MAP Digital - The Digital Life Cycle of Your Meeting

The Digital Life Cycle...is to use the Internet as a tool — before, during and after your meeting to market, manage and extend objectives of your meeting.

Three Internet Tools

Before: Event-Specific Websites
During: Internet Café
After: Webcasts & Distance Learning

Session Objectives

To gain the benefits of these Internet tools and answer the technical questions you need to know how to use them successfully.

Are my attendees Internet-ready?
Identify five key functions of an event specific website.
Virtual Tradeshows - better than the real thing?
How to conduct a technical site inspection.
To Webcast or not to Webcast.

First Step: Who is your Audience?

How are they "connected." Bandwidth matters. Is it POTS or Broadband?
How are you currently communicating to them via the Internet?
How can a Website enhance their willingness to attend, help you manage the production, and enrich their experience?

Before Your Meeting

5 Key Functions of an Event-Specific Website

5 W's on the home page
Information gathering
Attendee management
Speaker/Vendor communication
Post event follow-up

Virtual Trade Show

Create a mirror image of the "action" on the tradeshow floor up on the Web.
Communicate directly with Exhibitors and allow them direct contact with web attendees.
Keep on selling after the event.
Save the rainforest...no more brochures!
New source of revenue

During Your Meeting

Digital Life Cycle, Part Two: On-site

High-speed Internet access:
Extend your Office and Online Registration.
Internet Kiosks: Endless uses, traffic builders, terrific value.
Networked Presentation Rooms & Agendas
Webcasting
Creating VPNs for Analysts, etc.

Onsite Administration and Speaker Support

Internet to your office files.
Collect Speaker files via FTP or on the Web.
Continue to use Online Registration and other ASP programs for onsite registration and instant reporting.

Networked Presentations and Agendas

Cache presentations on file server in Speaker Ready/Administration. "Push" media via the LAN to Concurrents & Agenda.
Use for large conferences and training.
Eliminate "SneakerNet" and presenters bringing their own laptops

“To gain the benefits of these Internet tools and answer the technical questions you need to know how to use them successfully.”

First Step: A Technical Site Inspection

Get It In Writing from the CSM:

Type of Bandwidth: ISDN, T1, DSL
Back-up?
Price
Amount of dedicated bandwidth
Activation schedule and hotel charges
Is the ISDN dial-up charge included?

Next Step

Does the price include:

ISP - Internet Service Provider
Internet Protocol Addresses (IPs)
Onsite engineering support
Networking equipment: router, hubs, networked computers, etc.
What is the Internal wiring: CAT 5 or less?
Cost of Cross-connections to create a LAN
Is the ISDN dial-up charge included?

Bringing in Your Own Bandwidth

Pour yourself a large Scotch!
Contact local Baby Bell and ISP 3 months in advance...check out Verio and UUNET.
Communicate in writing with CSM and PBX director for permission & timetable of install and cross-connections.
Always order Backup. No, onsite "if only"
Must have access to PBX closet during the event with PBX director present.

Now, Let's Build an Internet Café

Onsite Registration
Onsite Directory, Email, Bloomberg, High speed Web Surfing
Webcast of keynotes and concurrent presentations.
PDA Compatible

Internet Café Benefits

Constantly in use
Kept attendees in meeting area.
Expansive content
Instant feedback
Branding and Sponsorship
Anchors the Internet to the Meeting

After Your Meeting

Extend the Experience: To Webcast or Not To Webcast

Create Webcast content for your Attendees' bandwidth: Audio only, audio with animation or full, multi-frame video.
There is no getting around Time Zones.
Edit. What is dynamic in the Ballroom can be deadly on the desktop.
Live costs a bundle: Connectivity, Engineering, Production, equipment rental, and charge per simultaneous user.