The Future of the Hybrid Event Model

Sometimes change grinds along slowly, and sometimes it happens at a pace that leaves us breathless. In the case of our industry, the lightning fast pivot to a hybrid style event may have been a surprise, and it is long overdue. Let’s look at three specific ways that a hybrid model adds value to every event.A hybrid model means barriers to access fall

Online events have a unique ability to address one of our industry’s biggest challenges. Diversity, inclusion and equity issues in events have long been on the radar; the events of 2020 make us realize we can no longer wait to address the problem. So let’s consider ourselves fortunate a pandemic forced us to adopt hybrid-style events. Not only are they keeping us safer; they are eliminating many of the barriers to participating that have been a problem for far too long.

“The rise of virtual events is now shifting the focus on the number of attendees to the attendee experience,” writes Christy Gren in Industry Leaders. “Companies are now allowing attendees to attend an event in a way that helps them be more comfortable in the setting of their home.”

Some people, Gren notes, simply prefer not to travel. For others the cost may be prohibitive, or physical challenges may make the live experience too difficult. 

“In the future, companies will use this crisis to look at their long-term event strategies, Gren continues. “Even if in-person events bounce back into popularity, we might not do away with hybrid events anytime soon.” 

A hybrid event brings wider access

There’s no doubt the worldwide event shutdown had a dramatic impact in the nonprofit sector. While I expect people will continue to appreciate and value live fundraisers (who doesn’t love the excitement of a large crowd, all working together for a common cause?), digital components are allowing for potentially greater reach.

“Hybrid Events offer an opportunity for charities to experience the best of both worlds: bringing together the accessibility and reach of virtual events and the memorable experiences and opportunities for networking that come with physical ones,” writes Aidan Paterson in Charity Digital. 

“ … by restricting participation to those in the immediate vicinity of an event, charities are leaving money on the table,” Paterson continues. “The inclusion of a virtual element to a fundraiser can unlock a much wider pool of potential fundraisers and donors.”

A hybrid event elevates you above the noise

In marketing, a short-term campaign might gain a lot of notice initially, yet it’s the long-term ongoing branding that really solidifies what the brand is all about. The same can be true for your event’s impact. 

In a hybrid event, it’s inherent on the organizers to create truly valuable content to appear across the channels — before, during and well after the event — turning your short-term event into a long-term opportunity. Drew Hagen in Business 2 Community has some suggestions for how to do that.

“To design experiences that deliver enduring content, consider how the adult mind will process it,” Hagen writes. “As with children, the best and deepest learning comes from immersive, interactive experiences. But there’s a key difference between adult and child learning: As adults, we learn best when we understand why information is crucial and have the freedom to learn it in our own way.”

Hybrid events are the perfect vehicle to deliver this freedom — with recorded keynotes, downloadable educational material, and ongoing discussions on networking channels. It turns a short-term experience into a long-term educational campaign. This long-term strategy, with content carefully curated for each channel, is how brands can rise above the noise and earn engagement.

For better or worse, digital experiences do dominate our daily lives. The fact that events are now forced to have a well-planned and delivered digital presence means they are more relatable and give us more opportunities to engage for the long haul. 

Yes, the idea of being sequestered out of town for a few days in a swank hotel will always be appealing to many of us die-hard events pros — but the truth is that too many of us have lives that simply don’t allow for that. The hybrid model will become more the standard of events moving forward, rather than a temporary workaround to our current situation. And that is a seriously good thing.