Many people have never heard of the expression “hybrid event” so they’re asking themselves: “What is a hybrid event?”.
Let’s dive into the answer now… If, for example, there is an in-person event with lots of different speakers on stage but also a few people in the audience, then there might still be a majority of people participating from home. Which means they are mainly a virtual audience with some live, in-person interactions. Or in some cases, it might be useful to have an exhibition be partly offline but for a large part of the audience, it will be live-streamed. There is a physical audience and an online audience coming together and they are all from various locations and are not in the same place.
So the short answer is: Hybrid events are a mix of live and virtual events.
Why should you try out hybrid events?
Hybrid events are more than just live-streams where you have a speaker in a little window while he’s explaining what is shown in his slides. You can expand your conference with a live broadcast and have a much better engagement when the audience can instantly interact with the presenters since it’s not static. Moreover, if you’re doing it this way, you can reach a much wider and more international audience since traveling is not a necessity anymore.
It is important that you make your event as interesting as possible, though, because it is too easy for them to just leave the event which can be done as easily as clicking the “x” of the software tool window. If you make your event interactive and entertaining, the audience won’t leave.
How to practically guarantee the success of a hybrid event
Dynamic images and angles
Using just one camera and showing the presenters just from one angle can make the presentation too boring. That is why it is important, to have 3-5 cameras and have them shoot from different angles. By creating some dynamics, the viewer will feel closer to the scene and more engaged. Showing everything from multiple angles will make your audience stick to the presentations.
Add interactive elements
A hybrid event is not the same as watching TV. In contrast: the live-event audience is ready to take action and ask questions or participate in a poll, a quiz or a brainstorming session. This can be done using Twitter or by giving them a URL where they can engage with a poll or quiz.
If you are planning a hybrid event, it is crucial that you’ll put in some thoughts about how to engage with your audience and what platforms or websites to use for it.
Priority Management
There are several differences in priorities between face-to-face and virtual meetings. In face-to-face meetings, the priorities are, in order, content, networking and entertainment. For virtual events, the focus is on generating meaningful interactions, followed by entertainment and finally relevant content. Now, for hybrid events, we need to find a balance between these two worlds to satisfy all audiences.
Limited time frame
It can be a lot of fun to participate in a hybrid event with lots of people from anywhere in the world. This special feeling of watching something on your own while still being simultaneously connected to other people gives the audience an energy that should be carried over through the whole event.
That is why it is important to have a time limited event which is not too long – most successful events take around 2 hours – an attention span which is acceptable for an online audience, especially when it is about something they love and care about.
Entertainment factor
You should not underestimate the entertaining factor an online event needs to have. Just like a talk show on TV has a moderator who leads the discussion in the right direction and and some guests who are pro or con against something, you also should set up your event in a way that people will feel entertained.
If it works on TV and the concept has been proven again and again, then you know that this is what you should be doing yourself if you’re hosting an event.
Room Adaption
It is important to find a room that can be adapted to accommodate all the technical equipment (control room, technical team). But you also need to configure the room in such a way as to be able to render a beautiful finished product on the screen (location of cameras, circulation etc.).
A clearly defined subject
Going back to that concept of a talk show, it is also clear that you need to have a topic to talk about with your audience. It cannot be too broad since the talk will be going in all directions that way. It needs to be very specific and you need to have guests that are experts in that clearly defined area of expertise.
That is how you can create something that will have a lasting impact on your audience and that they will really enjoy because they’re learning something valuable.
The benefits of hybrid events
The advantages of hybrid events are numerous. They combine the advantages of digital with those of a traditional physical event.
Indeed, thanks to digital, you can gather as many people as you want. People who are coming from all over the world! There are no constraints of number or space. Anywhere, anytime, people can participate in this type of event. Moreover, another important advantage of a hybrid event is its quality-price ratio. Instead of organizing several trade shows in different cities, a single hybrid event can bring together all your employees, customers and partners.
Secondly, the hybrid event is a great alternative, a great advantage in CSR. Overall, the organization time is also shorter. Hybrid events save time, energy, resources and efficiency! However, a hybrid event also requires creativity, to create real added value! This type of mixed event is still in its infancy. Without forgetting, to add the advantages of the physical:
- The friendly side
- The humanity
- The personalization
- The physical, tangible memories
- Double event
By working on different aspects, both on site and remotely, this double event will create several effects:
- Expand the visibility and number of participants of your event;
- Maintain a good level of attention and involvement;
- Increase engagement;
- Create a lasting impact.
Indeed, as we have shown, the hybrid event is an event format that is both economical, ecological and, above all, more and more attractive and qualitative! Even exceptional.
Hybrid events optimize everything: the venue, the equipment, the catering, the additional services… Unlike a classic or 100% digital event, everything makes sense again.
Engaging the public
Finally, it is very important to understand the subtleties of a hybrid event and to propose solutions accordingly! Indeed, too many people still think that engaging an online audience during a hybrid event is the same as a traditional online event. However, it is different in many ways.
This is why we have created the “Digital Event Experience”! This type of event is a hybrid, since there is a digital part – virtual platform, videos on TV sets and digital animations – and a physical part – with our customizable boxes received directly at home!
You now know what a hybrid event is. This type of event has many advantages and can be used for both private and corporate events. To take advantage of our expertise for quality hybrid events, don’t hesitate to contact us!
How to generate revenue from hybrid events
Do you sell tickets? Do you finance your event with the support of sponsors? Revenue opportunities are multiplying with the arrival of hybrid events.
Each virtual event platform has its constraints, but some can accommodate an unlimited number of guests, and therefore offer many more tickets than there are seats in an amphitheater. On the ticket sales side for people who will be on site during the event, there is an opportunity to create a completely VIP experience, due to the small number of people who have access to the event room. Table service, gourmet meals, privileged access to a celebrity, these are all advantages that make this type of ticket all the more valuable (and therefore increase their price)!
On the sponsor side, we are talking about an even more important outreach opportunity. In addition to attracting larger budgets, these visibility opportunities will certainly create a lot of excitement from different companies who see a greater marketing potential.
Conclusion:
What is a hybrid event? It’s hard to beat a physical encounter when you’re organizing a conference or a seminar but a hybrid event can very well attract more people than your physical location can hold. Which means next time, you might be getting a higher number of people who will be attending the live event instead of just sitting in front of their computer. In that case people who could not attend might still want to travel to the physical location the next time.
