500 000, 500 000 and 100 000: these are the numbers of attendees to recent live events that lasted for hours, even during the ongoing pandemic. No, these aren’t the statistics for the thousands of beachgoers flocking en masse and risking contracting the virus. Rather, these numbers refer to those who tuned in worldwide to watch video game livestreams of Guy Beahm (Dr Disrespect), Michael Grzesiek (Shroud) and Tyler Blevins (Ninja), respectively. These individuals, known as streamers, gathered those numbers remotely in less than one day for only one livestream event. The numbers don’t end with viewers either but also extend to money. Viewers wire money during livestreams to their favourite streamers as donations which can range from $5 to $500. What do they get in return? A live mention from their said favourite streamer. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of live events and closure of cinemas, people headed towards streaming platforms from their computers instead for entertainment purposes. Between March and April only, the live-streaming sector grew by 45%; a rise that’s directly attributable to the pandemic. But this potential is not exclusive to video game streamers only. They surely populate streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch but aren’t the only ones livestreaming there. Recently, traditional chess was one of the fastest-growing games on Twitch. This trend was led by chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who is himself not a gamer. As COVID-19 risks rendered the traditional medical events industry obsolete, with a potentially zombified revival only in the next 2-3 years. It’s time to adjust to the new situation. And for that video game streamers have a lot to share. Let’s see what the medical events industry can learn from them, because surely if people can invest in virtual entertainment, a similar appeal can be extended for more noble causes. When conferences cause COVID-scare Since the pandemic hit, thousands of in-person medical conferences have been canceled or postponed, and it keeps happening so, due to cross-infection risks. And that’s in the U.S. alone. So it does come as a surprise actually that some medical conferences, with actual doctor attendees, still took place despite the situation. The U.S.’s largest kidney care provider, DaVita, held its annual Physician Leadership Meeting; and one attendee was later found to be COVID-19 positive. That person could have potentially spread the virus to others during the event. In New York City, 5 doctors who attended an emergency room physicians event tested positive. And there are more of such cases. Even if those persons did not catch the virus during the events themselves, it shows the risk that travelling ensues, if not the large gatherings themselves. However, even if most medical conferences were cancelled, postponed or even went digital, others are already planning to go back to business-as-usual for their next event. For example, the American Psychiatric Association is already planning for its 2021 annual meeting. The physical event is reportedly “on track” for May 1-5 in Los Angeles next year. The date does not make it any less concerning as the virus will probably linger till then, even with a vaccine, which will take time to reach the masses. Additionally, this public health crisis won’t be a one-off event. In less than two decades we’ve had the likes of SARS, MERS and COVID-19, to state a few. As such, the medical events industry has to reinvent itself and adapt to the current circumstances so as to be prepared for a similar one in the future. And for that gamers can help. Time to turn to gamers “No one really had this in their playbook,” said Richard Vallaster III, director of client relations at A2Z, a meeting planning firm in Columbia, Md. “You can’t necessarily plop and drop what you’d done in person into the virtual world.” Indeed, the pandemic was truly disruptive for this industry and not everything translates to streaming. That’s why speakers and organisers for medical events should learn new skills which video game streamers have perfected. Below are the 3 main aspects the medical events industry should import from streamers. 1. Audience engagement If you join in on a livestream from Tyler Blevins (Ninja), who is one of the most popular streamers, you would be one among the tens of thousands of viewers. On average, Ninja hosts 41,000 people watching concurrently; those are concert-level numbers. High-profile streamers keep attracting such a crowd by engaging their audience in discussions live with tips, recommendations and everything else. The viewers reciprocate with donations and community discussions that keep the momentum running. For live medical events, the obvious advantage is reaching a wider audience who otherwise wouldn’t be able to join the physical event. Speakers can interact with the audience and bring about a new era of active patient engagement. The Patients Included badge already helps events standout as empowering patients; and merging it with digital livestreams will definitely be a plus. Importantly, there won’t be a need to prepare the venue to reduce health risks as video streaming is probably the safest way to communicate while COVID-19 risks persist. 2. Lucrative and entertaining content Professional streamers make a living out of streaming thanks to sponsorships and affiliations. People tune in to watch them and even donate because they are entertaining performers and put on a good show. This turnover is lucrative for the streaming platform itself; and to keep those streamers exclusively on their platforms, the companies are ready to invest millions. Microsoft signed $10 million and $40 million payday deals with Shroud and Ninja respectively for exclusive streaming on its now-defunct Mixer platform. Those streamers know how to entertain their audience and make money from their content. Medical events could also go digital with similar strategies. With social media, gamified tools and even VR/AR technology, medical events can take a radical turn from the stale bullet-point, PowerPoint presentations. Through such interactive content, medical events can even gain traction with audiences traditionally outside of the industry; and sponsors won’t be shy to invest in such initiatives. 3. Combining resources Streamers know how to combine different types of resources to keep bringing in new content. They play new games, are flexible with the type of game they stream and even involve other streamers in their stream. Medical event speakers and organisers could get insights from a non-gamer like Hikaru Nakamura, the chess grandmaster turned Twitch superstar. As part of Chess.com’s Pogchamps tournament series, Nakamura coached during his streams popular streamers like Felix “xQc” Lengyel and League of Legends streamer Albert “boxbox” Zheng. He even played with Game of Thrones’ “The Mountain” actor, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Such interaction helped Nakamura rise in popularity on Twitch. He went from chatting to hundreds of viewers a day to tens of thousands in a matter of days. With such unconventional thinking, medical events can incorporate aspects not traditionally seen within the industry to boost it to higher levels. We tried to be Dr. Respectful “Medical conferences are going virtual, which, in a way, is a positive change for the audience,” said Francis Namouk, CEO of SWM Agency, a creative communications agency involved in marketing and medical education. “I believe that conferences won’t ever be the same. No, I am not saying: all conferences will go 100% virtual. I envision a hybrid model that will leverage the best of both worlds.” Source
