Intel's First Virtual Global Sales Conference, With Help From Boyer Communications

It used to be Viva Las Vegas, now its viva virtual.

PR Newswire

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 9

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ — Linking thousands of sales and marketing executives from 15 time zones across the planet, Intel will be doing their new product training this week in virtual rooms, instead of conference rooms in Las Vegas. This marks the first time the semi-conductor leader has delivered training on this scale through this new medium.

"It isn't just the technology that's different," said Brad Boyer of Boyer Communications Group. "You have to design and deliver the material in ways that are significantly different than face-to-face communication — you're fighting distraction every step of the way."

With hundreds of sessions filled with technical data, there was a lot of material to organize. Boyer team members helped prepare the instructors for this event. "We showed over 85 instructors how to streamline their messages into something that flowed like a story — then had them simplify their slides and practice in ways that felt counterintuitive to many of them."

When asked about the virtual experience, one Intel instructor said that he could empathize with the George Clooney character in Up In The Air — his world goes from face to face, to face to screen. "I used to dread getting nervous in front of all those people, now I'm going to miss seeing them."

The logistics of organizing about 5000 participants into nearly 276 virtual sessions, while accommodating just about every time zone, required weeks of planning — but the cost savings in travel and time are a prize worth the effort.

Intel used the WebEx system because of their expertise at organizing events of this size. "Certainly the difficult economy has driven more companies to our system," said a WebEx representative. "But we think this method of meeting will become the way the global economy does business even after the turn-around."

It's understandable that not everyone likes this new way of meeting. The temptations of places like Las Vegas, Orlando and Anaheim have strong appeal to the more basic human drive for contact with others. So will the virtual replace the visceral meeting? It remains to be seen.

http://www.boyercom.com

SOURCE Boyer Communication Group

Contact

Brad Boyer, Boyer Communication Group, +1-212-360-0411, info@boyercom.com