Erica
St. Angel has a long experience in hybrid event planning as Vice President of
Marketing at Sonic Fory, a company specialized in event webcasting. She is the
author of the quote that opens our last blog entry where we will continue the
debate about the future of events.
As she comments
in an interview1, there is a big fear between event planners and
conference organizers about cannibalization,
namely that if an event is taken hybrid, no one will come.
An
hybrid event happens when there is an event occurring at the same time for
remote attendees and the ones that are on-site, which is possible thanks to
online webcasting platforms that capture and deliver video lectures and conferences.
It is not to be mistaken with virtual events, which happen when attendees are
not physically in the same place at the same time.
When
time and date of an event is set, it will not be convenient for everyone. The
online version tries to serve those delegates and members who have time or
budget constraints and cannot attend, and the service is considered an added
value, according to Erica St. Angel. She states that “the interplay between
both an onsite and an online audience watching a session, and also going back
to watch a session again, will be core to how we increase the value of events
beyond just those few days on site”.
Apart
from this advantage, planners can benefit from hybrid events to engage
customers with the brand long after the closing session, creating expectation
and securing registrations for the next event. At the same time, it is a way to
reach new audiences, build an online community and “have the option to increase
revenue by selling live or on-demand access, or selling webcast sponsorship to
exhibitors and partners”, according to Erica St. Angel.
This
type of events are ruled by the same principles, and we have found an
interesting video that explains how the hybrid environment is measurement-friendly, with real time
information and insight to help drive future business decisions.
What are the incentives for
on-site attendees?
Networking
is the main question for most attendees, but there are other incentives like
getting access to the conference archive, which gives more value to a
registration fee. These materials can be used for certification and training.
Moreover, attendees can interact and feed the conversation through social media,
being part of a large community even days and weeks after the event.
In
conclusion, face-to-face encounters seem really alive, though the introduction
of an online version. Support materials on Internet not only help to promote the
event to new members but they also increase loyalty between previous followers.
An
example of a progressive hybrid event created with Sonic Foundry’s technology
is Event Camp Europe (http://eventcamp.eu), held last September 2011 in the UK.
Posted
by Vanessa Morales & Sabina Bartikova
Key words: hybrid
event, webcasting, event planners, conference organizers
Source
(text and photo): www.planetplanit.co.uk/eventiq-article-eceu.asp?
category=Event+Camp+Europe&serialnumber=472
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU9-trOpTgg&feature=relmfu
No comments:
Post a Comment