The future of Events is Hybrid: Bringing virtual and in-person together

Bringing virtual and in-person together.

The disruption to the events industry as a result of the pandemic brought about rapid innovation and creativity with the introduction of online events. With this transformation came unforeseen benefits in the form of  increased reach and attendance, greater flexibility, increased data and metrics, improved return on investment and reduced environmental cost.

As the world slowly begins to return to some form of normality, there is no going back for the conference and events industry. Although in-person events look set to return stronger than ever, with 78% of marketeers saying they wanted in-person events to return in a primary role, the opportunities offered by the addition of virtual elements are too good to pass up. 97% of event marketeers believe that hybrid events will be more prevalent than before.

The challenge for event organisers is to ensure that delegates enjoy their experience however they attend a hybrid event. 43% of marketeers have reported that they find it challenging to replicate event formats in a virtual model. For example, just livestreaming events is not enough. Virtual attendees do not want to be distant observers, they want to feel part of the event and require a dedicated focus. Evidence shows that the attention spans of virtual attendees is shorter. Fewer than 7% of event attendees believe virtual events should exceed an hour in duration and 55% felt they should last 30 minutes or less.

Peace of mind

With the increased complexity of solutions being used for hybrid events, the technology chosen is more important than ever for peace of mind on reliability, ease of use and total cost of ownership.

For these mission-critical applications, it helps event organisers to know that their solution providers make sure that their equipment and technology is widely tested. For example, Panasonic projectors go through the most rigorous and extreme environmental testing (drop, dust, vibration, temperature) to cater for the challenging event environment. In addition, to ensure the show always goes on, they employ a unique redundant light-source system enabling projection to continue even an element fails.

Leading solution providers should be continuously investing in smaller, more lightweight designs to provide a smaller footprint and easier integration into the conference venue. Technical innovations in Panasonic projectors – airflow design, new cooling system and an improved laser – mean more efficient performance, easier operation, and cost and space savings for event organisers.

Lastly, total cost of ownership is an important consideration. Here, Panasonic projectors offer 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation and reduced installation effort, meaning they fit easily into existing systems. In addition, remote monitoring options and early warning systems mean expensive problems can be avoided before they happen.