Category: Event ROI

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After the initial blow of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is little doubt that 2021 continued to disrupt the world of meetings and events. But what is likely to happen in 2022? What trends are industry experts expecting? And what should you, as an event professional, be considering for your plans next year?

We spoke to a few people that work in this area day in day out. Here are their thoughts:

Miguel Neves – Editor in Chief at EventMB, a Skift Brand

I think we are in for a shock. I hope we can all have the opportunity to meet in person, but I don’t think we will, at least not as much as we have in the past. The thing is we’ve changed. Work patterns have shifted, home life has changed, and we now know we can consume most content online just as well as we can in person. So, unless we are personally invested in an event as a sponsor, exhibitor, or speaker, we’re just not flying, staying at hotels, and investing any more time than we need to in most events.

There are exceptions, some of the larger events that are all about networking and serendipity will continue to get people to travel. But for any event that doesn’t have a “must be there” feeling, we’ll be there online, possibly while multitasking and getting some work done.

This means that events will be forced to change. Some may opt to be in-person only to try and force attendees to travel. Some will be hybrid and find ways to engage attendees regardless of their location. Ultimately Hybrid events need to have a great monetization strategy that can cope with a mainly online audience. Welcome to the new world of the hybrid attendee.

Follow Miguel Neves on LinkedIn

Related: 10 critical steps to successful hybrid events

Brandt Krueger – Technical Producer, Consultant & Educator for the Meetings and Events Industry

It makes me truly sad to say that my advice for 2022 is basically the same as it was for 2021. With uncertainty in the air as new variants are discovered, and with so many still unvaccinated, online and hybrid remain the best solution for many meetings and events around the globe. While smaller, tightly controlled events have been safely executed, not every organization can mandate vaccinations, masks, and other safety protocols for their staff and attendees.

Those that saw online events as a stopgap are now well and truly behind the game, as other organizations have been innovating and fine-tuning for 20 months. Many others are facing decisions to cancel their in-person events for the third year in a row, when they could have been using this time to expand their audience and experiment with this new digital venue. In-person events will return, but digital needs to be part of the toolbox of the future planner.

The good news is that it’s not too late and you can now benefit from others’ experiences. There are countless blogs, articles, books, and courses on online and hybrid events, with detailed descriptions of what does (and more importantly what doesn’t) work. Take a deep breath, take a moment to reflect on the goals and objectives of your event and its stakeholders, and focus on what you can do to create amazing experiences now instead of wringing your hands about where we might be in six months!

Follow Brandt Kreuger on LinkedIn

Related: 8 key mistakes to avoid when planning a hybrid event

Kaaren Hamilton – VP Global Sales Sonesta International

The buzz fresh off the exhibit floor at IMEX America, held in Las Vegas in early November, is that our industry is overwhelmingly optimistic about 2022.  With RFP’s being discussed and business awarded, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and shared a moment of joy celebrating the return of face-to-face events.

However, with the news of a new COVID variant now we are being brought back to the reality that we continue to navigate through unpredictable times, where planners continue to be challenged and must continue to consider all possibilities.

We will continue the trend of the last two years seeing an evolution of event components that include working for and with organizations that have a sense of corporate responsibility.  That means increasingly, sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are a required expectation along with duty of care expanding to include providing a space for both physical and mental wellbeing.

Regardless of the evolving components of meetings in the new world, the world agrees in-person meetings are vital. The shared experience of travel and being in the same room with customers and colleagues cannot be satisfied by the virtual environment indefinitely.

Follow Kaaren Hamilton on LinkedIn

Related: The event planner’s guide to stress management 

Tahira Endean – Head of Events, SITE global – Writer, Speaker, Connector, Collaborator

Events must be conscious…transformative…worthwhile. It is incumbent upon us to create sustainable, intentionally designed experiences for those joining us live, or virtually.

Collaboration. We need to create the most meaningful experiences with a diverse team. More importantly we need collaboration to solve the real problems facing us including those that will fundamentally halt travel and live events. Think pandemic, or climate change as key examples.

Equity and vulnerability. It is not having a code of conduct for our events or organizations, it is a fundamental respect for and empathy with all the humans we work with, invite to our events, and interact with to create environments where everyone is safe.

Follow Tahira Endean on LinkedIn

Related: How to make events more sustainable in a post-Covid world

Paul Cook – Virtual Events Specialist, Content Writer

My view is that the events sector will experience similar fortunes to those in 2021. I believe local or regional events will dominate more so than international ones. And this will last until the point at which Covid-19 has been shown the door and left the building. But that isn’t the case at present or for the foreseeable future. The impact of the global pandemic is still very present.

What that means is that virtual events will be in demand, and the best ones will be those that increase their production values. In other words, the home-made look (think of some productions in 2020) will quickly become a thing of the past, if the organisation is to keep its brand reputation in good shape.

What I do see as a trend which will become a permanent feature, is the increased need for translation services. Whether it is live or post event translation, the requirement will be there. Event planners will be asked for interpreters more often as clients understand that to achieve their aims of diversity and inclusion, the access to what’s happening in the organisation must be open to all their staff and stakeholders.

On a positive note, the events sector offering in-person, virtual and hybrid formats is in good shape to enable their clients to achieve their goals. Choice is always good and in events there is bags of it.

Follow Paul Cook on LinkedIn

Related: 7 ways events will change in a post-Covid world

Conclusion – More Choice for Clients means more decisions for planners 

We thank our contributors for their insights and predictions for what is likely to happen in events in 2022. It’s a tough job to see the future. The only constant is change. It’s around everyone, everywhere and it’s constantly chipping away at what we understand as being normal. Sometimes change is good and sometimes not so much. The impact of change can be good and bad.

In one example of changing consumer behaviour, just think of the camera shops that were effectively put out of business because of mobile phone companies. In the days before smart phones, people needed a camera and a phone. Did the camera shops see mobile providers as a threat? Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. It doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that event professionals do not go the same way as camera shops. And there is no reason for planners to go out of business. It is clear from the views of our experts that regardless of whether you prefer in-person or virtual events or hybrids, there is room for each to play their part. You just need to decide what your focus is going to be.

Clients and attendees want and need choice – and in the events sector, we can offer it in abundance. As we enter 2022, whilst there are challenges ahead, there are also very bright lights of opportunity.

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Want the lowdown on all things events? In your inbox, every week.

Putting together the perfect events team is a challenge at the best of times. Add the complexities of hybrid, and you can easily find things slipping through the cracks.

In fact, a recent industry research study from Eventsforce shows that nearly 50% of organizers say staffing is one of the biggest issues they have to deal with when planning hybrid events – which is quite concerning.

Some of the typical questions that come to mind – will a hybrid event need two separate teams? Are there opportunities for shared roles to cut costs? Should you be contracting specialists? And what skills and roles do you need to build the right team?

Let’s take a look.

1) Hybrid Event Director   

For a successful and seamless hybrid event there is one key role that must be filled. That is the role of a Hybrid Event Director. You need someone with overall responsibility and the power to get things done. This person needs a complete overview of everything that is to take place and can step in and problem solve as needed.

Experienced hybrid event directors will play an important part in the design of your event. They will be familiar with what works for virtual attendees and how to maximise the in-person experience. Ideally, you should bring in a director before you get underway with your programme planning. But if you are already made progress with your content, make sure that the director reviews it from the perspective of the different attendees. Use the insights that hybrid event directors possess to ensure that all your stakeholders will be happy at the end.

A rookie mistake is to think that your Virtual Event Producer can become your Hybrid Event Director. Unfortunately, this will not work, because the virtual producer has a focus on the virtual production and nothing more.

Your Hybrid Event Director must be experienced with in-person events and virtual productions so that they can bring these elements together. And of course, they need to be able to synthesise the efforts of all team members and contractors to produce the event.

eBook: 10 critical steps to successful hybrid events

2) Logistics

When the programme is finalised, it’s time to sort the logistics. Getting the logistics right is an important part of your hybrid event success. And whilst the emphasis may appear to be on the in-person side of things, it’s crucial that no logistics are missed when it comes to the virtual component.

For example, the logistics team need to ensure that any technical kit for regional clusters or hubs to participate is delivered on time for set up. This also applies to sending any ‘green screen’ set up for speakers.

The best approach is to understand everything that will happen at the hybrid event and work from there. Make sure all stakeholders’ requirements are met.

3) Production    

Production is more in-depth for hybrid events. But it is not difficult once you have established your basic requirements. Let’s take an in-person event. You will source a company that provides sound and vision. They are likely to set up the staging, your sponsor and exhibitor booths and more. For your hybrid event, you are going to require those same elements. In addition, you now need a tech team to stream your content.

Plus, you are likely to need a specialist company in audience interaction. Enabling all attendees to take part in polls, ask questions and make comments, is something no hybrid event can do without.

From this, you can see that it is best that you don’t think of production as meaning the virtual component only. You can use ‘production’ as the all-encompassing term that includes sound, vision, streaming and audience interaction to make sure you have everything covered.

4) Runners     

Runners are critical at hybrid events. Whilst you might associate runners as being more relevant to film and TV productions, the term has a place with events. Pre-pandemic, it was usual to have microphone runners.

But because of the complexities of a hybrid model, the Hybrid Event Director will need runners that they can depend on. Typically, runners will undertake a variety of tasks. For example, ensuring that speakers are in the right place for studio or side interviews, checking that the venue staff have everything under control, or being sent out by the technical team to find some kit. Runners are invaluable. Make sure they are part of your team.

5) Registration & User Journeys     

Your hybrid event has a mix of virtual and in-person attendees, but with the event tech available there should be no need to use separate registration systems. For planners this is very good news. After all, there is nothing more labour intensive and time consuming than working with different systems to effectively do the same task.

In fact, with the need to adhere to data security regulations, the less systems you are using, the better. But you should ensure that the tech is able to be customised appropriately. For example, to issue a Covid-19 safety requirement to virtual attendees would show a lack of attention on your part. After all, the virtual attendee will not physically be at the event.  Many event management systems like Eventsforce are now geared to personalise registration journeys and packages for virtual and on-site attendees – they also make it a lot easier to manage all your attendee data in one place.

It’s imperative therefore that you have someone in your team (not the tech provider) to walk through all ‘user journeys’ ensuring that they make sense. For this task you need someone with an eye for detail that is prepared to follow the web-links and test everything. And it’s an even bigger bonus if you find someone that enjoys this work. You will then be sure that they will not take short cuts to finish the task.

6) Sponsorship & Exhibitors       

It is best to have one team assigned for your sponsorship and exhibitors’ work. No need for separate virtual and on-site teams, just one.  It would make little sense to spend time getting sponsors on board for either the virtual or the in-person offer. Hybrid events, being combination events, open more doors.

Make sure that your team is fully on-board with all offers available. That will give them greater flexibility in making deals happen. It is worth remembering that a number of sponsors and exhibitors are new to the virtual environment and to hybrid events. Do a bit of handholding and introduce them to how good their ROI could be through your event.

Read: 4 key considerations when selling hybrid events to sponsors

7) Marketing & Social Media      

With hybrid, you don’t need to separate teams to do all your marketing work. Social media campaigns should cover the whole event and not just focus on meeting in-person. A hybrid event attracts virtual attendees, and they need to be included and not excluded.

You will require personalised messages for your virtual and in-person attendees depending on which group you are speaking to. But that is no different to having different messages for different marketing personas. Event planners are well used to this and as such hybrid events present no new challenge. The challenge is to ensure that everyone is included and that you don’t inadvertently alienate either set of audiences.

8) Data Analysis & Insights        

Research shows that more event data is being captured today than ever before. Every time someone registers, signs up for a session, or takes part in a poll, valuable data is being collected. Data is a rich currency that many organisations want. They want to use it and learn from it. They want to be able to read between the lines and discover insights.

If you have sponsors and exhibitors at your hybrid event, they will be very interested in understanding both virtual and on-site metrics to help their decision making as to whether to get involved in your next event. If you don’t take data seriously you will lose ground to your competitors that do.

The data that comes from a hybrid event needs analysis. You need to have someone on your team that loves data. If they love looking through it and doing the detective work to make recommendations, you will maximise the benefits of capturing it in the first place.

Conclusion – One Seamless Team  

When building your hybrid event team, there is good news. Many of the functions mentioned you will already have covered. But for some, you will want to call in external expertise. In fact, some roles are critical and are only available through specialists. Take, for example, the production expertise. There is always demand for streaming engineers so don’t leave it too late to book them in.

Throughout this post, there has been one ‘red thread’ message throughout. Quite simply, the message is to treat your hybrid event as one. Do not see it as two distinct programmes that are attached to each other. If you were to do that, you would miss opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors. And you are likely to annoy your attendees.

Put someone in overall charge, we suggest, the Hybrid Event Director. Encourage everyone involved to see how they play their part. View the hybrid as a whole, where everyone pulls together to make it work. Adopting this one seamless team approach will mean everyone will benefit.

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Considering hybrid events? Eventsforce offers an all-in-one event management platform that makes it easy for you to create engaging experiences for on-site and virtual attendees. Learn more.