Times are tricky for event organizers. The economy is what it is. Budgets aren’t what they once were. High-profile speakers are tough to come by. Splashy launches and spendy sales meetings are about as rare as a Redskins touchdown these days. T&E just isn’t as much fun as it used to be. But the training must go on, the products must launch, the customers must be reached. Even the travel companies have embraced “virtual” as a piece of the portfolio. So when and why reach for “virtual”?

Speakers & Schedules: Having the budget for a speaker is one thing. Coordinating speaker and executive schedules is another. Offer them a two-hour commitment (60m dry run and 60m event) vs. a day-long trip to Dallas?

Spend: Facilities. Food. Travel. Check out AT&T’s ROI calculator for an eye opener.

Stretching: Now that you’ve wrangled your speakers and schedules and trimmed your budget, you can stretch. Reach more people due to easy access and reduced expense. Reach people longer with post-event recordings.

Used a webinar to stretch in an interesting way? Share a comment below.