Coronavirus Crisis Management: An MPI South Florida Town Hall

Meeting Professionals International hosted a Town Hall on Friday, March 13th to address concerns and questions around coronavirus and its effect within the event planning and audio visual space. Patrick Brochu, our Director of Show Services here at Media Stage and Chapter President of MPI South Florida, moderated the conversation which featured four industry leaders of varying expertise.

With less than a week to prepare, Media Stage provided streaming services to broadcast the event from Truluck’s in Fort Lauderdale in front of a live audience of approximately 100 people. The online turnout was substantial, with more than 250 remote attendees tuning in domestically and internationally (we had viewers from as far as Romania, Colombia and Mexico)!

The panel discussion was recorded and then distributed to MPI’s global network of roughly 18,000 members. Topics that were covered focused on: contract law (specifically regarding cancellations/postponements), travel flexibility and exceptions, additional revenue streams during times of crisis, among others. The record is still available, so let us know if you would like a copy sent to you.

Media Stage expended our usual top-notch labor and gear to live stream this meeting. Our on-site staff included one camera operator, one video operator, an audio operator and a lead technician to oversee the production. From a gear standpoint, we implemented a simple lighting package, provided a wireless microphone kit and used one studio camera to capture everything in unison. The live signal was fed to our web streaming host which enabled our online audience to view in real time.

If this concept of producing a remote meeting could be put into action at your company, please reach out! We would be happy to issue a package price and determine the best way to execute depending on your specific needs and vision. These are certainly unconventional times and while we are pushing forward, we hope that everyone stays safe and remains in good health.

Photo credit: Promote Headshots (@promoteheadshots)