Everyone is talking about hybrid events. No matter where you look, whether in trade journals, on event blogs, in corporate blogs on numerous event platforms and providers of interaction tools - providers and planners are reporting on hybrid events everywhere. They really are the supreme discipline for event planners, as they are ultimately two events in one. The face-to-face event and the event on the participants' screens. Perhaps you feel the same way: the longer you think about it, question providers and calculate their costs, the bigger the question marks become. But it doesn't have to be that way. Hybrid events can also be planned and realised relatively easily and achieve a wide reach at the same time. How? We'll show you in this blog post.
A hybrid event as a satellite event
Firstly, let us briefly clarify the terms.
Hybrid event: A hybrid event combines an in-person event and an online event. This means that there are participants on site as well as those on the screens. The audience ratio and the respective interactions and authorisations are completely open and any combination is conceivable. This is probably what makes a hybrid event so challenging for many planners.
Satellite event: A satellite event is one that takes place simultaneously at several locations under one event title or motto. A well-known example of this is a music festival that takes place in several locations in one city.
As a planner, you can combine these two event formats to create a hybrid satellite event.
The advantages of a hybrid satellite event
Compared to a classic presence event, you can reach significantly more people with a satellite event that takes place at several locations. After all, you can hold the event at the main location as well as at any number of other locations. In addition, the hybrid event allows you to reach numerous participants at their screens.
In addition, a hybrid satellite event - if you have designed it well - can significantly reduce the strain on your budget. This is because you no longer have to move from location to location with your event and your messages as you would with a typical roadshow. This eliminates the cost and effort of transporting materials, technology and the entire crew. All that remains of a classic roadshow is the hire fee for the respective location. If you can organise the satellite event on the premises of your own branches or network partners, this budget item is also eliminated.
Another advantage of a hybrid satellite event is that your participants can decide for themselves whether they want to be on site or on the computer. This allows you to fulfil the needs of every type of participant. Those who prefer face-to-face small talk can attend on site and those who prefer to watch from the comfort of their sofa or desk can do that too.
The realisation of your hybrid satellite event
You are probably wondering how you can implement such a hybrid satellite event in practice. It's easier than you might think.
All you need is a central event location, the "event hub", which is equipped with a main stage and classic audio-video technology for live streaming. In addition to corona-compliant seating and catering, you also need a connecting element for the participants
- on site at the satellite hub,
- in the satellite locations and
- on the computers in the offices.
Support from TEDME
TEDME is ideally suited for such a connecting element, as TEDME can be used by your participants in any browser without any installation.
Whoever is on site opens tedme.com and enters the session code you provided. That's it. He or she can now take part in all votes, Votingssurveys, word clouds, Quizzes, Q&A rounds and much more and uses very little data volume and very little energy on your smartphone or tablet.
The participants at the screens have access to exactly the same functionalities via a browser or via the TEDME integrated into your event platform. Configure your online event or livestream as usual and then integrate TEDME into the digital platform of your choice via iframe. You're ready to go.
The good thing about using TEDME is that all participants access the same application at the same time. Regardless of whether they are in the central event location, in one of the satellite locations or on the computer.
Support through audio-video technology at the satellite locations
Integrating TEDME into hybrid satellite events is really child's play. Now you just need to take care of the audio-video technology at the main and satellite locations. If possible, choose a main stage that is very well lit and has excellent sound transmission technology. This is the central element of your hybrid event. Make sure that everyone can hear and see the speeches from here. If your budget allows, you should also install a second or third camera and thus perspective.
At the satellite locations, all you need now is a technician and the technology to receive the stream, i.e. a large screen plus projector or a large screen and a stable internet connection. You play the presentations from your central hub on the screen.
If you want to intensify the interaction between the participants in the hub and at the decentralised locations, you can also use a moderator equipped with a video camera and a microphone with a windscreen for live contributions from the audience. In this case, you will need someone at the satellite locations to ensure that your video conference at the centre is set up cleanly and on time. As you can see, this is where things get more complex. But we want to give you the idea in any case.
Networking at a hybrid satellite event
Probably the simplest networking option for such a hybrid satellite event is to divide the audience into three groups:
- Networking on site,
- and networking at the satellite locations,
- and networking at the screens.
The first two groups network in the same way as you would at a traditional face-to-face event. For the third group of participants, you can either use the event platform of your choice or one of the video conferencing solutions specially developed for networking, such as wonder, spatial or trember.
Conclusion
Hybrid events can be very complex. However, those who focus on the core functions and elements of their event can achieve both greater reach and cost savings. Networking is particularly important at a hybrid satellite event. Make sure there is a connecting element, e.g. a digital solution such as TEDME.
Do you have any questions? Or would you like to use an interactive solution for your event? Then please contact us.
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