“It is crazy in our office. All those drive-by pickup people are coming today and tomorrow. We have about 20 sponsors—a school, a math tutoring company, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Girl Scouts, Maryland Hall for Creative Arts, Annapolis Pediatrics… We go live Monday night.”

I wrote last week that there can be a lot to like about virtual events—global reach, access to more speakers, expanded Q&As. But one virtual events problem that’s not discussed as much—as say, the networking issue—that we don’t have for in-person events is getting registrants to actually attend. I mean, who isn’t going to Florida or California or Vegas after signing up and booking flights? 

“There are no ‘enemies’ of innovation, but it is a question of complacency and inertia, of innovation perhaps not being top of mind. I hear often ‘we’ve never done it that way’ or ‘we’ve always done it that way’.”   That quote comes from Kerstin Fröhlich, head of innovation management at German media company Spiegel Verlag in an article on FIPP’s World Media Congress on the What’s New in Publishing site. Fröhlich spoke about how the German media power is “baking innovation into its organizational culture. Despite everyone agreeing that innovation is something they want to prioritize, its value must be consistently reiterated.”   An initial response to publishing life in the pandemic might have been to play down innovation and go with what you know, but what we know has been upended. The more I read, it’s the companies that are being bold and innovat ...

"Work fun swag into your [virtual event] plans. If you have the budget, you might be able to differentiate yourself and bring a little joy to attendees during a tough time by still including conference swag."   That’s from Higher Logic. Back in May I happened on a new online show called The Present by magician Heider Guimaraes, where ticket holders are mailed a box with surprise contents that they are directed not to open until their Zoom show starts.    It’s been a hit.   "How do you reach out of the computer and into the audience?" asked Matt Shakman, artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, where the show has sold out extensions through October. "The idea would be to hold something in your hand and be part of the process. That's how you make Zoom as interesting as a black box theater."   B2B and B2C have followed along. Donna Jefferson of Chesapeake Family told me that she is planning to mail out an “ ...

We’ve talked here before about initiatives that can be more effective during this unique time. Reaching a bigger—and if it applies, more global—audience through live interviews certainly ranks near the top. “With the dramatic drop in live conferences and events, it comes as no surprise that 72% of publishers have increased their virtual events and webinar offerings,” Brand United reports.    I spoke with Donna Jefferson yesterday of long-time SIPA member Chesapeake Family, and their 2 pm Friday live interviews continue to thrive—often taking on serious topics. She posts them on Facebook and their YouTube channel; here's the description for Friday's talk: “Join the discussion with coaches Stephy Samaras and John Downs III as we talk about the impact of COVID-19 on student athletes and what can be done to turn it into a positive experience.”    “I really li ...

Instagram isn't just for celebrities. That's one lesson from Chesapeake Family Life's comprehensive 2019 SIPAward-winning entry for Best Social Media Marketing Campaign for its STEAM Maryland 2018 event.

Although I covered Chesapeake Family Life's successful foray into Facebook Live about a year ago, it was before it won a 2017 third-place SIPAward for Best Use of Video and more details were presented. So let's go through CEO Donna Jefferson's process again to see how it can be a template for other publishers.

"The biggest thing people don't understand is that quality content is so important to marketing to anyone under the age of 40 right now. Anyone in that demographic discovers a business for the first time by either: (A) Google searching or (B) finding their content on social media. If you are not crushing it and focusing on the content that you put out on the most important social platforms, you're going to become mute and obsolete..."