Are virtual-only and hybrid meetings here to stay? Meeting planners differ on whether the industry will rely on them as it did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but planners agree they will remain a useful tool. Courtesy of Kristyn McCauley

A mere five or so years ago, the concept of a “hybrid” meeting or event simply meant watching recorded talks or presentations that had been uploaded to a website for later viewing. Or, it may have meant having access to presentation materials, including PowerPoint presentations, prior to and immediately after an event.

However, these days, hybrid meetings and events have taken on a whole new meaning — thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced gatherings to go online, as well as advancements in technology that make hybrid meetings truly shine.

Kristyn McCauley, CAE, CMP, program manager/meeting planner at Partners in Association Management (PAM), says pre-COVID, there were surely some organizations that hosted hybrid events to reach a larger, more geographically diverse audience. But now that we are post-COVID, there is the expectation that organizations offer some sort of a virtual attendance option for all of their events, both big and small.

“Now, as we plan events, we almost have twice the work, because in many instances we must plan both an in-person and virtual experience,” McCauley says. “With a larger virtual attendance, we have to work even harder to keep that group engaged so they can feel just as much a part of the event as the in-person attendees feel.”

McCauley thinks hybrid events undoubtedly allow meeting and event content to reach further than it would if you were just hosting an in-person event. “There are many things that prevent people from attending your in-person event, be it financial or time constraints, that impact the ability to travel and leave work or family, being ill, etc. Now we have a much larger potential audience,” McCauley says.

Tracy Orpin, CMP, senior meeting & events planner at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), says hybrid events have exploded over the last few years due to COVID. “Virtual events took the place of in-person events, and then hybrid came into play,” Orpin says. “A lot of folks still don’t want to travel or meet in person since they are able to be virtual. Plus, it is less time away from home and family.”

As stated, there are many people whose budgets also have been tightened since COVID, and they are unable to travel, resulting in those potential in-person attendees fully embracing hybrid options. As Orpin stressed, hybrid meetings, conventions and other events allow many more people to participate, receive their continuing education credits, or continue with their certifications without spending the money and time for travel. “I have also experienced people who were in the military and unable to travel, but still able to participate because of hybrid options,” Orpin says. “It has opened things up to a whole new audience that was unable to attend in the past.”

Annette Suriani, CMP, CFMP, DES, business events strategist with AMS Meetings Solutions, has worked with two internet policy groups for years. Both have always livestreamed their conferences, so that’s what she always referred to as a hybrid event. “Then COVID hit, and there was some confusion as to what hybrid was,” Suriani says. “Was it livestreaming with an in-person component, or was it the in-person component with recording all sessions for repurposing later?”

With hybrid events, the audience is potentially expanded because some organizations still are banning staff travel. However, many people can attend from their home or their office. Additionally, people who may only be able to attend for a day or two now have the option of attending only for as long as they want, while still being able to catch up later. Another plus is the speaker pool increases because you can also “Zoom” in a speaker from a far away without incurring travel expenses, which sometimes means their fees are cut in half.

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Things Are Evolving

Blended meetings, with both virtual and in-person components, also bring together the best qualities of in-person events and the best innovation in virtual event technology. “Hybrid events have a wider reach and allow for fuller interactions between online and [in real life] participants, as well as more complete analytics capabilities to gauge the success of the meetings,” says Lalit Mangal, co-founder & CEO at Airmeet.

After two years of virtual meetings and in-person events now beginning to resume, Mangal and his team at Airmeet are seeing a demand for exact virtual/digital replicas of in-person events. For example, Airmeet is set up in a conference-style format with a center stage, as well as meeting rooms, lounge-style spaces and a cafe to allow for breakout sessions, keynote events and speed networking to take place online as if it would in person.

Mangal points out that immersive, hyper-personalized experiences are another trend on the rise. Humanizing hybrid meetings using technologies and platforms that can augment the experience will involve mimicking real-life event spaces, adding immersive functionalities, hyper-customizing the platform and so forth to maintain prolonged audience engagement. “The true power of hybrid is in its versatility to help you achieve your event objectives,” Mangal says.

Lauren Tomasetti, director of marketing at Perenso, says although hybrid events have been around since before the pandemic, they have evolved a lot in the last two years. Pre-pandemic, hybrid events typically lacked engagement and often felt disjointed. Now, hybrid event planning is streamlined, and hosts are able to create one event for all attendees — whether virtual or face to face. Hybrid events also have become more engaging whether the attendee is at the live event or at home on the couch.

Perenso has produced many successful hybrid events. “With the hybrid model, our customers have been able to reach more attendees, and in turn, increase their show sales because of the larger audience,” Tomasetti says. “One specific customer-success story comes from a grocery wholesale distributor who increased meeting attendance and grocery sales when they switched to a hybrid meeting model. When the company added a virtual layer to their in-person event, the distribution company was able to increase attendance by 22%, and increase event sales by 53%. Needless to say, the customer was pleased with the results, and plans to continue using Perenso’s hybrid model for future trade shows.”

There are many benefits of hybrid events, and Tomasetti points to several, including:

• Greater reach – Event hosts are able to attract more attendees by not limiting the event to one location. Adding a virtual layer to an in-person event creates a more inclusive experience by removing many of the barriers to entry — resources, availability, willingness to travel, health, etc.

• Increases ROI – Virtual-only events typically cost less to plan and host, and with the ability to attract a larger audience, the value exceeds the extra investment.

• Provides better data-driven insights – Virtual events provide important analytics. The ability to see the digital footprint of attendees provides incredibly useful information. Adding an online option to an in-person event gives the event host powerful insights into their customers and their business.

• More sustainable – Reducing the number of attendees who need to travel to the location will lower the event’s carbon footprint, and thus create a more environmentally conscious event.

• Protects investment – No one knows what the future will hold, but having the ability to easily transition to a wholly virtual event, if necessary, can help event hosts and stakeholders breathe easy no matter what happens, such as a pandemic, natural disaster, etc.

The consensus in the meetings and events industry is that virtually attending an event doesn’t create the feeling of camaraderie, allow for team building or other benefits of a live, face-to-face event. Courtesy of Lauren Tomasetti

Success Tips

While hybrid events have been embraced by meeting planners and attendees alike, it takes a lot of effort to pull off a truly successful hybrid gathering. In fact, organizing and conducting virtual meetings and events requires a unique skill set on the part of meeting planners. McCauley recommends meeting planners remember that events that also have a virtual component need to be viewed as two separate events with two different, but intentional, attendee experiences.

“Simply streaming live content to a virtual audience does not keep them engaged, nor does it make them feel included,” McCauley says. “There have to be separate, dedicated staff for both events for them to be worthwhile for all involved.”

In addition to simply planning two separate events, staffing two separate events, etc., you also have to budget for two separate events, and likely will need to look at the fee structure separately for each.

McCauley says another thing to consider is that even though you may have more potential attendees by hosting hybrid/virtual meetings, what many hybrid events fail to provide is the feeling of belonging and engagement, relationship building, etc., which could result in decreased overall satisfaction with the event.

“Also, how will this affect how we are able to work with hotels? We may not have the options we used to have before we began planning for a portion of our audience to not be attending in person,” McCauley says.

For educational events, Orpin recommends planners find a way to ensure that someone watching from home is participating so they can feel like they earned their CEUs for participating. “I have experienced this by asking random polling questions throughout the event, as well as a test at the end of the event” Orpin says. “[That way] you know they were present for the entire portion of the event.” Orpin continues: “The more interactive you can make it for the virtual audience, the better. It’s important to make those who are unable to be there in person feel like they didn’t miss out.”

Orpin advises planners also must think very practically about everything they do. “Think it through before implementing it. Do practice runs with your team to ensure everything is in working order. It sounds basic, but you would be surprised how many planners do rehearsals for in-person events, but not virtual events,” Orpin says. “Platforms don’t always work well. I found in the beginning of doing hybrid that there were ‘glitches’ with some of the platforms. We selected a platform that would ‘leave’ the main platform and go out and connect with Zoom. It’s wasn’t organic and caused a lot of audio issues. So always do a rehearsal.”

Suriani says meeting planners should expect that it will take you double the work, as you are basically planning two separate events. Also, keep in mind that you will never be able to replicate an in-person experience with your virtual audience. “However, do try to include your virtual audience in what is going on at the in-person portion. Between sessions, show videos of the excitement of being at the in-person event — you may convert them to join in-person the following year,” Suriani says. “And be sure your speakers acknowledge the virtual audience; accept questions from them via your app, Twitter or other messaging software.”

Mangal adds that having a clear strategy and selecting the right platform for the meeting is crucial, and will allow you to get the most out of the event. Remember, an event is as successful as the clarity with which its objectives are agreed upon. “A detailed plan should outline immersive experience offerings, speakers, timings of the sessions and preferred tech applications,” Mangal says.

Also, choosing the right virtual platform with technology applications capable of accommodating the two groups is essential. Hybrid events should integrate virtual and in-person elements, allowing the entire audience to engage digitally.

“The single-biggest factor influencing the progress of hybrid events is the advancement of mobile technology,” Mangal says. “All innovations in hybrid event management are tied to mobile because it’s the single easiest way to click into the event. Next-generation events are using mobile not just for consumption and streaming, but for engagement and analytics. Mobile event management technology is bridging the gap between what one can do online versus the experience in person.”

Tomasetti also agrees that the most important tip about hybrid events is to keep everyone engaged. As an event planner, you want to ensure everyone is having a great experience, no matter how they are attending your event. “One way to keep both audiences engaged is quality content,” Tomasetti says. “Make sure your content translates well over video and is the right length to keep their attention.”

Also, remember that you cannot give both in-person attendees and virtual attendees the same content in the same way. For example, Tomasetti suggests creating custom registration paths for your in-person attendees versus your virtual attendees, so they register for appropriate sessions. Another thing to be mindful of is navigating time zones. “It helps to offer your session on-demand to let your audience view them outside of the designated presentation time,” Tomasetti says.

So, are hybrid meetings here to stay? Suriani thinks many planners would say they wish they would go away, but she does think they will remain in some shape or form for quite some time. “It does allow more people to participate, it allows for you to include speakers from around the world, and, most importantly, it allows your participants to collaborate with a more global audience,” Suriani says.

McCauley thinks virtual events are here to stay. “At this point, it’s expected that a virtual option is offered,” she says. “I envision fewer, smaller in-person meetings for more hands-on education, team building, etc., and moving more content to virtual platforms since it is so easy to disperse that way. We need our in-person events, but their value has changed.” | AC&F |