In February and March 2020, it seemed like every event was canceled or postponed until further notice. And with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to imagine when large-scale live events will resume on a regular basis.
It made sense initially to press “pause” and assess the state of the live event industry. But determined companies soon began brainstorming ways to pivot their in-person strategies to align with the suddenly all-virtual landscape. Endless Events, a hybrid event production company, committed themselves to making the most of a unique situation.
Read on to learn how Vibe’s Board helps the team collaborate and create top-tier events in fresh, new ways.
The challenge
Will Curran, officially the Chief Event Einstein at Endless Events, is used to collaborating from afar. With 25 hubs located across the United States, his team has worked remotely for years and had effective workflows in place long before the pandemic hit. But Curran knew they could be even better by adding an element of fun to their work sessions.
Related: How to Design a Remote-first Workplace
“The search for Vibe really came when we were trying to figure out a way to do this brainstorming beyond just a typical clicking, screen sharing, PowerPoint presentation,” Curran explained.
Sarah Christl, the team’s Marketing Lab Assistant, further elaborated, “We’ve been pretty used to using Slack regularly or using Zoom to get in touch with each other, so that has stayed consistent. But we have grown a lot as a company, internally. We went from a relatively small team to constantly growing, so I think that’s probably been one of the biggest challenges in terms of internal collaboration. That’s how we’ve pivoted, too; with our growth, we’ve had to bring in different pieces of technology to help that collaboration.”
How Endless Events chose Vibe
Christl said it was important to find a truly collaborative solution they could share with their audience. (The Endless team openly shares their favorite new tech on their blog. This way, clients always know what’s new and other event planners can find new solutions for their own pursuits.)
Searching for a tool like the Vibe Board made sense for Curran’s remote-first company for a lot of reasons. For one thing, his team is accustomed to using touchscreens and styluses. They also love to collaborate through illustrations and writing in a shared space. “When we discovered that we needed a larger format to do that within our home offices, [choosing Vibe] was a no-brainer, for sure,” Curran said.
Once Curran learned what Vibe could do, he quickly saw how the Vibe Board’s interactivity could extend beyond his team’s own collaboration needs.
“As the events industry got shaken up over the pandemic and trying to figure out how to go remote, people have been craving ways to interact with each other, especially now that all attendees are attending events from their homes,” Curran said. “And I definitely think there’s a future in the ability for attendees to have systems like Vibe at their home to be able to conference in, watch presentations, to collaborate, take notes, and draw together. I think that tools like Vibe are definitely the future of events…creating that true live interaction.”
How the team uses Vibe
So far, every facet of the Endless Events organization has integrated the Vibe Board into their daily workflow.
Shannon Uribe, who oversees the operations department, said, “We’ve been using [Vibe] to collaborate not only with each other but also clients. A lot of what [the operations team does] are the logistics, timelines, and workflows for events, so Vibe allows us to be more creative and work outside of the box of a typical spreadsheet or PowerPoint.”
Uribe loves that using Vibe makes her meetings more dynamic. Even the simple act of being able to draw on the canvas makes meetings more interesting. “I’ll use the [stylus] and mark it up while I’m leading a meeting so that they can see notes,” she explained. “I can point things out that are on the agenda, I can circle things, write down the notes that they’re saying. [T]hen we can save it for later, go back to it, and keep building on it each week with our meetings.”
The marketing team found other ways to use visuals. “We’ve been using it for more storyboarding, and also those creative elements of drawing,” Christl said. She added that they often encourage their audience to interact with the canvas as well. (Even if it’s just to mix up their regular work routine.)
“I would recommend Vibe to anyone who is really craving creativity and that little dash of artistry that you can include in your daily life,” Christl said. “I know we’re all really Zoomed out and we all have that fatigue of these meetings that seem repetitive, so [using the Vibe Board] really is an opportunity to step outside of your normal routine and add a dash of excitement to whatever you’re doing internally with collaboration.”
Favorite features for collaboration
“My favorite feature when it comes to Vibe is definitely the ability to use Zoom,” Curran said. “[T]he ability for me to bring up a Zoom Room right next to the canvas is just so awesome. I also like that I can technically bring up Slack if I wanted to, too.”
One of the most pleasant surprises for Curran was discovering the flexibility that Vibe collaboration has to offer.
“I thought it was so awesome that I was able to share [the Vibe Board] to someone who has a laptop or an iPad, and they could collaborate whether they had a Vibe Board or not,” Curran said. “The ability to communicate and use the tool beyond just the actual, physical hardware was super cool for us.”
Curran also discovered that he could seamlessly communicate with clients regardless of their preferred tech setup. That’s because Vibe’s growing catalog of app integrations works with a variety of systems.
“I think one of the greatest features about Vibe is that it’s just very agnostic to whatever systems they use,” Curran said. “Like your team’s company Slack or whatever the future tool is going to be, [Vibe] has the ability to evolve with that…It saves so much time for people like me, personally, because it’s all the tools that we work within.”
Uribe echoed Curran’s praise for the Board’s accessibility. She said, “What I really like about the Vibe Board is how easy it is to use, even if you aren’t super tech savvy or you’re working with clients that use different tools or different technologies. No matter who you are, what your experience level is, or what kind of technology you currently use, Vibe works really great for you.”
Christl appreciates being able to elevate her presentations and creating more interesting, engaging ways to review complex information. “We’re having these meetings where we’re talking about very analytical things. But being able to add visuals to it is something that really taps into both parts of the brain, where you’re thinking in that creative way while also analyzing a problem while or discussing a really technical topic. I think that’s also exciting…It really brings an idea to life with those visual elements of the notepad.”
Going forward
Right now, the live event industry is evolving to accommodate new safety protocols while still delivering innovative events. Curran sees opportunities for Endless Events to bring their clients with them to the future of remote collaboration.
“One thing that has changed is that a lot of our clients aren’t used to being 100 percent remote. So if before, a client wanted to do a strategy session and a design collaboration, they might say, ‘Can we just fly you to our office and do some whiteboarding in person?’” he explained. “Obviously that’s not possible now. So what’s been great about Vibe is that it allows us to be able to do those whiteboarding sessions with people who really weren’t used to this sort of technology. It’s so easy to use; you literally just pick it up, log in, and you’re good to go.”
Christl acknowledged that it can be confusing to keep up with new technology solutions. This became especially true when the pandemic upended the way their entire industry operates. Adopting new software comes more naturally now, but pairing it with the right hardware will truly create successful collaboration.
“Thinking beyond mobile devices—which has been the primary way that people network at events—I think that things like Vibe could really come into play in a big way as events transition back to that in-person element,” Christl said.
Curran agreed. “I think that for any organization that is looking to enhance collaboration, especially if they’re remote, and especially if creative is a big part of their organization, you gotta get Vibe,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect tool for anybody who’s looking for it, and you definitely will not be disappointed in any sort of way.”
Vibe offers a collaborative solution combining an interactive digital whiteboard and innovative smart software. Increase engagement and efficiency at your brainstorming sessions, virtual training, and classroom sessions by integrating your favorite applications with video conferencing and an infinite, mess-free writing canvas! Collaborate today with Vibe.
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