Virtual Events

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Virtual Events

We asked 10 trade show and event professionals to share their opinions of and experiences with virtual and hybrid events.


"If an online event fails to provide unique content and value that attendees can take away with them, they are not likely to attend another event." – Naomi Forkash, customer operations manager, Expos2 Inc. 1 "A virtual event is still an event. You can't just build one in 10 days or 30 days and believe you have done a good job." – Cecilia Panozzo, vice president, worldwide marketing, Computer Generated Solutions Inc. 5	2 "With social networking and the 'millennialness' of multitasking, we often blend live experiences with virtual ones." – Angela Triano, vice president, client services, Envisage Engagement Marketing LLC 6 "In today's world, people are far more comfortable engaging with your event virtually than if they were sitting in a room together." – Mark Bornstein, director of content marketing, ON24 Inc. 9 "Physicians value conferences for ongoing education and networking. They aren't as comfortable with virtual-event technology." – Diane Benson, global events manager, GE Healthcare Inc.	"Outline a realistic digital-event strategy to understand what you're trying to accomplish and how you'll get there." – Michael Doyle, executive director, Virtual Edge Institute 3 "A well-executed, successful virtual event is no less difficult to pull off than a successful face-to-face event." – Jeff Cobb, managing director, Tagoras Inc. 7	4 "It's very difficult to replicate live networking through digital events. You have to recognize the constraints and live within them." – Roger May, senior director, customer solutions group, Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. 8 "Virtual events are great for niche categories that can't sustain the costs of live events." – Uzair Dada, CEO, atEvent 10 "A limited number of our 39,000 members travel to our live event. The virtual event expands our reach to the entire membership." – Chris Burke, director of sales, Healthcare Financial Management Association