Online Event Testimonial

“Our online event was successful in reaching our target audience. I was very happy with the number of attendees and how the event was executed. We have already won one new client,” said Kris Gale, Chairman, Michael Johnson Associates, discussing the organisation’s marcus evans online event.

How has the market for your product changed in recent years?

What did the online event allow you to do? It is a more difficult market for us to get to than ever before. Our product was very valuable for large organisations in Australia up until some legislative changes in 2015. It is now perceived as less valuable by large organisations, so they tend to gravitate towards the big four global accounting firms they are already working with. Although we provide a more specialised and cost-effective service in this area, the audience is just not that interested. However, with the online event, we managed to reach the audience we had been having trouble getting to for several years now. We were not sure if anyone would even register — which would have also been valuable information for us — but we absolutely hit the numbers in terms of registrants and a very healthy percentage of those tuned in. We received very good feedback on the content and presenters. We are very happy. The online event confirmed we remain a viable alternative.

What did you think of the quality of the registrants and attendees?

Over 130 people registered, many of whom had relevant decision-making roles in their organisations. They were from our target audience. The information was well marketed and prepared, so a good number attended on the day. It was very good for us for raising market awareness. It helped build our profile, and we hope to generate new business from those contacts. We have won at least one new client. We went to meet them in Sydney after the event. I believe we will win more clients over the next two years.

Did the online event help get your message out to your target audience?

Yes. The message we wanted to put across was that the big cuts to the program never materialised. We wanted to tell people why it didn’t, what the program is worth right now, and why it’s not going away. No government is likely to pull back support for R&D when we are facing a climate change challenge. The program is now worth more than it has been for eight years. I feel we got that message across pretty clearly and generated some real interest. Potential clients may not rethink their entire approach based on one online event, but we will continue to stay visible and explore the business development opportunities that have come about. We wanted to test whether there is still an interest in this and were happy to find that there is.

Did the participants engage with the content?

Yes, we got some engagement. They continued to listen and asked some questions. We had a good balance of speakers, speakers from companies that do R&D and have actually accessed the program, instead of just consultants. That was very valuable for the participants.

How were the marcus evans technology platform and dashboard of analytics?

It was easy to understand and operate. I liked the fact that there was a rehearsal. Our online event manager was a star. Very patient, enthusiastic and helpful.