Does "If You Dream It, You Can Stream It" Apply to Interactive Media?
What are the newest engagement and interactive opportunities for both live in-person and virtual event audiences? Beth Norber, Director of Accounts, Mainstream Media, chats with Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, Producers Guild of America (PGA), VR AR Association (VRARA) about the ways her organization is working to bridge the gap between in-person and virtual audiences and create experiences which cater to their specific needs.
“You say at Mainstream Media that ‘if you can dream it, you can stream it.’ I do love that line,” Pfaff says to Norber. “And I think that the level of interactivity you can dream up these days that extend this virtual event into something like a real in-person event is where you're going. So why don't you talk about some of the things you're doing that help to up that ante in terms of live interactivity?”
“I think one of the things we're always trying to put at the forefront of our thoughts is meeting the audiences where they're at but also taking the lead and following them where they want to go,” Norber says. “Our clients are so much more sophisticated now than they were a year ago, let alone at the beginning of the pandemic.” She notes that this new sophistication also naturally extends to audiences, and the key to improving experiences is through direct engagement with all participants. “Working with our producers and our technical directors to find those ways to maybe create some exclusive experiences for both audiences,” she says.
Listening to feedback from both audiences who prefer to attend events virtually and those who are happy to return to events in person is essential, Norber says. Hybrid is the new normal, and the key now will be finding ways to equally involve all types of attendees. “A lot of the big tech companies do this really, really well, but some of our fundraising and nonprofit clients are just breaking into this space,” Norber says. “And really because of the level of sophistication that we've seen throughout we're really kept on our toes to find out the new and the next whether that's different virtual event platforms beyond the Zooms and the YouTubes and whatnot. What are the different interactions and engagements that can happen on some of these platforms? So a lot of it ends up with that.” She emphasizes that the bar has already been set very high. “Netflix and Hulu and Amazon push[ed] out tons and tons of content throughout the pandemic which is fantastic,” she says. “That's the quality and that's the experience that people now accept from your webinar.”
Learn more about hybrid events and interactive media at Streaming Media West 2022.
Watch full-session videos from Streaming Media Connect 2022.
Related Articles
What makes a stream interactive? What are the elements of interactive streams that audiences respond to most, and create the most engaging lean-forward experiences? Parks Associates' Jennifer Kent, 090 Media's Alex Lindsay, nanocosmos' Oliver Lietz, and LG's Brian Miller explain what makes streams interactive to them and streaming consumers.
08 Mar 2023
What's driving streaming engagement, and where is interactivity for sports fans watching live streams and using streaming apps? And what are the current challenges to delivering interactive sports streaming experiences? Parks Associates' Jennifer Kent and ViewLift's Rick Allen discuss these topics in a panel at Streaming Media West 2022.
18 Jan 2023
What are some of the biggest issues encountered when handling interactive streaming at scale? The widespread increase of highly interactive streaming such as auctions, sports betting, and gaming has put pressure on networks while increasing the need to integrate interactivity into more traditional methods of OTT content delivery.
01 Nov 2022
Hosting a successful hybrid event means understanding how to create the best virtual and in-person event strategy while ensuring that event organizers prepare for all possible variables.
24 Aug 2022
Interactive streaming is the future for high-quality ultra-low latency applications that will unlock unique and unprecedented experiences for users
19 Aug 2022
Donald Guzauckas Jr. of HB Live talks about the best ways for event technical teams to set up and prepare for the unique network, video, and audio challenges for virtual and hybrid conferences during these unpredictable times
15 Jul 2022
Sage Event Management Creative Producer Blue Melnick explains his approach to enhancing the viewing and engagement experience for in-person and remote audiences at different types of hybrid events in this clip from Streaming Media West Connect 2021.
14 Jan 2022