A short YouTube conversation (Ricardo Molina and a co-speaker) debating whether event organizers should promote or sell on-demand video (VOD) of virtual events before/alongside the live experience. The speakers argue that advertising/selling VOD upfront reduces live attendance and undermines community-building, while acknowledging VOD’s value as a content and potential revenue stream and proposing conditional post-event access strategies.
Chapters
The on demand upfront promotion or the event that you're doing virtual and marketing that to be sold after we've talked about. You shouldn't do that. Right. I guess it's a personal opinion, I mean, not mine. We highlighted and I think there's a very reason for that. And, and I would like to ask the audience at this point in time, the poll, so that we can kind of touch on this very nicely. So I really want to ask everybody. So we're talking about the context of why you shouldn't, or this is an idea or a concept, why you shouldn't promote the fact that there is an on demand version after the event if you specifically want to foster that connection in a live environment. So I'm going to ask you guys, I'm going to ask you guys two questions. Number one, have you signed up for video on demand content with a very serious intent to watch it? Tell me yes or no. And the next question is, have you watched it after? Yeah, please. I would love everyone to. We kind of know what the answers are going to be, but I think.
I don't know. I'm curious to know what the answer is going to be. Sadly, I can't vote. Hosts and panelists cannot vote. But I'm very curious to see what the answer is. I mean, can I, whilst we're waiting for the response, can I start talking about this?
Yes, yes, I think, yeah, the answers I will be. And I'm being very predictable. I'm going to show the results very soon. But yes, let's just start talking about that.
So I think this is such a great question because I think, especially for those, you know, among us today who come from the commercial end of events, you know, it's another revenue stream which I completely get, you know, why wouldn't you have that whole extra revenue stream?
So that's the result.
Sorry, as I suspected. Okay, Absolutely. As I suspected. So here's the thing, which is this. Look, I know this. I signed up for an FT event that I really, really wanted to go to and then I thought, but I've got the video on demand, so I'm not going to go. And then it's still on my list, it's moving down my list and it may never get. So if what we want from our events, I'm very happy to see that data because that is my sense of the world. But it's nice to see it as a data set. If what we want from our events is to convene community, there is a massive difference. Community and connection around the content. There an enormous difference between watching the Video on Demand later, which is great. That's the pure content. That's the webinar element. It's pure content. You can learn from it. Great. All the extra pieces that are part of the event experience. And only when the event is live, seeing the chat at the side, engaging with people, clicking on Ricardo's name, saying, hey, Ricardo, how you doing? Tell me what's going on. Going to the speed networking, going to the round tables and conversations that might be happening at the same time as the stage, going into the explore area, checking out sponsors and partners and stakeholders, all of that strips away. And so while I think, of course we want to give people that Video on Demand, my sense is if our primary purpose is to convene people around the community and the connections they're going to make through that live event, which has that sense of presence, then I might, you know, having the small print that they'll get the Video on Demand afterwards, but I'm disinclined to sell it up front and I'm disinclined to sell it with an additional cost. Or I might email people up afterwards and say, thanks so much for coming if you want. Right. If I was a commercial player, I'd say, thanks so much for coming. Hope you enjoyed it. And actually, if you want the Video on Demand, that'll be another 50, 100 million bananas. If I'm a nonprofit association, I might say thanks so much for coming. And the Video on Demand, I mean, you know, we top and tell. We take all the videos at the end of each day, top and tell them, lightly edit them, they're up on wherever somebody wants them, you know, in a few hours. So, you know, a nonprofit think tank might say, you know, the content's available for you who attended the event against this, behind this, this, this paywall or free paywall, and actually will be available to everybody in three months time. But from my perspective, if the main purpose is to get people at the live event doing that, engagement, totally. But I'm very curious to see what other people think about that.
Yeah, let us know in the chat panel. Guys, what do you think about this? Because I think this is a very, very important thing. By the way, I just really wanted to highlight. It's not about that. Doing that is not right. But the context of this conversation is about community, bringing that engagement alive in a live environment. How do you can spark that and then what can you do after with the community mind at heart?
