Blog

There will always be a time and place for live meetings, but as we have found, both from personal experience and working with clients, flexibility, responsiveness, and clarity around meetings strategy means that blended solutions can help us deal with the ongoing global and local challenges we face.

According to data from events agency Freeman, event attendance is sitting this year ataround 65% compared with 2019 numbers. The fact is that, just as the world is starting to pay attention to the climate emergency, on the meetings side, we all need to pay attention to what might be dubbed “the events emergency”, because although things seem the same, sometimes it feels like the sky keeps changing colour.

We’re starting to see more organisations think about a blend of events and meetings. We’re working with an organisation on a series from Ireland where there will beat least one hub of people meeting face-to-face, with the sessions streamed out to people who will watch virtually. After two years of working from home and attending events virtually, there is a comfort level with connecting via Zoom or other platforms. People have established a pattern behaviour, which is to join meetings online from the comfort of their home – albeit with the variability of the quality of delivery from poorly run sessions to positive, engaging meetings that encourage people to join future sessions.

Enhancing the delegate journey in a hybrid event: 1. Adapt your strategies: improve engagement through translation. 2. Question what’s right: What’s the profile of these delegates from different parts of the world?, Why would they come to a live event?, What might stop them from coming? What can we do to still reach out and engage them more effectively, make it meaningful and impactful for them, and potentially bring in current and future membership fees?

Whether through networking or poster sessions, the point is to create ways in which the audience can learn from the experts, engage with key opinion leaders and gain access to respected leaders they wouldn’t normally have a chance to speak with. How that is branded – networking, engaging conversations – or the methods used are less important than ensuring learning is more interactive.

Virtual conferences reduce financial and travel barriers that are inherent to in-person conferences, opening up knowledge-sharing to participants that don’t have the resources to travel to major conferences. However, survey results found many respondents found virtual networking to be contrived and inauthentic. One way this can and has been addressed is through local networking sites or hubs.

Virtual meetings have provided a lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also have a number of additional benefits, which can and should be part of the future of all conferences and symposia. Leveraging virtual helps bring down knowledge barriers based around cost, gender, career stage and geographic location.

The health risks of large in-person meetings have become apparent in recent years, but there is also the environmental impact to take into account. Now is the time to consider new meeting formats, which with a carefully planned design can be just as fulfilling.

Here are a few simple tips and tricks to consider when running a virtual meeting which include understanding why it is crucial to rehearse beforehand, knowing the right set-up when using a platform that you are unfamiliar with, and keeping up to date with updates.

Running a virtual meeting is not as easy as it might seem. Meeting organisers need to be able to coordinate the speakers, manage the flow of the meeting, and deal with technology that may be unfamiliar to them. They often feel pressured by colleagues to deliver high-quality sessions despite lacking the necessary experience.

There are five takeaways to consider when planning a virtual learning event: Less is more, encourage the exchange of ideas between students, have a good balance of speakers and educators, find out what the audience really need to know, and make sessions available on-demand.

Virtual learning may be more effective than in-person learning when it comes to attracting non-native English speakers. The tools that are available to us mean we can provide the audience with language options that increase both comprehension and accessibility.

Are you from a high-context or a low-context culture? Hwajeong Lee explains how different cultures communicate and why understanding these differences in communication is crucial when conducting global meetings and interactions.

Youngsan University's Ph.D. candidate Hwajeong Lee looks at how the transition to virtual has affected the MICE industry (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) in South Korea and China and how the use of technology has changed as a result.

Adapting to an online environment hasn't been easy for everyone. Stepping outside of your comfort zone into a virtual world might be daunting but can allow you to take on exciting new challenges while achieving your goals.

It is important to know the right questions to ask to fully understand the client's expectations when scoping a virtual meeting. Failing to do so, can result in an outcome that differs greatly from the initial proposal.

How do we move into the virtual world as we prepare ourselves for this "new normal"? By adapting our skills and knowledge, we can bring people together virtually and continue to drive audience engagement.

With virtual events, we can create a more holistic and engaging experience for participants, giving them the chance to get involved ahead of time and allowing organisers to adapt the meeting to better suit the needs of attendees.

One of the great things about virtual conferencing is how accessible it is. People from across the globe, from a wide range of backgrounds, now have access to events they may not have been able to attend otherwise, meaning larger and more diverse audiences.

There are many ways we can use technology to create opportunities for colleagues to connect in a virtual setting. As a result, audiences are able to benefit from organised networking sessions online.

Does virtual mean boring? We're finding that technology is actually driving interactivity with audiences which in turn encourages more meaningful, livelier, and relevant discussions when clients know what it is they want to achieve.

Neil Mullarkey explains how presenters can rehearse a presentation without sounding like a robot by observing stand-up comedians and turning a focused set of ideas into an engaging presentation.

Our Technical Event Director James Templeman discusses the importance of making meeting experiences engaging, whether they are in a physical, virtual, or hybrid setting. As event organisers define hybrid events, we need to prevent them from becoming a boring 'add-on'.

Returning to physical or hybrid events means organisations have to think more carefully about event compliance. Venues are putting protocols in place, but there are also considerations for organisers – and even in the virtual world, compliance is becoming an increasingly pressing issue.

Neil Mullarkey is back with another excellent guest blog about how the skills needed for improvisation on stage translate powerfully into the business world, including for physical and virtual events.

Illustrator and live scribe Amber Anderson has observed a wide range of events. Here she discusses what has changed and what has stayed the same in virtual settings - and the impact of innovative, interactive experiences.

Open Audience's Technical Event Director James Templeman explains why preparing for an engaging virtual or hybrid event can be as time-consuming and resource-intensive as preparing for a physical event, and how companies should approach them accordingly for more successful outcomes.

Learning and development coach Lucy Philip discusses why making learning and training experiences fun is so important – whether they are face-to-face or virtual – and the difference it makes to have an expert technology partner.

How do you measure the success of an event? And how do you know if your audience was engaged? One of Open Audience’s differentiators is that we can give organisers insights they might not otherwise have, whether their event is physical, virtual, or a hybrid.

Over the past year we have all experienced bad video conferencing. Unfortunately, even now too many companies have not really given thought to the home working environment of their staff. Our Technical Event Director James Templeman discusses why this is important for successful, engaging events.

Professional development coach Lucy Philip discusses why a trusted, quality technology solution is an essential part of virtual learning and development – enabling her to focus on her audience, and the audience to focus on learning and being engaged.

‘Improv’ has made its way from theatre to the events world as a way to get people engaged, have fun and to start thinking about how they listen. In this blog, the actor, writer and comedian Neil Mullarkey describes how you can use principles from improv to improve your virtual engagement.

Organisations are increasingly interested in 'Hybrid meetings', but this term lacks definition and is often being used as a sales buzzword. However, we actually have the experience and expertise to plan and deliver fully virtual, hybrid and physical events.

While many thought a switch to virtual would be easy, that’s not the case. James Templeman, Open Audience's Technical Event Director, examines how virtual events are in many ways more challenging than in-person meetings, and how we have adapted.

Virtual learning and development is not a new concept, but the need to shift every aspect of a programme to the online world has changed both the way training needs to be delivered and the kind of support learners require.

In this guest blog, illustrator Amber Anderson discusses the role of live scribing in events, physical and virtual, and how illustration and mind mapping improves audience engagement and boosts learning and recall.

Whether in the physical or virtual world, building a story to deliver key messages is a powerful way to engage your audience. In his third guest blog, leadership and communications coach Mark Thomas explores how storyboarding helps to set the tone and build excitement in a presentation.

In these difficult times with many people forced to work from home, we have all experienced awkward and embarrassing moments. Nobody expects perfection, but leadership and communications coach Mark Thomas knows a few ways you can improve your virtual presentations.

The differences between face-to-face and virtual meetings are obvious – but just how much have meeting organisers adapted the formats and experiences of their virtual sessions for participants? Here, leadership and communications coach Mark Thomas discusses some of the key ingredients for excellent virtual events.

In 2020, Lymphoma Coalition held its largest and most accessible global summit ever, thanks to the flexibility of virtual events. Kim Drever, Director of Global Operations, writes about what they learned and how their partnership with Open Audience ensured their success.

As the meetings world moved to virtual, Zoom was quick to respond, providing an engaging and easy-to-use platform. But now other platforms have caught up and many of our clients have questions about which platform they should use and to what extent.

While creativity and visual impact can seem paramount to your virtual meeting, the most important thing in our experience is clarity. What matters most is ensuring your delegates can attend, navigate the event, and engage with the faculty and each other as easily as possible.

Organisations are going to great lengths to encourage as much engagement as possible. But just because that’s what the organisers want, it doesn’t mean it’s what delegates want! Here are five common reasons why your audience may not be engaging with your event.

Over the last year, as our clients developed new needs and found that they didn't have the technical and logistical skills to manage virtual meetings, they turned to us as partners with extensive virtual experience to guide them through a radically different environment.

For months now we have heard talk about a return to the ‘new normal' and expectations – or rather hopes – that physical meetings will soon be back on the agenda, perhaps through a ‘hybrid’ mix of in-person and virtual events.

What a year it has been! The world of travel, international and national conferences, medical education sessions and even team meetings was upended for everyone. We’re proud of all we have achieved at Open Audience, and we wanted to share what we have learned.

When the Covid-19 pandemic pushed all meetings into the virtual world, many organisations assumed the situation would be temporary. However, as case numbers continue to rise and countries go back into lockdowns, it’s clear that in-person meetings won’t be happening anytime soon.

We spoke to EventsBase about how we have transitioned to virtual events this year, and how we have taken a voyage of discovery through new technology solutions, creative processes, and remote working environments.

Covid-19 has thrown events of all kinds into uncertainty. What does the future of events look like? With promising vaccines on the horizon, it's likely physical events will return at some point, alongside virtual and hybrid events. How can these events be made as engaging as possible?

Virtual engagements – or at the very least hybrid meetings – are here to stay. But strict duplications of live events are not necessarily effective – so what do you need to do to create an effective virtual engagement strategy?

As face-to-face meetings have been forced to go virtual, the life sciences industry has had to assess how it will share R&D developments, medical insights, sales strategies, commercial developments and other information with stakeholders. Here's how to improve these interactions.

'Insight' is a service Open Audience has been offering to clients in addition to our 'Engage' and 'Manage' services. The objective is to ensure that clients are getting the most from their meetings and delegates. When you are organising an event, you don’t want to leave anything to chance.

Putting on a large or even medium-sized congress or meeting is a many-layered process. Using the problem-solving skills of an engagement expert takes the guesswork and complexity out of the whole process of putting on an event.

When a client asks me to help them engage their audience at a meeting or conference, my immediate reaction is “Of course, but what do you mean by that?” The fact is, engagement means different things to different people.

Anyone can organise a meeting, but creating one that engages, motivates, teaches and inspires an audience is far from easy. When organisations seek to bring an audience together, they often turn to engagement experts to help them achieve their objectives.

Audience engagement teams must not lose sight of their top objective: to help the client deliver outstanding outcomes. Regardless of how good the technology or the team is, good meetings experts must remember the adage: “It’s not about us, it’s about you.”

The requirement to shift all meetings to virtual has presented a challenge for many in the pharmaceutical industry. What works and what doesn’t, and are you getting the engagement you need?

While some meetings and conferences are being postponed until physical sessions can return, the show must go on with medical education. Here are some of the concerns we are witnessing in the medical education arena.

Medical education is a highly prescriptive, fire-walled area. It is about exchanging information, supported by key opinion leaders and the latest data, delivered in a balanced setting. Here we discuss some of the main challenges of medical education delivery.

Medical education is very much a team sport that requires good collaboration between the various agencies involved. To get strong, compliant outcomes, happy sponsor companies, and engaged delegates, you need a well-connected, cohesive team: a ‘Dream Team’.

Just how much do you know about the delegates at your international meetings? Do you know what languages they speak? What steps have you taken to ensure they clearly understand the discussion?

As the business world becomes increasingly comfortable with virtual meetings, the question many of us in the audience engagement space are being asked is: “Can all meetings be virtual?” But the question you should be considering is, "Do you really want them to be?"

The choice of platforms and technologies open to organisations when running virtual meetings creates opportunities, but this choice can also bring additional complexities. And these issues are even more pronounced in the public sector.

The vast number of video conferencing platforms and technology solutions available provide businesses with many options for their virtual meetings. Trying to understand the differences between platforms can make technology more of a distraction than an enabler.

The rapid shift to virtual has created a significant problem for large conference organisers that depend on high percentages of their revenue being generated from sponsorship. But sponsors can be reticent to switch to virtual alternatives, which they may perceive as lower in value.

The virtual meeting is here to stay, and for the life sciences industry, not-for-profits and professional bodies – the return to in-person meetings will be highly selective even when they can happen. What impact will this have on the events industry?

There has been a lot of intellectual snobbery around virtual meetings, with some saying they offer an inferior level of engagement and communication. Covid-19 requiring physical distancing means rethinking these attitudes towards virtual events.

We are running a market research survey in collaboration with Time Research on the future of virtual exhibitions. We want to hear from you! Click the link to the survey inside.

Our market researchers examine the issues facing exhibitions. While many meetings and conferences have moved online, exhibitions face added challenges because sponsors need to know the value of virtual stands if they are to invest in them.

We are delighted to announce that Open Audience has been awarded Trusted Partner status by Ethical MedTech, demonstrating our commitment to the application of their Code of Practice for educational healthcare events.

What can we do to move forward as events professionals during Covid-19? Here's how we are embracing changes to live meetings, developing new engagement technology, and accepting uncertainty.

Entering 2020, we had a carefully crafted 5-year growth strategy. Covid-19 changed our view of the world forever, and taught us an important lesson about event technology and future planning.

We had planned our busiest year of audience engagement events so far when Covid-19 happened. It was like our barn, that we had lovingly designed and built, had burned to the ground. This is how we adapted.

Consider a typical ad board meeting. Out of 15 or so delegates, there are a couple of 'Rockstar' key opinion leaders that will tend to dominate the discussion. Virtual ad boards can change the dynamic and give quieter delegates more opportunities.

Some of our clients expressed doubts that a virtual advisory board could work. However, we recently ran a virtual ad board that was so successful that the client is now reconsidering whether they will have physical ad boards in the future.

Running virtual advisory boards requires a slightly different approach, in order to maintain delegate attention and productivity. Here's why we think pre-, during, and post-engagement is the key to a successful event.

Open Audience and Proximie are delighted to be working in partnership to deliver a series of highly interactive surgical collaborations around the globe through our virtual events platforms.

Covid-19 has forced many organisations to take their meetings online - but there's more to a successful virtual meeting than just transferring content to Zoom! We gave pharmaphorum advice on the key things to consider when switching to virtual meetings.

In these challenging times businesses are being forced to cancel or postpone live events, however not all events can or indeed should be transformed into a virtual event. For guidance about how to transition from live to virtual events please get in touch.

We are excited to announce that we are exhibiting for the second year in a row at International Confex, on 25th & 26th Feb 2020 at Excel London.

We are delighted to announce that we are exhibiting at Event Tech Live for the third year in a row, on 6th & 7th November 2019 at the Old Truman Brewery in London.

We are pleased to announce that Open Audience has become a member of the Meeting Design Institute (MDI).

We are delighted to announce that we will be providing audience engagement at the Associations World Congress & Expo, 7-9 April 2019 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and exhibiting at stand 101.

Open Audience is pleased to announce that we have joined the Event Industry News directory as a listed provider of event technology, management and consultancy.

We are delighted to announce that Open Audience is now part of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society (the PM Society).