Being tasked with producing a virtual alternative to a longstanding in-person event in sunny Santa Barbara, CA, that's known for its social activities and exclusive vibe is a tall order in and of itself. Now imagine doing so while your company is in the process of being acquired by another firm. Such was the perfect storm the marketing teams responsible for the Telehealth Innovation Forum (TIF) found themselves in during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every July for the past 13 years, TIF had served as a thought-leadership conference hosted by InTouch Health, a provider of virtual health-care services that enable patients to remotely connect with physicians and wellness professionals. By offering a combination of educational sessions, panels, product showcases from third-party sponsors, and networking and recreational events in and around a beachside resort, InTouch Health drew up to 350 current and prospective clients encompassing health-care business developers, clinic leaders, executives, and consultants.

In January 2020, the company announced that it was being acquired by Teladoc Health Inc., a $1.1 billion giant with a roster of online-centric health-care brands, e.g., BetterHelp (counseling services) and HealthiestYou (app-based medical care). The $600 million deal was scheduled to close on July 1, three weeks before the conference, making it the perfect opportunity to celebrate the corporate union. Other than that, Teladoc felt no need to rock a perfectly stable boat. "The forum had a ton of repeat attendees who viewed it as an opportunity to escape to a premier location to catch up with old colleagues and learn about the newest developments in telehealth and virtual care," says Tammy Ball, Teladoc's director of marketing events. "And while attendance had grown steadily, the event continued to have the feel of an exclusive, warm, family-like community."

That sense of community would be put to the test in 2020, as it became increasingly clear with each passing week that the forum would have to be reimagined for the digital realm due to COVID-19. In short, TIF marketers were hit with a double whammy: needing to execute a virtual event for the first time all while navigating a merger. And one doesn't need to be a neurosurgeon to notice the irony of Teladoc's situation – a business whose bread and butter is facilitating alternatives to in-person medical care now had to facilitate a virtual substitute for its own face-to-face conference.

Primary Care
Being savvy marketers, the InTouch events team – along with a handful of new cohorts from Teladoc – started off by setting their objectives. First and foremost, the all-digital TIF had to offer high-quality education sessions that further cemented the newly acquired company as an industry leader during a pandemic that elevated everyone's awareness of virtual health care. Second, the event platform needed to provide attendees with multiple networking and socializing opportunities that felt natural, a "digital version of shaking hands when you pass someone in the hallway at an in-person conference," Ball says. Finally, the event would be the official debut of InTouch becoming a Teladoc brand and therefore had to showcase the combined strength of the two companies.
Since virtual health care was a hot topic during the pandemic, the team also made a bold decision: Registration would be free. "The main goal of the forum has always been to share information and create connections rather than generate revenue," Ball says. "We felt that with everything going on in the world, it would not be right to charge for this event. Virtual care was exploding with the need to expand access to care during a worldwide pandemic. As such, we felt an obligation to the health-care community to share this content."

With their goals and framework set, the team then searched for a platform provider. Drawing on their existing connections in the digital-services realm, they quickly narrowed the list of possible partners down to two before selecting Iron Horse Ventures LLC (dba Iron Horse Interactive), a San Ramon, CA-based creative marketing agency. Almost immediately, the marketing team and Iron Horse got to work on creating a library of brand guidelines that would be a continuous visual thread throughout the event. These elements included a color palette of cyan, deep navy, and gold as well as a circular background motif alluding to connections, technology, and the font of InTouch and Teladoc's logos.

To deliver the high-value content TIF was known for, InTouch and Teladoc sent out a call for speakers and combed their respective Rolodexes to source the best and brightest sources available. Some 90 presenters were tapped to lead 70 sessions, each of which would be limited to an easily digestible runtime of 15 minutes. And to match quality with quantity, speakers were sent webcams and lighting to ensure professional, cohesive on-screen appearances. Marketers also brought in a third-party audiovisual company to walk speakers through setting up their equipment and record those who preferred to give their talks in advance. This allowed presenters to perform multiple takes should they slip up and gave the AV company time to edit the videos, incorporate speakers' slide decks, and include stylized overlays of names and company logos. In the end, approximately 70 percent of presenters opted to record their sessions prior to TIF. This foresight captured Corporate Event Awards judges' attention. "Kudos for how well the speakers were trained and prepared in advance," said one juror. "This is how you deliver top-notch content."

Marketers then turned their attention to engagement and networking, the other pillar of the event. One of the first tactics was developing a direct mailer in the form of a branded cocktail kit that included a shaker, jigger, tumbler, recipe card, pen, and notebook. (Ball explains that the Sunshine Act is a bit fuzzy on what giveaways health-care professionals can accept at a corporate event, so Teladoc required registrants to opt in to receiving the mailer.) A live mixology class during the conference would give attendees a chance to put the gear to good use while socializing with their peers. Other activities, including live music, wellness breaks, and a sponsored lunch, were also added to the schedule in the hope of attracting 1,000 registrants – a goal based on historic in-person event signups and the industry average for webinar viewership.

Medical School
Prior to TIF opening its virtual doors on July 21, marketers launched a promotional campaign that included email blasts; event-specific email signatures and social-media tiles for sales reps, sponsors, and speakers; and more. Registrants who opted to receive cocktail kits soon got their goodies in the mail, and attendees could also sign up to participate in a cause-marketing campaign coordinated with the World Telehealth Initiative. Those who enlisted were each sent a backpack with instructions to decorate the bag and write a note to a child in need. Participants then mailed the bags to Teladoc, where they were filled with school supplies and other items before being donated to children in Puerto Rico.

Once TIF began, attendees landed on a homepage awash in the tricolor palette. A simple navigation bar at the top of the screen directed visitors to the conference's schedule, education tracks, speaker lists, sponsors' booths, and lounge where attendees could take branded selfies in a virtual photo booth and participate in live chats devoted to specific topics. And just a click away, the Innovation Showcase page featured the latest developments in telehealth via a tour of Teladoc's real-world Innovation Center.

Since engagement and knowledge sharing was a top priority, each of the 70 session pages included either a Q&A or chat function. During live sessions, attendees could type questions that were screened by a moderator before being passed on to the speaker. And during taped sessions, a live chat enabled presenter/audience interaction during event hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST.

When not popping neurons in educational sessions or live panel discussions, attendees could spend time in sponsors' booths (which featured videos, downloadable PDFs, reps' contact info, and other content), tune in to a breakout session, enjoy an activity break of guided yoga or meditation, and participate in the mixology course. Virtual eventgoers even got a free lunch on the first day of the forum courtesy of a new sponsorship: NTT Data Corp., an information-technology service provider and forum participant, had Grubhub gift cards sent to all attendees so they could order food to enjoy during the company's noon session. And at 2 p.m. each day, a live music act gave a remote concert and took requests from the audience.

A Healthy Prognosis
The bits and bytes of cyberspace may be a far cry from the sandy beaches of Santa Barbara, but that didn't stop the combined teams from InTouch and Teladoc from exceeding their objectives. Thanks to the effectiveness of their promotional campaign, 3,641 people from 1,426 companies signed up for the forum – more than three times the pre-event goal of 1,000 registrations. In fact, registration figures tracked so high before the event that marketers abandoned their plans for paid social-media promotions and allocated those dollars to other areas. Slightly more than 2,000 registrants from 1,170 firms visited the event platform, giving TIF an individual attendance rate of 57 percent and a corporate attendance rate of 82 percent.

Even more impressive is that despite the absence of the sunny skies and in-person socializing that were par for the forum's course, 92 percent of respondents to a post-event survey rated TIF 2020 as "above average" or "excellent." It just goes to show that sometimes the bells and whistles of a corporate event, e.g., the primo destination, fancy hors d'oeuvres, and open bar, are less important than what truly gets attendees' pulses racing: the opportunity to learn and engage with their peers. E