The future of the ‘hybrid’ event

Like the hybrid Prius, the hybrid event rose to fame, but now faces an uncertain future.

In-person events seem to be making a strong comeback among brands and event planners, even with Covid cases rising in certain places. This year’s SXSW, as well as the IAB upfronts and NewFronts, were held as hybrid events.

As in-person events become normalized again, some experts predict the term “hybrid” will fall by the wayside. But that doesn’t mean the option to attend virtually is going anywhere.

Online, just fine?

Doug Baird is president and founder of event-marketing platform RainFocus, which helps host, track, and manage events online and in-person. He said one benefit of virtual events he’s seen over the last two years is better metrics on factors like attendance or “engagement,” which RainFocus measures by looking at whether attendees search for speakers, click into exhibitor booths, download resources, etc.

“An attendee that logs into the attendee portal but doesn’t take any clear action and does not interact would not be considered an engaged one,” he said.

Taylor Gehrcke, director of events at the UN Foundation, told Marketing Brew that virtual and hybrid events also “offer a lot more marketing opportunity in terms of ads and a lot more opportunities for sponsorships and branding across the page.”

For the UN Foundation, he said virtual programming has made it easier to reduce the environmental impact of travel, bring in speakers on tight schedules, and reach more people around the world.

According to Baird, RainFocus’ virtual attendance numbers were “through the roof” in May and June 2020–sometimes seven to eight times higher than live events. But “staying power,” or the likelihood to tune in and stay tuned in to an event, among those audiences was lower. While virtual events can be great for acquiring customers or educating a loyal customer base, Baird said things like sales conversions are more successful in-person.

¿Por qué no los dos?

Baird said he expects in-person event numbers to continue to grow into the fall and for the term “hybrid” to leave marketers’ vocabularies as in-person and virtual events are used for different purposes.

Daphne Hoppenot, founder of event marketplace The Vendry, told Marketing Brew that fewer than 5% of the company’s RFPs are for hybrid events and the term hasn’t really stuck among event planners.

Hoppenot said she expects to see more big events to just add livestreaming now that people are used to having the option to watch at home, but that’s about it in terms of shifts. She likens it to how people livestreamed Apple’s product announcement events before hybrid events were a thing.

Big picture, she said she thinks events will go back to being primarily in-person because people want to socialize IRL and it’s hard to create the same experience for virtual and in-person attendees. “While that might seem noble, I don’t think it really matches reality,” she said.

According to a March report by SmartBrief, the primary reason marketers attended in-person events was for networking purposes.

“You could say, hypothetically, that, ‘It’s great that I can participate in a hybrid event from my sofa after my kids go to sleep,’” Hoppenot said. “But the reality is that you have to be there in person for the networking that matters.”

Near, far, wherever you are

Even with the option to attend events IRL, some are more bullish on the future of hybrid events and creating an equally engaging experience at home.

“I think that [event] planners are saying, ‘Yes, it’s going back onsite,’ because they are able to…feel that magic. It’s harder for them to feel the engagement of a hybrid meeting. But what we’re seeing statistically is that the attendees want the choice,” Lizzie Suiter, head of corporate strategy at event venue company Convene, told Marketing Brew.

According to Suiter, around 36% of the company’s bookings are hybrid and it’s only going up. She said Convene is investing in technology, like long-range cameras and stage lighting, to enhance virtual viewing, as well as making hybrid events more collaborative via things like breakout rooms. The goal, she said, is to make the experience as valuable as being there physically.

Beyond attendee preference, it can also provide peace of mind for those booking events. Suiter said 76% of Convene’s technology for hybrid events is added on after the in-person venue is booked. She compared it to an insurance policy should attendees or speakers get Covid, have a flight canceled, etc.

“The future is hybrid because the future has to be flexible,” she said.