THE HYBRID EVENT MATRIX: PLANNING FOR A FUTURE OF HYBRID EVENTS

Last few months have been quite eventful, this escalated the phenomenon of hybrid events in a very immersive way. According to a report of event planners, almost three-quarters (73%) today are preparing a hybrid event by the end of the year.

Online and hybrid solutions will continue to exist even after offline events resume. Attendees have the option of participating online or in person. This will offer the event greater versatility and encourage it to attract a broader audience. Most definitely, event technologies would act as a portal between in-person and online visitors.

Today, sponsors are greatly valued in the event industry as hybrid events are seen as flag bearers. As the technology advances, sooner or later the world will see an incredible growth in event sponsorships. As a result, the demand for digitalisation will continue to increase, leading to greater quality-based competition among service providers. This will further shape the future of the events industry, and bring continued innovation.

What is a hybrid event?

A hybrid event is a perfect combination of both online and offline components. Online events have become a better resource which has further given rise to this platform and is going to mold the future. Why? Because imposing a nationwide lockdown, virtual space became the light of hope helping individuals to realise its prominence. You can seamlessly connect with people around the world with minimum requirements – a virtual platform, strong internet connectivity, a laptop or mobile device and that’s it.

While the event is held at a fixed location, the organisers can also hold a separate online session for the viewers from other countries. This will boost attendance and make the event go national.

What to expect from hybrid events?

Because of the rising cases of COVID-19, we’ve seen an increase in crowd attendance at hybrid gatherings. As most people who formerly attended in-person events are now avoiding going to the event site. In-person gatherings aren’t the same anymore as they were a year before. Changes have also affected this type of entertainment. As the number of participants at hybrid events have increased, event organisers are increasingly favouring this format due to the fact that digital space expands the reach of the event.

Best Virtual Event Platform in India

While many countries are easing their bans on outdoor activities, and pharmaceutical firms are working on vaccinations for the virus, there is still a concern among the population of getting into touch with others. Why encourage trouble unnecessarily because it can be avoided? Event planners are torn between hosting live events and hosting them online. We can only overcome with this confusion by hosting hybrid events.

We acknowledge that online gatherings have ushered in a significant shift in the industry, but they have also proven to be a response to a number of event-related challenges, not just for event organisers but also for participants. Many who previously had to drive to far locations for single activities will now participate in the meeting or event using technology instead of traveling, taking a subway, or hiring a taxi. Furthermore, since virtual space has a good market model to bring its customers, it is overshadowing daily activities.

We’ll now clarify ‘how and why’ this sort of event would totally change the game:

1. Low accommodation: Organizing the commutes of both guests and keynote speakers, as well as their accommodation, requires a considerable amount of time, commitment, and tension. Since the number of in-person attendees is projected to be limited from now on, you do not need as much room for lodging as you did previously. The cost of infrastructure is also projected to decrease dramatically, saving event organisers a large amount of time and resources.

2. High attendance: While some people will be able to attend the event due to their proximity to the venue, many others may have second thoughts about travelling.

Why not convince those who want to save money on travel by encouraging them to digitally attend the same event? This would result in further entries and a larger turnout on the day of the festival. They will simply request that the organisers give them online registration forms so that they can participate in the event by simple registrations.

3. Long term association with the attendees: Since all of the events take place in real time at the location, they are also streamed live online for anyone who cannot attend in-person. This helps the organisers to conveniently document the whole session and then share the captured video with the attendees.This helps the organisers establish a trustworthy and long-term friendship with the participants, who can go back and replay the bits they skipped or use it as a guide at any time.

4. Greater recognition for sponsors: The publicity that hybrid activities have for sponsors is much greater than one would imagine. The scope is enormous because it includes those who visit the live action as well as those who watch it over the smartphone or laptop. This would only increase the appeal of the event and encourage more advertisers to participate.

Over to you

Hosting a hybrid event comes with its own set of challenges, but perseverance will pay off in the end, and the events will undoubtedly be a success. It is necessary to understand how to build an event agenda, which could require twice the effort in the case of hybrid events.

These events are revolutionary, and they may be the perfect alternative to a variety of problems, including crowd size, outstation attendance, location accommodations, infrastructure costs, and so on.

New technology, as well as better and expanded methods of communicating with the audience, are expected to emerge over time. Online events have increased in popularity in recent years, and they will continue to do so as long as people care about conserving their capital. The majority of event practitioners want to go the digital route and promote the digital model, which has boosted the hybrid phenomenon.

Technology will become increasingly important in the future, as event organisers will need a quick link and cutting-edge technology to attract audiences across countries and continents. These past few months have presented us with an opportunity to explore the digital environment in depth and strive to leverage every part of it. So, why not organise the event on a forum that allows you to use the online space but still incorporating it into in-person activities, giving you the best of both event worlds!