An education in content for the classroom
With the cancellation of Bett 2021 in October last year , Hyve opted for a virtual solution to get content out to teachers and educators
When Hyve Group was forced to face the reality of cancelling Bett 2021 , it needed a virtual substitute , which would offer something different to the exhibition for educators , which usually attracts around 40,000 visitors from 100 different countries each January to ExCeL London .
The decision to cancel the in-person event was taken in October 2020 , just four months out from the show .
This week-long festival of education has been an annual fixture since 1985 so Hyve was determined to provide educators with the CPD-certified content they associate with Bett , whilst promoting all the virtual fringe events such as the Global EdTech Startup Awards , Teach- Meets , and the EdTech APPG Parliamentary report launch , as part of a week-long programme .
“ Retaining customer engagement in Bett and what has become known as ‘ Bett Week ’ was really important for us ,” says Bett ’ s global head of content , Sarah Marshall . “ It was also an opportunity to reach a new audience of educators who had previously not been able to justify the time away from the classroom and to develop a suite of digital assets , which could be monetised and evolved for the future . Industry product launches are planned around Bett so instead of exhibition stands , we decided to offer brands paid-for content to showcase their latest innovations .”
The plan was to focus content on three daily themes of Leadership , Digital Inclusion and Resilient Futures , offering product discovery , practical CPD ( Continuing Professional Development ) and best practice for educating students during a pandemic .
Production partner , Aztec stepped-up to manage the content delivery from its Chessington-based studio , producing 40 sessions across three days that were either pre-recorded with live Q & As or broadcast in real-time .
Each day featured two-hours of main-stage content , a choice of two in-depth accredited CPD sessions in the Bett Academy and a selection of on-demand Solutions Showcases sponsored product videos .
“ We created a sponsorship inventory comprising four packages : Headline sponsor ;
“ IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REACH A NEW AUDIENCE OF EDUCATORS WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY NOT BEEN ABLE TO JUSTIFY THE TIME AWAY FROM THE CLASSROOM .”
Main-stage keynote ; Solutions Showcase session and Bett Academy CPD . These four content-led packages mandated collaboration with the Bett content team on themes and messages and contained a clause giving Bett final approval before broadcast , ensuring high-quality output ,” Marshall says .