Summer and fall usually come with a long list of festivals and events. What's the COVID-19 plan for live events, in particular literary festivals?

Why I care about literary festivals: Writers festivals are a big venue for discoverability. Attendees at panel discussions or group events are exposed to authors, books, and ideas they might not otherwise encounter. It's an opportunity to meet international, national, and local authors face to face. Festival book sales are notable. Writers festivals are ways for diverse voices to be heard by diverse communities, which is an important community building function. Festivals offer educational programs that foster a love of writing and reading for kids.

So, if in-person events are not possible, what are the options? 

Here's some inspiration: 

#1 Social Concierge's social-distancing Earth Day event where people built their own candlelight event and joined other registrants for live music and other entertainment during a 3-hour time slot. Social Concierge is a luxury event management company in Vancouver, BC.

Candlelight Club | Social Distancing Edition from The Social Concierge on Vimeo.

What I liked about it:

• Clear instructions coached attendees on how to turn their home into an event venue, which created a sense of togetherness. 
• Pairing the experience with a meal and musical entertainment made the event feel like more than a webinar or online broadcast.
• Swag bags for VIP ticket holders created an element of exclusivity.

#2 Simon Fraser University held a virtual convocation ceremony for Spring 2020 graduates. For the 4,500 students who spent years working towards graduation, the online video stream offered them, and their families, a way to celebrate. A virtual convocation doesn't offer the pomp and circumstance of an in-person graduation but it still serves as a way to welcome graduates to the academic community. There are a few things missing, like the opportunity to view the mortarboards ensemble, which always feels like a Harry Potter dressup party. Also missing: the group photos with your besties who are also graduating. 

To address the lack of “decoration”, SFU created a number of virtual tools and encouraged the use of #MySFUGrad2020. The Celebration Tools included an SFU cap and gown Instagram and Facebook filter, print-at-home celebration signs, zoom backgrounds, and photo stickers and frames.  

SFU.ca Convocation Tools: http://www.sfu.ca/convocation/virtual-tools.html

What I liked about it:

• Something to celebrate is always worth celebrating. 
• The SFU branded photo stickers, signs and filters worked well and had clear instructions for less technical users. 
• The branded hashtag gave faculty and other students a way to feel part of the celebrations and to see the images students were sharing with #MySFUGrad2020

Lessons that apply to event planning

1. Tiered event tickets offer add-ons for those who want more of an experience.
2. DIY instructions encourage attendees to turn their space into an event venue.
3. Downloadable branded marketing collateral available to fans aids in event promotion.
4. Distinct event hashtag help people follow along.
5. Mail or curbside pickup locations for swag bags or physical items add to the experience.

Understanding consumer behaviour 

Susan Michie's Behaviour Change Wheel offers insights into how to capabilities, opportunities, and motivation encourage or inhibit behaviour (COM-B). Adam Ferrier has adapted COM-B in his book The Advertisng Effect: How to Change Behaviour, which in turn, is a useful way to think about what needs to be on offer for live online events.

Graph from https://medium.com/@faris/targeting-behavior-to-change-behavior-df128104f3aa

Use an Ease Strategy (focus on ability and opportunity)

• Capabilites: Some audience members will be less technically savy than others. Show vs. tell by offering written instructions plus a short demo video on how attendees will connect to watch the performance. Be clear on what type of device and software is needed. Create a video or slideshow to show people what to expect. Offer an event checklist including when to log on to the event and who to contact for support. Be reassuring and provide clear instructions. 
• Opportunities: Part of the enjoyment of a live event is going with others. Encourage social-distancing parties for small groups, consider pre-event breakout rooms where attendees can digitally mingle. 

Use a Motivation Strategy (focus on individual incentives and social norms)

• Motivate with incentive: Consider ticketing tiers that provide exclusive content, add-ons, or other swag. Provide shout-outs or small prizes to attendees who actively participate in the event chat or on social media with branded hashtags. 
• Motivate with social norms: Telehealth, online ordering, and Zoom are more popular and familiar now to a broader audience. Running an event using familiar software is part of an ease strategy, but also part of social norming. People are familiar and practiced with these tools; or know they are wide spread. YouTube Live is an option that allows for comments and interactions by logged in users. IGTV for interviews and free-access content is another option. For enterprise options, Event360 by @eeginc is a really smooth experience for attendees. (I attended a Twilio webinar with multiple event tracks and clicking the event email link took me straight to a web browser where the event video played, chat was in the sidebar, and live tweets appeared at the bottom. It was so much better and simpler than Accelevents I've attended.  
• Social norms are also worth considering during the event. Auto-mute attendees, and if you are allowing attendee to use video then offer downloadable or printable event decoration packages or zoom backgrounds.

An example

I always love attending the Vancouver Writers Festival. I go for certain authors. I discover new voices. I see other people who like books. I buy books and get them signed. I like the theatre venues, drinks before the event, dinner after. I like to see the little swag items like the event program, bookmarks and other offers displayed on tables or around the venue.

So here's the kind of event ticketing I imagine for a Vancouver Writers Festival event.

Free: Get access to view the event in real time. No access to session recordings. Encourage people to participate by doing a small thing like lighting a candle or printing virtual festival banners. eg: http://www.sfu.ca/convocation/virtual-tools.html

Premium @ $47.99: Guaranteed access to all sessions and access to re-watch recordings after the festival. I'm thinking if the typical in-person events are $20/26 and people go with a friend, then this is the “watch” together price that also offers the flexibility to watch on your own time.

VIP Live @ $275: Premium (as above) +PLUS 

• Back-stage pass: includes pre-event musical entertainment (eg. partner with Sidedoor Productions); and small-group author chat post-event

• Special access to a library of pre-recorded videos (eg. record in advance panel discussions or intimate Q&A with high-profile authors or special international guests. Make these high-quality video/audio recordings)

• Books: include shipping & list price for a set number of festival-author books. Let attendees pick 6 books from festival authors, and allow for multiples of the same book to accommodate book clubs.

• Swag bag: exclusive festival book bag, book marks, freebies from publishers, and a special festival gift item. (eg. see the top-selling gift items at Indigo or McNally, like literary tshirts or cool stationery like a limited edition festival Moleskine)

VIP Live and Premium also gives local attendees access to Festival Add-on for booze, food, or flowers

• Food $75-250: partner with Legends Haul for home delivery of restaurant meals from places like Chambar or Medina Cafe. Another option is the party platter from savourychef 
• Booze: Darby's Pub is doing liquor delivery
• Flowers: $30 Bear Blooms is a subscription service for flower delivery

What do you think?