The future of meetings…Will Hybrid meetings be here to stay?

At my company, Innov8, we’ve been continually monitoring trends for the reopening of live events. We’re seeing a substantial uptick in companies learning about, and more importantly, implementing hybrid meetings. What’s a hybrid meeting you might ask? A hybrid meeting is a tradeshow, conference, seminar, workshop, event or other meeting where some of the audience are in-person while other participants are in a digital platform for that same event. We at Innov8 have been producing hybrid meetings for over a year and a half and are producing exponentially more in the current climate.

To some event planners, this will be a new concept, while others may very well be familiar with the various options. This article will explain why we at Innov8 think hybrid meetings are the next tool to put in your event planner toolbox.

With COVID restrictions gradually starting to lift and stay-at-home orders lightening up, live events will no doubt be scheduled. There will be some audiences who are ready to get out of the house and back into the face-to-face marketplace and others who will not travel to events for different reasons. That’s okay. If the correct planning, equipment, production and event content support can be arranged smartly, we can simultaneously share marketing messages with both live and online/digital audiences. Depending on the set-up and cost, digital participants can not only view a presenter’s slides but hear the presenter and see the presenter in real-time via live streaming video and webinars. They’re actually quite robust and the data capture is incredible.

Oftentimes, in-person and digital attendees participate in the same sessions at the same time. Hybrid Meetings do offer a series of complex scenarios and can allow entire audiences to participate in one session in-person and another session digitally as hybrid meeting speakers can be remotely streamed in as well. For the purposes of this article, we will keep it simple and stick to the first example mentioned.

 What are the Advantages of Hybrid Meetings?

Reach a Larger Audience. Hybrid meetings and events can expand your companies reach allowing attendees to choose how they participate. It’s common for busy professionals to opt for digital participation and enjoy the content enough to commit to future in-person attendance.

Combat Poor Registration Numbers. This is a very real possibility in the current event climate. The forward thinkers who decided to press on with live events may see lower than usual registration numbers. Adding a hybrid component to run parallel will be sure to capture attendees that weren’t able to attend due to a scheduling conflict, travel, costs, or other reasons.

Meeting Space Limitations. In a standard year, this is a more likely problem to have as an event planner. If an event sells out, don’t turn potential attendees away, give them the alternate option by adding a hybrid component. The space possibilities truly are endless and are flexible to accommodate any budget, size and scope of project.

 Mitigate Costs. Not only can hybrid meetings decrease travel expenses and logistical costs; they can also increase your event reach while decreasing the overall cost-per-head of the event. Can you say ROI?

 Increase Revenue. Digital meeting elements can absolutely be a revenue stream. If the live conference has a registration fee, the digital ticket should also be considered as a value. Charging a small fee or selling digital tickets as an add-on for executives to include their teams back at the office is a fantastic way to boost show proceeds. Digital viewing also provides a new space for sponsor exposure, even sponsor messages during breaks and after the event. Adding this e-commerce piece is a surefire way to drive dollars.

Enduring Content. Hybrid events, by the nature of the technical set-up required, will undoubtedly be well-positioned for video recording providing a host of recorded content that can be made available post-event. The recorded content can be free to incentivize future events or provide brand exposure. The content can also be protected and provided to viewers for a small fee, or with lead registration. Think of this as a 'Netflix' style “channel” where content can be stored and accessed now and into the future.

 At Innov8, we see digital technology as a great resource for event planners and marketers. It can be used to bring so many wonderful ideas and content to life. Event technology in particular is most effective when used to solve tangible business problems. As the world reopens, we know hybrid meetings will continue to be used in bringing audiences together again no matter where they are. Please get in touch with me and let’s discuss future programs. Our Innov8 team is here to help.