An Online Solution for Technology Innovators: Interop & InformationWeek
When the UBM TechWeb team behind Interop considered taking its industry-leading IT event brand into the virtual space, its leaders called on UBM Studios to help develop and build the initiative. Interop is well known for bringing IT and business leaders together to keep up with all the latest technologies at physical events worldwide. The Interop team realized that the IT industry was moving at break-neck speed—with cloud, virtualization and mobility radically transforming IT organizations—and the need for updated and relevant educational content was growing just as fast. It was decided that a partnership with InformationWeek would produce high-quality content and help secure industry experts for presentations. The goal was to create an engaging alternative to a physical conference that could reach audiences globally, strengthen the Interop brand and provide a forum to discuss the latest industry developments.
Our team worked with Interop & InformationWeek to develop their online exhibit center in December 2010. The environment showcased webcasts and white papers and gave audiences the ability to connect with subject matter experts via moderated chats and live Q&A sessions. That event drew 3043 registrants and 1453 attendees, representing a 47% conversion rate from registrant to attendee. On average 600 attendees visited each sponsor booth, providing meaningful interactions and valuable leads.
In July 2011 Interop & InformationWeek held a second online event with the Studios, building on the success from the previous winter and the continuing triumph of Interop’s physical conferences. For the Business Mobility Unleashed event our creative team developed a custom show design, mimicking the Interop website look & feel, to increase brand recognition and connect the in-person and online events. We also worked with the Interop team to increase attendee interaction with a real-time display of other attendees in the event—in effect allowing online audiences to ‘bump into’ each other on the event’s homepage. The event drew 2267 registrants from across the globe and 838 attendees, who averaged over 5 hours in the environment.
“We were really happy with the new design for the show, which also incorporated images from our last physical conference in Las Vegas into the backgrounds within the environment,” said Heather Haslinger, Senior Manager of Online Events at TechWeb. “The Studios’ creative and production teams worked diligently to deliver a solution that met our needs and represented the Interop brand.”
Even as wrap up from Business Mobility Unleashed took place, the Studios began planning for future Interop & InformationWeek online environments, with several more events in progress. As Interop continues to incorporate online environments into their event strategy, UBM Studios will continue to innovate and create new environments to showcase their work.
