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June 8, 2020 • Issue 20:06:01

The show must go online

needs," Kelley said. "I'm proud of how fast we pivoted and
especially pleased by the positive feedback we've received
from TRANSACT Connect participants and sponsors."
Actionable insights

Virtual conferencing had been gaining traction, even before
COVID-19 made it the only option for professional gather-
ings. Benefits include expanded audience reach, personal-
ized content, real-time engagement, quantifiable leads and
data-driven insights. While there are numerous conference
hosting platforms available, experts advise focusing on
content, not technology.

"Platforms are emulating physical conferences to a large ex-
tent, but they're not the solution and you can't rely on them
and simply put up the same content," said Konstantinos Pa-
pakonstantinou, CEO of Board Studios Inc., a full-service
video marketing and production company. "You have to
By Dale S. Laszig get in your audience's shoes and figure out their true pain
points, then look for the experts to answer them, and evolve
hen it became clear that annual on-site con- your format to make the solutions engaging."
ferences would not take place as planned in
2020, payments industry executives looked Papakonstantinou observed that on-site conferences have
W for ways to keep their shows alive. In record become complacent because attendees who travel to them
time, they renegotiated hotel, catering and exhibit hall become captive audiences that can't escape. Virtual attend-
contracts, revamped keynote and sponsor presentations, ees, on the other hand, are easily distracted and can leave
and evaluated digital platforms. Despite the stressful cir- with a click. He suggested creating compelling 10-minute
cumstances that prompted their digital transformations, sessions to hold their attention.
industry leaders interviewed for this article enjoyed the
experience and would consider hosting virtual events in
the future.
Contributed articles inside by:
Jodie Kelley became CEO of the Electronic Transactions
Association in September 2019 and had been looking for-
ward to attending ETA's April 2020 annual conference and Marc Beauchamp ..................................................................................24
expo. Less than a month before the scheduled show, the Chad Otar ................................................................................................26
escalating pandemic placed Kelley and her team in un-
charted territory. Jeffrey I. Shavitz ....................................................................................28
William C. Nichols .................................................................................29
"We processed the facts and how different the world had
become and had a robust internal discussion about what
our community needs and how we could meet those TOC on page 3

Continued on page 23