UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Zuddl Case Study

The University of Maryland at College Park is a large university located near Baltimore, MD, just outside of Washington, D.C. UMD takes great pride in being the state's flagship university and in being one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,700 students, 14,000 faculty and staff, and nearly 400,000 alumni.

UMD sought to boost their collaboration over the past two years, excited about the possibility of supporting events with a digital component to make their hybrid functions fully connective and visually stunning. Zuddl was brought to UMD through the ETP network, and a strong year-long partnership took off from there. UMD used Zuddl for many of their events and have built a foundational relationship for future partnerships.

CHALLENGE

After holding virtual meetings over the past two years, and with restrictions eased for in-person gatherings, University of Maryland leadership was keen to provide higher-quality hybrid event experiences that would connect in-person and virtual attendees. Seamless real-time connection between virtual and on-site participants was a must. UMD and Zuddl events in 2021-2022 included UMD’s Board of Trustees meeting, Discover MD informational session, Banneker/Key Scholarship Interviews, and Admitted Student Open House.

It was essential for the organizers to make the user experience as easy and straightforward as possible. Virtual attendees needed to easily access the meeting and understand how the platform worked without any hassle.

“Creating a polished and branded meeting venue was very important for us from the beginning. Being able to curate every aspect of the experience was critical. We wanted to design everything in a way that trustees would immediately feel they had come to the right place, and also capture the energy, professionalism, and pride of previous Foundation board meetings.”

Lindsay Meyers - Senior Director, Office of Special Events

SOLUTION

In October of 2021, UMD’s Board of Trustees meeting leveraged Zuddl’s customization tools to brand the entire virtual event venue with UMD logos, colors, and graphics. Lindsay and her team customized Zuddl’s virtual event lobby to make navigation effortless. They placed hotspots in the lobby that would direct trustees to central areas in the venue such as the Stage. They also placed a Help icon in the lobby so trustees could quickly reach out for assistance to a live staff member.

Next up were three events occurring back-to-back through February and March of 2022. The first was called Discover Maryland, and was an event put on for high school juniors to learn more about UMD and their various college options. Zuddl customized everything to match the school’s branding, just as they had for the Board of Trustees meeting, and even created unique booths for each college: the A. James Clack School of Engineering, College of Information Studies, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and more. Each booth had their specific logo and had redirect features that lead students right to Q & A zoom links with each colleges’ representatives. Complete with a virtual campus tour and all details possible for an immersive introduction to the school, this event was very well-received.

The Banneker/Key Scholarship Interviews followed shortly after Discover Maryland’s smooth success. With many of UMD’s desired features already built out through Zuddl previously, holding this event was like riding a well-oiled bike. Features such as links to social media, documents, resources and other PDFs, dedicated breakout rooms and sessions, as well as a live expo feature, were used to conduct a total of 300 student interviews across two days. Students were interviewed for this prestigious scholarship program across Webex and waited in fully branded lounge and table areas in Zuddl for their time slot to come.

Lastly, the University of Maryland’s Admitted Student Open House took place with many of the same features as the events above. Held to officially welcome and introduce admitted students to their exciting new chapter at UMD, a campus tour feature was a must. The hybrid event translated UMD pride into every breakout session and made the four-day event complete. Main stage visuals welcomed students into a view they would see each day on campus, and the event included easy to find resources, for students to have every tool for their new college chapter.

All four events were held in a very positive light, by UMD staff, students and the Zuddl team. Each event contributed greatly to the schools image, and the results made suture partnerships very likely.

RESULT

At the Board of Trustees meeting, by inviting colleagues to actively participate, the UMD team ramped up engagement and inclusivity, and by leveraging in-platform tools, they were able to drive 30% more engagement as compared to previous events. Although this was UMD’s first hybrid board meeting, it was a resounding success. Not only did the organizers facilitate a focused and purposeful meeting where trustees, regardless of physical location, were able to work efficiently together, but the mirroring of UMD branding elements in-person and on the virtual platform established a sense of familiarity and furthered the sense of a shared experience and crafted an event that was inclusive and truly memorable.

A resounding success for all events, UMD and Zuddl will look towards the future to partner for more events and further collaboration to craft stunning hybrid events.