Summary

With large cross-provincial gatherings still in question, the annual 2020 Western Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference (WC5) was converted into a multi-part virtual series that will take place over a few months. Seeing a strong need to bring the GI community together in a safe manner, BUKSA re-imagined how the event could be transformed in the virtual environment while still delivering on the core meeting objective of developing a consensus statement for publication in a medical journal. The first session of the series was 2.5 hours in length comprised of 3 didactic presentations, breakout discussions, and facilitated full group discussions to build a consensus statement answering the key question under consideration. 

Our Role

BUKSA led the strategy development as well as the full planning and execution of the event, including project and committee management, program development, speaker coordination, sponsorship sales and coordination, marketing and promotions, evaluations, and the full virtual event production.

Value Add

Facilitation & Meeting Flow
Our strategy focused on delivering a well facilitated and structured meeting that allowed for strong engagement in order to achieve the desired objective of group consensus development. The meeting flow was structured in a logical and efficient manner and the Zoom features were utilized to foster engagement from over 100 participants in different ways throughout the entire meeting. Advance preparation with the facilitator, rehearsals, and the development of a detailed event script were the most integral components.

Branded Production
Another plain Zoom meeting? Not this meeting! For this series, we worked with our AV partner to enhance the visual elements on the Zoom platform. Through creative modifications, we built in custom branded graphics, backgrounds, and picture-in-picture technology to elevate the production quality while still allowing full functionality of the Zoom features. We also produced a graphic video to recognize our valued industry sponsors.

Surpassed Sponsorship Target
Over the last 18 years of planning the WC5 conference, BUKSA has fostered strong relationships with industry partners. As we explored the virtual possibilities, we had many conversations with our sponsors to gather their input on a virtual event and help develop packages that reflected value to them. By leveraging these relationships with industry partners, we were able to exceed our virtual sponsorship goals by 50%.

Don’t Forget the Food (even in a virtual environment)!
Recognizing that the virtual session was taking place in the evening we wanted to provide attendees with a meal. Given our attendees were joining from different cities across 5 provinces , we had to get the logistics just right. After a bit of brainstorming and exploration of options, we found a solution! Attendees received a virtual gift card to purchase a meal of their choice online and have it delivered right to their home. This allowed for attendees across all cities to participate and customize their meal selections!