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November 9, 2020  •  Issue 20:11:01

                             Insights from the digital


                       conference trenches – Part 2





                                                               about our virtual cocktail party at MPC20," she said. "We
                                                               had live music, drinks, and a chance to ditch the agenda
                                                               and catch up informally on Zoom."
                                                               Deeper Q&A

                                                               Elaina Smith, CFO at Settlement Data Systems, wants to see
                                                               more Q&A and post-event follow-up at virtual conferences.
                                                               "I've attended several webinars where there wasn't enough
                                                               time allotted for Q&A, and there was no follow-up after the
                                                               event," she said. "I would like to see more polling of attendees
                                                               before the webinar so that they have a true understanding
                                                               of what type of content attendees are expecting and what
                                                               questions they hope to have answered."

                                                               Before and after webinars and conferences, organizers
                                                               can use social media platforms to connect with audience
                                                               members, and high-quality content, curated for a target
                                                               audience, is generally more effective than diluted content
        By Dale S. Laszig                                      designed to reach a broader group, Smith noted. Organizers
                                                               should narrow the scope to improve content quality and
                 or decades, tradeshows have provided network-  provide  productive takeaways; if the  content  is  good,
                 ing, deal-making and educational opportunities  attendees will want to continue the conversation, she added.
                 to payments professionals. When the COVID-
        F 19  pandemic  forced  a  pivot  to  virtual  events,  it  Smith also believes it's also time to move on from the
        fueled a nascent industry of service providers and digital  initial shock of the pandemic. "I don't want to see any more
        conference technology platforms. Part 1 of this series chron-  webinars that end with 'in a pandemic,'" Smith said. "If we
        icled the rapid rise of virtual events in 2020, as organizers  haven't figured out how to adapt to the current environment
        overcame challenges to create meaningful, relevant events.  by now, we probably need more than a webinar."
        In Part 2, payments industry leaders and event planners
        share tips on how to make virtual shows even better.

        Denise Stamulis, director, global strategic events at ACI   Contributed articles inside by:
        Worldwide, said virtual events will never replace in-person
        gatherings, but planning becomes easier with practice.
        "Pivoting  to  virtual  events  initially  presented  challenges   Roger McNamara ..................................................................................15
        largely due to many moving pieces from a planning        Marc Beauchamp ..................................................................................24
        perspective," she said. "As we've completed more virtual
        events, we've been able to more easily adjust."          Ronny Yakov ...........................................................................................26

                                                                 Jeff Fortney .............................................................................................28
        Marla Ellerman, executive director of the MPC digital
        commerce event, agreed with Stamulis that online events
        will never replace connecting with friends and associates   TOC on page 3
        in person, but the gap can be closed. "People are still talking
                                                                                      Continued on page 22
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