Congratulations to Meeting Professionals International for the leadership shown in extending their July World Education Congress (WEC) with a virtual event. Not only did it allow MPI to distribute access to some content and exhibitors to those who did not attend, or continued access to those who did, but, as an event organization, it provided information and an example to their membership.
The decisions they made in how they did this exemplify the issues we all face in facing this new opportunity. What to charge for? How much to charge? Will it cannibalize existing attendance? What to put online and what not to?
Similar questions marketers face with every new technology.
There are no perfect answers, and we should not wait for them. We’ll only figure out best practice by diving in, making the best judgments we can, and comparing notes.
Some of MPI’s decisions:
- The full $625 access pass for the physical event includes the virtual event. (Good call.)
- The Virtual Access Pass was $299. (About half price. Logical.)
- The General Assembly alone was $19. (Hm. I’d be inclined to make this one free.)
- The virtual event is open for six months. (I bet this is partly to allow a down time between ‘events’ to build interest for the following year.
I don’t have their attendance figures. Generally the combo physical and online events this year have seen similar attendance figures to what they expected without a virtual event (down slightly from 2008), but a much higher total combined audience.
Did it cannibalize attendance? No way to prove it one way or the other, but it certainly did not create a major dip in physical attendance that hurt the event.
Every survey says that people prefer the physical event: and some simply can’t make it whether you offer the alternative or not.
September 24, 2009 at 8:01 am
Melinda,
You raise a good point that many organizers are discussing. While some have opted to provide free access to virtual content, some, like MPI, are charging for the educational content. No matter what one decides to do, have clear and often communications about the pricing structure is key for this model.
We have found that those clients who have augmented their physical event with a virtual component, combined attendance indeed increases. Furthermore, the type of attendee tends to be more international or one who may not have attended due to other reasons. This raises an interesting point about the value of virtual to extend your audience and expose your message.
In the end, as we advise our clients, your strategy has to be based on your objectives for your event and your audience.
Thanks,
Cece Salomon-Lee
InXpo