I fully fledged multi-hub hybrid event with in-person hubs in New York and London as well as just under a thousand online too . And it was an indisputable success . Here are the top eight lessons that we learnt on this epic journey .
1 ) Each audience matters – plan for each of them to have a first-class experience With HEI we had three audiences , simultaneously connected , in New York , London , and online . As an event organiser , you must plan your entire project to deliver to each of your hybrid audiences , as each will have different success factors . We learnt that allocating a different person to be accountable for the experience of each of our three audiences led to the best possible experience for each of them .
“ YOUR PRODUCTION COMPANY SHOULD BE AN EXTENSION OF YOUR TEAM , THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND YOUR GOALS AND YOUR HYBRID EVENT PLATFORM AND THEN CONNECT THE TWO .”
8 lessons learned from running Hybrid Events Ignited
Glisser chief evangelist , Vanessa Lovatt shares her personal experience of running a hybrid event
2 ) Production values really , really matter Your production company should be an extension of your team , they need to understand your goals and your hybrid event platform and then connect the two . You need them to help you push your platform to drive success , not limit it to avoid risk . We were supported by NMR Events in New York and Encore in London , both of whom did exactly this – they kept pushing for greatness and helped us to use our platform to achieve our hybrid event goals .
3 ) The power of the emcee We used the brilliant Samme Allen . Her role was to create the best experience for each of the three audiences , which she did with aplomb . Your moderator needs to be able to engage both those in the room , and those online with a TV presenter-style approach . Engaging both types of attendee simultaneously is a true skill and the average event chairperson will not be trained for this . If you want wow factor , use a professional emcee .
4 ) Audiences need individual and collective experiences Our photo booth experience was a good example of an individual and yet collective event experience – Noonah powered this – and it enabled attendees to send in individual selfies that were collated into a selfie wall of all participants , wherever they were . This could be viewed at any time by all audience members and we specifically pulled it into the event agenda periodically too .
5 ) Don ’ t try to make everything like-for-like for all attendees We had stand-alone activities for the online attendees that we didn ’ t expect the in-room attendees to participate in , like topic networking online in round-table groups , the chance to experience some augmented reality tech , and mini brainbreak sessions . Keeping the core sessions collective , but the extras tailored to specific audiences really helped to keep everyone engaged .
6 ) Stage set-up is everything
We created a crescent shaped ‘ monitor forest ’ as we felt this was the easiest way for all in-person and online panellists to communicate seamlessly with one another . This worked well after trialling various iterations of the screens and presenters that were actually in the room , so that all presenters were looking in the right direction . This seems like a small point , but it ’ s a huge factor in enabling the presenters to have a really great experience when presenting , which is always going to mean happier attendees . In hindsight , I would have tried to make it easier for our New York Sub-Moderator – Naomi Clare Crellin – to have been able to see everybody more easily – a great lesson learned .
7 ) Get a great venue Top-end wifi is an obvious essential . We always aim for 10mbps per 100 attendees in the room , and then allow for video with 100mbps on top . Beyond that , a venue that embraces the power of hybrid and sees it as part of the future of the event sector will likely have some hybrid experience and be able to provide invaluable advice .
8 ) Go big or go home We went all out for a very complex and ambitious multihub hybrid event to demonstrate how to do it and that it ’ s actually possible - and we succeeded in our goal . I ’ m so pleased we aimed so high as it was a great experience for all as a result . I would definitely not recommend just dipping your toe in the water with hybrid – it ’ s all or nothing if you want all audiences to have a great experience .