Bricks-and-mortar events are moving online

In the blink of an eye, major events, trade shows, product launches, conferences – in fact, all events that brought people together, were changed in the spring of 2020.

From being involved in events and expos around the world, both physically and virtually, Cadpeople like many, had to “pivot” to rethink value, communication, and visual experiences.

We had the knowledge, tools, and experience from 28 years in the industry, so quite quickly we were able to combine these competencies into new solutions. Some events went 100% digital, while several became a hybrid or “Digital Twin” as is now becoming a buzz word, where the event for some had a physical presence, while for others – and perhaps for many more than originally intended – it was digital.

Take a look at an initial future expo by CadPeople here.

Convention as more than just a webinar

As an example, DI Digital (a Danish trade association) was preparing their annual convention when no one could know whether it would even be possible to meet up in real life. We wanted to help create a digital event that would ensure that the convention could be successful – pandemic or not. The convention should be an exciting and inspiring experience for everyone, not just the people physically present. Therefore, we decided to make the digital part of the convention as high-quality as possible.

We decided to put the live-streamed talks in a 3D environment that looks just like the real thing. The participants could effectively walk around the DI offices and feel that they were having a live experience – and that they were part of a real, live event.

The 3D environment also included the “Start-up Zone”, where 8 start-up businesses had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the whole organisation.

The experience of “live events”

A very important part of the hybrid event (Digital Twin) as is now becoming a buzz word, was that the talks would be streamed live. This way, participants at home would feel that they were experiencing the convention along with the physical participants.

Participants watching the live-streamed talks could even take part in the polls and Q&A sections.

Around 150 online participants were expected – but more than 600 people took part in the convention online.

Copenhagen Pride Week 2020 reinterpreted

Another example is Copenhagen Pride Week which in August 2020 was reinterpreted as a digital town hall square in 3D, where events and debates were streamed live throughout the week and made public accessible. That way, the pride became more embracing than before.

The experience was complemented by a “hall of fame”, insight into the history of pride, cultural highlights, visits to the town hall, in addition to glitter, colours, seriousness and fun in a colourful mix.

The future: Hybrid events (Digital Twins) with a fully customisable digital dimension of any physical event

The DI Digital hybrid convention and Copenhagen Pride week were great successes, and we have since talked with several other businesses and organisations interested in hybrid events.

In mid-September, a worldwide product launch is being rolled out for yet another customer with a brand-new solution. For this we have created a product film, an interactive 3D presentation of the solution and a studio, from where we have invited customers globally for a 1 hour live streamed launch with speakers ranging from the CEO to the CTO combined with customer testimonials and Q&A session.

In the future – even after the pandemic is over – we envision having the ability to add a digital dimension easily and efficiently to any physical event.

The digital part would be fully customisable, so the digital portal will be built to handle whatever type of interaction required – meetings, talks, exhibitions or anything else.

Edinburgh Chamber – member events  

Cadpeople are thrilled to be working on an international platform however we are keen as an Edinburgh based firm to be working on more Scottish events, exhibitions and conferences to help chamber members explore how they might embrace this new opportunity to combine the physical and digital worlds. To aid this discovery Cadpeople would like offer a 25% discount on our platform solution and FREE digital event consultation to all Chamber members that are in the events industry or are considering hosting future conferences/events and exhibitions.