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16 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Virtual Reality Six months in: Pandemic creates new opportunities for event engagement By Melissa Nicefaro F aced with a major health crisis that had businesses closed for months and people in most professions working remotely, a handful of local organizations reacted swily to continue providing virtual services. Gone are the days of a firm handshake with eye contact in business. For now, anyway. For some, this shutdown was the kick in the pants they needed to execute plans for operating business virtually. Even with the state's gradual reopening, they're finding the move to virtual delivery may not be just getting us through, it's taking us to the next level of delivering services. e Greater New Haven Coldwell Banker Realtor Holli Shanbrom holds a video chat and home showing on her iPad. Chamber of Commerce's first large event test of the virtual waters was its 18th annual Healthcare and Life Sciences Awards in June. e goal, according to the chamber's vice president of marketing and events Tameika Miller, was to host a virtual event with many of the engaging components of the traditional in-person affair. e online event trend has continued, but Chamber organizers have become more creative with presentations, including using breakout sessions for attendees. Pulling out all of the stops to ensure that the virtual events remain as successful as in-person, the Chamber markets, shares the news with influencers, sends email blasts, leverages media partnerships, and pays for print, digital and even some old- fashioned radio ads. e Chamber's last signature program of the year — its annual Big Connect B2B networking show in November — will feature four days of virtual exhibitors, speakers and tools for attendees. "We're taking the Big Connect from one day to a multi-day event where we have a combination of these different approaches, so that people are feeling they're getting value and they're learning about the topic that they want to learn about," Miller says. "Going forward, the smart thing to do for us and other organizations is to keep some of these lessons learned during these very unprecedented and trying times. We need to tap into that creativity in the future." Manufacturing a new reality At the end of March, Manufacture CT's Executive Director Jamison Scott knew that the association's mid-June in- person annual meeting was not going to happen. e executive board of the group — formerly the New Haven Manufacturers Association — thought about postponing until September, but then learned that events later in the year were being canceled. ere were also some logistical issues around changing the date, so they decided to try a virtual event. "At the time, it was definitely unlike anything anybody had done," Scott says. "It was a lot of work. An annual face to face, you know the drill, you know what to do, it's dinner, it's networking. I've been through that a million times." But then Scott made the jump to virtual and hasn't slowed down since. Ordinarily, aer the association's annual meeting, events slow for the summer and pick back up in September. e 2020 programming continued virtually through July and picked back up in late August. "We wanted to make sure that our members knew that we were here. We wanted to keep them engaged," Scott says. In early October, the association held its first in-person event since last winter, its sixth annual golf outing. "Turnout was very good," Scott says, adding that sponsorship and participant numbers were up a bit. "I can't be happier with the response. People are really looking forward to these opportunities because they're far and few between. Since you can play golf while socially distanced, people were very supportive. It took some creativity with logistics in changing the post-game dinner to a staggered arrival, but it worked well. Virtual reality When the pandemic struck, Orange/Woodbridge Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage V i r t u a l R e a l i t y Tameika Miller Aileen DeFeo

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