Name:
2021 07 22 Known Unknowns: Questions to Ask when Planning a Hybrid Event (Presentation)
Description:
2021 07 22 Known Unknowns: Questions to Ask when Planning a Hybrid Event (Presentation)
Thumbnail URL:
https://cadmoremediastorage.blob.core.windows.net/04b9cd04-65c6-4a83-b609-e6233bde9056/videoscrubberimages/Scrubber_1.jpg
Duration:
T00H07M49S
Embed URL:
https://stream.cadmore.media/player/04b9cd04-65c6-4a83-b609-e6233bde9056
Content URL:
https://cadmoreoriginalmedia.blob.core.windows.net/04b9cd04-65c6-4a83-b609-e6233bde9056/210722 Jessica Preso.mp4?sv=2019-02-02&sr=c&sig=AfaoDB1To3EJW%2Fr6Zz674URCmYI4EgblPKzN%2BTg5rMs%3D&st=2025-05-11T02%3A59%3A55Z&se=2025-05-11T05%3A04%3A55Z&sp=r
Upload Date:
2022-04-28T00:00:00.0000000
Transcript:
Language: EN.
Segment:0 .
Hello. And thanks for joining me for a quick fire round of questions to consider when planning your hybrid conference. I'm Jessica Lawrence-Hurt, CMO at Cadmore Media. Hybrid is the buzzword we hear a lot of in the events world right now, because virtual events aren't going away any time soon. How they will be integrated into live in-person events is another matter.
And of course, there's no silver bullet to determine the best solution for every situation. Hybrid events are as unique as the organizations that sponsored them with different audiences, goals, and budgets, and my version of "hybrid" may not be your definition. After talking to a range of clients and surveying the environment, we can identify several different types of "hybrid" events.
These are: "Fully live-streamed": This is a full in-person event, live-streamed to a virtual audience. The pros are it's very buzzy, and it's often what organizers initially have in mind when contemplating hybrid events. The cons are it's very expensive and quite complex, requiring a lot of staff and expertise; and the online audience has a tendency to be more passive, which can introduce a hierarchy of who's in-person and who's online.
And of course, the risk level is higher if there's an AV or streaming issue. "Concurrent": This is a full in-person event with a concurrent online option. This can be especially appealing if you know most of your attendees want to come back in person or exhibits are a significant part of your event, but you still want to provide a decent online option for new audiences and those who can't travel.
The benefits of this are keeping the in-person event as it's known and loved, while also having an option for those who can't attend. This also lends itself to monetizing the recorded content post-conference. While not as expensive as a fully live-streamed event, it still requires additional costs, and there is the risk of audience separation and hierarchy.
"Online, after in-person event": This is fairly self-explanatory. The in-person event is run and then an online event follows that uses content recorded at the in-person conference, supplemented by some exclusive virtual events, such as networking. The logistics here are a lot easier by not running two events at the same time. You still have AV expenses but not as much as the other options.
It's also not as risky and as expensive as the previous two options. The "true hybrid" is when the program is partially online and partially in person; not concurrent. This can be a creative way to rethink community needs and potentially offer the best of both worlds in both content consumption and networking without hierarchy. Savings can be found in authors prerecording their videos and in using smaller event venues.
Cons are this is a new model that most haven't done before, and it will require willingness to change and rethink processes. It will also most likely require staff with workflow expertise, such as your publishing colleagues. "Ongoing": This is when the concept of an annual event is thrown out the window, and instead, presentations and events take place throughout the year, both virtual and in-person.
In general, this will be cheaper, and you'll be able to take advantage of emerging trends and topics, but it's quite different from the energy found at an annual event. Finally, "alternate years": these are when events are run online one year and in-person the following year. In many respects, this is the least complex option and potentially the least expensive as well.
It's good for when you think both in-person and online options are viable for your community but due to budget and/or staff constraints, doing both events in one year is not an option. As you can see, there are lots of possibilities and room to be creative, as well as to customize the organization's budget, staff, resources, relationship to your community, and strategic goals. To help you arrive at which scenario or scenarios might make sense for you, I'd like to share some questions that meeting organizers can ask themselves.
These can roughly be grouped into three categories-- Dimensions, Community and Purpose. Remember, these aren't yes or no questions; they require thought and discussion and may raise more questions than answers. This is as good a time as any time to question your underlying assumptions about your events and your audience, try out new ideas, and ensure alignment of your events with your organization's overarching strategic goals.
First batch of questions are in dimensions. How many events per year? How large is the event, and what proportion are speakers or presenters? How much does it cost to attend your conference? This has a lot to do with attendee expectations. How well-funded is your community? What is your staff capacity to run events in multiple formats? Is your budget for hybrid events comparable to your in-person budget?
What is the proportion of conference revenue between registration, exhibitors, and sponsors? How significant are exhibits to your event? That's a lot to do with what the proportion of revenue from the event is. What is the proportion of program events among papers, plenaries, networking, and business meetings? Are there posters?
Do you use an abstract management system? Are proceedings published after the conference? Another bucket of questions are the community questions, getting at the heart of who your audience really is. What is the proportion of early-career attendees, and do you want to increase that number? If that's a significant goal for your events, that's going to have an impact on what kind of events you do. What is the proportion of researchers and practitioners at your conference?
How prestigious is your conference? And how much influence can you wield over attendees actions, such as ensuring that they prerecord their presentations on a timely basis? How global is your audience? And how global do you think your attendance could be given other factors? How satisfied was your community with the online events you ran this past year?
How active is your community throughout the year? Do they get together lots of times, or just want to be in the community. What's the culture of your community? This will often have an impact on what type of event will work for them. How risk tolerant is your community? How about your board? It's best to understand now how much wiggle room you have.
Do you anticipate your community being more or reluctant or unable to travel to conferences in the future? And the last bucket of questions is purpose. Is your event the primary vehicle for presentations of the latest thinking in your field? How important is your conference for the attendees' career growth?
How relevant to adjacent subject areas are your conference papers or presentations? And how keen are you to maximize your reach into those areas? Virtual events are a great way to do this. Finally, does your event attract more than 10% of the scientists and practitioners working in your field? As you consider these questions with your team in the context of your community's culture, goals, and resources, you'll probably find yourself narrowing your options down to one or two possible types of hybrid events.
At this point, it's a good time to engage vendors in conversations and learn more about how they handle each type of hybrid event. That's all from me for now. But I'm eager to listen in on the following fireside chat. And I'll be available to answer questions at the Q&A afterwards. And feel free to contact me at any time at jessica@cadmore.media. Thanks so much.
