Jeff Matlow from imATHLETE + EnMotive reveals insights about virtual events and the 10 ways to put on a successful virtual event.

1. Presented by:
Jeff Matlow / im ATHLETE
jeff@imATHLETE.com
DATA INSIGHT SERIES #9
VIRTUAL EVENTS

2. WHAT YOU
THINK OF
WHEN YOU
THINK OF
VIRTUAL
RACES

3. A T Y P I C A L V I RT U A L R A C E I N 3
S T E P S
1. You pay us money 3. Good luck. See
you later.
2. We mail you a shirt
and medal

8. A V I RT U A L R U N N I N G E V E N T H A S
B E E N R E D U C E D T O A M A I L I N G L A B E L

9. B U T T H E R E ’ S H O P E
R U N N I N G I S A B O U T M O R E
T H A N A M A I L I N G L A B E L

10. 5 REASONS TO
PUT ON A
VIRTUAL
EVENT

11. REASON #1:
Make More Money

12. REASON #2:
Expand Beyond Your Market

13. REASON #3:
Expand Beyond The Weekend

14. REASON #4:
Increase Engagement +
Inspiration

15. REASON #5:
Lead Gen
Drive more people to in-person event

16. 5 R E A S O N S T O P U T O N A
V I RT U A L E V E N T
1.Make more money
2.Expand beyond your market
3.Expand beyond the weekend
4.Increase engagement and inspiration
5.Lead generation

17. TWO TYPES
OF VIRTUAL
RACES

18. B R A N D B A S E D T H E M E B A S E D
Focuses on company / event
Vehicle to build brand
Can scale based on brand
value
Leverages new or existing
theme
Vehicle to supplement brand
Can scale regardless of
brand value

19. B R A N D B A S E D T H E M E B A S E D

20. CASE STUDY
BRAND BASED

21. V I RT U A L G O A L
Expand beyond their market
Increase engagement and inspiration

22. H O W T H E Y S TA RT E D
Virtual Event: Resolution Run, January 2018
Entry: $30 (non-member) / $20 (member)
Swag: Get a digital bib
Goal: Complete a 5k
Tracking: Connect with STRAVA
Social: Leaderboard
Reward: Badge in STRAVA gallery
Guaranteed entry into 2019 Brooklyn Half
Registrations: 4,200

23. W H AT T H E Y L E A R N E D
- Initially received 1/3 international, 1/3
national, 1/3 tri-state
- Power of their brand can drive participation
- Opportunity for different offerings and
experiences
- Virtual training increases engagement

24. W H E R E T H E Y A R E N O W
- 10 virtual races in 2020
- Over 93,000 participants since launch
- Volvo sponsorship (expand knowledge of dealerships)
- 50% international runners (130 countries), 25%
national, 25% tri-state
- Facebook Group, STRAVA community
- Incorporating charitable fundraising

25. E X A M P L E
- TCS New York City Marathon virtual run
‣ Tier 1: Virtual training + guaranteed entry into next year’s NYC
Marathon
‣ Tier 2: Fundraising plus Tier 1
‣ Tier 3: Just receive a medal
‣ Tier 4: No physical rewards, just digital
- Partnership with STRAVA
- All participation happens marathon weekend
- 7,000 virtual participants

26. W H AT T H E Y S AY
- “The winners in the virtual racing game will be
the ones who integrate virtual plus physical
experiences”
- “Virtual runs provide access to people who
otherwise can’t participate”

27. CASE STUDY
THEME BASED

28. V I RT U A L G O A L
Lead generation
More participants to in-person events

29. H O W T H E Y S TA RT E D
Virtual Event: Chase the Moon, 2016
Goal: 1000 people run 6.7 miles on one night (circumference of
the moon)
Entry: ~$30
Swag: Medal and shirt
Tracking: Connect with STRAVA
Social: See your progress and total progress around the moon
Reward: Pride
Registrations: 6,000

30. W H AT T H E Y L E A R N E D
- Pricing not as important for lead gen goal
- Fulfilling medals is a pain in the butt
- Engagement and community are the top
drivers

31. W H E R E T H E Y A R E N O W
- 3 virtual race brands in 2020: Chase the Moon, 31
Day Challenge, Three Peaks in Three Days
- No more medals
- Shirts printed on demand
- Sponsorship from Nathan Sports
- Built proprietary platform to manage it
- Incorporated charitable fundraising

32. E X A M P L E
- 31 Day Challenge (January 2020)
‣ Free to enter but can pay for shirt
- Team based activity (activity / day for 31 days)
- Log activity on Ragnar site
- Team captains recruit others
- Ambassadors go to run clubs and running stores to recruit
- Generating a massive amount of content and engagement
(motivational text each day, social content, videos, tags, meetups, etc.)
- 10,000 participants

33. W H AT T H E Y S AY
- “The more simple the concept the easier it is
to get people”
They’ll say more at Running USA Conference Race
Camp, Monday, Feb 10.

34. SOME VIRTUAL INSIGHTS

35. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #1
Flaunt it if you got it.
With brand-based virtual events, the best brands win.

36. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #2
5k - 10k is the sweet spot for one-off
virtual runs
…but it’s starting to get longer (more days, more distance)

37. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #3
The better the experience, the greater
the retention

38. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #4:
Shirts and medals are not a must.
…see Insight #5

39. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #5
Engagement is a must
engagement is more than “register now” emails

40. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #6
Virtual events have a greater chance of success when
they are multi-channel social and emotional
experiences
Participating in an event is a multi-sensory social and
emotional experience

41. VIRTUAL EVENT 101
INSIGHT #7
Virtual events are going to get more
complex and participation is going to
skyrocket in the coming years
————-— JEFF’S OPINION

42. 10-ish STEPS TO
A GREAT
VIRTUAL RACE

43. STEP 1.
DELIVER YOUR BRAND PROMISE
Virtual events are not separate from your
company brand.
Stay true to your purpose and what people love
about you

44. STEP 2.
DETERMINE YOUR REASON
‣ Make more money
‣ Expand beyond your market
‣ Expand beyond the weekend
‣ Increase engagement and inspiration
‣ Lead generation

45. STEP 3.
BRAND OR THEME?
Is your brand strong enough to
generate excitement outside your
market?

46. STEP 4.
DETERMINE INCENTIVES
Shirts?
Medals?
Virtual bibs?
Tracking?
Leaderboard?
Race entry?
Sponsor products?
Unique offering?
Engagement partner?

47. STEP 5.
PRICING
Free $30

48. STEP 6.
LAUNCH DATE
Theme Based (holiday)
Launch 3-6 months ahead of time
Theme Based (non-holiday)
Launch 1-3 months ahead of time
Brand Based
Launch with (or shortly after) in-person event launch date
Can keep virtual event open for up to 2 months FOLLOWING event date
(depending on tracking/rewards)

49. STEP 7.
COMMUNITY IS KEY
Use ambassadors
Use most loyal participants
Create Facebook page
Communicate regularly
Motivate with stories
***Create community***

50. STEP 7A.
CREATE ENERGY
merge the energy of an onsite
audience with the engagement of
remote participants.

51. STEP 8.
MULTI-CHANNEL ENGAGEMENT
Email
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Text
Blog
Tags

52. STEP 9.
INTEGRATE SPONSORS
runs by a sponsor location?
sponsor-branded gear?

53. STEP 10.
RECYCLE AND RE-USE
Re-use the virtual event content
for other events and for sponsors

54. 10-ISH REQUIREMENTS FOR A GREAT
VIRTUAL EVENT
1. Deliver your brand promise
2. Determine your reason
3. Brand or theme?
4. Determine incentives
5. Pricing
6. Launch date
7. Community is key
7a. Create energy
8. Multi-channel engagement
9. Integrate sponsors
10. Recycle and re-use content

55. Got questions? Ideas to share?
I like helping companies grow better.
jeffruns@imATHLETE.com
and sign up for my best practices newsletter
bit.ly/IAmJeff
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