HYBRID EVENTS
MANAGE YOUR RISK AND HOST A HYBRID EVENT With many still finding their feet in the world of virtual events, hybridising your event could not only deliver on the best of both worlds but be the solution for how the events industry moves forward.
E
vent planning’ in South Africa right now should perhaps be rebranded as ‘event proposing’, seeing as we are unclear on when we will be able to hold events again, and what restrictions will guide them. At the time of writing, Level 1 of lockdown still prohibits conferences and other types of gatherings. By some projections, it will only end in February 2021. This is presumably based on a linear trajectory without any serious spikes in outbreaks – while we must also consider that things could go well and end sooner than expected. This puts many event organisers in a difficult situation. Do you move your
events online so they can go ahead exactly as planned? Or do you take an informed gamble and set a date for a face-to-face event? According to Mike Piddock, CEO of Glisser, the best solution is to do both: to organise a hybrid event. He has many reasons for taking this stance, which he outlined in his webinar on 18 May 2020, titled ‘Why you should not be planning a virtual event right now’. Hybrid events are the best way to mitigate your risks, as they give you the flexibility to adjust your numbers between the two event formats and respond fluidly to any new restrictions or Covid-19 developments.
TECH TALKS Hosting a hybrid event automatically means that your list of tech requirements will be quite lengthy. From AV and streaming set-ups to a reputable virtual event management platform to host this element of your event, there is a lot of planning and testing that goes into the initial phase of ideating and bringing together a hybrid event. One of the most important requirements when streaming a live event is high-speed connectivity to broadcast this virtual component to your audience in real time. Delays will mean that attendees will not be able to engage as effectively, which might leave them frustrated and despondent, and result in quite a sharp drop-off of numbers in virtual attendance. There a multitude event The keyare point he made of was that hybrid management companies who are coming events are the best way to mitigate your to the fore with a range of offerings, each risks. hybrid event allows you plan both withAdifferent capabilities andtotechnical anrequirements, in-person and and online experience. of course costs,Should so it is important that the you physical do your event, homework you need to cancel you and due to ensure haven’t lostdiligence your entire event. that And you should find a system that is suited to your the demand grow for your face-to-face needs, whether it be a webinar, all-day event and theor rules allow you to increase the conference virtual exhibition. numbers, you can also do this.
THE POWER OF DIGITAL Salesforce World Tour Sydney 2020, an event that would generally draw 10 000 in-person attendees, had 80 000 live-stream attendees and over 1.5 million video views on various social media platforms.
28 • MEETINGS l MAY/JUNE 2020
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