Conference Matters 141

TECHNOLOGY

'Storytelling, humour and emotion

are the basis of a good live event'

' It's important to offer interactivity or gamification'

Companies and brands increasingly want to have online or virtual events. FX Agency is specialised in creating digital experiences and knows exactly what is happening and going to happen in this area. “More experience and the latest techniques will play an increasingly bigger role”, says Niels Janssen, founder of FX Agency.

We are increasingly more selective with mass information, says Janssen. “As consumers, we’re naturally spoiled when it comes to receiving infor mation. We wake up, scroll through Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn. In three minutes’ time, you’ve already consumed 30 things. We can process that because we have taught ourselves to do so. You’re constantly being taken through fast algo rithms. You get exactly what is relevant to you, and it’s getting more and more advanced. Then, we attend a company’s online event, and we have to stare at a dull PowerPoint presentation for an hour.” Snackable content Do it differently. Offer more snackable content, says Janssen. “Small snacks at different times instead of throwing everything at a wall for an hour.” An online event also doesn’t have to always be from a single location. “Be sure to use a base stu dio from where you can tell your story, just like on television. From there, you can show your content using pre-recorded videos. Or work with several locations and a live reporter, switching back to them once in a while.” FX Agency also considers visitors’ attention spans. “As soon as the CEO is telling a story for half an hour, even if they’re doing their best, we

By Suzanna Timmer Photo: Thomas Fasting

' Small snacks at different times instead of throwing everything at a wall for an hour'

The merger between FX Agency and D&B Event marketing is still fresh. At the end of March, both agencies announced that they would merge into one company. It is a special fusion between a digital event specialist and an acclaimed agency in the field of in-person events. Niels Janssen founded FX Agency 14 years ago. Today, the Utrecht agency has 45 full-time employees and all disciplines in-house to devise and create completely independent digital for mats. “Events are no longer just live and in person, but also online and virtual”, says Janssen about the merger with D&B Eventmarketing. “At the same time, we see that there’s a digital mindset in the market, especially among the younger genera tion. People expect to be able to absorb stories

in a hybrid way, as there’s an increasing demand for this variant. Thanks to the merger, we can focus on that even better.” Corporations and universities FX Agency works for many large corporations, such as ING, Friesland Campina, Heineken, and Ahold Delhaize, as well as universities. “We use digital means, content, animation, and virtual productions for live events as well as interaction with mobile phones and all related communica tion via digital channels.” There is an increasing demand for both online and virtual events. “Yes, but they are two diffe rent things”, Janssen insists, seeing that they

the entire audience visiting a virtual event can ask questions or interact using their avatar. This gives them the feeling that they’re in a room together.” Do’s and don’ts Back to online events. What should you do and not do? “One obvious thing is the duration of an online event. People are quickly distracted, and surveys say as much as well: 70 percent of the people are doing other things,” says Janssen. “In addition, offering a dynamic and varied programme is important. We’ve organised an eight-hour online event, but we generally don’t recommend it.”

are often conflated. “Online events include eve rything that you can simply follow, such as an accessible stream.” Digital world At a virtual event, you enter a digital world cre ated specially for that event as an avatar, from a location on Mars to a fictional world that per fectly matches your brand values. “Interactive and AI are the key words. There’s a lot of technical innovation involved. A bigger advan tage of this is that, as a visitor, with your avatar or digital personality, you’re actually in that world. It’s not so much about walking around in a com puter game. For example, we have stands where

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