The Covid-19 pandemic and changed social thinking require a new perspective on future formats. Hybrid events that have been growing for several years are becoming increasingly popular due to their potential and in tune with modern times, like hardly any other format.
This format of the event creates a connection between the guests in the studio or at the venue and other participants on the screen. Thus, the range of a real event can be increased regardless of location and without significant additional effort.
Advantages of hybrid events
But there are also problems. Keywords and emotionalization, communication, interaction and motivation. What at first seems like a difficult task can be mastered through detailed planning and implementation, as well as advanced technologies. As a result, you can create measurable and tangible added value for hosts and guests.
A journey into a new world of events brings both opportunities and benefits for participants and visitors, as well as for the organizers. In terms of costs, they are much lower because of the minimal travel and accommodation costs.
The time required is also drastically reduced. For the organizer, the cost of premises for presentations and renting rooms will also be reduced.
Activities can be implemented in high quality with a stable consolidation of information without the physical presence of all participants. The environment can also breathe a sigh of relief by reducing the number of trips to and from the event, improving the CO2 balance.
Extensive planning is needed
Although travel, accommodation and hospitality costs decrease with hybrid measures, planning and implementation efforts can be equated to conventional measures.
Successful events focus on staging, stressing, and emotionalizing live and online audiences. To do this, depending on the format of the event and the content, clips, gamification, voting and other interactive elements must be combined with the necessary components of live events, such as the design of scenes with appropriate technical equipment.
According to experts, it is usually not enough to move from a regular event to a hybrid version, as if there were no differences and ignore the requirements of both groups of participants on the spot and on the screen.
Many details have to be considered for hybrid events. This includes a camera-compatible lighting design that also works on the screen, as well as data security, ease of use of the online platform, transmission power for streaming, or stream integration on the organizer’s home page.
In conclusion, a hybrid event is only successful if such an experience is created for live and online participants, when they can interact, ask questions, answer and communicate with other participants.