What is a Hybrid Event?

To explain what a Hybrid Event is, we need to delve into why Hybrid events have become an important part of any event strategy.

Virtual Events Become a Necessity

We all know that the lockdowns imposed by most countries around the world from early 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, changed a number of ways we conduct business.

Many people who worked in an office environment before Covid were told to work from home. Using your home internet connection to work virtually became the norm overnight, and millions of people realized that performing business tasks virtually was not only possible but, in many cases, was a more efficient way to get the job done.

One business practice directly impacted was the holding of live, in-person events. Organizations were forced to hold their events virtually as people were restricted from gathering for events due to strict Covid protocols and social distancing requirements. All these restrictions made in-person events impossible, and holding virtual events became a necessity.

Virtual events have many benefits for the host of the event, such as having the ability to increase the size of the audience dramatically, reducing the costs significantly, and being able to collect more accurate data on attendees, to name but a few. In addition, they even benefit the environment by reducing the CO₂ emissions that would have resulted from people traveling to an in-person event. How amazing is that!

With the advantages of virtual events made abundantly clear to those hosting events, many people could not imagine returning to a life of traveling to attend events and all the expense that goes along with it. So, is it the moment to reinvent in-person events?

A new era for in-person events

Virtual events are incredibly beneficial for the host of the event, the speakers at the event, the attendees of the event and even our planet. So, does this mean that live in-person events will cease to exist?

In-person events do have certain benefits which can’t be ignored. For example, in-person interactions between certain parties can result in strong business ties being formed and longstanding relationships strengthened. But is that enough to justify returning to exclusively in-person events when all the benefits of virtual events have been shown to the world? Why not to bond the best of two worlds, in-person events, and virtual events coexisting together?

What is a Hybrid Event? The Best Of Both Worlds

So we’ve established that virtual events are hugely beneficial in so many ways and we’ve also shown that in-person events do have their place under certain circumstances. So why not combine the two when it’s appropriate? Well, that’s exactly what a Hybrid event is.

What is a hybrid event? An event that has a virtual component and an in-person one.

A hybrid event is not just an in-person event live-streamed to an online audience. Instead, a hybrid event has just one audience. Part of the audience is attending the event in person, while the other is attending the event virtually. Usually, the virtual attendees participate from the comfort of their home, office, or wherever they choose to experience the event using an appropriate device.

With a well-managed hybrid event, the virtual audience feels part of the event, even though they are not physically at the venue.

A hybrid event platform such as SCOOCS allows the event host to create that in-person experience for the entire audience, no matter where they’re situated.

The SCOOCS event platform gives every attendee the opportunity to interact with one another, interact with the speakers by asking and answering questions, and participate in surveys, polls, and quizzes. They can even connect and network with each other like they are all in one room.

If you want to learn more on how to organize the best hybrid event, check out the conference of Klaus Motoki Tonn, CEO and founder of Lumen and dexp.one, on the SCOOCS Forum 2021! “Planning and Hosting Succesful Hybrid Events: Conception and Ideation”. In this conference, Klaus Motoki Tonn share a lot of valuable insights about how to plan the perfect hybrid event!