Online events round up

Following on from the piece we wrote recently about bringing real value to online events, here’s a quick look at how a number of brands and sectors are going virtual this year.

Aviation Industry – Flight Plan

Aviation has been one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID crisis. 50-90% of fleets are grounded around the world. It’s a global industry that relies heavily on trade shows and conferences to bring people together to share ideas and solutions. Arguably that’s never been more important than right now. But every major aviation event, from WATM to AIX to Farnborough has been postponed or cancelled.

Flight Plan is a one-day, online broadcast event, hosted by Inmarsat in collaboration with the Airline Passenger Experience Association. It will bring together aviation leaders, global airlines, ecosystem partners, industry analysts and commentators to share information, insight and direction at this pivotal time for industry.

It is a significant industry initiative with support and contributions from key industry bodies such as IATA, ATAG, APEX and ESA, the global aerospace media, industry analysts and commentators, major airlines such and leading aviation business voices.

The streamed event will run to a broadcast schedule on April 29^th, with content available to view online thereafter: a combination of pre-recorded material, live interviews and discussion, virtual panels and interactive Q&A, presented by programme anchors in the UK and US.

Consensus 2020 (by CoinDesk)

New York-based Consensus 2020 – a major global cryptocurrency and blockchain focused event – will now be a ‘completely virtual experience’, allowing attendees from all over the globe to join online.

CoinDesk says the virtual event will offer a ‘TV-like’ experience for attendees: “We are working with best-in-class platform providers to support this effort and are committed to bringing the entire crypto community together with the high-quality content you have come to expect from CoinDesk.

With premier speakers discussing the most important topics of our time, all coordinated by CoinDesk’s experienced journalists and moderators in a rolling live TV-like experience, we are confident a virtual Consensus 2020 will be an enriching experience for our audience. And everyone can enjoy it from the safety of their homes.”

IBM Think

Traditionally an offline event, Think is now going online on 5-6 May 2020. IBM are asking us to ‘tune into’ 200 sessions, ‘broadcast’ over multiple channels. Delegates will be able to chat with experts and access on-demand content. The language they are using certainly makes you think the event will be more than a mega-webinar.

Forbes8 e-Summit – Business Resiliency

Under the theme of Business Resilience: Thriving in Crucial Times, Forbes has put together a speaker roster that includes top experts and best-selling authors such as Chris Brogan, Rohit Bhargava, and Dorie Clark.

Upon registering, delegates are also given access to a free, 7-day trial of the Forbes8 platform, where they can access the recorded videos from the e-summit after the event, as well as lots of other great content.

The success or otherwise of events such as these will be a good indicator as to whether or not online events are truly here to stay. For example the NFL Draft, held online between 23 and 25 April as a replacement for a glitzy event on the Vegas Strip, was deemed to be an unmitigated success that was strong on storytelling, and a far cry from all the hooting and hollering of the usual in-person event.

So people are now wondering – why go back to the way things were? And if brands and sectors like the ones above can emulate this kind of success for B2B audiences, the likelihood is, we won’t.