From Physical to Virtual: RTC 2020

From Physical to Virtual: The RealTime Conference

AR/VR / film / Interviews / media coordination / Press Release / vfx

One of the things we constantly preach to our clients is that there are some circumstances where the only option is to adapt. And in the case of launching a first-time conference — in a year when physical trade shows around the world were prohibited — that required a bit of additional effort.

When we initially signed on to help promote the innaugural RealTime Conference, our goal was straightforward enough. We planned to help them get the word out, recruit press to attend the event, and ultimately fill auditoriums in both Paris and New York. The COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible though, forcing our client to pivot, and our strategy to pivot along with them.

With a physical show out of the question and only a few weeks of lead time, the RealTime Conference reimagined itself as a virtual event. For two full days, the conference would feature dozens of interactive talks, each streamed to the public for free. Working with the RTC team and the show’s sponsors, we created a new plan to promote the event, beginning with targeted press outreach. We worked with the conference’s partners and speakers, coordinating our outreach, and then wrote a new press release highlighting the online format. With less than a week to go, we placed over a dozen major articles and recorded an estimated 215,500 coverage views! The inaugural event turned out to be a huge success, with over 4,000 registrants from 87 countries. The keynote address saw nearly 1,000 concurrent viewers, and the conference quickly announced two additional shows with the potential for more in the future.