Virtual and hybrid events

Professional infrastructure, short distances and smooth interaction between competent players - in Bern, the conditions for organisers to hold safe and (cost-)efficient digital events are excellent. The main success factors here are the networking and well-established processes between hosts, organisers and other partners. In many places, broadcast studios are set up ready for use at any time so that virtual meetings can be organised within a short space of time.

The integration of digital solutions has become an important part of planning and organising meetings. The ability to participate from any location achieves a greater reach and ensures an optimal transfer of knowledge. Tools such as a chat function, live surveys, virtual coffee breaks or even separate breakout sessions can be incorporated to increase the opportunity for (digital) participants to network and make the event interactive for everyone. You can find out more about this topic in the webinar.

The three reference events below and an interview with a technology provider provide an in-depth insight into the variety of virtual and hybrid event solutions.

The complexity of a successful virtual or hybrid event should not be underestimated. This type of event offers many possibilities in terms of design and realisation - but due to the constantly changing technology and the further development of platforms, it is not easy to maintain an overview. Proper and in-depth planning of an event is therefore essential. Many organisations have great respect for the use of new technologies that they are not familiar with. It is therefore important to plan trial runs.

When we started with virtual and hybrid events in spring, we were of course already able to draw on the experience of classic livestreams. So we didn't have to reinvent everything. What has changed, however, are the requirements in terms of extending events into the digital space, the type of interactions and the partial replacement of networking opportunities. There are hundreds of tools and providers and we learn more with every project and every month. Some virtual event platforms made a good impression at first, but were useless in practice. Another realisation from the last few months is that it is worth investing time in the event concept. Simply copying the physical event for the digital world does not bring any added value. You need to think carefully about which format is both exciting and entertaining for those staying at home. Let's put it this way: producing a 10-hour congress linearly on a stage without breaks, breakout sessions or opportunities for interaction is unlikely to be watched continuously by anyone at home. We generally realise that the attention span in front of the screen is short. We therefore recommend not scheduling individual programme items for longer than 30 minutes.

We are seeing a clear trend. But let me expand a little. In spring 2020, all organisations were thrown into a kind of "state of shock" when all kinds of events had to be cancelled or postponed. It was thought that everything would be back to normal by summer at the latest. It was only when the summer of 2020 approached and the (event) world was still not ticking normally that the organisations realised that their events would not return in their usual form in the medium term. And since then, almost all organisations have been trying to implement their events in hybrid or completely virtual form. In our view, the trend for the future is that hybrid events will prevail - a limited number of participants are on site and there is a complementary digital offering. This format will also survive in the "post-corona era" as it offers many advantages, such as lower CO2 consumption, lower costs and shorter travelling times for participants. However, people miss the networking aspect, which is why we are convinced that completely virtual event formats will be the exception rather than the rule in future.

Our recommendation is clear: invest enough "brainpower" in designing the ideal format. Nobody wants to spend a whole day passively staring at a screen these days. Split your event over several days, incorporate playful approaches, networking opportunities, breakout sessions or surveys, for example. Do everything you can to keep the virtual audience happy. One of the great advantages of virtual and hybrid events is their sustainability. We recommend making the entire programme available as an "on demand" offer after the event and using short excerpts of it on your own channels as a content supplier. A professionally produced hybrid or virtual event generates a lot of good content, which would often be enough for a whole year on social media. A virtual event can basically be realised in any meeting room or space. When planning, however, sufficient resources should be invested in the studio design and the "look and feel": Merely setting up a roll-up is not exactly innovative. If the event takes a hybrid form, we are well equipped with event venues in Bern. All major providers now specialise in this type of event and some even offer their own complete solutions.

This is difficult to answer as we are currently operating in a very fast-moving environment. However, the focus in the coming months is likely to be increasingly on the best possible usability of virtual and hybrid events. We have attended many good events of this kind, but the user experience was only really attractive in the rarest of cases. We will therefore be focussing on this in the coming months. In addition, the topic of marketing and monetisation of such event formats will also become more important in the future, and there is potential for improvement here. However, with the right marketing strategy, the native integration of sponsor presences within such an event, an "on demand" offer, lean processes in the background and the right pricing, there are definitely opportunities.

No, I don't think so. We have a lot of conversations with organisers of virtual and hybrid events and hear the same thing everywhere: People are eagerly waiting for the physical event to be possible again, but see the great added value of a complementary virtual offering. We are convinced that hybrid event formats will become established in the medium term and - provided it is set up correctly - a larger audience can be reached. This will also pay off financially. We are somewhat more pessimistic about the future of completely virtual events. They will certainly continue to exist in the future, but only in exceptional cases. The desire for a physical reunion will be great after this year.

Finally, this: Personally, I don't think there are many cities in the world where virtual and hybrid events are easier to organise than in Bern. We have great venues, short distances, a lot of expertise in this area and can quickly bring together the right players for successful implementation.