a bit of background
TEC Services Association’s (TSA) International Technology Enabled Care (ITEC) Conference was held online using our platform, Gem, over four days and brought together industry leaders from health, housing, and social care.
The aim of the event was to provide strong engagement across these sectors and to facilitate discussions around the use of innovative technology in care settings.
As the industry and advisory body for technology enabled care (TEC) in the UK, it was imperative that the technological solutions provided for the virtual event were innovative, state of the art, and seamless; reflecting TSA’s digital expertise and showcasing how digital solutions can enhance experiences in care settings.
In addition, TSA wanted to ensure the event was visually engaging, provided accessible networking opportunities, encouraged interaction, and didn’t limit participation in any way through inaccessible technology, complicated platforms, or a confused user journey. TSA wanted the experience to be as close to the in-person event as possible.
our approach
Our aim, in line with TSA’s, was to provide a virtual event that was highly engaging and interactive; that offered more than a standard webinar or live streamed event. Our ambition was to create a virtual environment where participants were encouraged to actively take part, rather than passively watch.
We transformed our Gem platform into an immersive virtual venue, providing delegates with the familiarity of navigating around spaces based on the real-life venue in which the event would have been held – the Birmingham ICC. We packed the platform with innovative features which included:
- a 3D conference foyer to welcome delegates upon arrival to the event
- three live theatres streaming plenary and parallel sessions
- interactive features integrated into each theatre allowing participants to take part in live polling and submit questions
- opening animations and ‘voice of god’ voice-overs to introduce each session and welcome speakers to the stage
- exhibitor packages allowing TSA to provide their stakeholders with tiered options to suit their budgets
- brandable 3D exhibition design with a variety of stand features and access to exhibition stand management tools
- an exhibition hall, providing access to 27 exhibitors showcasing innovations within the TEC industry, with one-on-one video calls and stand prize draws
- we incorporated gamification, “stamping” visitors cards as they interacted with and moved from stand to stand, to encourage visits to stand
- a Networking Hub, allowing delegates to interact with other attendees in small groups, meeting for “coffee” in breaks and networking time, or partake in several topics based facilitated round table sessions
- a conference Help Desk, with live technical team support available throughout
Throughout the conference, our highly skilled, multi-disciplined technical team delivered complex AV and IT requirements across multiple rooms including sound, video, broadcast, graphics data display including subtitling, simultaneous live streaming, facilitated video conferencing, interactive technology, and online digital services.
And we were also responsible for liaising with and briefing all 60 speakers at the event.
the upshot
TSA’s first fully virtual ITEC conference was a huge success. Feedback from the client team confirmed their board members and senior influencers were “very happy”.
Based on their initial brief – “As an organisation, we want to be as close to an in-person event as possible” we met their challenge. This is evidenced in the blog post of a key stakeholder and exhibitor here. https://www.tsa-voice.org.uk/news_and_views/blog/a-great-first-virtual/
Hosting the event online provided the opportunity for TSA to increase the event from its traditional two-day format, to four days in duration, and allowed them to target new audiences in health, housing & social care – a key indicator of the expansion of the sector and interest in the benefits and impact of technology enabled care.
“Thank you to the team for your support in delivering a very successful Virtual ITEC Conference. From the moment we engaged your services I felt that your experience and knowledge was a huge benefit to us.
The support your team gave in the run up to and during the virtual conference was first class. We enjoyed working with the team and are very proud of what we have achieved.”
Events Manager, TEC Services Association (TSA)
