MAP Digital - Adding The Digital Dimension

SPECIAL EVENTS MAGAZINE
August 2000

Mary Ann Pierce reviews content for a webcast

NO MATTER HOW BIG THE BALLROOM, INTERNET TOOLS CAN BLOW OUT THE DOORS. That's because Internet-based tools — such as email, event-specific Web sites and Webcasting — can bring an event to participants not only far away but after the fact. These tools also can enable participants to shape the course of an event even as it takes place.
Mary Ann Pierce, president of New York-based Events Digital [now president of MAP Digital, Inc.], discusses how Internet tools can extend the reach and deepen the experience of special events.

Special Events Magazine: Internet technology is high-tech, but special events are high-touch. How do the two work together?

Mary Ann Pierce: Internet-based tools serve as adjuncts to an event. They will never replace the ballroom, what Marshall McLuhan would call a "hot" environment. They can be as cold as the South Pole. But here is my challenge to the special event planner: How can you use the Internet to help you throughout the life cycle of your event — marketing, managing and extending the event's message or experience?

Q: Can you give examples of how Internet tools can serve each of these stages of an event?

A: Every special events needs an audience. But can you attract your desired audience just by mailing out brochures? An email campaign and an event-specific Web site create excitement about and boost attendance for an upcoming event by using teaser clues about what's going to happen. These tools could also start team building among participants even before they arrive, maybe by having team members complete a task or interact online. You can also use email or the event-specific Web site before the event to poll attendees on hot topics. That way, you still have time to tailor presentations to what attendees want. Further, this participation gives potential attendees equity in the event. At the event, kiosks with Internet access allow you to post information about the event as it happens. Also, you can collect evaluations from attendees on the spot. If you're staging a multiday event, you can use this feedback to evaluate your program and reconfigure it if needed. You can broadcast your event online — Webcasting — either during the event or afterward on demand. During live Webcasts, off-site attendees can email questions in real time. Webcasting creates a digital master that can be transferred to CD-ROMs, videos or email attachments for viewing later. This means there is no further need for duplicating tapes and transcripts.

Q: Are some special events better suited to Internet tools than others?

“How can you use the Internet to help you throughout the life cycle of your event... marketing, managing and extending the event's message or experience?”

A: It depends on your audience. If you are producing a tour for MTV, your attendees will expect Internet kiosks on site and a Webcast on an event-specific Web site for those who could not attend. But if your constituents are 55-year-old senior executives who don't have computers on their desks, I would use an email campaign and design an event-specific Web site targeted to their executive assistants. It's also important to remember that what is dynamic in a ballroom after the cocktail hours will not be as dynamic later for someone viewing in his office at 9 a.m. People won't watch a 45-minute Webcast unless it's a training piece or something that will change their lives. But a tape of highlights can extend the event experience. So unless live transmission is critical, I suggest videotaping meetings or events, making sure you have lighted them beautifully, and then editing the tape beautifully. You want them asking for more.

Q: Can you help event planners get a sense of what Internet connection they would need on site in order to use Internet tools?

A: Think of Internet wiring as a big bowl of pasta. For onsite Internet access, you need the correct size of pasta to connect to an Internet service provider. Plain old telephone service — or POTS — is like capellini, so thin that data transfer is slow. This fine only for home use. An ISDN — which stands for integrated services digital network — line is like penne. It can provide Internet access to power several computers with a fast connection, but it can be expensive. A T-1 line is like cannoli, with 12 times the capacity of ISDN lines. It has plenty of bandwidth — or space — for high-speed access to Internet kiosks and for Webcasting. Some venues already have T-1 lines; installing a temporary one costs about $5,000.