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Navigating Hybrid Events: Combining In-Person and Virtual Experiences

Hybrid events, which combine in-person and virtual elements, have become increasingly popular in the event management industry. This format offers the best of both worlds, providing the engagement and networking opportunities of in-person events with the accessibility and reach of virtual events. eShow’s digital event management tools are designed to support hybrid events, offering features that enhance both the in-person and virtual attendee experiences. In this blog post, we will explore how to navigate hybrid events effectively, leveraging eShow’s suite of products.

Understanding Hybrid Events

What Are Hybrid Events?

Hybrid events are events that incorporate both in-person and virtual components, allowing attendees to participate in person at a physical location or virtually from anywhere in the world. This format provides flexibility, making it possible to reach a broader audience while maintaining the benefits of face-to-face interactions.

Benefits of Hybrid Events

  1. Increased Reach: Hybrid events allow you to reach a global audience, increasing participation and expanding your event’s impact.
  2. Enhanced Engagement: Combining in-person and virtual elements can create a more dynamic and engaging experience for all attendees.
  3. Flexibility: Attendees have the option to choose how they participate, accommodating different preferences and circumstances.
  4. Cost-Effective: Hybrid events can be more cost-effective than fully in-person events, reducing travel and accommodation expenses.

Planning and Executing Hybrid Events

Pre-Event Planning

Effective planning is crucial for the success of hybrid events. Here are some key steps:

Define Clear Objectives

Set clear, measurable goals for your hybrid event. Objectives could include target attendance figures, engagement metrics, and ROI.

Actionable Tip: Establish SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) for your hybrid event. For example, aim to increase virtual attendee participation by 20% compared to your last event and track progress regularly to adjust strategies as needed.

Choose the Right Technology

Select a robust event management platform that supports both in-person and virtual components. eShow’s comprehensive suite of tools is designed to facilitate hybrid events, providing seamless integration between physical and digital experiences.

Example: Leverage eShow’s Digital Event Management tools to manage registrations, virtual sessions, and attendee engagement.

Engage Both Audiences

Create content and activities that engage both in-person and virtual attendees. This can include live streaming sessions, interactive Q&A, and virtual networking opportunities.

Example: Use eShow’s Mobile App to provide real-time updates, interactive maps, and personalized schedules for all attendees.

During the Event

On the day of the event, effective management and real-time adjustments are key to maximizing engagement.

Seamless Integration of In-Person and Virtual Components

Ensure that your in-person and virtual components are seamlessly integrated. This can include live streaming sessions for virtual attendees and providing virtual networking tools for in-person attendees.

Example: eShow’s Virtual Event Platform supports live streaming, virtual booths, and interactive features, ensuring a cohesive experience for all attendees.

Real-Time Engagement

Engage attendees in real-time through interactive features such as live polls, Q&A sessions, and gamification. This helps keep attendees engaged and encourages participation.

Example: Use eShow’s Custom Mobile Apps to create interactive experiences that captivate both in-person and virtual attendees.

Post-Event Follow-Up

Effective post-event follow-up is crucial for maintaining engagement and maximizing ROI.

Collect Feedback

Gather feedback from both in-person and virtual attendees to understand their experiences and identify areas for improvement.

Example: Use eShow’s Survey Tools to create and distribute post-event surveys. Analyze the results to make data-driven improvements for future events.

Analyze Data

Analyze the data collected during the event to evaluate the success of your hybrid event strategies. Look at metrics such as attendance, engagement, and ROI.

Example: eShow’s real-time Reporting and Dashboards provide comprehensive insights into your event performance, helping you understand what worked and what didn’t.

Build Long-Term Relationships

Follow up with attendees to thank them for their participation and discuss future opportunities. Building strong relationships with attendees ensures they return for future events.

Example: Schedule personalized follow-up emails or phone calls to gather feedback and offer exclusive early-bird discounts for your next event. Additionally, consider sending out a post-event survey to gain insights into their experience, which can help you tailor future events to better meet attendee needs.

Best Practices for Hybrid Events

Provide a Unified Experience

Ensure that both in-person and virtual attendees have a unified experience. This includes consistent branding, messaging, and quality of content.

Example: Use eShow’s Customized Virtual Venue to create a cohesive and professional look across all event components.

Optimize Content for Both Audiences

Optimize your content to cater to both in-person and virtual audiences. This can include shorter sessions for virtual attendees and interactive elements for in-person attendees.

Example: Use eShow’s Content Management Tools to organize and deliver content effectively.

Facilitate Networking Opportunities

Create opportunities for both in-person and virtual attendees to network. This can include virtual networking sessions, chat features, and social media integration.

Example: Use eShow’s Networking Tools to facilitate connections between attendees.

Leveraging eShow’s Tools for Hybrid Event Success

Hybrid events offer a unique opportunity to combine the best aspects of in-person and virtual experiences. By leveraging eShow’s comprehensive suite of tools, event planners can create engaging, seamless, and successful hybrid events. From pre-event planning to post-event follow-up, eShow’s digital event management tools provide the support needed to navigate the complexities of hybrid events effectively.Learn how eShow’s tools can help you achieve hybrid event success.

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The Event Manager’s Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity

The next time you’re watching your favorite TV program, don’t fast forward past the commercials. Pay close attention to them, and you’ll notice that some companies consistently neglect to include a diverse group of participants in their commercials. Or, if the participants are diverse, they aren’t given equal camera time. Yes, this happens in 2022.

It’s not surprising, then, that a 2020 study conducted by EventMB found that of the 150 events analyzed, 35-40% didn’t even have one Black speaker. How do you think this makes members of underrepresented groups feel?  

Other companies are fantastic at being inclusive and ensuring that they represent as many groups as possible in their commercials, whether by gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability, or class.  As you’re planning your next event, you want to follow the lead of these companies.  You want to ensure that you integrate diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your plans.  If you don’t, you deprive your event of valuable perspectives and experiences.  Here are some ways to make it happen:

Start With Internal Diversity

What are your company’s policies regarding discrimination and equitable hiring practices?  Diversity and inclusion start behind the scenes. The more diverse and inclusive your company is, the more likely the events planning team will also be diverse. Because the team reflects different perspectives and backgrounds, so will the partners, suppliers, speakers, and event topics. This will result in a richer event experience, one that will be less one-sided.

Another benefit of a diverse planning team is the awareness of cultural sensitivities and religious observances. For example, a team member might point out that a proposed event date conflicts with certain cultural or religious celebrations that you may have overlooked.

Hire Diverse Speakers & Performers

Speakers and performers will be the most visible component at your event. To show attendees your commitment to diversity and inclusion, make sure that the lineup of speakers/performers is as diverse as the audience. If you don’t, the audience will not feel represented and won’t likely attend future events.

Aim for a sufficient balance in gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability, and other characteristics. Not only will this make attendees feel included and welcomed, but the diverse lineup will also result in more profound, richer conversations and sessions.

Present Inclusive Event Content

When planning your event content, choose topics that will resonate with and impact the audience you’re trying to reach.  For example, if your event pertains to advancing in the technology field, consider including content covering the challenges women or minorities face when seeking leadership roles in technology.

Use Inclusive Promotional Materials

Your promotional materials, event website, and social media posts should include images of your diverse speaker lineup and event content.  You can also mention that your event is an inclusive space within the event collateral, and discriminatory behavior will not be tolerated. Clearly state the consequences of this behavior and the actions you’ll take should it occur.

Take the extra step and educate your team, speakers, and attendees about sexist, racist, or homophobic language by distributing inclusive language guides. If time and budget allow, consider forming a focus group of people from different backgrounds to test your marketing materials for inclusivity.

Make the Most of Partnerships 

If you’re considering working with other companies to add depth or (in the case of sponsorships) financial support to your event, do your due diligence. When researching potential partners/sponsors, look for signs that they’re actively diverse and inclusive. Are women and minorities in leadership positions within the company?  Do these companies support civil rights organizations and movements?

Add more diversity and inclusion to your event by using the products and services of companies certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). These companies are 51% owned and operated by someone who is an ethnic minority. Your partnership with MBEs can also help you reach marginalized communities.

Walk the Walk

It’s not enough to publicize that your event will be diverse and inclusive. You have to make an earnest effort to incorporate this principle as you plan and execute the event. Although some people are uncomfortable with the idea of quotas, it may be one of the best ways to ensure that you’re being equitable. For example, is there a fair number of minority or women speakers/performers? How many of your suppliers or event partners are MBEs?

Measure Your Progress

If you want to know if you successfully planned and executed an event that was diverse, inclusive, and equitable, ask the attendees. A post-event survey sent to attendees will let you know if they felt that the event resonated with them and made them feel included. Use this feedback to improve future events.

Final Thoughts

Planning an event can be challenging without the added challenge of ensuring that your event takes as many groups as possible into consideration. Sure, it will take more work to organize such an event, but it’s necessary. Every aspect of your event, from speakers to suppliers, should reflect your commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Once you’ve assembled your diverse lineup of speakers, let eShow help you manage the speakers and their sessions. Our Speaker & Session Management module allows you to schedule sessions with our robust conflict management tools. You can also monitor session capacity to avoid overscheduling.

This module isn’t just for your efficiency as the event manager but will also provide speakers and attendees with some pretty nifty tools! Speakers can manage the details of their sessions by logging into their own personal accounts, and attendees can easily register for sessions by accessing your session schedule pages.

 Using the Speaker & Session Management module, you can also create your post-event surveys, speaker evaluations, and session evaluations using the Speaker & Session Management module.  If you want to see this module in action, contact us today for a no-obligation demo; we can show you how this module and our other web-based tools operate and will help you execute legendary events! 

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Delight Your Audience With a Multi-Sensory Event

As a tike, did you own a book that had (in addition to brightly colored images) little patches of wool-like fabric incorporated into the animal images, images that you could scratch and sniff, and buttons that made squeak or chime sounds when pressed?  If so, the author/publisher of that book was on to something.  They knew that if you used your senses of touch, smell, and sound in addition to your sense of sight, you would enjoy reading that book more than a book with only words and pictures. They offered you a multi-sensory experience. 

Children aren’t the only ones who find multi-sensory experiences more enjoyable. Adults (consumers) also appreciate them, and brands would be wise to keep this in mind when planning marketing campaigns and trade shows. As your clients, these brands will rely on you, the event manager, to ensure attendees have the most pleasurable experience possible. Therefore, the more senses your attendees can engage during your events; the more positive and memorable their experience will be.  Your objective should be to design your events in emotion- and thought-provoking way.  

1.  Benefits of Multi-Sensory Events

Not only do our senses affect mood and influence activity, but it’s a scientific fact that the senses of smell, sight, and sound tend to store memories in the brain when engaged. This means that the likelihood of attendees thinking about your event in the future increases if you incorporate elements that tap into one or more of these senses.  And, of course, you want them to remember your event and your brand message, and that’s the reason you’re holding the event in the first place.

Here’s how you can create a multi-sensory experience and increase engagement at your events:

 2.  How to Host a Multi-Sensory Event

Depending on your budget, there are two ways to create a multi-sensory experience for your event attendees. If you’re working with a limited budget (or don’t want to overstimulate attendees), you can create focal points by adding small elements of sensory interest to your event. If done right, these small moments of delight can make a significant impact. Think stimulating fragrances, stunning table décor, and upbeat music between speakers.

If your budget is less constrained, you may want to immerse your attendees in a multi-sensory experience fully. Attendees will use multiple senses throughout the event, not just at focal points. This approach provides a more significant impact on memory and will engage attendees on a much larger scale. They’re more likely to remember and share details of the event for years to come. If you’re considering this approach, take a page from Essence and Toyota’s playbook.

3.  Essence & Toyota Show How It’s Done

In December 2017, ESSENCE magazine partnered with Toyota to create #SensoryWonderland, a multi-sensory event that celebrated Afrofuturism while simultaneously generating buzz for the new 2018 Toyota Camry. The event brought attention to Toyota’s Sensations campaign, which focused on drivers’ emotions and sensations when driving.

The event offered six spaces that represented buzzwords from the campaign and was designed to stimulate multiple senses: Lust, Hunger, Throb, Boom, Pulse, and Drool. Afrofuturistic imagery from the magazine was placed throughout the event, as well as performers that fit the concept.

In the Lust space, attendees were instructed to feel around the velvet-draped environment with their hands.  The Drool room offered a virtual reality experience from inside the new Camry, and the Pulse room contained a representation of the inside of a car engine that revved at full speed. In each room, there was a placard that described the experience that attendees could expect to have.

Toyota aimed to show that they valued multicultural consumers and, along with Essence (a publication with a predominantly African American readership), created a multi-sensory experience that did just that.

4.  Know Your Audience

In addition to your working budget, your decision to either implement the focal point approach or fully immerse attendees in a multi-sensory experience should depend on their needs and interests. Will they respond to an immersive, multi-sensory approach, or would they prefer something more sedate.  Are you catering to a younger demographic who are used to lively, trendy events?  If yes, they would likely appreciate the fully immersed approach. If your demographic is older and prefers more calm experiences, engage their senses on a smaller scale. Here’s where doing your research and knowing your audience pays off.

Final Thoughts

In the world of corporate events, there’s a growing trend toward full-scale immersive experiences, and audiences have come to expect that.  If you’re not meeting those expectations, you’re likely to receive less than favorable feedback and see a decrease in registrations for future events.

But, creating an event with high production quality can be challenging. Among the most common reasons for event managers to forgo making immersive, multi-sensory events are the lack of budget and time. Although an immersive experience may require a heftier budget, budget constraints shouldn’t stop you from giving your attendees what they’re looking for. 

If you’re working with a smaller budget, take the focal point approach and pepper small points of interest throughout the event. If (after doing your research) you find that your audience would prefer an experience that tantalizes the senses but your budget can’t keep up, consider sponsorship. Companies with interests and a target market similar to yours may welcome the opportunity to help cover the costs of your multi-sensory production in exchange for promotion.

However you decide to engage your audience’s senses, you’ll need a partner to help you deliver a memorable experience.  Make your role as an event manager easier by partnering with eShow. We keep our finger on the pulse of the event industry and offer clients creative and innovative ways to bring their ideas to fruition – all within budget. With our fully comprehensive event platform, we can help you not only delight your audience through multi-sensory events but also manage all aspects of your event, from vendor management to data collection and analysis.

Contact us today for a no-obligation demo.

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Boost Event Engagement through Gamification

Thinking outside the box and keeping your audience engaged are two critical keys to any successful event. Now that virtual and hybrid events have become the norm, organizers must work even harder to keep energy high and hold their attendees’ attention.

Integrating games and competitions into events, also called “gamification,” is one of the hottest trends right now. Adding gamification to your event is one of the best ways to increase engagement, heighten brand awareness, and drive attendees to perform desired actions.

What is Gamification? The Basics

Despite its recent rise in popularity, there’s still some confusion about gamification and what it isn’t. It’s important to note that it’s not about turning your event into a big competition or creating something that resembles a fair; instead, event gamification is simply the process of incorporating game mechanics into the overall event experience. 

It works because humans, by nature, like to compete; they also feel a strong sense of satisfaction when rewarded for their efforts. Gamification taps into this psychology to drive desired behaviors in a fun and exciting way. 

Using Gamification to Drive Action

Defining your desired outcome is the first step to successfully incorporating gamification into your events. Whether you’re trying to build your prospect list, upsell to current customers, or increase brand awareness, it’s essential to know how you’ll measure your success.

While gamification can add a significant amount of entertainment to your event, this shouldn’t be the only purpose. Instead, it should always be linked to a specific goal that directly relates to the success of your event. For example, you may aim for a 30% increase in exhibitor interactions or a 25% increase in attendee referrals.

Once you’re clear on your goals, choosing the best gamification format for your event is much easier. For example, if you want to ensure your sponsors and exhibitors get plenty of traffic, you may offer points for each display they visit.

Some other ways to use gamification to drive action include:

  • Awarding points for correctly answering trivia questions during the event
  • Checking off boxes on BINGO cards for completing specific tasks
  • Hiding secret codes at various locations throughout the event space
  • Creating a scavenger hunt and awarding clues for taking particular actions
  • Offering the ability to earn titles and “level up” for completing several tasks
  • Giving points or rewards for inviting others to attend the event

Using a mobile app with gaming capabilities will help you design and launch your gamification plan. While it’s critical to have the right technology in place, simply providing access to an app isn’t enough. You’ll also need to motivate your attendees to participate in the games and make it worth their while. Do it right, and you’ll create loyal brand advocates who will be talking about your event long after it’s over.

Motivating Attendees

Since most people enjoy a bit of friendly competition, providing visual incentives like leaderboards, notifications, and personal scorecards can help keep your attendees motivated.

For in-person meetings, you may also consider giving out color-coded lanyards or badges for reaching certain levels. This will keep your gamification top-of-mind and encourage a competitive spirit.

Make sure your games are challenging enough to give participants a sense of achievement, but not so difficult or complex that attendees get frustrated or lose interest. It’s also essential to monitor your gamification in real-time. Keep an eye on how close participants are to earning awards and how engaged they are. If enthusiasm seems to be waning, make sure to send notifications reminding them how close they are to receiving a reward.

Choosing Rewards and Prizes

If you want people to get excited about your games, you’ll need prizes or rewards they want. While there are many options, ultimately, you’ll want to make sure the rewards you choose surprise and delight your guests.

For multi-day events, you may consider awarding experiences such as a VIP happy hour, a special dinner, a massage at the hotel spa, or an exclusive outing for those who reach certain levels.

Some organizations offer to donate to a charity of the winner’s choice, while others stick to traditional prizes, like a t-shirt and a coffee mug. As you choose the awards for your event, it’s crucial to think about what the prize says about your organization and the lasting impression you want to make.

Benefits of Gamification

Adding gamification to your event is an excellent way to guide your attendees to the actions you want them to take. It also makes them more comfortable, because they’ll know exactly what’s expected of them. In addition, when attendees are fully engaged, they’re more aware of their surroundings, allowing for deeper interaction with presenters and exhibitors.

Properly implemented, gamification converts “attendees” into “participants.” It helps them become fully immersed in the moment, learn new things, and get more out of the event than they otherwise would.

Gamification can create a fun and relaxed atmosphere and ensure a positive and rewarding experience. It can also significantly increase your return on investment by helping you to reach your predefined goals.

Add Gamification to Your Next Event

While the concept of gamification has created a lot of buzz lately, only a small number of organizers are currently using it to its full potential. By using gamification to upgrade your event experience now, you can ensure your events will stand out from the crowd. It will also allow you to increase both participants and sponsor engagement, encourage deeper connections, increase your session attendance, and improve the overall experience.

To learn more about how eShow can help you add gamification to your next event, request a personal demo. We’re happy to show you exactly how our mobile app works and help you choose the perfect line-up of products to ensure your next event is a stellar success.

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Event Planning: What to Expect in 2022

During late 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates severely impacted the meeting and events industry. Companies and countries imposed strict travel restrictions, while mask and social distancing mandates put a damper on live occasions.

What a difference a year makes.

IIn 2021, the meeting and event industry adapted to pandemic-created challenges, leading to innovative events. As of now, in-person events, complete with social-distancing measures, vaccination requirements, and mask mandates, are starting to come back. But what will happen in 2022? The likelihood is strong that even as live events ramp up, digital and hybrid happenings will continue to be part of the event-planning landscape.

Returning, In Person

One hard-to-ignore fact is that people are anxious to get back together, especially when it comes to live meetings and events.

The Global Recovery Insights 2021 report backs this assertion with numbers. According to exhibitors surveyed, half anticipated that their budgets would return to normal by the end of 2022. Additionally, 62% of exhibitors surveyed said they plan to attend shows in person at the same or increased frequency as before.

The report also surveyed attendees; 72% of participants indicated they would be attending in-person events and shows in 2022.

Another interesting fact about this report is that digital events haven’t replaced live events. Respondents noted that face-to-face happenings are preferable when it comes to networking, education, and overall experience. However, this doesn’t mean that digital events are going away.

Hybrid, the Continued Tool

One thing to count on in 2022 is that hybrid events will continue. However, the issue to keep in mind is that “hybrid” can mean various things.

According to Meeting Planners International, a hybrid event combines “technology with traditional event practices to create new types of attendee experiences and content delivery tools.” As such, these events can focus on at least one group of face-to-face attendees, which connects virtually with participants in other locations.

Regardless of the form a hybrid event takes, experts, believe they will be a mainstay of 2022 events for the following reasons.

Young Adults and Millennial Preference

According to Charles Vincent with Spur Impact, younger adults have been partial to in-real-life (IRL) virtual meetings and events. He noted that young adults, especially, are becoming more used to multitasking and working on multiple screens.

Broader Audience Reach

A report from Qualtrics forecasts that while digital (formerly virtual) events are still preferred, a combination of online and in-person events will be essential to appeal to larger audiences. Many attendees and exhibitors are still leery of travel, making a hybrid happening a good strategy.

Continued Remote Work Preference

Not all corporate offices are open. In fact, companies are more accepting of remote work, especially among employees with kids. This has translated to event attendance. During 2020, a high percentage of working parents attended digital events, and this trend continued in 2021 and is likely to continue in the coming year.

More Sophisticated Content

During 2020 and 2021, planners developed content that was ideal for hybrid events. In 2022, session recordings and PowerPoints will be more available for those attendees unable to travel to an in-person event or who could not attend a digital event when it was live.

Potential Emotional Obstacles

There is indeed a pent-up demand when it comes to in-person events. However, people are still nervous when it comes to issues such as COVID-19 transmission rates. As such, it will be easier to offer a hybrid format, especially for those who are nervous about attending events in person.

The Hyperlocal Impact

Another trend continuing into 2022 will be hyperlocality. Rather than hosting a single meeting or event at a centralized location, planners and schedulers will take advantage of regional spaces (such as limited-service hotels or meeting spaces) and host simultaneous events there.

Local events with a robust digital component offer several benefits, not the least of which is a lower risk of viral transmission. Furthermore, this setup will help cut back on travel expenses for attendees. This can be an important consideration, especially as businesses are dealing with last year’s pandemic-created recession.

Worker and Staffing Challenges

Finally, staffing shortages will be an issue as people return to events and meetings (whether in-person, digital, or hybrid). One reason for this is because event planning companies had to cut staff in 2020 and 2021 and are trying to ramp up their teams. As such, labor shortages could mean that “auxiliary” staff, such as artists, technicians, audiovisual specialists, and florists, might be more challenging to find and hire.

Preparing For 2022

When thinking about your meetings and events in 2022, it’s essential to realize that this will be vastly different from 2019, before the pandemic. As such, consider the following suggestions for a successful event next year.

Begin planning now. If you have not already started to book your 2022 event, it’s crucial you do so now. As mentioned above, staffing shortages will be an issue next year. Furthermore, as more companies and organizations plan their events, you could run into competition for experts, small meeting spaces, or even bandwidth.

Make sure your plan covers live and digital components. When setting up packages, people, and assistance, ensure that the correct components are fitted with the proper method deliveries. For example, not all speakers will be comfortable on a virtual platform.

Be flexible and creative. During 2020 and 2021, event planners develop unique and innovative ways to engage hybrid and digital attendees. It’s vital to continue innovation in 2022. Whether they are tuning in virtually or coming to see your event live, your attendees want to be engaged. Speaking of which . . .

Know your audience’s likes, dislikes, and tolerances. In other words, delve deeply into data. Audience feedback in 2022 will be more critical than ever, and understanding what works with your attendees and exhibitors means a better event experience. For example, planning your hybrid event might be a good idea to focus on shorter micro-events spread out over a couple of days versus one large, hours-long main event.

2020 involved shutdowns and the need for digital platforms, while 2021 experienced meetings and events comeback. We anticipate that 2022 will see an even more significant resurgence. Additionally, the positive advantages realized from hybrid and hyper-local happenings will carry over into next year. The best way to take advantage of this is to know what your attendees and exhibitors want. With this knowledge, your next-year event can be the one that is remembered and appreciated.

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