The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has triggered a revolutionary transformation in the global events landscape. While the pandemic has been detrimental for in-person events, it has also accelerated the adoption of technologies to deliver the event experiences digitally. Virtual events have proved their significance by serving as an important asset for businesses amid lockdown mandates. That being said, no one can deny the irreplaceable value and effectiveness of in-person events.
When COVID-19 cases start to ebb and things start getting back to normal, enterprises across the world will be keen on capitalising on both – virtual and in-person event experiences. Also, with large in-person events expected to be on the backburner for a long time, hybrid events are turning out to be the go-to option for organisers and event planners. Find out more about this new approach to plan and manage events and the inherent benefits of delivering hybrid event experiences.
Live and online events come with their specific, unique set of advantages. But when organised smartly, hybrid events can cash in on the advantages of both – in-person and online event experiences. The most significant thing to understand about hybrid events is that even though there’s a single event, organisers need to have two different strategies – for virtual and in-person. This ensures that your event is suited for virtual as well as in-person environments and delivers a personalised and meaningful experience to every attendee.
Hybrid events can be quite challenging in terms of finding the right venues, sourcing new vendors, and building the appropriate audience. If you’re not vigilant while choosing suppliers and the venue, you might miss out on producing top-class events that offer immersive event experiences. No matter how acclaimed a vendor is and how reputed a venue is, it won’t deliver the desired impact if it’s not in line with your event strategy.
The process of sending tenders, spending days on research and assessing multiple pitches can be very exhausting. While these are important elements while organising events, they prevent organisers from focusing on their core objective – event planning and management. Wouldn’t it be great if you could cut through the clutter and simplify this gruelling process?
Planning and organising events could be much more convenient if all the necessary components of planning a hybrid event were available in a single place. Such a system would save a lot of time by helping you connect directly with vendors and find venues that match your exact needs. This has highlighted the need for event organisers to rely on marketplaces so as to streamline the event planning process with venues and vendors at their fingertips.
Delivering a top-notch hybrid events experience requires organisers to dedicate a lot of their time and efforts to pick the perfect event partners. But with Spalba’s marketplace, everything you need to set up a hybrid event and make it more valuable is available on a single platform. It is a platform that makes the organisation of hybrid events – easy, effective and data-driven.
- 2000+ Venue Options Available
- Thousands of Agencies, Suppliers and Vendors
- Reaching and Building the Right Audience
1. Increased Reach and Attendance
A hybrid event enables attendees to participate in the event either physically or through a virtual medium. The availability of both online and offline mediums helps in catering to a broader audience and getting maximum registrations for the event.
2. New Revenue Stream
Hybrid events are extremely beneficial in bagging sponsorships which can be a great source of revenue. The wider reach also helps in generating significant revenues through ads showcased via both virtual and physical mediums.
3. Improved Networking and Engagement
Although there are two different sets of audiences and two different experiences, a hybrid event delivers the same value to every attendee. It fosters connections not only between the presenter and the audience but also between the live as well as remote attendees.
4. Access to Event Insights
With hybrid events, organisers are able to get valuable insights pertaining to the experience of both in-person and remote attendees. This helps in gaining a better understanding of attendees and enables organisers to refine their events every time to deliver engaging experiences.
5. On-demand Viewing
A key benefit of integrating the virtual element into your in-person event is to record the event and stream it on-demand. This eliminates time-zone or scheduling conflicts and makes it possible for attendees to watch the event and access the content at a convenient time.
Unlike most other sectors, there was no need for the events industry to consider digital or hybrid formats until the pandemic outbreak last year. However, the COVID-19 onslaught has set off rapid advancements and compelled the events industry to go online. Owing to the emphasis on digitalisation, many barriers to participation in events, which were prevalent earlier, have now been eliminated.
With the hybrid format, limited capacity, geographical constraints, minimal reach, etc will no more be matters of concern for event organisers. Constant progressions in technology will also keep on making hybrid events experiences more immersive and engaging in the future. As a result, even after the pandemic subsides and lockdown restrictions are lifted, businesses are likely to prefer conducting hybrid events.
