In March as lockdowns were enforced, we pivoted to producing virtual meetings and conferences due to the inability to provide our services for live events. Having worked on over 150 virtual meetings and conferences since then, much has come to light. AV-CANADA has transformed from live event audio visual production to live and pre-recorded broadcasting. If you think about it, there really isn’t much difference between what we are doing now and what CBC, CTV or any one of the networks were doing in the past or are doing today.
If you asked me 25 years ago if we would be competing with major networks, I would have found the idea ridiculous but here we are. Today we are producing recorded and live segments, while mixing and producing an HD broadcast via the Internet to thousands and thousands of viewers. These viewers can watch the program at no charge using a login passcode similar to logging onto a YouTube channel or through a pay-to-play channel like Netflix. There are several comparable qualities to what we are doing today, and what television was doing and is doing. Yes, we do not have the multi-million dollar production budgets to produce an ongoing series, program or movie; however, we are judged the same!
We do highly polished production of programs like annual general meetings, conferences, trade shows, special events and awards galas. In both cases, we use recorded programs and live segments from home or the studio operating no different than the cable networks. In addition, we provide sponsorship and Ad opportunities and can take it a step further and provide gamification, polling, and Q&A all on the same platform or channel. We can also allow viewers to network amongst their peers before, during and after an event. These corporate and association programs are in great demand today and are very highly produced.
It is my bet that this change is not leaving us even when live events return. We will be asked to combine a live event with a virtual event, in turn offering a hybrid event. We had the opportunity to interact with a high-level cardiologist who was streaming a virtual conference recently. In that conversation, it became clear to me that these professors and surgeons will substantially reduce their international travel going forward. By producing HD quality broadcasts via the Internet, live international speaking engagements will be reduced.
When you think about it, the time for these professionals to travel to an international country like India, Germany or France, can take up to 3 to 4 days. Now they can do it in 90 minutes and much more often. They can do it from either their home, office or from one of our broadcast studios. Here’s the real kicker, they can still charge the same or maybe less for the speaking engagement and save time and travel costs. How smart and productive is that for someone whose time is so valuable? Imagine how much we can further our learning of medicine. This will apply to many international professionals and artists and will open an entirely new talent supply chain, allowing for engagement from around the world at the push of a button.
Despite recent changes, I am still a firm believer that virtual events will not replace live events and will more so become a component of live events from this day going forward. At AV-CANADA we are constantly adapting and are ready for this change! Are you? If you need any help with the planning or production of your upcoming conference or meeting, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our virtual and live event professionals here.
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