What Is a Hybrid Event?

A hybrid event combines elements of a physical event and a virtual event for audiences attending in person and online. For instance, Apple, Facebook, and Google are well known for hosting high-quality hybrid events. All of their annual conferences ensure that people attending in-person experience the excitement of seeing prominent leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai discuss their corporate strategies; and attendees in-person get the chance to network with colleagues in high-tech fields. Meanwhile, people watching virtually enjoy a you-are-there experience via a high-quality livestream that offers close-ups and multiple camera angles. Apple, Facebook, and Google have been offering hybrid events for years, but amid the ongoing pandemic, they’ve taken those experiences online. It’s only a matter of time before they relaunch their events in a hybrid format.  

What Is the Difference Between a Hybrid, In-Person, and Virtual Event? 

Virtual events are held exclusively online. For example, a business might share its quarterly earnings via a virtual webcast to share critical and legally required investor information rapidly to as broad an audience as possible. With an in-person event, the host provides the experience in person, which is ideal in an environment where the host might want to ensure confidentiality or exclusivity. For instance, many entertainment brands hold events such as concerts in-person to create content scarcity, which stokes demand for people to purchase tickets to attend. But a hybrid event combines both worlds – for instance, offering networking opportunities for people in person as well as online (the latter through tools such as native event apps and dedicated Slack channels). 

What Are the Advantages of Conducting a Hybrid Event? 

Ideally, hybrid events deliver the best of both worlds: the in-person experience for people who are comfortable interacting face to face, and virtual for those who prefer to attend remotely. They are ideal for a number of reasons, including: 

• Flexibility. They can accommodate more people by attracting attendees eager for an in-person experience as well as those who either cannot or prefer not to travel. This flexibility is crucial especially as businesses emerge from the Covid-19 to host events for people who have been vaccinated and are ready to mingle with other people, and for those who might not feel safe to travel right now. They are also ideal for attendees who might lack the budget to travel, as businesses impose leaner budgets. 
   
• Accessibility. A hybrid event is ideal to cater to an in-person audience while including people with disabilities who may not be able to travel physically. One billion people, or 15 percent of the world’s population, live with disabilities. 
   
• Engagement. Hybrid events offer more opportunities to create audience engagement – for example, social events that can only be experienced at a physical event site (which is why Las Vegas is such a popular corporate event destination) and experiences that are best experienced with digital (such as any content that involves immersive reality). 

What Are the Pitfalls of a Hybrid Event? 

Hybrid events entail special considerations such as: 

• Ensuring virtual participants don’t feel alienated or excluded from the in-person experience  
    
• Making sure in-person attendees feel like they’re getting a special experience worth the effort of attending live   
    
• Managing the logistics and expense of accommodating an online/offline event. 

The cost and effort of coordinating an online/offline experience cannot be overstated. Pulling off a hybrid event requires expertise with both physical events (including the logistics of stage set-up, A/V onsite, etc.) and virtual (such as providing a secure platform and a flawless user experience unencumbered by bandwidth constraints) 

How to Host a Hybrid Event 

Hybrid events are becoming more common. According to Gartner, by 2023, 60 percent of businesses that pivoted to virtual events will incorporate physical real-time/real-space experiential elements into marketing experiences. Done right, hybrid events can potentially combine the reach of a virtual event with the unique engagement of in-person events to deliver a great experience for audiences in-person and online. But hybrid events present special challenges such as keeping virtual audiences engaged even when they are not attending in person. Read on for some tips on how to host a hybrid event. 

What Are Some Tips for Doing a Hybrid Event Right? 

The tips for holding any event – virtual or in-person – apply to hybrid events. For instance, having a solid content plan and an audience engagement strategy is essential, as discussed in our recently published blog post, “How to Host a Virtual Event.” Some tips to consider: 

• Understand why you want to hold an event in the first place. Do you need to deliver information quickly and cost-effectively with maximum reach, as noted in the example about a company reporting quarterly earnings to investors? If so, you may not even want to hold a hybrid event. Rather, a virtual format might work perfectly. Or perhaps you want to provide an exclusive experience that capitalizes on the power of a physical setting to reward a loyal fan base, as Disney’s D23 Expo has done for years, in which case you may want to host an in-person event. 
   
• Let your audience be your guide. It’s always a good idea to first get input on what your audience prefers regardless of the type of event you are holding. This is especially true in 2021 as we endure a period of transition with the Covid-19 pandemic. As millions of people get vaccinated and authorities relax their requirements for traveling and gathering in person, your audience might be ready for an in-person experience. But your audience might not be ready, too. (Many well-known large-scale in-person events continue to be postponed until 2022.) If your audience consists of a large percentage of people who either want to travel in person or attend virtually, a hybrid event might be just right for you. But you won’t know until you ask them, and their openness to travel may change. 
   
• Create an Experience That Works for Both Audiences. As noted, it’s important to make both audiences feel special. For instance, people attending in person will feel like it’s worth their time if you create experiences that encourage face-to-face networking. But people watching virtually won’t have that ability. It’s possible and advisable to create networking opportunities online, but there is no substitute for face-to-face engagement. So be prepared to give the virtual audience something special, such as an exclusive preview of content from your event before anyone else sees it – or social media challenges that are appealing to people online. Fortunately, tools exist that encourage engagement for both audiences. For instance, live polling can be conducted for both virtual and in-person audiences. In addition, it’s possible to gamify your event for both audiences – an example being rewarding people who share the event most actively on their social spaces.  
   
• Use technology wisely. Keeping people engaged in person and virtually creates interesting challenges for both audiences. For instance, during an in-person event, it’s customary to schedule breaks. But what do you do to keep people online engaged during break periods? Don’t waste that break time with a boring “We’ll Be Right Back” screen. Consider using technology to fill that dead space, an example being entertaining videos, which could be presented by different sponsors. In addition, as noted earlier, you can give people watching virtually dramatic and exciting views from the speaker stage through smart use of cameras to keep viewers engaged. In addition, digital presentations have special requirements that you’ll need to think through and manage. For instance, will your event require your audience to install any special software to experience the content properly? Are there bandwidth considerations? The ease of use of your platform, login, and user experience can have a big impact on the attendee experience. People need to be told of any considerations and login details. Set the expectations about whether Q&A will be involved, and how to do it. It will take more effort to incorporate digital technology seamlessly into a hybrid event. It’s best to staff your production team with professionals who can manage the technological requirements holistically for an online/offline audience.  

Contact Investis Digital  

At Investis Digital, we work with 750 enterprises a year to launch and manage events. To make them succeed for you, contact Investis Digital Live.  

For Further Reading: 

How to Host a Virtual Event: Tips, Tools and Resources,  

https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/how-to-host-virtual-events 

10 Tips to Prepare Speakers for Virtual Events, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/virtual-events-10-best-practices-speakers  

The Keys to Making an AGM Succeed Virtually, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/keys-making-agm-succeed-virtually  

Don Scales Featured In Forbes Discussing The Future Of Virtual Events, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/news/don-scales-featured-forbes-discussing-future-virtual-events  

Pre-Recorded or Live: Which Is Right for Your Virtual Event?, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/pre-recorded-vs-live-best-virtual-event-format  

CES 2021 Offers a Glimpse into the Future of Virtual Engagement, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/ces-2021-offers-glimpse-future-virtual-engagement  

Why the Right Format Can Make or Break Your Virtual Event, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/why-right-format-can-make-or-break-your-virtual-event  

 Why Content Drives Your Virtual Event, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/why-content-drives-your-virtual-event  

Why Disney’s Virtual Investor Day Made Disney’s Stock Soar, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/investor-relations/why-disneys-virtual-investor-day-made-disneys-stock-soar  

Why a Strong Strategy Must Define Your Virtual Event, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/why-strong-strategy-must-define-your-virtual-event  

Running Successful Events, Virtually, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/technology/running-successful-virtual-events  

Why Businesses Need to Rethink Virtual Events, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/brand-strategy/why-businesses-need-rethink-virtual-events  

Webinars Done Right On-Demand: How to Plan, Produce, and Promote an Amazing Webinar, https://www.investisdigital.com/blog/news/webinars-done-right-demand-how-plan-produce-and-promote-amazing-webinar  

Virtual Events Resources:  

Live Event Run of Show Template: https://resources.investisdigital.com/run-of-show-template/  

Investis Digital Guide on Webinars, Webcasting and Virtual events: https://resources.investisdigital.com/webinars-webcasting-and-virtual-events/  

Request a platform demo of Investis Digital Live, our in-house webcasting and live events solution: https://resources.investisdigital.com/investis-digital-live/