addition. 


Finally, congrats to Sophie Ahmed, co-founder of Virtual Events Institute, supplier of certification courses for digital planners, for taking the helm as SVP of Market Strategy at Hubilo. If ever there was a strategist, it’s Sophie. 

 
 
 
Scuttlebutt
 
 
 

Date my Avatar
It was only a matter of time before designing your most exotic avatar could get you that date with the perfect unicorn.

 
 

Figure credit: Nevermet

 
 

Geek Out
5G, a broad protocol for a faster, more interconnected network (think IoT)  may just be coming to a tower near you, but it's 6G that’s going to get us closer to the zero latency we need to immerse ourselves in virtual worlds. Read all about it at NAB.

 
 

For the Zoomer in your life
Meet Slicky, a USB device to notify those around you when you’re on a video call and they should refrain from noise (or walking behind you naked). Includes an app, and Slack integration, and of course, Googly eyes.

 
 

Figure credit: Etsy

 
 

The Ides of March

 
 
 
APRIL 21 | 4:00PM EST | ZOOM
 
Special Town Hall Event: Earth Day Edition 
 
Speakers include Bob Priest-Heck, Shawna McKinley, Amanda Simons, Hattie Bailey and Sherry Huss. We’ll be introducing the state of sustainability for both live and virtual events.
 
 
 
 
 

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Contact Us
 
Robin Raskin  | Founder
917.215.3160 | robin@virtualeventsgroup.org

 

Julie Sylvester | Sales & Marketing

917.868.7160 | Julie@virtualeventsgroup.org