ANNUAL CONFERENCES
Annual conferences
Hybrid annual conference with payment system: a practical example.
PROJECT
Project description
Since 2022 we have supported the German Museums Association at its annual conference. Specially for the event we created our own website with an integrated payment system at www.dmb-onlinetagung.de. Since 2023, in cooperation with the respective venue, we also produce the livestream for the website. The event takes place every year in different cities and is offered as a hybrid event in which both in-person and online participants pay a participation fee. In addition to the paid part, the Digamus Award is presented during the conference. We broadcast this on the same website in a freely accessible section.
EXECUTION
On-site production
Depending on how the venue is technically equipped, we create and complement the technical concept for delivering a hybrid event. The missing components (usually cameras, control room and transmission technology) are then supplied and operated by us. With the cameras and the control room on site, both the pictures for the livestream and the pictures for the on-site screens are produced. The livestream produced in this way is then transmitted via our transmission technology into a player designed for the German Museums Association in the protected area of the website.
Website
Besides general information about the event, registration and the Digamus Award, the website for the annual conference offers, in the paid and protected area, the livestream as well as download material, information and news on the topics of the conference. The site is designed in the conference’s corporate design and offers all components for online participation.
With our integrated payment system, tickets of different price levels can be bought, some of which unlock different content without needing to enter further codes or similar. Authentication is done via a user profile that holds the respective rights in the background and can be reused every year for all online formats of the DMB.
Via a chat module, online participants can, just like in-person participants, write questions and suggestions, which the moderator on site brings into the discussion in the room.
Payment system
The integrated payment system is based on user accounts. Once created, accounts can be used permanently for the DMB. All basic information is retained. Users can choose between different payment methods. By default we offer “PayPal”, “credit card payment” and “invoice”. Because the broadcast reaches several countries, proper and automated invoicing takes place for each country in the respective local currency (e.g. Swiss francs in Switzerland) and with the correct tax disclosure. The German Museums Association subsequently receives a statement of the online fees, and the complete payment processing is provided by us as a service.
Broadcast
All moments of the conference are captured by the cameras installed on site. All presentations are additionally processed as images in the control room and sent as a so-called PiP (picture in picture). To ensure good speech intelligibility, the so-called “broadcast sound” is mixed separately from the room sound on site and inserted into the pictures of the conference. To offer online participants a small exclusive extra, there is a “pre-show” from the backstage area before the official event, where interviews are conducted, among other things.
Digamus Award
Speakers who cannot attend the event on site are connected into the event via a live link, projected onto the screens in the hall and shown in the livestream. They give their presentations from their home office. As a return channel, the online speakers receive the picture from the hall and can also answer questions afterwards.
Benefits
Thanks to the hybrid event format of the annual conference, the German Museums Association achieves a high, partly international reach. Participants from Germany, Switzerland, Norway and other countries have already taken part in the multi-day event. In this way the entire conference is available to a larger audience. Participants who cannot travel for various reasons also get the chance to take part. The payment system simplifies the process for online participants and thus makes the livestream an equal complement to the in-person event.
Extend your annual conference with a hybrid format?
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