Speaker Management & Virtual Event Experience for New Jersey Historical Commission's Virtual Conference 2022
About the Client:
The New Jersey Historical Commission is a state government agency dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history.
About the Project:
The New Jersey Historical Commission’s Virtual Conference was held on November 4, 2022. The one-day virtual conference included keynote speakers, panel discussions, and lightning talks on Immigration and Migration in New Jersey.
Primary: Event Project Management
Secondary: Virtual Event Planning & Day-of Management, Stakeholder Management, Event Marketing, Event Logistics
Processes:
Due to our previous projects with the New Jersey Historical Commission, we were able to pick up where we left off in the planning process. Initially, the Client offloaded all current conference information and we were able to update the website landing page; onboard and inform all speakers of key dates in the timeline; create a new Airtable base, which contained historical information for context, and bring the off-track project up to speed.
With virtual events, especially with a large number of speakers, stakeholder management is key. With a series of individual emails, Zoom invitations, broadcasts, calendar invitations and “Know Before You Go” communications, we ensured that the speakers and moderators were well informed and kept on deadline.
As we started to collect speaker materials, the team updated the landing page for the event, with a focus on spotlighting the speakers at the conference.
In the weeks before the event, we held Zoom trainings for individual speakers and panels as a whole, as well as drop-in office hours-style sessions so that speakers and moderators could ask questions and test tech. Simultaneously, we created the internal run of show and timeline(s) to be shared externally; communicated all last-minute pre-event needs with volunteers and panelists; ran the pre-show meetings with the internal team and speakers, and collected backups of all of the presentations.
On the date of the event, November 4th, we ensured that all of the sessions were going off without a hitch, moderated Q&A and served as technical moderators when needed. Finally, we worked with the client to distribute post-event surveys and collect data, present a final overview report and update the event website with all of the recordings from the conference.
Results:
192 people attended the conference
21% were student tickets
As far as the goal of both students and teachers in attendance, teachers, professors, and assistant professors made up over 30% of the attendance