Emergence of the ‘ new ’ hybrid
INTERNATIONAL BRANDING AGENCY INVNT ’ S CEO AND COO OF THE INVNT GROUP KRISTINA MCCOOBERY , INVNT APAC MD LAURA ROBERTS , AND INVNT EMEA MD CLAUDIA STEPHENSON REFLECT ON HOW THEIR AGENCY HAS WORKED WITH THE NEW HYBRID REALITY
e ’ ve seen conferences and meetings take on many different iterations across the globe since last March , as a result of coronavirus restrictions on in-person gatherings , and the safety of attendees influencing their format , size , and frequency to varying degrees .
Now as the world moves , albeit unevenly , towards a kind of normalcy and in-person events become a reality , international branding agency INVNT ’ s leadership identifies some of the key trends and predictions in their respective markets .
The ‘ new ’ hybrid emerges
Across all regions , the consensus is that hybrid events will become the norm – there ’ s no way we can shut an audience out ( and a very large one at that ) that we ’ ve now opened ourselves up to – however with virtual attendee expectations much greater than in the past , the stakes are a lot higher .
“ After over a year of mostly virtual events , our clients and their audiences know what makes a great online experience , and what doesn ’ t . Virtual attendees mustn ’ t be an afterthought – content needs to be designed with both groups in mind , which is why we recognise there ’ s this new type of more complex , but also more engaging approach to hybrid emerging ,” explains INVNT group COO Kristina McCoobery .
“ This might mean scheduling the same keynote for both audiences at the same time , and then when it ’ s time for breakouts , curating bespoke , what we call ‘ high touch interactions ’ like small group workshops and expert Q & A sessions for different segments , which complement their chosen platform in the very best way .”
APAC MD Laura Roberts adds : “ Virtual mustn ’ t be a back-up plan , it warrants its own , complementary strategy , and our clients recognise and support that . In APAC , hybrid is definitely here to stay .”
Re-engineering event budgets
Budgetary considerations play a massive role here , explains EMEA MD Claudia Stephenson : “ How can we fund both ? is a question clients have been posing to us of late , as they recognise there are different audiences , and content and tech requirements at play in hybrid event settings .
“ We ’ re seeing some brands opting to shift away from their annual multi-day conferences and invest in short , punchy , news-driven experiences like keynotes and press launches – and more of them . These experiences engage people in the room , plus there are massive engagement and amplification opportunities from a virtual perspective .”
McCoobery adds : “ A hybrid event is essentially two different , interconnected events , which means budgets can be higher , but we ’ ve been working hard to re-engineer our cost structures to account for both , while not diminishing the quality of either experience .
“ Virtual events create cost savings with travel , accommodation and catering , for example , so we ’ re injecting them into the additional production and experience design that ’ s required for a true hybrid event .”
A workforce forever changed
Left : Corvette Next Gen Reveal
Virtual and hybrid events require different skillsets to an in-person only event , so if hybrid is here to stay , it ’ s evident that we need to reimagine our workforces .
“ Whereas others were letting their employees go in favour of tech experts
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