It’s commonplace for most conferences to have some sort of digital broadcast or recap component for delegates. But this year we have seen more hybrid events than ever before where attendees can attend in person or online and have an increasingly similar experience. This flexibility is becoming the norm and allows attendees the freedom to choose how they want to experience events with less compromise than ever before.
To rise to these new challenges event planners and venues need to liaise with stakeholders, speakers and sponsors to understand exactly what they want from an event and the experience they need attendees to have both online and in person. This discovery phase, although always crucial, is especially important with a hybrid event as many involved may have not taken this approach before and expectations need to be carefully managed.
When deciding on a venue additional considerations such as time zones of virtual attendees, internet bandwidth, pandemic plans for the in-person component and more need to be considered, most larger conferences venues generally now cater for advanced internet requirements however this will need to be arranged and specified with AV in advanced, don't just expect to show up and plug in.
The pinnacle of hybrid conferences at the moment are being hosted by organisations who already have a massive online presence such as Twitch, with expertise in streaming, these events are tech-heavy and have incredible results but out of reach for most corporate conferences. There are many corporate conferences finding great success with simple yet effective hybrid events, these include:
Understood the assignment:
The annual personal finance influencer conference was able to go ahead in May 2021 with a hybrid model, what they did right:
Something different:
This event has a broad global appeal and was able to offer attendees from all regions virtual attendance as a point of difference.
The standout - 1 event, 3 countries + virtual at the same time:
An absolute standout event that came just as Europe was experiencing its initial 2021 re-opening in early October 2021, this event highlighted just how unique a hybrid event can be utilising a "Pod" style structure. Leadership From Chaos was a super event formed by the amalgamation of three revenue management events deciding they were stronger together and more able to create a meaningful experience for their audiences.
Attendees were given the chance to attend live sessions running concurrently in London, Rimi and Stockholm at separate venues dubbed “Pods”, sessions from the alternate venue were streamed into the in person audience of the other, allowing a brand new in person hybrid structure while avoiding unnecessary international travel.
The event was also streamed live for fully virtual attendees and virtual tickets sold at a lower cost to increase participation and value for sponsors looking to reach the largest audience. Key presentations are also available post event online for all attendees to review.
Speakers were even given the opportunity to present virtually from anywhere, allowing iVvy CEO Lauren Hall to present from Australia and the content to be used across multiple platforms and venues.
Maria Macree, iVvy’s Head of Sales for the UK region was delighted to participate in a speaker session regarding total profit revenue management highlighting the value of the MICE industry and the profitability of meeting spaces VS the traditional model of the rooms division amongst hoteliers. This insightful session really looked at how hoteliers have adapted to different methods of working smarter and monetising where it makes sense to, in light of pandemic restrictions.