Pittcon 2021: Labroots’ most collaborative, complex, and rewarding event to date.
What is Pittcon?
Labroots already brings the scientific world together online. The next step? Producing a Custom Virtual Event on our platform to create a tailored experience that your registrants will not forget.
Pittcon is a transnational exposition and technical conference that occurs annually to display the latest advances in research and scientific instrumentation. An event that truly acts as a catalyst for the exchange of abundant information, a showcase of the latest advances in laboratory science, and a single venue to connect individuals and teams internationally. This massive event with countless networking opportunities, social events, and employment possibilities has always taken place in various locations across the United States - but not this year. Unsure of how to tackle their trade show for the 2021 calendar year, Pittcon turned to Labroots.
Transitioning to the Virtual Space
As an industry leader in the virtual space for over a decade, Labroots has always faced challenges head-on, ready to deliver exceptional events. The team at Pittcon was interested in providing an innovative, state-of-the-art experience that delivered a high-level of value to registrants. Luckily for them, this is our area of expertise. As a leader in the virtual event and webinar space with a growth mindset, Labroots has continued to turn these uncertain times into opportunities for our customers, time and time again.
A Personalized Labroots Approach to a Vast Amount of Content
A New Orleans Theme & a Personalized Pittcon Spin
Labroots already brings the scientific world together online. The next step? Producing a Custom Virtual Event on our platform to create a tailored experience that your registrants will not forget.
Pittcon is a transnational exposition and technical conference that occurs annually to display the latest advances in research and scientific instrumentation. An event that truly acts as a catalyst for the exchange of abundant information, a showcase of the latest advances in laboratory science, and a single venue to connect individuals and teams internationally. This massive event with countless networking opportunities, social events, and employment possibilities has always taken place in various locations across the United States - but not this year. Unsure of how to tackle their trade show for the 2021 calendar year, Pittcon turned to Labroots.
2 Registration Pages
The Pittcon team wanted separate registration for the attendees and the exhibitors. Our team created 1 registration page to be connected directly to Pittcon’s site. This brought individuals who were interested in registering from the Labroots site to Pittcon’s, where payment was gathered.
A separate registration page was created for event exhibitors to register and enter. This page was updated frequently, allowing ease of communication regarding FAQs, helpful training videos to ease exhibitor understanding, and open questions between the Labroots team and exhibitors. An exhibitor survey was also added here mid-way through the Live Event, per Pittcon’s request, to gather feedback in an efficient manner.
The Various Rooms of Pittcon
The Lobby
The first room attendees saw upon entering the event, the lobby not only had extensive door signage, but multiple banners for sponsorships and gamification. Equipped with 2 kiosks, elements including doorways, external links for Short Courses and the Employment Bureau, the lobby acted as a stepping stone to get attendees where they wanted to be within Pittcon. A “Take our Survey” banner and Help Desk were also located here.
Welcome to Pittcon Central
Pittcon central was created based on what the room has looked like at past physical Pittcon events. It was equipped with Pittcon’s team members as booth representatives to assist in tracking engagement. In addition, this single room included; a “Talk to Pittcon,” a Photo Booth, a Welcome Video, Pittcon Excursions, a link to a “Test Your Knowledge” Kahoot quiz, and an animated “Dr. Peter” behind the Pittcon info desk.
Categorized Main Exhibition Hall
Our team at Labroots had to create a way to house nearly 200 exhibitor booths in the Main Exhibition Hall. To present these exhibitor booths in a tactical manner, we came up with the idea to create 17 Sub Expo Rooms. Attendees were able to find what they were looking for within a couple of clicks. Going virtual for the first time ever, Pittcon was curious how to sell to an exhibitor base that had been used to the physical trade show experience. Labroots came up with the idea of creating 4 different sponsored exhibitor packages. This acted as an important selling tool for Pittcon as it offered opportunities for exhibitors at different budgets.
Categorized Poster Hall
Much like the Main Exhibition Hall, Labroots had to create a way to organize 300 posters. By establishing 12 different categories, attendees were able to view posters in their desired topic. All posters were sent to Labroots, and edited with Pittcon branding. Labroots made poster authors’ contact information clickable directly on their poster. The Pittcon team wanted to ensure attendees could not download the posters, to prevent plagiarism. The Labroots development team solved this problem by creating an HTML that prevented downloads. The HTML also allowed a chat capability to be added within each poster view, so authors and attendees could engage in real time about the poster’s content.
Press Room
The Pittcon team’s idea, the Press Room held all of the scheduled press conferences during the 5 day event, and provided attendees access to press kits and the press listing.
The Literature Room
Never before created on the Labroots platform, Pittcon requested a room specifically for housing the literature from their various partners. Also called the “Publishers Bin,” this room served as a place where attendees could “launch” digital work from multiple authors.
Strategic Navigation Components, And a Match Made in… Pittcon?
Extensive Site Map & Attendee Matchmaking
Due to the sheer number of rooms in this event (28, not including booths), Labroots decided a site map was necessary. Sitting in the attendee’s navigation bar, it provided easy access for attendees to search for exhibitors (by product/service or alphabetically). The map of the event provided attendees a matchmaking component to simply find exhibitors by the product/service that they were interested in through behind-the-scenes targeting.
Advanced Search Capability & Exhibitor Matchmaking
During attendee registration, individuals were prompted to fill out their Track and Field of Employment. This collection of fields of employment were later used to help exhibitors locate attendees, and invite them into their booth. This matchmaking component offered a large value add for exhibitors.
Various Navigation/Welcome Videos
14 in total, Labroots and the Pittcon team felt it was imperative to provide custom navigation videos for all of the different event elements, to prevent any confusion. They could be easily found throughout the event. Prior to the event, the 14 videos were sent to attendees as another effort to ensure they could make the most of their Pittcon experience, given the vast amount of information. Labroots also incorporated a new welcome video every day of the live event, and a video for those currently viewing On Demand.
Detailed Final Program
Included in the lobby and in the attendees’ individual briefcases, the detailed final program provided specific links to various locations throughout the event. It allowed attendees from having to navigate through the multiple rooms to find what they were looking for, and instead, click right to it. The program also included the live experiences happening throughout the week to ensure it wasn’t missed!
The Technical Program
Labroots recorded 1000 speakers and merged 129 sessions to be scheduled over the course of the 5 Live Event days. These recordings will remain On Demand until June 12th, 2021. 5 individual rooms were created for each day of the week. This supported attendee’s ability to build their personal agendas, to make their Pittcon experience completely personalized. Live chat capabilities were included in all presentations, giving speakers, moderators, and attendees the ability to engage in networking as sessions were playing.
An Emphasis on Networking, and Designated Places To Do So
Outside of the designated networking lounge, there were 54 scheduled opportunities for attendees to network throughout the event. Hosting the event virtually this year, Pittcon’s team emphasized the importance of the attendees feeling like they could engage in conversations openly, which can sometimes be difficult in the virtual space.
Networking opportunities throughout the event included; designated sessions, affinity mixers, Pittcon’s New Orleans excursions, and the various expo events. These were all conducted via Zoom, and moderated by Pittcon, to keep the conversations going consistently. The event even offered a virtual photo booth, where attendees could snap a picture, and post for others to see.
Gamification, to Embrace Attendees’ Competitive Side
For the attendees who like to embrace their competitive side from time to time, Pittcon was the perfect opportunity to do so. Offering prizes such as an IPad, AirPods, and more, attendees were encouraged to take part in gathering points as they navigate the event and the embedded scavenger hunt. Attending sessions in the Technical Program, taking the Pittcon survey, and interacting in other ways allowed attendees to quickly earn points.
Access to a leaderboard allowed attendees to check their status against others, and the amount of points they had accumulated thus far. As each set of points were gathered, a popup with historical information about Pittcon or NOLA was presented.
Pittcon’s Event Statistics Truly Speak for Themselves
218,241
- Total Content Views
34,377
- Total Webinar Views
197,935
- Total Booth Visits
79%
- of registrants attended
It’s clear to everyone that Pittcon 2021 was quite different from previous years. With today’s universal shift to the virtual space, our team at Labroots remains excited, hopeful, and determined to grow with our clients. Pittcon 2021 was an accomplishment for both the client and Labroots. Attendees were enthralled and left the event gaining more than they ever would have expected from an event, let alone a virtual event. A leader in the virtual event industry, and already positioned for success, Labroots is excited to help you and your association navigate the virtual world.
