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Why Virtual Media Tours are Here to Stay

Just before Wild Card Weekend, we partnered with our client to connect leading analysts from Yahoo Sports to media outlets around the country. Instead of paying costs for airfare, hotels, and studio space, both sports analysts went live from the comfort of their own home - and the results could not have been better.

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Right before the holidays, actress and singer Miranda Cosgrove encouraged girls to become agents of change in their communities. We partnered with our client and HP’s Girls Save the World to get her message out to millions.

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Virtual Media Tours (VMT) have changed the game for our clients, our audiences, and for our own team. We can now produce a full morning of 25+ interviews back-to-back with crews and clients spread out over five or more states - and the results are amazing.

What is a Virtual Media Tour?

You can think of a Virtual Media Tour as a “Satellite Media Tour in a box.” The biggest difference is VMTs can be conducted via Zoom or Skype, creating more flexibility than Satellite Media Tours (SMT). The tour still consists of interviews in rapid succession with media entities across the United States. We handle all of the bookings, technical elements, and reporting.

Where does the box come into play? We can actually ship a VMT “tool box” - complete with a lighting kit - to any location to make sure the spokesperson has the tools necessary to conduct a virtual tour.

  • Virtual Media Tour Behind The Scenes

Virtual Media Tours aren’t going anywhere

While Virtual Media Tours began from a need to adapt quickly during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became clear that our clients loved this option. VMTs are here to stay.

Here are three reasons VMTs are so appealing to clients:

  1. VMTs are convenient. It’s much easier to send a VMT tool kit to a spokesperson’s location than it is to fly him or her to a location, fly in additional people for staffing, and deal with studio logistics. The VMT kit that we send includes an easy remote lighting kit. We also conduct a technology test to check all connections, prep the spokesperson and help create an appropriate background before the tour date.

  2. VMTs involve less equipment and fewer people. Instead of a studio packed with people and crew members, the spokesperson is often the only person in the room for a VMT. We offer our clients a virtual green room livestream to provide real-time feedback.

  3. Clients see the same results as other tactics. While there are still many benefits to Satellite Media Tours, we are constantly coming up with new methods that work best for each of our clients.

Virtual Media Tours offer a small footprint, which allows for more customization and more options. Take a look at what it’s like behind the scenes. But like other media tours, VMTs involve planning, coordination, and logistics. Make sure you work with a partner you trust. Contact KEF Media to start brainstorming your next VMT today.