BSEE


AllEnergy/ Dcarbonise 2020 went Digital What was it like to host AllEnergy/ Dcarbonise completely digitally?


It’s been an interesting learning curve that’s for sure! We held our first quartet of webinars in May when All- Energy/Dcarbonise 2020 should have been held at SEC Glasgow. All-Energy is the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference that this year was set to celebrate its 20th show; the co-located Dcarbonise concentrates on low carbon heating, energy efficiency and low carbon transport.


Then, we added month by month to the number of webinars held. By October we had focused on 18 relevant topics; then we soared to 26 by holding the ‘All- Energy/Dcarbonise Virtual Summit’ in early November, which comprised eight webinars in three days. It was exciting and we certainly attracted some superb speakers (and feedback). The Virtual Summit included a scene setting introduction in ‘The Green Recovery’ by the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP; and – as your readers will know – we had a ‘Meet the Minister’ session with a splendid update on Energy Efficient Scotland with Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Energy delivering a keynote address with other key players also providing both an update and a good look at solutions and the future. All 26 webinars are available for ‘on-demand’ viewing at https://forum.all- energy.co.uk/category/webinars/ We are currently having a short reast with webinars then re-starting in January for at least a few months ... we want to keep the pot simmering away!


We learned early on that the classic 15 minutes per speaker and 15 minutes Q&A was not what the audience wanted; they wanted much shorter presentations and more opportunity to not only ask questions, but to listen in to panel discussion on the topic under the webinar spotlight. Indeed, several expressed the view that as the speakers couldn’t see them, it was like eavesdropping on a really meaningful private discussion and they left with some great ‘takeaways’.


Are there any aspects of the digital event that will be carried over in the future? Yes ... more detailed briefing sessions for chairs and speakers before the event (and those will certainly be held digitally). We discovered how useful they were for no longer did one speaker suddenly watch, on the day of the conference, slides that they were going to use up on the screen in an earlier presentation; and words that she/he had intended using coming out of someone else’s mouth minutes before they were to be at the lectern. We certainly discovered the value of a short discussion ensuring not only joined-up thinking, but making sure there was not too much overlap and no black holes. This is certainly something to take into live events.


It may, of course, be that we also attract some speakers to join us virtually in the future. The ease with which busy people can set aside a couple of hours with no travelling (a low carbon event has to think of this aspect of course) +++ may make them say “yes, I’ll speak if I can do so using video conferencing”. However, I hope that isn’t the case with all! We usually attract up to 600 speakers at All- Energy/Dcarbonise and we want, and need, speakers to be there to benefit from the buzz of busy-ness the show always engenders


What was the most missed aspect of the traditional event? Networking. The word means so much. Yes, speakers could chat to each other both in the briefing sessions held usually the week before the webinar; and during the technical briefing on the day, but it is just not the same. And we want our audience members to be able to network with


each other, meet up with old friends, stumble across new contacts, and also meet up with the speakers too.


How successful do you believe the digital event was, all things considered?


The first 18 webinars attracted 11,740 registrations which converted to 7,664 viewers who either attended ‘on the day’ or watched ’on-demand’; and the ‘Virtual Summit’ attracted total registrations of 3,683 and resulted in 3,365 live and on-demand views; and every Virtual Seminar session rated 4.5 stars and above (out of 5 possible stars) and there have been superb comments about every webinar we have held What has been exciting is that throughout the 26-strong series we have attracted 2,327 people to the webinars who have never been to All- Energy/Dcarbonise ... so, all potential new audience members when we go live! A marvellous legacy.


THIS YEAR


The Future of Futurebuild Answers can be aributed to Marn Hurn, event director at Futurebuild


What was it like to host Futurebuild at the beginning of the pandemic?


The start of Futurebuild 2020 coincided with the first Government Cobra meetings. We were very mindful of potential restrictions that could be introduced immediately, so made contingency plans about limiting numbers, changing how people accessed the building and more.


Futurebuild was probably one of the last events that had no restrictions, but the pandemic still had an impact on the show. Attendance was understandably lower, with fewer students attending and many international visitors following COVID procedures in their own countries. Despite this, the event a very high-quality audience and onsite feedback was very enthusiastic.


Are there any aspects of the recent digital event revolution that Futurebuild may use in the future? Digital events are an effective way of encouraging more interaction and during the pandemic we’ve seen a lot of high-quality content shared digitally. While we know these events are an opportunity to stay in regular contact with


our community, we are conscious that we do not want to replicate physical events online. Hosting what would normally be a weeklong event schedule online with exhibitors hosting short videos on low resolution stands isn’t appealing and it puts the exhibitor experience second to the visitor’s.


In my opinion visitors benefit most from webinars because they value the content from the speakers. Unfortunately, webinars often overlook the exhibitors and sponsors because the visitors will only see a small logo and brief description of the innovative products that they can normally interact with at physical events. Our 2020 post event report showed that 75 per cent of attendees come to Futurebuild to see the new innovations on offer and 64 per cent come to source new products — so why don’t we put these products at the front and centre of virtual events?


In the lead up to the next physical Futurebuild event we’re hosting Game Changers Live to put solutions in front of buyers. Each event will focus on an industry trend or challenge, from digital transformation to decarbonisation of energy, hosting eight brands to present their solutions for each area. Buyers will hear from a keynote speaker and then be able to choose which presentations they watch and which brands they meet with to have a more interactive experience.


Do you plan to make any changes to the traditional event following this year?


Digital events can help us to stay connected with our community, access more information and react to industry news in real time. For example, we can immediately comment on new reports, products or legislation as it happens, rather than waiting until the next physical event.


However, digital events have made me realise how important it is for people to connect with their peers and new industry innovations, which is why we still need physical events.


6 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2020


At our next event we want to focus more on connecting the supply chain. We will organise more focused, facilitated networking so that visitors can meet the buyers that they want to interact with. Futurebuild also plans to curate the floor plan to maximise visitor experience and ensure new and innovative technologies are the key focus of the event.


How successful do you believe completely digital events are, all things considered?


Digital events are a great way to expand into new markets because they are mostly risk free. You can curate an event and base its success on attendance and interaction without the cost of hosting a physical event. Digital events also give us another platform to provide useful and topical content that keeps the community engaged throughout the year.


I think the success of a digital event depends on what you want to achieve from it. When deciding on whether or not to host an event, businesses should think about the outcomes and then build a digital strategy that will achieve that outcome. With the right strategy, events can meet the needs of the visitors, exhibitors and the host.


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


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