The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to rethink operations. From the working culture to product catalogs and, more specifically, seasonal conferences, the change is pervasive and has brought forth some creative approaches to audience engagement.

VMware’s annual event is one of those instances, as the virtualization giant has embraced a new direction for an expected 100,000 attendees.

“One of the things we really wanted to do this year with VMworld, and the reason the theme is ‘Imagine That,’ is we wanted to show the world that VMworld is not about your parents’ VMworld,” said Carol Carpenter (pictured), senior vice president and chief marketing officer of VMware Inc. “While we’re very proud of our virtualization past, what we offer today really spans the gamut, everything from networking to security to application development platforms.” 

Carpenter spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during theCUBE on VMworld event. They discussed virtualization, as well as this year’s VMworld event, covering the unique steps taken for it to stand out during a pandemic. (* Disclosure below.)

The next chapter for VMware’s brand

A new chapter has begun for VMware, as it’s currently in the midst of spinning off from parent company Dell Technologies Inc., under the new leadership of Raghu Raghuram. From its early work in virtualization to its efforts in virtualizing the entire data center, VMware now focuses on multicloud innovation, according to Carpenter.

“Multicloud, we really believe it’s the center of gravity for everything we do. It’s in our DNA,” said Carpenter. “It’s how we take constraints, which, you know, multicloud can be complex — how do we take that and help turn it into an asset and give them freedom and control? That’s what our brand is about. It’s about the ‘and.'”

More engagement through virtual conferences

One of the standout format changes with this year’s VMworld event is the bite-sized format employed with each segment. VMware was able to showcase the digital transformation testimonies of many of its clients — from FedEx to Space Ape Games — by compressing each one of these presentations into short, digestible showcases for the audience. Going virtual for the second year in a row has allowed VMworld to attract a younger, more diverse set of partners, including Reddit and Couchbase, according to Carpenter.

“The biggest changes we have made? One, the more snackable content that we’ve been talking about. Two, we focused this year on a high level of interactivity. So we have Slack channels set up for almost every session. We expect speakers, customers and prospects to really engage. And then the third area that’s different is we amped up all of the different activities,” she explained.

Those activities include a bourbon tasting, yoga classes and even opportunities to learn from pro magicians and golfers.

“In addition to all the platforms you expect for hands-on learning, labs and practitioner classes — all that is still there — we just wanted to increase the level of engagement,” Carpenter furthered.

Large, monolithic events aren’t feasible for VMware given the current business climate, according to Carpenter. The company is steadfast in exploring events with a virtual component with the aim of breaking through to larger audiences in real time.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of theCUBE on VMworld event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for theCUBE on VMworld event. Neither VMware Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE