How do you reach a large number of cardiologists today with vital content regarding cardiovascular risk reduction?
Ten years ago the only way to do that was to have a series of meetings across the globe until you reached your target number, or the budget ran out, whichever came first. Today we can do it from the comfort of our own office or local production studio. No flights need be booked. No hotels contracted. And best of all, no schedules interrupted for days. The content is more focused, the experience is more engaging, and ROI goes through the roof.
Webcasts are nothing new. They’ve been around for quite a while. But when we combine the various technologies available today, we can create a product that’s greater than the sum of its parts. With broadband technology in just about every office and most homes, the ability to render multiple streams of information on a single webpage, to poll and interact with the audience, generates endless possibilities. The move from live to virtual meetings has increased in our business year over year.
One of my clients had a dream to reach hundreds of cardiologists with a live interactive debate. Their goal was to raise awareness of the involvement of class effect in the selection of antihypertensives for cardiovascular risk reduction. The debate would bring together thought leaders with two distinct points of view (class effect and evidence-based medicine) to argue the pros and cons with me before studio cameras. The stream would be webcast to groups of HCPs around the country simultaneously. But rather than have the audience sitting there passively listening, they would be able to direct the conversation through interactive polling. At predetermined points in the debate I asked questions of the audience to see what information they required to decide how they stood on our central question: Is it acceptable to generalize to a class effect, or should we adhere strictly to evidence-based therapy with individual compounds? The results of the various questions I asked told me where to direct the discussion and what topics needed further clarification for the audience. We concluded the “show” with an open forum Q&A.
The results of this process were nothing short of stellar. Within a short span of time (30 minutes) we effectively moved the audience’s opinion on the matter in question. Specifically 82.5% had changed their stance on our central question after viewing the discussion along with the data presented. In addition the thought leaders involved enjoyed being a part of such a cutting edge program and felt that they had done their colleagues a service by participating.
Does this mean that face-to-face meetings are a dying breed? Hardly. Nothing will ever match the depth of personal interaction that takes place at a live meeting. Many ideas are communicated, not just from the podium, but through the nuances inherent in human interaction. A webcast can never match that depth of communication. But as travel costs increase, budgets decrease, and time becomes a commodity in short supply, the technological options become increasingly attractive.
So attractive, in this case, that the client is considering doing another round of the same show. Although I’ve been involved in dozens of webcasts, there was something different about this one. It might have been the spirit of the team, the excellence of the content, or the brilliance of its execution. Most likely it was all of those qualities working synergistically. But there was an added factor that sent this project into home run territory–communications design. Subtle yet significant tweaks through the planning process brought us to a natural communication pattern that was a determining factor in the project’s effectiveness. The discussion ebbed and flowed according to the moment, according to those participating in the conversation. What it wasn’t was sterile and linear like some PowerPoint-driven data dump. It was, in fact, a conversation–not a presentation. This factor gave the program its winning quality. And while the content was compelling, the method of delivery made it unforgettable.
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Thank you for this insightful article that perfectly highlights the somewhat obvious value of webcasts that more and more of us are use as a regular tool in our communications arsenal, but how they can be executed in a manner that absolutely can retain many of the human factors of live meetings with instantaneous results. There are definitely room for both live and virtual meetings at the healthcare communications table. Well Done!