The Future of Hybrid Events: Strategies for Companies & Venues

This report examines the burgeoning trend of hybrid events, a blend of virtual and live experiences, and its implications for companies and event venues. Fueled by the pandemic and advancements in digital technology, hybrid events have evolved significantly, offering enhanced audience engagement and accessibility. The report delves into the literature surrounding hybrid events, highlighting their evolution from basic streaming services to sophisticated platforms that prioritize both virtual and in-person attendees. Key strategies for maximizing audience engagement, such as customized pre-event surveys and immersive user experiences, are discussed. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the importance of key performance indicators (KPIs) in gauging the success of hybrid events, including email click-through rates. Ultimately, the report posits that hybrid events are poised to become a mainstay in the event management industry, offering businesses a cost-effective and sustainable means of achieving corporate objectives while catering to a diverse audience.

What is the future
of hybrid events
for companies and
event venues
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EXECUTIVE SUMARRY
The pandemic has increased the popularity of hybrid events which include combining virtual and
live events. The increased demand for hybrid events because they offer health safety from virus
infection has increased their quality from early years as better engagement is provided to
audiences. In addition to this different engagement strategies such as increasing user experience
and getting eye catching screen are used to retain the attention of attendees. Development in
digital technology has made hybrid event accessible for weddings also and KPI like click
through rates can be used for easily determining success of an event. AR and VR will be used in
future to improve hybrid events.
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMARRY..............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Literature review of the company data...................................................................................4
Recommendations..................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Event management is defined as the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party,
concert, convention or conference which includes various activities such as budgeting,
establishing dates and alternating dates, selecting and booking venues, acquiring permits,
coordinating with transportation, developing a theme, arranging for speakers, arranging décor,
catering, emergency plans, security and cleaning services. The concept of event management
involves applying principles and tools of project management do the event planning process so
that high quality deliverables are provided to the client in a timely manner. Event management
requires coordination and collaboration with people teams and business is so that every kind of
event can be completed smoothly such as corporate events or personal events. in the recent years
the event management industry history is because of technological advances and hybrid events
are becoming popular choice of event. This report conducts a literature review in the future an
evolution of hybrid events for companies and event venues. The firm selected for this report is
the UK based company stone X.
Background of the company: Stone axe which was previously known as INTL FCStone,
Is there institutional grade financial services network which offers solutions for connecting
companies organizations traders and investors by using a combination of digital platforms and to
and cleaning an execution services high tide service and deep expertise (About Us, 2022). It is a
Fortune 500 company and conducts different types of corporate events to attain business
objectives.
MAIN BODY
Literature review of the company data
As per the views of Strutt (20202), Hybrid events are completed by adding a virtual
component to the actual event so that the audience can participate and engage with the event no
matter where they are. Hybrid events are conducted on both virtual and conventional channels to
provide flexibility to the event so that both online and physical audience can take part in the
event (10 reasons why hybrid events are essential to your event strategy, 2022). Ensuring proper
virtual engagement is an important part of hybrid event because it separates the event from mere
YouTube videos or online shows where the audience is not able to engage with the particular
event.
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The primary distinguishing feature between hybrid events and live event is that
technological elements are introduced in hybrid events to elevate the level of audience
engagement which caters to all audiences in a viewer friendly way. Other characteristics of a
hybrid event are seamless collaboration of digital technology to ensure that both live and virtual
audiences are able to participate equally in the event and keeping the audience journey first for
both virtual and physical audiences (Borisov and et.al., 2019).
Planning for hybrid event involves using hybrid environment with both digital and
physical tools from the get-go of the event. This means that meetings and collaborations for the
event are completed in a hybrid setting which merges in person meetings with virtual meetings to
facilitate completion of the hybrid event. In addition to this another requirement for
implementing a successful hybrid event is the presence of a suitable online platform which can
be used by the company to complete the hybrid event. A hybrid event involves engaging with the
event content in an intuitive way so that the virtual as well as physical audience gains the highest
satisfaction from the event.
In addition to this another requirement for completing a successful hybrid event is
growing professional network so that the technical aspects of the hybrid event can be completed
flawlessly so that each attendee experiences better than their expectations event. In context of the
company stone X, the organization will gain various benefit from completing a hybrid event such
as ensuring that all the audience members are able to attend the event with maximum
engagement from both virtual as well as physical audiences. The usage of hybrid event as the
setting for corporate event at the respective organization can help the company reduced cost of
the event while ensuring that event sustainability and quality of engagement received by each
individual attendee is not lowered.
According to Hulse (2021), in its early days hybrid events were planned in an ineffective
manner and we’re lower in quality when compared to digital audiences expectations and the in
person audience was not aware of the digital counterparts (How Hybrid Events Have Evolved
and Where They Go From Here, 2021). The concept of hybrid events in its early days involved
streaming the content of in person event to at home audiences which had no meaningful
engagement opportunities for digital audiences and were lower in quality when compared to
strictly virtual or strictly in person events.
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There was not much effort put into creating hybrid events and the concept of satisfying
both in person as well as virtual audience at the same time was not given much consideration as
the demand and level of quality for hybrid events was extremely low in the beginning.
Nowadays many external factors such as a global pandemic taking place increasing safety
concerns, better digital technology and acceptance of people towards virtual events has increased
in both corporate as well as personal event sphere which has increased the popularity of hybrid
event elevating the quality of these events significantly (Clemente, 2018).
Currently hybrid events are considered the best option to maximize audience engagement
and the general audience expectations from a hybrid event are more than when compared to a
strictly virtual event. Hybrid events focus on capturing the attention of both virtual and in person
attendees by providing engagement opportunities for both the audiences. Both businesses and
private consumers are demanding hybrid events so that individuals who are not able to attend the
event due to physical barriers are able to attend the event through virtual channels. Therefore
hybrid events have evolved from the past to become a more virtual focused so that the virtual
audiences gains as much as engagement as in person audience and the event is completed
smoothly. The evolution of hybrid events is beneficial for any type of corporate event conducted
at the UK based firm stone X, This is because hybrid events will be able to satisfy the virtual as
well as in person audience of the company and ensure that the form is able to develop high
quality events without exceeding budgets in order to make the event strictly in person.
As per the views of Dang and et.al., (2021), in the past two years the audience
expectations an acceptance related to virtual events have changed significantly. The primary
reason for such drastic change in only two years is the rise of a global pandemic which increased
health risk of physically attending an event. Currently individuals are more comfortable with
virtually attending an event instead of going out physically because it increases the risk of
getting infected with a virus or any other kind of disease. The global pandemic has increased
awareness and alertness of individuals when it comes to their hygiene and protection from any
kinds of viruses or pathogens. The current event audience expects the event to be virtually
completed so that they do not have to face The risk of getting any kind of disease by attending an
event where there is no guarantee of health safety. These factors have improved acceptance of
virtual events across different ages and international markets as both corporate and private events
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are being held with the usage of virtual technology so that individuals who wish to attend the
event remotely are also able to participate in the event.
Apart from this the pandemic also increased the usage of digital technology in
professional and personal spaces and accelerated the consumption of social media content across
all age groups and demographics to stay connected during nationwide lockdowns and quarantine.
This also supported the acceptance of virtual events by general audiences their familiarity with
using digital technology increased during the pandemic (Duane, Castellnou and Brotons, 2021).
Employees completed their daily work by using digital technology and individuals connected
with their acquaintances and relatives by using digital technology which increase the acceptance
of virtual technology for all types of communication. This also supported the rising popularity of
virtual events as consumers are now more comfortable with using virtual technology for
communication then they were two years ago.
According to Caramuru (2021), The first and foremost requirement for ensuring high
engagement of the audience for the hybrid event is to understand the audience and their needs.
This is the very foundation of the hybrid event planning and it involves letting the audience
shape the content of the event so that both virtual and in person audience is satisfied. This can be
completed by implementing a customized event pre planning survey so that the wish list and
expectations of virtual and physical audiences can be identified and the event can be planned in a
specific way to provide each audience member high level of engagement (14 Engagement Ideas
for Hybrid Events, 2021).
Coming to the technical aspects of the hybrid event it is important to create an eye
catching user experience and screen. This is an important part of ensuring that the virtual
audience is engaged throughout the hybrid event because it creates visuals which grabbed the
attention of the audience and also help in highlighting the sponsors and partners of the event.
The user experience for the virtual user needs to be as simple as possible so that they are able to
engage with event activities and understand activities of the event clearly. Another important
element which needs to be considered while looking at audience engagement for hybrid event is
true improve the on boarding for online audience easier (Gillentine, 2020). This involves
making a good first impression on the online audience so that they are hooked instantly to the
digital event content provided to them and there is less possibility off online attendees walking
away mid-event.
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The action which can be taken by organizations for improving the engagement of
physical audiences at hybrid event is to use on demand speakers at the end of the event to
enhance attendee anticipation and keep them involved throughout the event. In context of the UK
based company stone X, these engagement strategies can be adopted by the firm to engage both
virtual as well as physical audiences attending the hybrid corporate events of the form and
achieving business objectives with the help of such high quality corporate events.
As per the views of Sanchi, (2021), 72% of corporate events are now considering opting
for hybrid events instead of going strictly life or strictly digital as hybrid events have provided
businesses local and global audience engagement for attaining corporate objectives (7 important
KPIs to gauge your hybrid event’s success, 2021). The success of a hybrid event can we
determine by using different types of key performance indicators such as email Click through
rate of every email broadcasted to engage audiences. The email see to read is calculated other
issue of total number of participants who clicked on the link of the mail out of all the participants
in the mailing list.
It is an effective strategy for determining success of a hybrid event because it helps
identify the success of the company in gaining virtual audience for the event. In addition to this
another important key performance indicator for hybrid event is the level of sponsor engagement
and participant satisfaction store because these two stakeholders are important for backing future
events of the company.
The sponsor engagement of the event can be determined by tracking sponsor link clicks
chat mentions social media mentions and inquiries after the completion of the event. In addition
to this the participant satisfaction store is calculated by asking the audience to write down
reviews which includes both online and live attendees throughout the event so that the level of
satisfaction and audience concerns are uncovered. In case of the UK based company stone ex all
of these key performance indicators will be utilized for understanding the success of the hybrid
events and monitoring any factors which reduce audience engagement and satisfaction so that
future corporate events can be improved to exceed audience expectations.
According to Kubayi and Larkin, (2021), similar to the rise of popularity of hybrid events
in the corporate world hybrid weddings are also becoming popular which involves combining in
person and virtual elements to complete a wedding. Hybrid weddings are advantages and can
replace strictly life or completely virtual weddings because it is a necessity driven by the
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pandemic which keeps all the attendees safe while also supporting enjoyment of a personal
function. The development of digital technology will further support rising popularity of hybrid
event and increased demand for introducing virtual components in wedding ceremonies.
As per the views of (), hybrid events are here to stay and will continuously improve
through better digital and advanced technology. In the past two years businesses have adopted
production techniques from television an engagement strategies for social media to support
creation of hybrid corporate events which enable development of multi faceted platforms where
remote attendees cannot only seamlessly move between presentations but also collaborate with
their colleagues to reach new levels of engagement and access through virtual technology (Liu
and et. al., 2020). In the future development of hybrid events will become more sophisticated and
focused on keeping people interested which will lead to transformation of event teams into
developing TV production stages which can compete with Hollywood studios.
This involves using multiple cameras to film expert panels and product demonstration
along with using cinematography and filming techniques to make the virtual experience more
appealing and engaging. In addition to this development in virtual reality and augmented reality
technology will make hybrid events of the future overcome the natural barrier of screen so that
individuals in remote areas can successfully participate in life events and actually experience feel
and touch the activities happening in the live event. It is determined that the respective company
stone X will be able to benefit from the development of technology and hybrid event in the
future. The company will be able to develop corporate events which reach the engagement level
of life audience for the virtual audiences and help the live audiences experience cinematic
participation in an event (Yi and et. al., 2019).
Recommendations
 It is recommended to the company stone X that the firm invest in developing hybrid events
which utilized the current level of virtual and augmented reality technology so that the
remote audiences are able to experience equal engagement when compared to live
audiences. This is a suitable recommendation for the company because it will help the firm
ensure let the virtual audience sticks throughout the corporate event and is able to gain equal
amount of information as an individual vote if they are at ending the event live.
 It is suggested that the respective company develops capabilities for high level production of
hybrid events including partnering with cinematographers to make the experience more
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engaging for both life and virtual audiences. This is a suitable recommendation which
involves using Hollywood level production technologies including cameras an sound
equipment so that would life and virtual audiences gain the best experience throughout the
event.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that the popularity of hybrid event has escalated
significantly in the last two years because of the pandemic and will continue to increase as it
provides different advantages such as safety to the audiences. The concept of hybrid events have
evolved from only streaming the digital videos of the event to full-fledged focus on engaging
both virtual and real life audiences of the event which can also be used for conducting private
ceremonies such as wedding. The key performance indicators which can be used for measuring
success of a hybrid event involves click through rate and level of satisfaction of the audience.
Virtual reality and augmented reality will shape a better future for hybrid event by increasing the
level of engagement for each audience member.
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REFRENCES
Books and Journals
Borisov and et.al., 2019. Surveillance of adverse events in the treatment of drug-resistant
tuberculosis: first global report. European Respiratory Journal, 54(6).
Clemente, F. M., 2018. Performance outcomes and their associations with network measures
during FIFA World Cup 2018. International Journal of Performance Analysis in
Sport, 18(6). pp.1010-1023.
Dang and et.al., 2021. Impact of Sudden Global Events on Cross-Field Research Cooperation.
Information, 12(1), p.26.
Duane, A., Castellnou, M. and Brotons, L., 2021. Towards a comprehensive look at global
drivers of novel extreme wildfire events. Climatic Change, 165(3), pp.1-21.
Gillentine, A., 2020. Sports Ethics for Sports Management Professionals. International Journal of
Sport Communication, 13(2). pp.266-268.
Kubayi, A. and Larkin, P., 2021. Match performance variables that differentiated between
qualified and eliminated teams in the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World
Cup. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, pp.1-5.
Liu and et. al., 2020. Activity profiles of full-match and substitution players in the 2018 FIFA
World Cup. European journal of sport science, 20(5). pp.599-605.
Yi and et. al., 2019. Technical and physical match performance of teams in the 2018 FIFA World
Cup: Effects of two different playing styles. Journal of sports sciences, 37(22). pp.2569-
2577.
Online
10 reasons why hybrid events are essential to your event strategy, 2022. [Online] Available
through <https://www.brella.io/blog/hybrid-event-benefits>
14 Engagement Ideas for Hybrid Events, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://eventscase.com/blog/14engagement-ideas-for-hybrid-events-
eventscase#:~:text=Getting%20your%20attendees%20to%20work,or%20online
%20(breakout%20rooms).>
7 important KPIs to gauge your hybrid event’s success, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://www.airmeet.com/hub/blog/important-kpis-to-gauge-your-hybrid-event-
success/>
About Us, 2022. [Online] Available through <https://www.stonex.com/About/>
How Hybrid Events Have Evolved and Where They Go From Here, 2021. [Online] Available
through <https://www.on24.com/blog/how-hybrid-events-have-evolved-and-where-
they-go-from-here/>
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