What happens when an important annual conference meets a highly serious global pandemic? Anything can happen, but for Audio Visual Dynamics (AVD), world-class audio visual expertise and capabilities find ways to turn a complicated virtual conference into just what the client ordered.
One of our clients is InteleTravel, a large travel brokerage firm serving the needs of independent travel agents worldwide. Essentially, InteleTravel is the travel agent’s travel agent, providing resources that the agents use to book travel for their clients.
In their business (as in so many), customer service is key. That is why InteleTravel holds an annual in-person conference which they call “Quest,” hosting thousands of their customers in an inviting location such as Las Vegas. But, Las Vegas was last year; in 2021 InteleTravel Quest would have to go virtual or skip the event until next year. That was the least attractive option. The central challenge then was to win and hold the interest of 3,000 travel agents over the course of a three-day virtual event.
Produced by Audio Visual Dynamics in partnership with McVeigh Global Meetings and Events (MGME), the presentation was to be segmented into various sessions where InteleTravel’s sponsors (major cruise lines, airlines, and hotel chains with whom InteleTravel does business) could distribute information about the different packages that they offer for travel.
Making the Virtual Experience Really Entertaining
The conference began in March with an evening event on a Friday. The opening ceremonies comprised statements from InteleTravel executives on the state of the industry and what their clients could expect in the future, spiced up with entertainment presented by the various sponsors.
The general concept was to entertain and engage the attendees just the same as if they were at a venue, on a boat, or lodged at a resort.
Days two and three would offer presentations by InteleTravel’s sponsors outlining their packages and offerings, as well as new technology tools for the travel agents to enhance their businesses. All this was prerecorded, edited, packaged and produced by AVD.
Overcome Any and All AV Technical Challenges
The demands of InteleTravel Quest were enormous. To begin with, there were 27 prerecorded presentations that had to be produced in close consultation with the various sponsors.
These prerecords were executed via Zoom, engineered by AVD, and then mixed with sponsors’ provided content to make a visually appealing and entertaining presentation which would hold attendees’ attention. Those 27 prerecords became 38 presentation segments that were rolled in live during the event. Introducing those segments were two virtual hosts prerecorded using green screens. The two hosts, both InteleTravel employees, appeared on screen together but were recorded in separate locations.
That was an interesting challenge that AVD was able to pull off smoothly for a final effect that was quite entertaining. The hosts enjoyed doing reworded songs, so in postproduction AVD edited in the songs for added production quality and backup to enhance their impact.
In addition to musical, comedic and other acts, AVD also produced a quiz-based game show, complete with one host and four players, resulting in an amazing true to life game show feeling. AVD edited the entire segment together with sound effects, graphics, game show bloopers, titles, etc. The client was extremely happy with this and all AVD’s vast amount of postproduction work which effectively tied the entire virtual event together.
AVD ran approximately 100 videos over the course of three days, between the general sessions and 10 breakout rooms which hosted 500 guests or more — where sponsored workshops were offered to attendees who could interact live with the presenters. AVD juggled 10 Zoom rooms simultaneously, interlacing speaker audio, videos, PowerPoint and more.
Turning Complexity into Success
The sheer magnitude of presentations was a major challenge, with hundreds of hours needed to edit files employing myriad green screens, lighting kits, microphones and much more, all of which AVD supported with painstaking care.
AVD tied all of the above together with: transitional segments featuring the hosts, informational segments with InteleTravel executives, dozens of sponsor-involved segments, along with numerous animated bumpers that AVD designed. These bumpers consisted of animated video rolls of ten to fifteen seconds each, inserted between segments to divide them and enhance flow, serving as a short breather before the next segment. All told, AVD edited it all into nine hours of entertaining, imaginative and informative content.
Not Just Solving AV Problems but Anticipating Them
In addition to all of the aforementioned production and streaming for the virtual event, AVD provided technical support and turnkey problem solving to its partners and clients and collaborated with them at every step. The nature of the streaming and the size of the audience not only required a primary stream and a backup stream, but even a second backup stream to protect against any possible failure of the third-party streaming platform.
A Willingness to Do Whatever It Takes
Audio Visual Dynamics is not the kind of company that ever says no, or ever tells clients that something they want cannot be done. No matter how demanding the job, AVD finds a way to do it. In the case of InteleTravel Quest, the review and approval process of all planned programming was multi-layered with many different stakeholders.
No matter how many constituencies have to be satisfied, how tight the deadlines and how much adjusting is required along the way, AVD’s answer is ever affirmative and the results, reliably spectacular. That’s a combination you won’t find just anywhere.
To learn more about our AV services and how we can make your next virtual, in-person, or hybrid event the most spectacular you’ve ever produced, call AVD at (973) 993-8500 or use our contact form.