Virtual and hybrid events

Professional infrastructure, short distances and smooth cooperation between competent players – in Bern, all prerequisites for secure and (cost-)efficient digital events are met. The main success factors here are the networking and well-established processes between hosts, organisers and other partners. Many venues have permanent broadcast studios, making it possible to set up virtual meetings in a short amount of time.

Integrating digital solutions has become an important part of planning and organising meetings. The possibility of participating from anywhere in the world leads to 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 our 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’s easy to lose track. Proper and in-depth planning of an event is therefore essential. Many organisations are hesitant to use new technologies that they are not familiar with. That’s why it’s important to include trial runs in the planning process.

When we started with virtual and hybrid events in spring, we were 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 participating remotely. 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 notice that the attention span in front of the screen is short. We therefore recommend scheduling a maximum of 30 minutes per item on the agenda.

We are seeing a clear trend. But let me expand a little. In the spring of 2020, organisations fell into a kind of state of shock when all kinds of events had to be cancelled or postponed. We 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 back to normal that the organisations realised that their events would not be the same again 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 is on site and there is a complementary digital offering. This format will also survive in the post-Covid era as it offers many advantages, such as less CO2 consumption, lower costs and shorter travelling times for participants. However, people miss the networking aspect, which is why we are convinced that exclusively virtual event formats will be the exception rather than the norm in the future.

Our recommendation is clear: invest enough brainpower into designing the ideal format. Nobody wants to spend an entire day passively staring at a screen these days. Spread 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 you’re planning on a hybrid event, we have excellent 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-paced 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 very few cases. We will therefore be focussing on this issue in the coming months. 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 eager for physical events 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 that a larger audience can be reached – provided everything is well-organised. 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 as exceptions. The desire for seeing each other in person will be huge after this year.

And finally: 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.