About EverAfter’s groundbreaking virtual conference

When your company's name is EverAfter, happiness is always at the end of your customers’ stories.  And it’s clear customer delight is at the very heart of EverAfter's business model. All their initiatives are focused on helping their customers and their customers' customers thrive.

Seeing the great impact of their efforts, especially webinars, on their community, EverAfter wanted to double down on that momentum. “We wanted to bring together more speakers, cover diverse topics, and deliver an abundance of knowledge and conversations all under one roof,” explains Adi Gorelik, Brand & Communications Manager, EverAfter. 

And so the team decided to host a virtual conference, aptly titled ‘Happily.’

The challenges

First-time virtual conference jitters

Since EverAfter had never held a virtual conference before, Adi was understandably nervous about pulling one together from the ground up. “I was very stressed about orchestrating the entire event, " she says. “Both in building the virtual experience beforehand and keeping everything going without a hitch when we went live.”

Driving value for everyone: attendees and EverAfter alike

The challenge lay in creating an experience that resonated with a virtual audience and left a lasting impact for attendees and the company. “Hosting a virtual conference meant a huge opportunity to connect with prospects and customers from Europe and the US,” explains Adi. “So it was incredibly important to create an amazing experience for attendees that delivered value for them and also showcased EverAfter’s brand and leadership in the industry.”

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Key outcomes

(1)A brand bonanza thanks to a completely on-brand virtual conference

Branding capabilities were extremely important to Adi and her team and an important criterion when evaluating virtual event platforms. “We have a very lively and happy brand that really conveys the value of our messages, so it was vital for us to be able to convey that in the platform we were going to use,” explains Adi. 

Out of the many companies under evaluation, the team chose Zuddl because of its 100% customizability.

The team had complete control — customizing fonts, colors, buttons, and CTAs — across the entire attendee journey. From the landing page to the virtual stage to post-event recordings, the brand’s personality was front and center, thanks to how easy it was to customize the entire conference.

“With this ability, the end result looked as if it was EverAfter’s platform” Adi states. 

This branding capability helped to drive registrations for the event.

“We had a registration rate of 134% more than expected” says Adi.

(2)A smooth run-of-show propelled by a pre-set event flow

The Studio's pre-set Scenes allowed the team to pre-upload all presentations, videos, and transitions effortlessly, making real-time execution a straightforward process.

“Having one workflow for the event being so organized and ready meant that I didn’t need to be over-anxious about issues when we went live,” she says.

Adi was also pleasantly surprised with the usefulness of the Studio’s built-in virtual backstage that let her communicate with event guest speakers before and during their sessions, hidden from the view of attendees.

“It was a lifesaver,” Adi states. “During the event, a speaker began talking, unaware that her audio was muted. We promptly signaled the issue to her from backstage, and it was fixed.”

(3)Emojis, Gamification, and a Photobooth turned the event energy up

… and kept it there! Adi’s team was determined to make the conference informative but also fun and used a blend of Zudd’s tools to create an upbeat and energized atmosphere that attendees enjoyed.

“63% of the audience stayed until the end, which is considered a high rate” says Adi.

Here’s how her team helped to drive this result:

• Engagement tools: “All the engagement tools helped mimic regular conversations in our day-to-day lives,” Adi shares. “The slack-oriented, WhatsApp emoji vibes from the tools allowed attendees to comment not just in words but with emotions. Because of this, people were very engaged during the sessions, which was very fun to see.” Indeed, over 270 Emojis Reactions were shared during ‘Happily’.

• Leaderboard: By offering a prize to the top three scorers, the team turned the conference sessions into lively discussion hubs. “Being able to set points for actions was great because you want people not just to send emojis but also say what they think and interact during the session,” Adi explains. “And people loved it. They were messaging me during the conference, asking, “Am I close to being one of the top three?”

• Photobooth: The EverAfter team also set up a Photobooth, offering a lighthearted break from the informational sessions. It was a hit, with 50+ attendees joining in the fun.

(4)  Platform features helped to fuel progress at every stage of the funnel

Adi and her team made strategic and full use of platform features to move the needle forward at every funnel stage.

• Brand impact, photo by photo + video by video: The team turned Photobooth fun into a brand amplifier by incentivizing attendees to share their pictures on LinkedIn, which helped to expand the event’s reach far beyond the conference’s virtual walls.

Many event speakers also shared videos of their sessions after the conference, which boosted awareness.

“People felt very proud to share their videos, which was amazing for us” Adi explains.

These small attendee actions had a significant impact. Adi’s team noticed a 60% increase in website organic traffic on the day of the event (in comparison to the same period last year).

• Lead gen, CTA by CTA: EverAfter's CTA banners acted as prompts for engaged attendees, providing a direct pathway to initiate a demo booking - and it worked to great effect. It led to 18% more meetings closed.

Community-oriented CTAs, including one for the Photobooth and one to promote an event Swag Store were used too. By linking swag purchases exclusively to EverAfter 'coins,' the team had more visibility into the more engaged attendees.

• Nurturing prospects, insight by insight: Attendee interactions through Q/A, Polls (an incredible 182 attendees answered them), and Chat tools provided valuable insights for the EverAfter sales team, helping them understand prospects' pain points and goals. This knowledge was instrumental in tailoring personalized follow-ups post-conference.

Two factors were instrumental in helping Adi and her team drive these outcomes.

• The platform’s ease of use: Adi says she was particularly impressed with the ‘drag, drop, preview, publish’ functionality, which meant she could build the entire virtual venue by herself. “

You can immediately see how something looks and modify whatever you want without needing someone to help you with every small thing,” she says. “That was very nice.”

• Zuddl’s fiercely supportive customer success team: According to Adi, the decision to go with Zuddl was easy because, unlike many vendors, Zuddl provided real-time support on the event day. “It made us feel that Zuddl understood the challenges of hosting a virtual conference for the first time,” she says. The decision paid off.

“Right from the start, the team and my Customer Success Manager, Amy, provided invaluable support,” enthuses Adi. “They made sure I thoroughly understood how to use the platform and maximize its potential. This hands-on guidance proved invaluable.”

Happily, EverAfter

In crafting an atmosphere of community, learning, and fun, EverAfter's 'Happily' conference exceeded expectations. Every detail put together by the team, from the bright, cheerful branding in the lobby to the spirited run-of-show, contributed to a virtual conference that, without a doubt, truly lived up to its name.