During the pandemic, restaurants taught many of us how to use our smartphone camera to access a menu, using a QR code. That idea is now popping up in auction catalogs, too. QR codes posted around your gala venue can direct guests to registration pages, online auctions, or donation pages. QR codes are also now appearing in auction catalogs. In today’s vlog, you'll see how two nonprofits incorporated QR codes into their auction catalogs. https://youtu.be/AAeXXijjS3w ... Read On >
Technology
What is latency in a virtual gala? (And why it matters.)
Virtual galas have their own jargon, and one word that quickly became a common term in spring 2020 was the word “latency.” For the purposes of a virtual gala, it refers to the delay between what is happening "live" and what the audience sees via the livestream. The term is most discussed when we talk about two-screen solution virtual galas because it requires that we change the format of the live auction. And by "change the format," I mean we don't have a traditional live auction and ... Read On >
Virtual Gala: One Screen Solution vs Zoom (I prefer Zoom. Here’s why.)
As I've been preaching for several months in my "The Next 6 Months: Conversations" series and "Virtual Gala Cheatsheet," I designate virtual galas into five primary approaches. Two-screen solutions One-screen solutions Zoom Meeting (or webinar) platform 100% pre-recorded Hybrid, which I define as a small group of people onsite and a larger audience watching via livestream Most of the 33 virtual galas I worked in 2020 were either two-screen solutions or Zoom-type galas, but ... Read On >
Hybrid virtual galas: Do they fill the void between virtual galas and in-person galas?
Last last week I heard an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID. He was asked when normal human interactions might resume. In today's VLOG, I read his answer from that interview and consider what happens in that time period between everyone running virtual galas and then groups moving back to traditional in-person galas. https://youtu.be/IuUb0vZziHk As you heard in my video, the short answer is that -- with a lot of "ifs" -- normal human interaction might resume in ... Read On >
Virtual gala software – 2 approaches for studio-based livestreams
Last week I created a "Virtual Gala Cheat Sheet" for a webinar. Renee Zau of DonationMatch had asked a client and I to participate on a webinar for the San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association. The topic was "Virtual Fundraising Events That Work: Best Practices and Trends." If you've participated in my free "The Next 6 Months" conversation series on COVID-19 and galas, you are probably further along in your understanding than what the Virtual Gala Cheat Sheet offers. Even ... Read On >