Case Study
Expanding Reach and Engagement for the American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
OVERVIEW
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES), a leader in advancing sustainable energy practices, recognized the value in making their annual Solar Conference accessible to a broader audience by transforming it into a hybrid event. Their goals were to expand the reach of the in-person experience with an engaging, interactive, online experience. They wanted the best possible user experience for both audiences.
Earth Coast Productions (ECP) partnered with ASES to bring this vision to life, utilizing our comprehensive event methodology, "The Total Event Approach," to ensure seamless execution, high engagement, and a superior experience for both in-person and virtual attendees. The results were so impactful that ECP has been the exclusive event consultant and strategist for their annual Solar Conference since 2021.
The CHALLENGE
Expanding the ASES audience to include online attendees while providing an engaging experience for everyone.
ASES recognized they were limiting the effectiveness of their annual Solar Conference by only offering an in-person event. They could significantly expand their reach by simultaneously offering the event utilizing hybrid, live-streaming technology. It was vitally important to them that their online users have the same kind of impactful, engaging, experience as their in-person participants.
The SOLUTION
A Comprehensive Hybrid Event Strategy
To Start...
ECP began by conducting a thorough needs assessment, focusing on ASES’s goals, audience, and event logistics. Their in-person conferences were successful, in part, because ASES provided an engaging interactive experience that included:
- Engaging speakers showcased in an environment that was comfortable and attractive.
- Dedicated networking spaces where participants could meet, and exchange, ideas.
- Sponsor booths that provided additional revenue for ASES as well as offering attendees useful information.
- Poster board areas which showcased attendee and speaker research, driving education and thoughtful conversations.
- Exceptional value for their ticket price.
ECP was tasked with finding and executing on a hybrid platform that would provide this same experience to the virtual audience.
The Process
We had to find and recommend a virtual event platform to support ASES’s requirements for interactive engagement, virtual networking, and analytics while also fitting into the event budget.
ASES, like many of our clients, was unaware of the breadth of hybrid event platforms available. ECP utilizes more than a dozen different platforms, each of them with different strengths to address specific event needs.
Using our analysis, we evaluated and selected the ideal virtual event platform to support ASES event.
Once the platform was selected, ECP managed the entire platform setup and configuration, enabling ASES to focus on their event content rather than technical management.
With the right platform, we were able to replicate the in-person experience with tailored elements for the virtual audience by:
- Creating Custom-designed virtual networking spaces, poster board areas, and community messaging areas to create an engaging virtual experience.
- Building interactive virtual sponsor booths and providing onboarding for sponsor representatives to optimize attendee engagement.
- Strategically managing the platform’s schedule, with session descriptions, speaker bios, and custom graphics.
- Event logistics including onboarding speakers with custom profiles, ensuring tech checks were performed for all virtual presenters. We created a thorough onboarding guide for virtual attendees to ensure familiarity with the platform’s features and provided on-line technical support to address any attendee login issues that arose.
- Providing marketing and branding support including platform branding with event logos, sponsor placements, and video assets along with event email setup & management.
We provided an integrated experience ensuring the in-person and online attendees shared the same advantages such as:
- Creating and managing ticket types to allow streamlined registration, including separate ticket levels for in-person and online attendees.
- Displaying live speaker footage on large screens, enhancing visibility for in-person attendees.
- Managing four seasons rooms, and the outdoor reception, including live-streaming them so the online attendees could choose where to be, exactly like the in-person attendees.
- Managing live audio mixing for multiple speakers and panelists to ensure clear sound quality for attendees both onsite and online.
- Providing direct AV support for in-person speakers, managing presentations and ensuring smooth transitions between sessions.
The RESULTS and IMPACT
More attendees and curated content
Session Recordings
ECP recorded all the sessions keeping an eye out for impactful content for post-event usage. This included not only all the sessions but interviews, attendee interactions, and b-roll footage of attendee excitement. This resulted in easy access to individual sessions as well as providing raw footage to create a content library.
Content Library:
The content library allowed event footage to be repurposed into:
- Online Courses - Turning key sessions into educational content.
- Promotional Videos - Using highlights to promote the conference’s next edition.
- Event Highlights Reel - Capturing the essence of the event in a dynamic, shareable video.
- Social Media Clips - Produced sizzle reels with short, impactful moments to generate engagement on social.
The hybrid event successfully engaged both in-person and virtual attendees, setting a new benchmark for ASES’s online conferences. ECP’s comprehensive support—from platform selection to post-event content distribution—enabled ASES to reach a wider audience and maximize the conference’s impact.
