ON24 survey: executives extol the personal benefits of virtual events
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—December 14, 2010—Based on the results of the latest survey conducted by ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual event solutions, over 1,000 participants in today’s VUE2010, the world’s largest virtual user conference on virtual events, are attending in their pajamas.
The VUE2010 Virtual Events User Experience is “emceed” by musician and social media pioneer MC Hammer. ON24 is announcing at VUE2010 the results of its December survey of executives registered to attend today’s conference. Over 2,000 executives were polled on the advantages of virtual events over traditional physical trade shows and conventions.
More executives than ever before prefer virtual shows because they can attend from their computers without wasting time and money on travel and lodging. In January 2009, ON24 reported that 75% of executives preferred virtual shows because there was no travel required. In this most recent survey, amidst controversial TSA pat-downs and holiday-related travel delays, that preference has shot up to 92%, making “no travel” the number one reason executives prefer virtual shows.
Executives also listed a variety of professional reasons why they prefer virtual shows, including:
- 66% appreciate the ability to reach people all over the globe anytime
- 55% like the ability to multi-task
- 54% like the ability to send or forward presentations to other colleagues
- 41% prefer the ability to find the right people with whom to network
- 25% like the ability to “tweet” or use LinkedIn
There were also several personal reasons executives cited for preferring virtual shows over traditional physical trade shows and conventions, including:
- 67% felt more empowered to “talk” to anyone
- 65% liked that they could leave presentations early without appearing rude
- 28% said a key benefit is not getting roped into awkward social encounters
- 27% cited the ability to attend in their pajamas or underwear
- 25% liked that they could avoid annoying people
- 19% were pleased they didn’t get saddled with useless swag
- 14% liked that they didn’t have to hang out with their coworkers
- 5% enjoyed flirting with strangers without others seeing or judging
A significant majority – 67.4% – of the respondents prefers a virtual event featuring an industry luminary. The VUE2010 keynotes are in fact being delivered by two industry luminaries: IBM Vice President Sandy Carter, noted author and social media evangelist, and ON24 CEO Sharat Sharan. Consistent with current sentiment about political leaders, the least popular choice (at 6.2%) to lead a virtual show is a politician.
“While the results of this survey may appear humorous, they demonstrate that virtual environments are more ‘in sync’ with how people today prefer to behave and work,” said Denise Persson, ON24’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Virtual event attendees can get what they need—efficiently. It does not matter if you are dressed in a suit or sweats when you attend a virtual show; all that matters is that you are getting the content you need.”
About ON24, Inc.
The recognized global virtual events market share leader, ON24 provides webcasting and virtual environments for corporate communications and demand generation. The ON24 platform is a complete Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud offering; no deployment resources are required. ON24 offers fully integrated, enterprise-wide solutions for applications ranging from training, user conferences and company meetings to partner expos and trade shows. More than 750 organizations, including IBM, Cisco, CA Technologies, Merck, AstraZeneca, Fiserv, Credit Suisse, GE and Oracle, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit www.ON24.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Tricia Heinrich
ON24, Inc.
Phone: 415-369-3840
[email protected]
Curtis Sparrer
Grayling Connecting Point
Phone: 415-442-4034
[email protected]
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