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.

Event 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.

The key point he made was that hybrid events are the best way to mitigate your risks. A hybrid event allows you to plan both There are a multitude of event management companies who are coming to the fore with a range of offerings, each with different capabilities and technical an in-person and online experience. Should requirements, and of course costs, so it you need to cancel the physical event, you is important that you do your homework haven’t lost your entire event. And should the demand grow for your face-to-face event and the rules allow you to increase the and due diligence to ensure that you find a system that is suited to your needs, whether it be a webinar, all-day conference or 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.

WHY DIGITAL MATTERS

Having a digital strategy means: • Wider inclusion: Break down barriers, scale attendance, and allow attendees to attend virtually, both now and in the future. • Audience development: Virtual allows you to build a larger audience. These digital attendees could one day become in-person attendees. • More accurate and insightful metrics to measure returns: ROI has always been a challenge to measure. A virtual platform can help provide greater clarity into what works to drive event results. Source: Socio Events

Virtual events have been attracting up to four times the number of delegate registration compared to their physical versions.

WHY? Venues will be operating at a lower capacity (as low as 50%) because of social distancing. This, and the extra health and safety precautions put in place, will impact the cost of the event. The sale of virtual event tickets can offset these costs.

Following on from that point – yes, virtual events can be monetised. Mike shared that virtual events are increasing in popularity.

He also noted that where dropout rates used to be as high as 50% for this format, they now sit at about 10% to 20%. Lockdown has influenced this behaviour, but presumably the trend will continue as we emerge from lockdown but are still encouraged to restrict unnecessary movement.

Travel restrictions or fear of gatherings – especially for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 – could be barriers to attending a conference or meeting in-person. The virtual event option caters for these attendees. Yet, at the same time, others may be desperate to connect with their colleagues in person, and as soon as they are able to. Your physical event answers this need.

People who have Covid-19-like symptoms and cannot attend your physical event can access the virtual one instead.

Mike predicts that more venues are likely to embrace virtual event components. This will be done to attract events for the same reasons as listed above, and it will help organisers deliver a seamless experience.

However, he does caution that, should you decide to create a hybrid event, you should not use an identical template for both the online and offline versions: “It doesn’t work to simply take your agenda and put it online,” he says.

There are a lot of distractions a click away with online events, so it is necessary to have a shorter event and punchier sessions. Look for unique ways to add value to both formats and play on their strengths. For example, with the online format, you can share short pre-recorded videos, such as an interview with a presenter just before or after his session.

“By adopting the hybrid model along with a close partner and hybrid technology, corporates will finally be able to take the opportunity to blend the physical and virtual audience experience, using consistent data-driven insights both off and online. The companies that get this virtual/hybrid decision and implementation right will come out of this situation far stronger because of it and the strategic options it

affords them right now.” Worx Group

THE VALUE OF HYBRID EVENTS

Perhaps the greatest misconception of hosting a hybrid event is that your in-person event is streamed to an online audience. This could not be further from what this should really aim to achieve. So, before hosting a hybrid event, it is key to understand why these are receiving so much attention.

• Extended reach

While the benefits of hosting a live event cannot be disputed, owing to a number of reasons, it may not always be possible for each delegate to physically attend your event. However, as a hybrid event element, this gives attendees more options in their decision-making when it comes to accepting or declining an invitation.

• Engagement and interaction

Enhancing engagement and interaction between a much wider audience than would be possible to reach with just a digital or an in-person event. From live polls to a chat and social media feeds, your digital and live events can plug into each other to enhance the engagement taking place on both platforms.

• Longevity

Digitising your live event means that this can be accessed and reviewed at any time post event. As well as creating an archived reference, this gives your event legs long after this has taken place, with views or downloads packaged as an ondemand file or a link that is freely available on platforms such as YouTube.