To seamlessly merge the in-person event, the use of a third-party app to submit questions virtually was utilized. The app allowed for in-person attendees to register for breakout sessions and workshops, chat and post pictures with other attendees, and more!
To increase in-person engagement, and to help in-person attendees to ‘loosen up,’ the app would tell people to look to their left or right and snap a quick selfie with someone and post that selfie. This simple and quirky app had Optum leadership taking selfies with everyone.
Everything was live at this event, with absolutely nothing pre-recorded. That being said, the live-stream had to be working perfectly for virtual attendees. As the live feed was happening, there were multiple teams involved to ensure its success. Chati hosted the live feed seamlessly, giving virtual attendees the ability to expand their view to full screen, pause, and adjust the volume.
There were nine breakout sessions happening simultaneously during the event. Although attendees could only attend one at a time (either in person or virtually), everybody could come back and view all during the one year on-demand period.
The virtual portion of this event had actual imagery from the physical, in-person rooms! There are even members of Optum’s team that can be found within the virtual environment.
Optum wanted all in-person attendees to be truly engaged in the event at all times. That being said, if you attended in-person, you were not granted access to the event virtually until it was officially available on demand. This kept in-person attendees from viewing on their cellphones. With a networking lounge available virtually, the conversation kept going with plenty of opportunity for attendee engagement.