It doesn’t matter if you are planning your first, fiftieth or five-hundredth event. Sooner or later you’ll be asking yourself the big question: should I go hybrid?

The answer, according to Dreamforce, Citrix, VMWare, AutoDesk, PCMA and at least 700 more corporations and associations, is a resounding “Yes.” As conferences evolve, many planners are turning to video to fuel that evolution. From large tech companies hosting their annual user conferences, to town hall meetings, product launches, investor meetings and more, the common thread among them is that they are all being streamed live and on-demand with GigTV, the leading providers of live and on-demand conference webcasting.

GigTV webcasting experts have come up with a few solid tips to ensure your next hybrid event hits the mark.

1. Define your video strategy. What’s your goal for adding video? Capturing conference content with video can help you provide greater reach for your event, generate additional interest among new audiences and fill your video-marketing engine for next year’s event.

2. Prepare your speakers. Make sure they understand they’ll be going live in front of not one, but two audiences – the one onsite and the one online. The online audience may be watching on their smart phone on the train, in the office or anywhere in between. Wherever they are, they’ll have questions, they’ll be tweeting, and they’ll want to engage. Consider having an online concierge, who can answer questions, help out if someone is having technical issues or even just tweet back at them as they’re watching the conference. Also, if presentations include exercises to engage the in-room audience (e.g. polls, group/collaborative activities, games, etc.) think of ways for the online audience to participate as well.

3. Open select sessions to the public. To people who may not even be in your sphere of influence? Sounds counter-intuitive. You’ve worked hard to create this exclusive hybrid event and you set the right price for the online pass, so the last thing you want to do is open up sessions for public viewing, right? Anecdotal research tells us that if you open up one or two sessions – a keynote or a particularly interesting breakout session – and promote it, you’ll generate more engagement and interest in your conference and your industry.

These tips will get you started on the road to preserving what happens at your conference, ensuring you can leverage it long after the event is over. Learn how GigTV can help organise your next hybrid event or contact us to arrange a no-obligation consultation

Its a wrap!

We delivered the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council’s 36th Business Forum and Trade Expo as a hybrid event, connecting audiences in the RICC in Brisbane and Hilton in Port Moresby with an online audience from Australia, Papua New Guinea and beyond.

Delegates watched, participated and interacted in live sessions and booked online meetings with exhibitors and sponsors – all via a simple, secure branded online platform that tracked all the viewing and delegate engagements.

A range of speakers – both in person at each venue and remote, delivered interactive sessions simultaneously to an audience at both venues and online. All sessions were made available same day for on demand viewing meaning nobody missed a session. Our amazing team provided quality support for the organisers, speakers, sponsors and delegates before, during and after the event.

Kudos to the Microhire team at the RICC, Brisbane for their hard work in helping deliver this flawless event. We couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks for having us!

From inboxes and Slack channels to texts and DMs, it can feel like we’re in nearly constant communication with co-workers and colleagues. So many messages, so little time. Have you ever felt drained from simply responding all day, and realized you haven’t gotten that much work done?
The concept of virtual fatigue comes into play with virtual events. You’re behind a screen, watching and learning from speakers and interactive content, doing your best to pay attention and stay focused. We get it: On top of all the other challenges you’re facing, engaging with others virtually may seem energy-zapping. Many of us have been craving face-to-face interaction since the pandemic hit, and trying to network from behind a screen just doesn’t seem like it can be the same—right?
That’s all changing. Over the past year, we’ve been refining our offerings and launching new tools to help you navigate the complicated world of virtual and hybrid events. We’ve debuted new tools to make a critical part of those events—networking!—fun (really). Hear us out through two case studies.

No. 1: Connecting Virtual and In-Person Attendees Through Video Calls

The client:

Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council 36th Annual Trade Expo.

The challenge:

As with any hybrid event, we faced the challenge of helping this event’s virtual audience to feel like they were right there alongside in-person attendees. How could we bring the live stage, which took place in Brisbane, Australia to those watching from home offices (or living rooms, or bedrooms) throughout the country?

The networking solution:

We implemented one-on-one video chats between our live audience and virtual participants—think of it like FaceTime in a professional setting, but with a playful spin. The live audience could use a function on the event platform to video-call a sponsor who was tuning in on the virtual platform. (All they had to do was log in, select a sponsor, and call.) From there, they could chat, walk around the live event to show them around, provide a front-row seat to the live content, or even give them the rundown of the coffee break pastries, providing them with a full, well-rounded experience with the event.

The result:

In hybrid events, it’s so important to connect the experience for virtual and in-person attendees, and we accomplished that in part by incorporating this video chat. Both in-person and virtual attendees were thrilled with the feature, reporting having fun with the tool. Virtual participants reported feeling there without actually being there, and being well-connected to the live content.

No. 2: Connecting Virtual and In-Person Attendees Matchmaking

The client:

Governance Institute of Australia

The challenge:

As with any event, we faced the challenge of helping this event’s audience make the most of their time and to leverage networking opportunities. How could we enable delegates to connect with relevant people, content and products during their limited time attending the event?

The networking solution:

We implemented a match making tool based on interest tags that were collected at registration. These tags were used to identify the delegates interests based on their role, career, expertise, need for info etc. Think of it like Tinder for professionals, but without the swipe left. Delegates, speakers and vendor staff could see who was attending and see what they were interested in. The platform listed all recommended people, sessions and products based on the interests that everyone listed. (All they had to do was log in, confirm their interests then browse) From there, they could chat with like minded people, find content relevant to their interests, add sessions to their schedules and sync with their calendars, research and talk with speakers, visit the exhibit hall, request a meeting with another delegate, speaker or vendor, or post their ideas and comments to the whole crowd knowing they were connecting with people they knew had the same interests. This valuable networking tool provided them with a full, well-rounded experience with the event.

The result:

In virtual events, it’s so important to stick with strategies that we enjoy as humans and not rely on technology to do everything. We accomplished that by using technology to enable more meaningful one on one’s, by matching people’s interests. Everyone was thrilled with the feature, reporting having fun chatting with each other and arranging meetings. Participants reported feeling there without actually being there, and being well-connected to the content, people and solutions on offer from vendors.

In 2012, Angry Birds was the most downloaded app, the iPhone was five, and Zoom was only a year old. What if you could go back in time and see what you thought then would be different in the meetings industry a decade later? We recently came across a story Convene published in January 2013 reporting on a survey by the Watkins Research Group which asked meeting planners that very question: Imagine it’s the year 2022 and you’re still planning large meetings. What’s different?

There is much in their predictions that meeting planners got right — holograms have come a long way; increased access to digital information is focusing attention on experiences and networking; and “all electronic program books”— i.e., apps — have largely replaced paper. And although no one predicted the pandemic, the widespread use of technology to bring people together digitally is a reality.

Other predictions were misses, including that all internet access would be free; that floors would automatically adjust to each person’s step; and that by 2022, meeting rooms would be universally tech-ready so that set-up was never necessary.

Still, it’s possible to see the present — and still-emerging future — in these 10-year-old predictions. Here is how this group of event professionals envisioned their events taking shape in 2022.

1. Eighty percent of my members are in attendance at our annual conference, either in person or virtually. The CVB has provided the technological assistance to broadcast the entire conference by arranging for local sponsorships. Our keynote speakers give their presentation from the new orbiting space station as a 3-D holographic projection. And the major difference is that no one complains about the food!

2. All attendees will be able to interactively participate in all sessions via wireless devices. Many sessions will have holographic speakers, beamed in from around the world. An equal number of attendees will be virtual and on-site. All attendees will have an opportunity to present their expertise to other attendees via spontaneous, interactive hybrid sessions. All attendees will be instantaneously locatable via GPS badges.

3, All-electronic signage, all-electronic program books with voice activation to get attendees from meeting to meeting. All Internet access will be free, and the capability to do web meetings for those that can’t attend will be seamless. All meeting rooms will have technology in them permanently to save on sets and resets. Meeting planners’ specs will be able to be entered right into hotel interface to save time/errors and duplication of effort. In a nutshell, technology will be embedded in all aspects to allow us all to focus on the education and the attendees.

4. As personal time becomes more valuable, ease of access, sophisticated use of technology, high-quality hotels and restaurants will become more important. It’s the why should I travel to this meeting.

5. Banquet chairs automatically adjust to the right height and support for each individual and won’t be connected to each other! Lighting will make us all feel good and look even better. Healthy snacks and personalized beverages will be available on demand. Floor surfaces will respond to each person’s step to keep their feet from hurting.

6. I think the biggest change will be in session formats and information delivery. I don’t think that technology/web-based meetings will take the place of face-to-face meetings, but I do think that the focus of attendees when they are at the meeting will be on networking and making connections, more than pure content learning, since other sources will exist for this information. We will be tasked with providing unique learning opportunities and networking opportunities.

7. People will still want to have face-to-face meetings, but technology will be integral to all aspects. The smart frames on your glasses will project program information, where your friends are, local attractions, etc. Blink on an exhibitor ad and you’ll receive their marketing materials instantly. Session evaluations and speaker feedback will occur instantaneously. Because session content will be available electronically and can be viewed when convenient, attendees will spend more time networking with peers and engaged in social activities. Wi-Fi will be free in all the venues. We won’t need special AV setups in each room because the speaker notes will be uploaded onto the attendee’s personal digital device (could be a tablet). No more delegate bags. Name badges will have GPS. If you’re not at the meeting, I’ll know. The majority of attendees will be older, so facilities will have people movers and indoor shuttles. There will be hearing-impaired broadcasts of keynote addresses. Shuttles from the hotels will be necessary, not optional. Caterers will only offer a la carte menus to accommodate increasingly fractured dietary requirements.

(This article was originally written for PCMA by Barbara Palmer who is deputy editor of Convene. To view the original article, click here).

As the event industry continues to grow, so do your options in event formats. Virtual has had free reign over the last two+ years and it still holds its place in certain industries, but what about hybrid and onsite? It may be overwhelming entering into a real-life venue after several years away, and you’ll likely be met with some brand new tech while you’re there. Tech industries themselves are choosing hybrid for its versatility and flexibility. But let’s take a look at why hybrid events are the best of both virtual and onsite worlds.