Leading Corporate Events Go Digital-first In Response To Covid-19

A group of established New Zealand corporate events will now be held as ‘digital-first’ events.

CIO Summit, Downstream, New Zealand Minerals Forum and Emissions Workshop will all be run over the vFairs virtual conference platform in the second half of this year.

The events are the marque products of Conferenz, IDC and Freeman Media, and represent the best-in-class in their sectors.

Freeman Media managing director Matt Freeman says that while the corporate world has very quickly become familiar with the Zoom webinar concept and pre-recorded events, the vFairs platform is a whole new level. “We are talking about a full virtual conference experience,” he says. “You can meet sponsors inside customised online sponsor engagement zones, have a 1-on-1 chat in the networking lounge, and question and chat with presenters in a live environment.”

“All this from your computer and the comfort of your office or home.”

The events will all hold in-person components or hostings where groups of delegates and sponsors can gather for networking and to view highlight components of the digital content.

Conferenz managing director Steve Scott says that the 600-seat, 90-booth CIO Summit is a natural fit to go online given its audience and subject.

Online events have quickly gained traction around the world, but the technology has been in development for the best part of a decade. Now, organisations watching their emissions profile can give online conferences a big tick.

Freeman says that he sees this as an opportunity to lead in the corporate conferencing space. “Sometimes we need disruption to help us leap to the next level of value,” he says. “Organisations that sponsor and attend will soon see the value in taking a leadership position.”

vFairs is an international virtual events company, headquartered in the USA.

vFairs hief executive officer Muhammad Younas says that online events are here to stay, even after the Covid-19 tragedy. “The pandemic situation has only catalysed more innovation in the space and you can expect a lot of creative and wondrous solutions to facilitate networking and event delivery,” he says. “Companies are now realising that a virtual component to their event is no longer a good-to-have, rather a necessity - and for good reason.”

“Our generation is so online-enabled that this mode of interaction simply comes naturally.''

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