As COVID-19 sweeps the globe, businesses are being forced to pivot. In-person stores are against the ropes, mom-and-pop shops are behind a massive 8-ball of change, and the demand for digital sales has pushed many franchises into the red. However, perhaps no industry experienced a greater spike in demand than healthcare. Although the ICUs were filled to capacity, front-line healthcare workers weren’t the only ones who saw a massive spike in daily demand. Main Line Health’s other patient care facilities such as the Stroke Care, and Cardiac Care facilities were overwhelmed as well. 
Every year, Main Line holds galas to raise money for their hospitals. A few months ago, the two crossroads met. The lack of feasibility to hold an in-person gala combined with the siege on front-line health workers caused Main Line Health to pivot. Quickly.
Our team of web designers, web developers, video producers, content specialists, and creatives alike put on their hard hats and got to work. Thus, the Virtual Fundraising Event Series was born.
Creating An Interactive Website
The first step in each project was to understand the goals, mission statement, and growth plan behind each hospital. From there, we crafted the copy for each website design and wrote scripts for videos. We created detailed wireframes and information architectures for each site, while simultaneously brainstorming what animations, graphics, UI and presentation would best compliment the fundraising goals. We designed websites to host the copy, interactive elements, graphic animations, and studio-quality videos highlighting patient testimonials, doctor interviews, and empowering stories. These sites served as the interactive content hub, able to not only guide the presentation but educate and engage the community on the specific needs of healthcare after it was over. The sites also featured clever CTA’s and updated tickers of donations so visitors could see their contributions in action.
The strategy behind the content we created highlighted a commitment to ensure engagement remained high, both during and after the event. Luckily, that translated into incredibly interactive and aesthetic evergreen sites.
Creating a Virtual Event
The first virtual event was for the necessary upgrade to Main Line Health’s Behavioral Health facility at Bryn Mawr. The experience examined behavioral health through four perspectives; the disease perspective, the behavioral perspective, the dimensional perspective, and the life story perspective.
Each page featured interactive experiences, such as an audio simulation where the participants could find out what it’s like to have schizophrenia, and a quiz suggesting if their personality leaned toward introverted or extroverted.
This not only engaged the audience during the presentation but made them want to come back to the website and try out some of the features for themselves afterward.
For the live video feeds, we brought out speakers from each hospital, mic’d them up, and then optimized lighting and camera angles, before simultaneously streaming over 9 different feeds. Each speaker was staged in front of a backdrop in separate rooms, ensuring studio-level presentation. Slightly below the camera, there was a monitor where the speaker could watch the live stream and read their opening remarks. Essentially, the video was used both to facilitate the live event, as well as encapsulate stories and accentuate fundraising efforts.
When Web Design and Video Production Meet
When Web Design and Video Production MeetThe result? Millions of dollars raised, and a series of fully responsive, evergreen websites that encapsulate branding, drive engagement and deliver results. Ultimately the virtual events helped an in-person event transition into the digital spectrum seamlessly. Today, this transition is important work. The pandemic taught us that businesses need all the help they can get. Here at Forge Apollo, we’ve adapted and created a recyclable process to empower the fundraising efforts of healthcare businesses that need the support.. But this is just a small sample size of the work that can be done with content strategy, video, animation, web design, and a little bit of ingenuity.
