THAT.FUN.FIT.FEST. is a fitness events company like no other. We specialise in fun fitness experiences for both public events and corporate functions.
Just before the first case of COVID-19 was announced in South Africa in March 2020, we were already planning our next event. Within a space of two weeks, it became apparent that we wouldn’t be able to host a live event for some time, and so the decision was made to host one of South Africa’s first online events of this type.
The first pivot
Initially we decided to film the event live in studio – similar to what you may have seen at our recent online event, Virtual Brunch, hosted by Event Wizards and other industry leaders. And so we started to arrange and prep for this.
Online events, despite their differences to live events, are essentially still all about the experience for the event attendees, as well as the overall event aim.
The main challenge was to take what we know about live events and translate it all to the online medium. Online events, despite their differences to live events, are essentially still all about the experience for the event attendees, as well as the overall event aim. Sessions have to be structured accordingly and with the end user in mind – answering questions such as: How do we drive engagement? How do we virtually communicate energy and event messaging? How do we use what we have, and benefit from the technology available to us?
We had structured the first online THAT.FUN.FIT.FEST. with all this in mind.
And then this happened…
The event was launched two weeks prior to the actual event date. Then, one week ahead of our first ever online fitness event, The President announced that we would be going into hard lockdown.
Not only did we have to manage all of the points mentioned above, but our team now had to operate from separate locations and in isolation.
Then, one week ahead of our first ever online fitness event, The President announced that we would be going into hard lockdown.
After some very intense “think tank” virtual meetings and consultations with our suppliers, we concluded that it could still be done live, as we had originally planned. However, to achieve this both Herkie Du Preez, the founder and director of THAT.FUN.FIT.FEST. and myself (Lisa Jade Hutchings, the Manager of FUN for the company) had to take a crash course and upskill ourselves and our team on live streaming and production.
In addition, we had to train the event’s fitness instructors on how to use the equipment they had available in their homes, such as mobile phones and laptops, so they could join the broadcast.
Of course, our chosen suppliers such as Vuer TV and Flock Eventing Platform also provided support and innovation. Without them, the online events which THAT.FUN.FIT.FEST. has hosted since the commencement of lockdown would not have been possible. Teamwork makes the dream work at the end of the day.
But wait – there’s another twist!
Once we knew we would be moving forward in this manner, an additional challenge was placed in our way.
48 hours from the event’s start time, an underwater internet cable went down just off the coast of South Africa. We held a dry run of the even on the Thursday and soon realised that, due to the issues with internet stability, we would have to pre-record certain sessions and incorporate live feeds within the streaming.
We held a dry run of the even on the Thursday and soon realised that, due to the issues with internet stability, we would have to pre-record certain sessions and incorporate live feeds within the streaming.
We innovated quickly, and were able to adapt (again).
Throughout this process, we also had to educate, support and communicate with our events sponsors – a task in its own right. We were very blessed to have industry leaders, Momentum Multiply, onboard with us initially, as we undertook this journey. The brand benefits for them were outstanding, within such a short space of time.
The end result
THAT.FUNFIT.FEST. has now hosted not one, but two very successful online events, FIT connect #1 & #2, since the beginning of lockdown. Our third online event is taking place this Friday, 29 May, from 18:00 to 20:00. (Find out more about it here.)
Our brand has benefited from seeing the connection, hope and joy which we were able to spread so soon into lockdown, and what has been a traumatic period for many. We were joined by over 2,800 viewers internationally – from South Africa, the UK, the US, Vietnam and Germany – which was an emotional experience and left us all in tears. This is the power of events and why we do what we do.
Our brand has benefited from seeing the connection, hope and joy which we were able to spread so soon into lockdown, and what has been a traumatic period for many. We were joined by over 2,800 viewers internationally – from South Africa, the UK, the US, Vietnam and Germany – which was an emotional experience and left us all in tears. This is the power of events and why we do what we do.
I’d like to add a message to our fellow event professionals: Our industry is known for being able to adapt and innovate. Let’s up skill and reinvent ourselves during this time. While this period has been very dark for our industry, together we can find and deliver the silver lining.
The FUN and FITNESS continues…
