Event Showcase | The Event Summit 2020

The Event Summit was the first fully virtual event I’ve attended in 2020. I know – where have I been? Well, as you’ll discover shortly, I multi-task a lot these days. I also have to be completely honest up front… I had the wrong date in my diary. Inexcusable really, as Event Birdie is a media partner for the event. I’m not even sure how I got it wrong!?

Regardless, I am here to tell you all about it. Because even though I no longer had childcare arranged so I could block out half a day to tune in, I managed it! And, this is what I have decided I LOVE most about virtual events. Flexibility in tuning in. Where I wasn’t able to listen live, I caught up later when I could. I barely missed a thing!

So, once I realised that I only had 5 mins to jump on board, I downloaded the Twitch App (where the event was being broadcast), strapped the kid into the pram, grabbed my phone and a pair of ear phones and Bob’s your Uncle I was at The Event Summit! #multi-tasking-working-mum-killing-it-even-for-just-a-few-hours

Now let’s take a look at the key take-aways from the event and whether you too should tune in while taking a walk.

1. The main message – the impact of COVID on the live events industry

COVID sucks for the live events industry, we all know that, but seeing the stats really makes it sink in. Here’s some of the research that the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF) hosted by James Sutherland (LEIF Chair), Geoff Jones (CEO, TEG) and Roger Field (President, Live Nation Asia Pacific) and EY’s Matt Colston (Associate Partner Sports, Events and Venues Consulting ) discussed – it’s not pretty….

2. We loved the positivity!

While the impact is great, far-reaching and impossible to predict at this stage, the rest of the speakers were there to pick up the audience with some positivity! There was a lot of talk about adapting and pivoting, but also planning. How can we as an industry prepare to get back to work?

Sally Spriggs, South Pacific Marketing Director for KFC talked openly about how they have had to quickly adapt their approach in 2020 as their live entertainment partners were held in limbo. KFC rely heavily on tapping into Australian culture at live events, such as sport and music, and feel that they almost have a responsibility during this difficult time to keep the momentum up. Aussies have such a strong sporting culture and KFC feels it’s important as a sponsor to help keep that alive.

Positivity flowed with discussions of upcoming test events, new products and changing procedures, plus the knowledge that Australian’s are NOT hermits by nature and WILL come back to events when the time is right. Thank goodnes!

3. Good practice for the future

One of the sessions I found most interesting was actually from major sponsor, iAuditor. A compliance checklist app created by Safety Culture, this product sounds like it should be a mandatory inclusion in every event professionals tool kit.

Luke Anear created SafetyCulture when, after years of working as a workers compensation investigator, he realised there was a gap in compliance. Sure, we can all get a risk assessment and safety plan in place, but are they actually being followed correctly? He found that most incidents were avoidable, if there was a better system in place to ensure actual compliance.

iAduitor, allows event producers to create custom checklists to help them produce safer events. For example, the checklist can assist with inspecting an event site, capturing issues and applying corrective action when needed. I won’t go into all the nifty features and the multiple ways it can be used, but I recommend you check it out.

4. Broadcasting via Twitch

Never heard of Twitch? Neither had I… and when you land on the site you might be confused by all the channels talking about Fortnite. Regardless, the site worked fairly well for this event.

We found setting up an account easy and fast. The chat room worked well throughout the presentation too. Although they have a system that doesn’t allow you to comment until you’ve been watching for at least 10mins – this was initially annoying because by the time my 10mins was up my comment was irrelevant. Overall, though, as a live online platform it worked really well.

Where there is potential for improvement is the post-event experience. Now this could be the organisers more so than Twitch, but when I went to watch the footage post-live it was difficult to skip to the bits I had missed. There are two videos and no program with times to find what you’re looking for. Perhaps adding some more details in the About section would help users have a better experience. Having a quick look around how others on Twitch have used this section, it would also be a good spot to feature sponsors and suppliers too.

**EDIT: The Organisers have confirmed the individual sessions will be uploaded to Twitch later today (Thurs, 15th), which will make the post-viewing experience much easier.

Final note…

If you’re in the business of producing live events, entertainment or sponsorship, then The Event Summit is a must watch. The virtual format allows you to tune in when you’re available and the variety of speakers will keep you interested.

To watch The Event Summit 2020 on replay head to: https://www.twitch.tv/eventsummit

Suppliers who made it happen:
– Divine – set styling
– The Calyx Royal Botanic Garden and Trippas White Group – venue and catering
– Twitch – broadcast platform
– Red Light Records – filming, editing and live stream production
– Bloodline – sound and lighting
– Premium Media – event producer and promoter
– OzTix – ticketing partner
– InkWell – signage and printing
– Jason McCormack – photography
– Chisel – promotional video creation
– PopUp WiFi – temporary wifi
– Bruce Pollack – PR
– iAuditor – major sponsor