Virtual Magic Show For Online Client Appreciation
The very first call I received for a virtual magic show in March of 2020 was from a technology company out of Los Angeles. They told me they were looking for new ways to engage their clients. Unable to host the usual cocktail parties at hotels while everyone was on lock-down, they needed to engage their potential clients and connect with their current ones.
The idea they had was brilliant and they were one of the first businesses I talked to that was not only realizing that life as we know it was changing, but they were embracing the new form of virtual, online experiences that were suddenly available to them.
I was hired to kick-off their 6-part, weekly client appreciation series. Along with my virtual magic show, their clients would get a virtual yoga lesson, a painting class, a musical performance, a cooking class and even a wine-tasting where selected wines were shipped to their home and a sommelier would take them through a complete virtual tasting session.
I spent the week creating a custom magic show for their group, crafting every minute to maximize engagement. I also set-up a large TV screen to act as an additional monitor, allowing the audience to see themselves. I wanted to break the participants out of a mode where they were just watching to one where they were fully immersed and participating.
When I speak on stage I make sure that everyone is on the edge of their seats and no-one is looking at their phone. One of my secrets as a keynote speaker is changing modalities every 5-10 minutes. That means that I speak for 5 minutes; then I do a magic trick for 5 minutes; then I present ideas and content via slides for 5 minutes; then I break the audience up into small groups where they share something with each other for 5 minutes. By switching modalities every few minutes I keep everyone engaged no matter how short their attention span.
Presenting a custom-branded card trick during my virtual magic show.
So I decided to apply the same level of thinking to my virtual, online magic show. Except this time i started changing up modalities even faster.
I looked at my virtual magic show like a TV program. I set up 3 cameras, allowing me to instantly switch angles via keyboard shortcuts in Zoom. I shared photos, I played videos, and showed graphics that added to the live experience or created additional context that made the live magic tricks even more interesting.
While still focusing on the human element and celebrating our ability to see each other and connect, I used every digital tool at my disposal to hook my audience and keep them engaged.
I was incredibly proud of the very first professionally produced virtual magic show I had ever done. My client was overjoyed, provided happy testimonial videos and told me that this was the most amazing way for them to kick off their series and show their clients how much they truly appreciated them.
Using a virtual magic show for client appreciation is something that any company can do. Even if your clients all live in the same area, schedules, traveling and logistics can make it difficult to bring everyone together. By creating a virtual experience that your clients can experience in the comfort of their own home, your business is fostering the client relationship by gifting them a unique, personal and memorable experience.
###
Client Testimonial For Virtual Magic Show:
“Kostya is fantastic. We hired him for a customer outreach program we did and it was a huge hit. Everybody loved it. It was super entertaining. It was a great way to step away from work for a little bit. He was really flexible with working with us. He did a digital remote session through Zoom and he was super professional through it all and made sure all the technology was working and really, really dug into it, how Zoom worked. He went above and beyond. So, thank you, Kostya. The show was amazing!”
Client Testimonial For Virtual Magic Show:
“Just wanted to say a quick thanks to Kostya for his super awesome magic show this morning. it was extremely engaging over video conference. It was definitely the most engaging video conference I had ever been a part of. And all of the magic tricks were just as if you had seen them in real life, maybe even better because you got to see them close-up with his hand camera. So again, thank you so much for an awesome performance today and I hope that we’ll get to bring you back and work with you again.”
