ATLANTE, March 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — It was March 2020 and the world was rapidly entering the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sketch Effect team watched in horror as its revenue plummeted to near zero.
The 12+ team of Atlanta was coming off his best year yet and expecting big things in the new year. But one by one, every client gig was canceled and the once-healthy sales pipeline dried up.
Sketch-effect virtual graphic recording (aka “RemoteNotes”) – for virtual meetings and events
Instead of an in-person artist using markers to draw on foam-core paper, the newly revamped “virtual” artists draw on iPads with Apple Pencils from anywhere in the world.
Virtual Graphic Recording has become the top-selling service for The Sketch Effect and continues to be a major revenue driver in 2022.
Like most players in the events industry, the disruption caused by pandemic lockdowns and closures has hit The Sketch Effect hard. One of the main services provided by this creative company is known as “graphic recording” (where a live cartoonist attends an event in person and illustrates content, themes and big ideas in real time) – which suddenly became obsolete.
In the face of extreme disruption, this team leaned into innovation, pivoted quickly, and created a groundbreaking new service that saved the business and reinvented the industry: “virtual chart recording.”
While similar to traditional chart recording, which depends on a live artist actively listening, synthesizing and drawing in real time, the all-new virtual alternative has been designed exclusively for virtual events and webinars.
Instead of an in-person artist using markers to draw on foam-core paper, the newly revamped “virtual” artists draw on iPads with Apple Pencils from anywhere in the world.
So instead of a ballroom, The Sketch Effect artist drew in a Zoom room.
Instead of going to a meeting, The Sketch Effect artist drew in a GoToMeeting.
Instead of a team summit, The Sketch Effect illustrated in a team summit.
Within a few months, sales began to slowly roll in for this new virtual chart recording product. After a dead Q1, Q2 started to show promise. In the third quarter, sales rebounded, and in the fourth quarter, The Sketch Effect recorded its highest quarterly sales figures ever.
What Sketch Effect customers have learned is that virtual events are even harder to pull off than in-person events. With only two senses to engage (audio and visual), event planners need to be even more creative and intentional than ever.
The pivot would pay off for the Sketch Effect, which fully rebounded in 2021 with record annual revenue. Virtual graphic recording became the best-selling service for this scrappy creative business and continues to be a major revenue driver in 2022.
A look back at the disruptive early days of COVID-19, Founder and CEO William Warren wouldn’t want to do it again, but he’s grateful for how it’s forced the company to pivot and innovate in revolutionary ways, pushing the boundaries of what the industry can be and maximizing the value that teams like The Sketch Effect can add to virtual events anywhere in the world.
“I believe every crisis is an opportunity,” Warren says. “And our Sketch Effect team has taken it on board. And our customers are better served by it.”
Media Contact:
William Warren
[email protected]
(404) 458-4926
SOURCE The sketch effect
