The future of events – making the best use of the hybrid world

Authored by Sameer Raje, General Manager and Head, India & SAARC Region, Zoom Video Communications.

Slowly but gradually, the world’s economies are limping back to action, after two years of slowdown. Physical meetings and events are back in full steam, with hotels witnessing huge occupancy rates and bookings. That said, there’s no denying that online mediums continue to remain relevant. This is true for the events industry too. While in-person events are naturally being preferred today due to the sheer joy of meeting people, virtual events continue to gain traction. For certain knowledge-oriented sessions and in situations where accessibility is challenging in physical locations due to time or location restrictions, virtual events are being preferred.

A hybrid world

Just as the nature of work now has neither been completely online nor fully offline but hybrid, we believe that events, too, will be hybrid in nature. According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult in the United States, 43% of event marketers envision holding hybrid events a few times per week, and 25% imagine they will host daily hybrid events. The survey respondents plan to dedicate 37% of their budget to hybrid events, which outweighs both their in-person and virtual event budgets. As organisations and individuals look for flexibility in how they connect, learn, work, attend, and conduct events, hybrid events will be preferred going forward. For example, as the physical events are limited to the days of the event, event organisations can extend the experience by using virtual editions to enhance engagement. Hybrid events also give organisers an opportunity to create an interactive experience with in-person and virtual attendees, speakers, and hosts – all interacting together in unique ways. The survey also highlights that 89% of event marketers agree hybrid events are important to organisations and 91% believe they will play an important role in the future.

Another advantage of a virtual or hybrid experience is the access to the data and analytics that organisers may otherwise miss in person. The events platform enables hosts to generate reports with the capability to view and download valuable metrics. Analytics can ensure that the event marketers no longer have to guesstimate return on investment and attendee engagement thanks to transparent analytics surrounding registrations, booth sponsors, livestream views and duration, content downloads, and tickets sold.

The future

While virtual events provide a bounty of benefits, from sustainability and cost-savings to extensive brand reach and higher attendee capacity, it can be challenging to bring the virtual audience into the live event. In these scenarios, enabling your virtual audience to feel seen and heard should be a top priority. When this is achieved, it greatly enhances the experience for in-person attendees as well. For example, event organisers can put the virtual audience on screen in the room, which can be a simple gallery view of the virtual audience. Putting that view up at the beginning of the event and during any transitions is a terrific way to continually engage with virtual attendees. What’s more, event organisers can ensure that the profile of participants is available even after an event is closed, which allows participants to continue to interact with their connections forged during the event.

Event planners are tasked with developing new strategies to engage audiences in an era defined by flexibility and freedom of choice. For example, today’s youth may prefer digital networking tools for connections. This is where event platforms that offer interactive and personalised experiences, in both physical and virtual environments, can be the key to get to the next level of participation and engagement. Now and in the future, as attendees become more selective, event organisers will need to create engaging experiences.

The future will be a cohesion of both physical and virtual worlds, where both mediums will coexist with each other. Both mediums have their own benefits, and event organisers will need to think of ways to straddle both the physical and virtual worlds to keep the participants always engaged and interested.