When the pandemic hit early last year, eventprofs were faced with an unexpected learning curve as in-person events stopped almost overnight, and everyone moved online. Event tech companies sprang into action to support the industry’s shift to virtual — you would be hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t currently offer some kind of virtual platform or hybrid product.
However, high-end virtual production is expensive and time-consuming, and the landscape is continuing to evolve as eventprofs become more comfortable and familiar with virtual tech. Event tech providers, in turn, are continuing to adapt to meet planners’ needs — this time, in the form of “do-it-yourself” production features that don’t require the help of external production teams or tools and allow planners to easily control their own event broadcasts and livestreams.
EventMobi, for example, recently launched EventMobi Studio, powered by Restream. The tool allows event organizers to change the branding of livestreams, add elements such as banners and lower thirds, add overlays, create greenrooms, and more. Bob Vaez, CEO of EventMobi, notes that “at first, there was a lot of confusion around livestreaming and what options were available.”
In order to simplify video streaming options, EventMobi broke them down into four broad categories: simple on-demand videos, integrations with video conferencing tools such as Zoom that take attendees away from the event platform to watch sessions, external streams that feed into event platforms using RTMP, and finally, all-in-one DIY options that enable the stream and the production to take place within the event platform itself.
“This way, as a speaker or an event planner, you don't have to go to another tool to get into your session,” explains Vaez. “You simply log into the platform, and it takes you to the production screen. This is a much simpler workflow — the actual video production ends up happening directly within the platform along with the stream, which creates a seamless experience for everyone.”
This is precisely what EventMobi Studio was developed for, and what other event platforms have been doubling down on as the industry matures. MeetingPlay Studio has been around since last year, while Hopin’s acquisition of Streamyard earlier this year has enabled it to integrate Streamyard’s broadcast studio into its platform. Event tech giant Cvent followed suit and launched Cvent Studio last month.
Meanwhile, platforms like Socio also offer these types of features through their native video streaming, and Aventri announced a partnership with video platform Brandlive to offer Brandlive’s Greenroom feature to event organizers hosting virtual and hybrid events on the Aventri platform.
All of these tools provide essentially the same functionalities, and they’re ushering in the next phase of virtual event tech.
“As a planner, it’s basically one click,” says Vaez of EventMobi’s offering. “You don't have to sign another contract with another provider, you don’t have to go somewhere else to create your content, and you don’t have to go somewhere else to consume it. It's essentially an all-in-one livestreaming package — it’s all about offering more choice to the planner as they’re considering the creation process and the consumption process of the video.”
These easy-to-use production features will be an increasingly attractive option for planners moving forward, especially as in-person events return and focus shifts to planning live events. Being able to create high-end livestreams without external help or significant added costs will make it easier for events to offer online components and continue to leverage virtual’s wider reach.