How we transformed WebexOne ‘21 into an award-winning virtual event  

WebexOne showcased what’s possible when event innovation and creativity come together. Webex transformed a traditionally in-person conference into a fully virtual experience. The virtual event hosted on Webex Events (formerly Socio) produced exceptional results, including improved engagement and greater participation. 

WebexOne ‘21 was also awarded the Best B2B Event of the Year EX Award presented by Event Marketer. You can watch a recap of the award win here!

To hear directly from the Webex team on what went into launching WebexOne ’21, watch the video below.

WebexOne ‘21 by the numbers

Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do help us see the bigger picture. And as pictures go, WebexOne 2021 is pretty big. 

What is WebexOne?

WebexOne is Webex’s annual showcase event. It’s where Webex customers, partners, and thought leaders come together to learn, share, and collaborate. It’s also a great opportunity to discover the latest Webex products, innovations, and find out how they can work for you. 

Planning WebexOne ‘21

Virtual events require detailed planning, thoughtful coordination, and a lot of creativity to keep virtual attendees and sponsors engaged and interacting. WebexOne ’21 was no exception. When a traditional in-person format was no longer an option, we jumped right into virtual event planning mode.

Choosing the right event format 

Planning was already in progress for a hybrid event format when we had to pause and consider how to host a safe event while still meeting the event goals. There were some very big questions to consider about how WebexOne would work in 2021 and beyond. While we would have loved to see everyone in person, we decided that it was not safe to bring people together as we had planned. We needed another way; we had to look at a virtual event. 

Creating an engaging virtual experience

We wanted to produce and deliver at least some onsite product content and in-person experiences that could translate into the event’s virtual component. Which led us to another very important question. Could we create an experience rich event for virtual attendees? 

Throughout the planning we considered how to optimize the content, speakers, networking —even the event entertainment —to enrich the online experience for customers, sponsors and partners. 

Requirements for a successful event

WebexOne is Webex’s largest technology user conference. It involves hundreds of people working together to complete millions of tasks—and that’s even before the event starts. 

Selecting a robust event management platform

Powerful event technology is the key to any successful virtual event. When Webex needed to shift its annual flagship event to a virtual format, event technology was top of mind. The team needed to leverage a platform that could power an immersive event that connected attendees and sponsors from around the world.  

WebexOne ‘21, powered by Webex Events (formerly Socio)

Webex was fortunate enough to have a hybrid event platform in its toolkit. Webex Events is an all-in-one platform that provides flexible event management and helps drive better results for virtual, in-person, and hybrid events. 

The platform provides a 360-view about what’s working and what’s not in real time. 

First-time execution: challenges and learnings

From its inception, Webex Events (formerly Socio) managed in-person events before incorporating virtual and hybrid variations. Webex Events has expertise and experience in why these events are held, why people attend, and what makes them work. 

WebexOne put that expertise to the test, especially when two months before the event, we had to pivot to a virtual-only experience due to the work-from-home climate and travel restrictions. 

Benefits of using an all-in-one event management platform

• Expands the current Webex beyond meetings and webinars to include large-scale, multi-session hybrid events including conferences, sales kicks offs, and more. 
• Helps pivot from a hybrid event to an all-virtual event (and back) as needs change. 
• Provides ease of use. Events of any size can be set up with fewer resources and in less time. 

• Brings together software, hardware, and services for integrated registration and ticketing, sponsorship management, attendee networking, community building, and more. 

Don’t miss out on the full WebexOne ‘21 case study! Download it here and find out how the Webex team’s learnings can help you launch immersive and digitally enhanced event experiences. 

Building standout, end-to-end event experiences 

Webex Events (formerly Socio) enabled the Webex team to truly bring the WebexOne brand to life. From custom branding to sponsorship engagement, every single feature in the platform is well-thought-out and adds outstanding value. 

Customization and branding

Every aspect of the virtual event was customized for our audience. Content was provided regionally in the attendee’s language, making this truly a global and personalized event. 

Ease of use

An intuitive drag-and-drop design allowed us to customize the platform with a few simple clicks. We selected the content we wanted users to see when they logged into the virtual event, adding an agenda and a speakers section, and creating areas for each region. 

Session and agenda management

A centralized agenda was available for everyone and attendees could build their own personal schedules to attend specific sessions. 

Networking

The importance of networking carried through virtually; whether it was in 1:1 meetings or deep- dive sessions, sponsors and attendees were engaged. And those meetings continued after the event closed. 

Gamification and sponsor engagement

We included points for participation during WebexOne which was both motivating and fun. Most importantly, that motivation helped increase engagement. 

Engaging a global audience

How do you make virtual attendees from all over the world feel connected to your event? Webex Events (formerly Socio) helped the Webex team solve this key challenge with technology that connected attendees every step of the way.  

Attendee networking

Attendees sent requests to other attendees to connect during WebexOne to share information, chat in real time, and plan meetings during the event.  

Both the volume and value of those connections contributed to event success. 

And those connections continued as follow-up afterward for true networking benefits. 

There are obvious ways in which virtual and hybrid are quite different from meeting face-to-face, such as seeing a personalized product demo, or making a new connection over a coffee. Surprisingly, networking connections at WebexOne were extremely high and started even earlier than opening day. 

Sponsor and attendee networking

Clearly visible sponsor locations hosted a solid collection of written and video content.  

Attendees could easily chat 1:1 in real time to ask sponsors questions and request a private virtual meeting. The ease in making connections and sharing content provided so much more than clicking a logo to go to a static sponsor website. 

Gamification incentives

Points incentives as part of an entertaining “participate to win” approach were not just successful, they created a friendly rivalry and conversation piece for all attendees. 

Attendees completed 58K game challenges, which encouraged learning in event sessions, rewarded sponsor connections and helped drive meaningful interactions in a fun way. 

A points incentive component was essential to WebexOne 2021’s success, and people loved it. Tying all of the event components together with incentives for participation helped drive engagement. 

Download the full WebexOne ’21 story

The story doesn’t end here! Access the full case study to discover what our learnings from WebexOne ’21 mean for the future of events.