Feature 37
“ THE VIRTUAL ELEMENTS WERE FREE TO ATTEND SO IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR THE RIGHT TIME , BOTH FROM A COMMERCIAL AND ETHICAL STANDPOINT .”
Asiedu explains : “ The Innovation Pavilion was in the middle with break-out rooms on one side and the plenary hall on the other so that delegates had to pass through the exhibitors when moving from one content stream to the next . Again , it added to attendee comfort levels and created a good energy in the room .
“ The second floor was just for the Cvent team and virtual production office . It was a place where we could manage everything and ensure that the technology was performing . At Cvent , we ’ re the biggest users of our own technology so being able to take advantage of the Attendee Hub for networking , discussion rooms and building up content agendas was a dream come true .”
In order to ensure that Cvent CONNECT Europe offered one experience for two different audiences , how the online audience saw and heard what was happening on stage was vital .
Cvent ’ s production partner , Encore designed the main plenary stage like a TV broadcast , with a camera tracking across the front and a floating screen hung from the ceiling - encouraging presenters to maintain eye-level contact with the virtual viewer and featuring autocue prompts .
“ Virtual viewers could ask questions via the hub while in-room attendees asked questions via the app so none of us knew where the questions were coming from . That ’ s important so that you don ’ t segment your audience into at-home or in-the-room and it connects the overall experience ,” Asiedu says . “ Some of the virtual content was live and some of it was recorded on the first day and offered on-demand during day two . By producing additional virtual content using Cvent Studio , we were able to reduce the amount of production effort , which in turn meant we could offer more . It ’ s content I can also re-use for the rest of the year and into 2022 .”
Overall , Asiedu admits that designing a hybrid event feels like planning two separate events with a focus on one exceptional experience . It ’ s hard work , things go wrong but seeing increased engagement , broader reach , audience interaction and delegates enjoying safe event environments again means that the rewards are worth it .