Future of Hybrid Events in 2023: Still Relevant?

Future of Hybrid Events in 2023: Still Relevant?

The event industry has experienced a lot of excitement this year. A mix of Virtual, Hybrid, and Metaverse events has completely expanded the industry’s purview from just focusing on in-person/venue events. These event formats have paved the path for less physical isolation and given event planners access to technological alternatives. However, since the attained benefits of physical/in-person events cannot be altogether shunned, hybrid events have become a great alternative, that has the acquired benefits of engagement and satisfaction from a physical event and the ease and flexibility of a virtual event.
Thanks to new technologies, this industry will keep expanding and working with live events! Since there are no restrictions on geography, time zones, or reach, they can reach a larger target audience and do so with fewer resources. With a quick registration process and a few clicks, anyone in the world can participate in an event that is taking place in any nation or region. Since hybrid events have been around for a while, many of you may already be familiar with them, but for those of you who are still unaware, we have you covered!

What exactly is a Hybrid Event?

Live events make up the first part of a hybrid event, while virtual activities make up the second. This platform was created because virtual events are more affordable. People from anywhere can join a conference, tradeshow, entertainment show, meeting, workshop, lecture, etc. with the use of an app or a virtual space platform and enough connectivity. Even though the event is held at a set location, the hosts can also arrange a unique online session for the audience from abroad. This will boost attendance and aid in the internationalization of your event.

Significance of Hybrid Events in 2023?

The number of audience members attending hybrid events has increased over the past year as a result of the pandemic’s negative effects on the majority of those who previously attended in-person events. Even if virtual events have become increasingly popular, there is no disputing that in-person events still offer the highest levels of engagement and the most in-depth interactions, which is why hybrid events have become so popular. Synergies between digital and live encounters are produced by hybrid events. Even if the number of attendees at hybrid events has increased, event planners now choose this event type more because they recognize how the digital component broadens the event’s scope.
Flexibility is not the only advantage of hybrid events; the overall higher return on investment for the organizers also plays a significant role. The scope of hybrid events and conferences gives the organizers the added advantage of drawing more attendees covertly, which leads to the event being profitable both online and offline. The expectations of the attendees, speakers, visitors and viewers have increased as a result of a number of technologies, such as modifying the speaker’s background and creating the appearance of a person at a certain location with the aid of VFX and 3D technology. The virtual component of hybrid events gives planners and hybrid event platform suppliers a special something to offer customers.
But none of this occurs until it is understood how hybrid events will benefit both the hosts and the guests in 2023. Now, let’s shed some light on how and why this kind of event is going to completely transform the game.

What makes Hybrid Events still relevant in 2023?

  • Global Audience – Increased ROI: The biggest benefit that encompasses the hybrid event’s relevance is still the access to a global audience. Events are probably the best way to market a product or service, hence the wider the target audience, the better the marketing and the higher the return on investment with every event.
  • Reduced Overheads: Planning the travel, lodging, and other details for all attendees and keynote speakers takes a lot of time, work, and worry. You might not need as large of a space for lodging as you once did now that the number of in-person participants is anticipated to be minimal. The cost of the infrastructure is also anticipated to significantly decline, saving the event organizers both time and money in the long run.
  • Increased Viewership: While there may be many who would hesitate to travel, many others may be able to attend the event depending on their proximity to the event place. What stands in the favour of hybrid events is the ability to allow viewers to attend the same event virtually in order to save money on travel expenses. As a result, there is a surge of more registrations and participants at the event. To promote it even further, the event organizers can send them online registration forms so the participants can easily sign up and participate in the event.
  • Prolonged Association with Attendees: All events are aired online for online attendees because they take place live at the location. This makes it simple for the session’s organizers to record the whole thing and then share the recorded video with attendance. The attendees can view the material they missed at a later time or use it as a reference at any time as a result, fostering a loyal and lasting relationship between the organizers and attendees.
  • More Visibility for Sponsors: The exposure that the sponsors get from the hybrid events is greater than one may anticipate. The reach is astounding since it includes both those who experience the event live and those who watch it virtually. It adds more viewers to the event which means more eyes for sponsors to catch. Hence this will only add value to your event and attract more sponsors.

A Better Choice of Event

Hybrid events are not really a cakewalk at first. Hosting a hybrid event may initially require more work, but in the long term, it does pay off and produce superior results to entirely virtual or in-person events. A seamless blending of reality and virtuality makes hybrid events accessible to all participants and inspires curiosity in the audience. These futuristic events are a great way to address a number of problems, including audience size, out-of-town attendance, venue accommodations, infrastructure costs, and others. New technology and improved methods of communicating with the audience are expected to emerge over time. Hybrid events have increased dramatically recently, and they will continue to do so as long as people are concerned about conserving resources without compromising on the quality of events, engagement levels, and return on investments. The majority of event industry experts prefer to go digital and promote the digital platform, which has been fostering the hybrid trend.

The Next Step

In the past two years, hybrid events have successfully proved their capability and versatility in every industry and every category of the event. In order for event organizers to reach their virtual audience across nations and continents, it is anticipated that hybrid event technology will play a significant role starting in 2023. We’ve had the opportunity over the last few months to study the digital world in great detail and try to make use of every facet of it. In order to maintain the best of both worlds, why not hold your event on a platform like ibentos hybrid event platform, where you can continue to use the online area and embed it into in-person events? The ibentos hybrid events platform is a distinctive platform that was developed when the pandemic began to affect the events market. It requires fewer resources and helps businesses to reach a wider target audience because there are no limitations on geography, time zones, or reach. A hybrid event platform that offers best-in-class, high-definition video streaming solutions, and an immersive environment for the virtual audience along with excellent in-person event solutions and physical modules to make your hybrid events of truly global standards.
Want to execute an enriching virtual event for your audience, reach out to us now.