The Challenge
NextGen’s 2020 User Group Meeting (UGM) was an opportunity to create an online experience that met or exceeded the expectations of NextGen’s users. While it was straightforward enough to choose a delivery platform that would register guests, opportunities to customize the experience and offer a unique and well-designed environment were harder to come by. Until NextGen turned to Staging Solutions.
From large-scale experiential events to custom media production, Staging has partnered with NextGen on several projects over the years. For the 2020 UGM, NextGen needed a partner to turn a standard on-line framework into a custom-branded, interactive experience, and Staging Solutions is just what the doctor ordered!
The Solution
At Staging Solutions, all vendors are in-network: We collaborate with multiple providers to serve the needs of our clients best. When UGM brought us into the project, they had already selected a delivery platform that included streaming and registration for 8,500 on-line attendees. But within this framework they needed more than any standard platform provides on its own.
We prescribed a custom-branded, navigable environment, built to allow viewers to curate their own experience as they toured different NextGen exhibits. The structure also gave NextGen the option to sub-divide the space to include partner organizations in their own booths.
To ensure direct access for attendees to 150 NextGen employees within the environment, we designed and monitored a custom, integrated chat system. This allowed real-time interactions anywhere in the experience for attendees to ask questions, get more information, and interact with NextGen staff directly. Additionally, attendees could chat with partners in their custom booth spaces.
The Conclusion
COVID threw a lot of curve balls in 2020, but NextGen’s 2020 UGM event made a full recovery. A custom, branded, interactive environment designed and executed by Staging Solutions ensured a seamless transition from in-person to virtual. We were happy to add this bit of client feedback to our chart:
“Really fun and well done! Getting tons of great feedback. Chris B. said he’s attended other large virtual conferences and none have done anything like this.” – Colleen Edwards, Senior Vice President, Marketing