We’re at the Beginning of the Virtual Events Industry and Going from Physical to Virtual is Still Difficult
Eric Biener brings a diverse background to his role as Vice President of Business Development at Nielsen Business Media, owner of such media entities as Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Ad Week, Media Week and Brand Week, among others. He has worked for Ziff Davis Media, CMP Media (now United Business Media), Double Click, the National Basketball Association and United Virtualities, an Argentinean rich media company which created Shoshkeles, one of the first rich media animation units. In his current position, Biener’s responsibility is threefold: digital events, which is his core function, traditional business development, and he is also the publisher of MediaJobMarket.com, Nielsen’s recruitment portal. Biener attributes his success to the strong brands of Nielsen Business Media and his editorial partner of six years, Elliot Markowitz. This collaborative relationship with Markowitz allowed Biener to focus on sales while Markowitz dealt with shaping content and attracting an audience. This partnership, he believes, is responsible for the growth of his business, both at Ziff Davis and Nielsen.
Last year, Nielsen launched a new product called Live from the Show Floor, a video product which integrates virtual technology with a physical show. Prior to the event, a Nielsen production crew conducts a half hour interview with a presenter’s CMO or CEO, they edit it and post it on the Live from the Show Floor webpage. The technology, Biener admits, is extremely simple yet a good example of the virtual supporting the physical, and expanding the audience.
Biener stresses the importance of solid infrastructure when competing in the virtual industry. Like a traditional magazine publisher who must view his enterprise as a full-time job with a full-time staff, companies entering the virtual event arena must do likewise. Success is not for the dabblers and dilettantes, but rather for those who are willing to commit the resources to provide full service results. Currently, the industry lacks a clear route from beginning to end. “We have a lot of visual graphics, a lot of end results that are easily digested by an end user,” says Biener, “but the steps to get there are what this industry is still lacking.” Because this is still a growth industry, the challenge has been to convince organizations to fully commit those resources.
How does Biener define a successful sales strategy? To start, he maintains that he is not in the lead generation business. Leads are a byproduct of well-implemented programs, but as an end in themselves, are “reactive mechanisms” and not how he sells events. His mission statement, he says, is “to use these digital event devices to provide information and education to my end users that are going to enable them to do their jobs more efficiently.” It is with this metric in mind that Biener gauges whether a program is successful, as opposed to simply “crossing my fingers and hoping it all works out.”
While virtual events are definitely a growth industry, transitioning from a physical to a virtual venue is not a simple proposition. There is no real virtual model or platform to compete with the scale of a large physical tradeshow, a deficiency that the industry has yet to address. Biener compensates by utilizing what he terms “a magazine model, working with established brands.” He is selective in his choice of clients, approaching only the top tier prospects and selling them on the idea of being leaders within their peer group as opposed to selling booths to every exhibitor.
As for the future of the industry, Biener imagines companies will become much more self-reliant, requiring less guidance and hand-holding. As technology companies innovate and develop more user-friendly tools, clients will be willing to take more responsibility. It is analogous to the telephone, he believes. Once clients stop wondering how the technology works and simply learn how to use it, the tipping point will be reached and the paradigm will shift, sometime in the next 12 to 24 months, he predicts. Until that time, however, Nielsen will continue to provide full service options to its clients, guiding them through the process until they are ready to remove the training wheels.
Last year, Nielsen launched a new product called Live from the Show Floor, a video product which integrates virtual technology with a physical show. Prior to the event, a Nielsen production crew conducts a half hour interview with a presenter’s CMO or CEO, they edit it and post it on the Live from the Show Floor webpage. The technology, Biener admits, is extremely simple yet a good example of the virtual supporting the physical, and expanding the audience.
Biener stresses the importance of solid infrastructure when competing in the virtual industry. Like a traditional magazine publisher who must view his enterprise as a full-time job with a full-time staff, companies entering the virtual event arena must do likewise. Success is not for the dabblers and dilettantes, but rather for those who are willing to commit the resources to provide full service results. Currently, the industry lacks a clear route from beginning to end. “We have a lot of visual graphics, a lot of end results that are easily digested by an end user,” says Biener, “but the steps to get there are what this industry is still lacking.” Because this is still a growth industry, the challenge has been to convince organizations to fully commit those resources.
How does Biener define a successful sales strategy? To start, he maintains that he is not in the lead generation business. Leads are a byproduct of well-implemented programs, but as an end in themselves, are “reactive mechanisms” and not how he sells events. His mission statement, he says, is “to use these digital event devices to provide information and education to my end users that are going to enable them to do their jobs more efficiently.” It is with this metric in mind that Biener gauges whether a program is successful, as opposed to simply “crossing my fingers and hoping it all works out.”
While virtual events are definitely a growth industry, transitioning from a physical to a virtual venue is not a simple proposition. There is no real virtual model or platform to compete with the scale of a large physical tradeshow, a deficiency that the industry has yet to address. Biener compensates by utilizing what he terms “a magazine model, working with established brands.” He is selective in his choice of clients, approaching only the top tier prospects and selling them on the idea of being leaders within their peer group as opposed to selling booths to every exhibitor.
As for the future of the industry, Biener imagines companies will become much more self-reliant, requiring less guidance and hand-holding. As technology companies innovate and develop more user-friendly tools, clients will be willing to take more responsibility. It is analogous to the telephone, he believes. Once clients stop wondering how the technology works and simply learn how to use it, the tipping point will be reached and the paradigm will shift, sometime in the next 12 to 24 months, he predicts. Until that time, however, Nielsen will continue to provide full service options to its clients, guiding them through the process until they are ready to remove the training wheels.
Tags: digital events, eric biener, neilsen business media, virtual events
© 2010 Created by Michael Doyle
