The danish ministry for children & education – and more specifically, the agency for IT & learning – hosts a conference for educators every year called “Digitaliseringsdage” or “Digidage” for short. In 2023 they increased their viewership by 44%, thanks to their unique format.
Like many others, the agency had to move away from physical meet-ups after COVID; later on deciding to stick to the digital format because of inherent perks like “reaching a larger audience”, and being able to offer an on-demand video library after the event had ended.
After researching many conference platforms, the agency stumbled upon Qbrick’s interactive solutions and saw an opportunity to create something unique for their audience.
We interviewed Christiane Kirkegaard Borup about their journey. Watch the video to hear how they increased their conference audience by 44% using Qbrick.
A platform to discuss the future of children's education
Digidage is a conference where teachers from all over Denmark can discuss the pros and cons of new technology. Christiane explains: “we’re not a conference that goes out and says “This is how to do it“, but a platform where we say “This professor says this, this professor says this, and this teacher has experience from her classroom“.”
In that sense, Digidage could be likened to a big town hall meeting for all educators in Denmark, discussing the future of children’s education and technology.
Creating something new & unique for conference-goers & avoiding complexity
“If you’re sitting in the Danish agency of IT and learning, then you should be first movers on technology and IT, I think”
When creating their online conference, the agency went through phases of trying out many traditional conference platforms. The problem they kept running into was: complexity. Users found these platforms too complex, which ended up hurting the final production and experience. “Some people just left the conference, because they couldn’t navigate”, Christiane said.
In addition to that, she explained her experience using these traditional platforms by saying: “I often felt that they thought “You don’t know what you’re doing, let the professionals take over.” And I actually kind of know what I’m talking about.”
Leaving the traditional conference platforms behind, the agency found Qbrick, and saw an opportunity to create something that was easy to navigate & completely unique. “If you’re sitting in the Danish agency of IT and learning, then you should be first movers on technology and IT, I think”, she goes on to explain.
Together with Qbrick, the agency was able to create an event that was visually appealing and non-complex. At all times, viewers can see what live channels are streaming at the moment, and click to enter that “room”. If they have technical problems they can also enter the “support channel”, where they can chat with tech support or see instructional material about the event. “We have combined it all together, and you just have to be in one place”, Christiane explains proudly.
Image: Digidage event main menu
The results: 44% increase in signups & viewership
“From the first year, to this year, we had more than 40% more signing up for the event.”
When talking about success factors with Christiane, she makes it obvious that everyone, event-goers & team members alike, are very happy with the conference format, as well as the production and planning of the event.
“From the first year, to this year, we had more than 40% more signing up for the event. So I think that is quite good”, Christiane says, and then adds: “I think it was like 44% actually”.
When asked what the key factors for their success were, she mentions: 1) having a media library where users can watch or re-watch speakers after the event, when it suits them, 2) having an active social media strategy all year round, 3) offering a free conference, 4) having a platform that is fun & easy to navigate.
“We have a platform where we can talk to so many people at the same time about something so important as children’s education, and that is to me the most important thing. And then the secondary thing is of course the platform. It has to work so smoothly that the most important thing – children’s education – stands by itself.”
Image: Digidage support channel with video chat
A perfect match
“It has to be fun to be there, to make that feeling go through the camera. And I think Qbrick has participated to that.”
While looking for a traditional conference platform that wouldn’t scare viewers off, Christiane and the agency of IT and learning found Qbrick’s interactive platform instead – which allowed them to build something that no one had seen before.
But beyond that, Christiane talks about the importance of teamwork & exuding a sense of fun in their production. She says: “we talked about how it had to make sense for the participants behind the screen, and therefore the engagement that Qbrick provides is important. But also (..) we’re selling a story. Our goal was that you would want to be in this story, so we have to (…) make this feeling that it’s fun, on set, so that you want to, somehow, engage with us. And therefore I think it’s important to also have that behind the cameras. (…) It has to be fun to be there, to make that feeling go through the camera. And I think Qbrick has participated to that.”
We would like to extend a big thank you to Christiane for participating in this interview, for choosing our platform and working together with us to create this conference. If you want to see more about Digidage, and maybe sign up for next year’s event, you can follow this link.
Find out more about Qbrick’s interactive platform, and how to signup for a 30-day free trial, by clicking here.
If you’re looking for more traditional live streaming you can click here.