Enhancing the Television Academy's events with digital workflows and data insights from zkipster

We’re delighted to introduce the third in our series of Case Studies with the Television Academy, the renowned American entertainment organization behind the Emmy^Ⓡ Awards.

In previous editions we learned about the Academy’s return to live events post-pandemic, and how the Television Academy keeps its members engaged via events in the run up to awards season. This time we sat down with Marc Wade, Executive Producer for Digital, to find out more about the Academy’s digital event strategy and renewed focus on event data, and how zkipster helps deliver on both counts.

Marc, let’s start with the practical aspects of your live events strategy - what pain points, pandemic-related or otherwise, has zkipster helped you solve? 

In recent months, zkipster’s integration with ClearPass Covid certificates meant that guests could arrive with QR codes on their phones ready to be scanned. This helped to make event check-in quick, simple and safe, regardless of the external circumstances. Guests were also asked to take a Covid test upon arrival at some events before checking in, and the Television Academy would include this request in guest communications sent via zkipster. Marc said, “we’ve had big interest in our live events, and have been working extensively with zkipster since April.” 

Speaking of which, zkipster’s Customer Success and Support teams stay in regular contact with the Academy, keeping them up to date on the latest product releases and features, advising on best practices, and providing support. When a 3rd party vendor built an RSVP system onto the Academy’s CRM, our software engineers were also on hand to advise:

zkipster folks were very helpful, providing a timely and complete service as well as suggestions for developing the integration even further. One for our backlog!

Marc Wade | Executive Producer | Digital | Television Academy

As an Enterprise-level client, the Television Academy has access to zkipster’s API, and in the past the events team has also used this customizable integration to automate their guest list curation process, saving time and maximizing efficiency at a pivotal period in their event calendar: the run up to the Emmys nominations. One of the events team’s many impressive achievements is the sheer volume of memorable events they manage to deliver in such a short space of time; a time Television Academy event producers Barbara Chase and Amy Pierce provided fascinating insights about in our previous Case Study. 

Using digital tools like zkipster, and the API integration in particular, makes it possible to completely automate event processes and workflows like these, saving time and ensuring data is stored in a way that is easy-to-view, easy-to-export, and secure, something zkipster and the Television Academy both take very seriously.

How does zkipster help the Academy communicate with its members? 

“Communication is crucial for our guests, particularly when the status of an event might be subject to change at short notice”, said Marc. The Television Academy will clearly communicate relevant public health guidelines on its website, on invitations, and at events themselves to reassure guests and keep them informed. Pre-event comms include everything from invitations, to requests for any necessary pre-event data, including vaccination status and Covid test results, to requests for RSVPs, which are then handled by the Academy’s aforementioned custom system.

But in addition to conveying and receiving information, digital communications also allow the Academy to start a conversation with its guests. As Marc says:

 It is really important to engage with our audience and help them see the value of the invitation they are receiving, and zkipster helps us do that.

Marc Wade | Executive Producer | Digital | Television Academy

With zkipster the Television Academy can communicate with guests in a meaningful and measurable way, and better engage with its community as a result. 

On the subject of measurement, how do you keep track of member activity? 

A huge benefit of digital event management is measurability: besides tracking the open and RSVP rate of its invitations, the Academy can also track event attendance in real time. Since returning to live events, the emphasis has been on ensuring guests are properly checked in to events - something that only takes a couple seconds with zkipster’s check-in app.

In our first Case Study, Marc noted how zkipster has really helped the Television Academy with no-shows, allowing them to understand with certainty which members RSVP-ed to events but didn’t attend, and encourage accountability: “our focus is on inviting and cultivating guests who bring great energy and really value our events, and zkipster helps us understand and achieve this.”

zkipster also helps with pre-event registration, allowing the Academy to see how many events members are registering for and which events are most popular, and strategize accordingly. For instance, the Television Academy runs ticket lotteries for its most popular events, some of which see nearly 2,000 members applying for tickets for an event with a 600-person capacity. They can track applications to ensure that the same members aren’t always getting tickets, and offer availability to members who weren’t successful in applying for previous events. As Marc said:

zkipster helped us communicate the scarcity of these hot ticket events, reinforcing their value and making them more desirable to our members.

Marc Wade | Executive Producer | Digital | Television Academy

“Without further ado…”

As recovery from the pandemic continues, guests are eager to return to events, but changed circumstances and expectations mean it can be challenging for organizers to establish exactly what the perfect event experience looks like. One thing is clear to Marc and the team at the Academy however: digital and data are key, and zkipster is extremely proud that our tech supports the Television Academy at every stage of delivering its exceptional events. 

Live events are a daunting task this season. We did 90 in 2019, now we're looking at more than double that! We'll try to let zkipster do the heavy lifting, including member communication and tracking no-shows: event data is key and everyone at the Academy can benefit from the insights zkipster provides.

Marc Wade | Executive Producer | Digital | Television Academy

• Read the first Case Study in the series – The Television Academy’s return to live events with zkipster: an exclusive look behind the scenes – here.
• Read the second Case Study in the series - Hosting compelling member events and preparing for Emmy awards season with the Television Academy and zkipster - here.

Header image: Andrew Matarazzo, Marta Pozzan, Guiseppe Gioffre and Sebastiano Pigazzi at the 2022 Emmy® Awards Performers Nominee Celebration. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images.